7th Inning Stretch: The Final Road Trip (Week 13)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball program certainly experienced some highs and lows this past week, and a little bit in between.
Following their impressive midweek rivalry matchup over Vanderbilt, the Cardinals (33-13-1, 15-8-1 ACC) then went to Wake Forest for a series that, quite literally, no one won.
Louisville found themselves getting blasted in game one of a doubleheader, but responded to steal game two. As for the rubber match, travel restrictions cut that one short with the score knotted up, handing the Cards their first tie since 2000.
Despite the 1-1-1 series tie against the Demon Deacons, Louisville still in the driver's seat for the Atlantic Division crown. With just a couple weeks left in the regular season, they hold a slight lead over the Fighting Irish in the division, but are still trailing Miami for the ACC Tournament's No. 1 overall seed.
But like any other week in the ACC, it never gets any easier. Louisville has a midweek matchup with Indiana on deck, and then have their final road trip of the regular season against a red hot Virginia Tech.
Last Week's Recaps:
- Game 44: Louisville Shuts Out Vanderbilt in Battle of the Barrel
- Games 45, 46: Louisville Splits Doubleheader at Wake Forest
- Game 47: Louisville Ties Wake Forest in Series Rubber Match
News & Notes
- Louisville ranks as high as No. 6 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper) among the six major collegiate baseball polls.
- With six conference games left, Louisville has a 1.0 game lead over Notre Dame for first in the Atlantic Division. They are 1.5 games behind Miami for the top seed in the ACC Tournament.
- Ben Metzinger ranks 27th in the nation in walks with 40.
- Christian Knapczyk ranks fourth in the nation in runs with 64.
- Michael Prosecky is 20th in the nation in saves with nine.
- Levi Usher ranks 13th in the nation in stolen bases with 28.
- Dalton Rushing ranks 23rd in the nation in walks with 41.
The Week Ahead
Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)
- Tuesday, May 10 at 6:00pm vs Indiana
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville
Away (Atlantic Union Ballpark - Blacksburg, Va.)
- Friday, May 13 at 6:00pm vs. Virginia Tech
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville
- Saturday, May 14 at 1:00pm vs. Virginia Tech
- ACC Network
- 93.9 The Ville
- Sunday, May 15 at 1:00pm vs. Virginia Tech
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville
Know The Foe
Midweek
School: Indiana University
Nickname: Hoosiers
Location: Bloomington, Ind.
Total Enrollment: 32,986
Head Coach (school record): Jeff Mercer (94-72)
2022 Record (conference record): 22-25, 8-10 B10)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 15-14
Top Performers (Hitters):
- OF Carter Mathison (47 GP, 45 GS): .277/.410/.629, 15 HR, 45 RBI, 9 2B, 3B, 31 BB
- C Matthew Ellis (47 GP, 47 GS): .269/.397/.560, 15 HR, 51 RBI, 6 2B, 31 BB
- C Brock Tibbits (47 GP, 45 GS): .291/.406/.523, 9 HR, 39 RBI, 11 2B, 3B, 30 BB
Top Performers (Pitchers)
- RHP Jack Perkins (12 APP, 12 GS): 4.30 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 67.0 IP, 73 K, 38 BB, .214 B/AVG
- LHP Ty Bothwell (15 APP, 0 GS): 4.59 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 33.1 IP, 43 K, 23 BB, .228 B/AVG
- LHP Grant Holderfield (22 APP, 2 GS): 5.95 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 51 K, 20 BB, .263 B/AVG
Weekend
School: Virginia Tech
Nickname: Hokies
Location: Blacksburg, Va.
Total Enrollment: 30,020
Head Coach (school record): John Szefc (118-100)
2022 Record (conference record): 33-10 (14-8 ACC)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 7-2
Top Performers (Hitters):
- IF Tanner Schobel (43 GP, 43 GS): .382/.471/.718, 14 HR, 60 RBI, 13 2B, 29 BB
- OF Jack Hurley (42 GP, 42 GS): .393/.475/.720, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 20 2B, 26 BB
- C Cade Hunter (42 GP, 41 GS): .340/.441/.686, 14 HR, 56 RBI, 12 2B, 23 BB
Top Performers (Pitchers)
- RHP Kiernan Higgins (14 APP, 0 GS): 2.49 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 21.2 IP, 29 K, 13 BB, .187 B/AVG
- RHP Drue Hackenburg (12 APP, 11 GS): 2.51 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 71.2 IP, 64 K, 11 BB, .256 B/AVG
- LHP Jonah Hurney (18 APP, 0 GS): 2.90 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 39 K, 10 BB, .231 B/AVG
Opponent Breakdown
Rankings:
| Indiana | Virginia Tech | Louisville | |
|---|---|---|---|
D1 Baseball Ranking | NR | 5th | 7th |
RPI | 104th | 8th | 13th |
SOS | 57th | 55th | 26th |
Home Record | 12-8 | 22-4 | 25-5 |
Away Record | 8-15 | 11-6 | 7-7-1 |
Neutral Record | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
Hitting:
| Indiana | Virginia Tech | Louisville | |
|---|---|---|---|
Base on Balls | 30th (237) | 33rd (236) | 11th (266) |
Batting Average | 109th (.282) | 9th (.315) | 13th (.310) |
Home Runs | 47th (63) | 8th (86) | 24th (71) |
On Base Percentage | 82nd (.385) | 14th (.415) | 7th (.421) |
Scoring Average | 59th (7.4) | 12th (8.8) | 6th (9.2) |
Slugging Percentage | 70th (.464) | 2nd (.576) | 12th (.521) |
Pitching:
| Indiana | Virginia Tech | Louisville | |
|---|---|---|---|
Earned Run Average | 246th (7.05) | 35th (4.19) | 131st (5.45) |
Hits Allowed/9 Innings | 137th (9.61) | 92nd (9.07) | 77th (8.92) |
Strikeouts/9 Innings | 16th (10.6) | 76th (9.3) | 22nd (10.4) |
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio | 181st (1.79) | 61st (2.40) | 119th (2.10) |
WHIP | 227th (1.72) | 81st (1.44) | 131st (1.54) |
Walks Allowed/9 Innings | 273rd (5.90) | 77th (3.88) | 209th (4.92) |
(Photo via Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)
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