7th Inning Stretch: Final Road Trip (Week 13)

(Photo of Trey Leonard: William Caudill via University of Louisville Athletics)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Coming off of their clunker down in Clemson, the Louisville baseball program responded with a near flawless week on the diamond. They finished 3-1 on the week with a win over No. 2 Vanderbilt, and a slow starting series win over conference foe Duke.

With the exception of the series opener against the Blue Devils, in which Duke was able to launch five home runs, the pitching was much improved. They were able to hold one of the best batting lineups in the country in Vanderbilt to just two runs, while Duke averaged just 3.5 runs in their doubleheader.

Of course, the hitting was as spectacular as usual, led by the usual suspects. Both catcher Henry Davis and infielder Alex Binelas combined to go 9-27 (.333) with five home runs and 13 RBI against Vandy and Duke, with the team as a whole ending the week on a good note, plating a season-high 15 runs.

With the regular season quickly approaching an end, the Cardinals now have a crucial series on deck. They hit the road for the final time in the regular season for a weekend matchup against a struggling North Carolina. Though considering Louisville's less than stellar road record, nothing is guaranteed - especially with ACC Tournament seeding on the line.

Last Week's Recaps:

Game 38: Louisville Takes Down No. 2 Vanderbilt
Game 39: Louisville Routed by Duke in Series Opener
Game 40, 41: Louisville Sweeps Doubleheader vs. Duke to Clinch Series

News & Notes

Louisville is ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation among the six major collegiate baseball polls (Baseball America).
Louisville is fourth in the nation in both stolen bases (99) and sixth in stolen bases per game (2.41).
Louisville leads the ACC in: batting average (.288), on base percentage (.385), and triples (12).
Outfielder Levi Usher is fifth in the nation in stolen bases with 25.
Catcher Henry Davis is 19th in the nation in on base percentage at .511.
Infielder Alex Binelas is 16th in the nation in home runs at 14 and 15th in the nation in RBI with52.

The Week Ahead

Friday, May 14 at 6:00pm at North Carolina

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Saturday, May 15 at 2:00pm at North Carolina

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Sunday, May 16 at 11:00am at North Carolina

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Know The Foe

Weekend

School: University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill
Nickname: Tar Heels
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Total Enrollment: 30, 151
Head Coach (school record): Scott Forbes (21-22)
2021 Record (conference record): 21-22 (14-16)
All-Time Series Record: Series tied 5-5

Team Leaders:

Avg: Justice Thompson (.317)
RBI: Caleb Roberts (29)
HR: Caleb Roberts (9)
ERA: Gage Gillian (1.70)
Strikeouts: Austin Love (87)
Wins: Austin Love (6)

Opponent Breakdown

Rankings & Records:

North Carolina	Louisville
Highest Poll Ranking	NR	11th
RPI	51st	49th
SOS	7th	75th
Home Record	15-10	18-6
Away Record	5-12	8-9
Neutral Record	1-0	0-0

Hitting:

North Carolina	Louisville
Base on Balls	109th (176)	97th (179)
Batting Average	200th (.256)	41st (.288)
Hits	123rd (370)	73rd (408)
Home Runs	34th (54)	40th (53)
On Base Percentage	219th (.347)	58th (.385)
Runs	169th (218)	57th (293)
Slugging Percentage	101st (.427)	30th (.467)

Pitching:

North Carolina	Louisville
Earned Run Average	124th (4.89)	119th (4.84)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	65th (8.41)	88th (8.62)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	63rd (9.5)	75th (9.4)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	68th (2.42)	152nd (1.92)
WHIP	71st (1.37)	136th (1.5)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	94th (3.93)	202nd (4.87)

North Carolina Tar Heels

Following the retirement of legendary skipper Mike Fox, the first year in the Scott Barnes era could be going a little smoother for the Tar Heels. They are under .500 both in league play and overall, and are heading into their final home series of the season having lost six of their last seven games.

The main reason for UNC's down season is because of their hitting, as they boast a bottom tier offense in the ACC. While they have 54 home runs and are slugging .427, they .256 batting average and .347 on base percentage are both outside the top 200 in college baseball. The Tar Heels have an extremely top heavy batting lineup, with Justice Thompson, Angel Zarate and Caleb Roberts doing most of the damage. That trio is batting .301 with a combined 71 walks (40.3% of team), while the rest of the roster is batting just .235.

The pitching staff is UNC's biggest strength, as they collectively produce high strikeouts, but even that unit is not without some issues. The only starter with a modicum of consistency is Austin Lowe, as he has a 4.02 ERA with 87 strikeouts to just 24 walks in 13 appearances. As for regular weekend starters Max Carlson and Max Alba, they both have ERAs over six, and their combined stats don't even surpass the strikeout and innings pitched numbers of Lowe. They have a couple solid options out of the bullpen, but most notably Gage Gillian - as he posts a 1.21 ERA in 17 appearances and 37.1 innings with 35 strikeouts to six walks.

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