7th Inning Stretch: Battle of the Barrel (Week 13)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Things continue to trend in the wrong direction for the Louisville baseball program.

The Cardinals (29-18, 9-15 ACC) were able to start the week right with an absolute beatdown of Bellarmine, but then promptly followed that up by getting swept at Clemson.

Louisville has now dropped their last four ACC series including a pair of sweeps, and have lost 11 of their last 15 games overall. Since starting the season at 16-1, they have won just 13 of their last 30 games.

As a result, not only are the Cardinals' chances of making the NCAA Tournament on life support, there's a very real chance they might not even make it to the ACC Tournament. As of this writing, Louisville sits at 13th in the overall standings, with only Florida State behind them.

Making matters worse, the Cardinal Nine have one of their toughest weeks all season coming up, as they have a pair of top-25 foes on tap. They'll kick things off with the annual Battle of the Barrel rivalry matchup with Vanderbilt, then hit the road for a three-game series against Virginia.

There's no other way to spin it: this is now do-or-die time for Louisville. Their backs are planted firmly against the wall, and the only way forward is to win. Their postseason chances depend on it.

Last Week's Recaps:

News & Notes

Louisville does not appear in any of the six major collegiate baseball polls (D1Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA, Perfect Game, USA Today Coaches Poll).
RHP Carson Liggett ranks 17th in the nation in earned run average at 2.31 and 23rd in victories with seven.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, May 9 at 6:00 p.m. vs. Vanderbilt

ESPNU
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Away (Davenport Field at Disharoon Park - Charlottesville, Va.)

Friday, May 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Virginia

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Saturday, May 13 at 4:00 p.m. at Virginia

ACC Network
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Sunday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m. at Virginia

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Know The Foe

Midweek

School: Vanderbilt University
Nickname: Commodores
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Total Enrollment: 7,111
Head Coach (school record): Tim Corbin (875-413-1)
2023 Record (conference record): 34-13 (17-7)
All-Time Series Record: Vanderbilt leads 27-12

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF R.J. Schreck (47 GP, 47 GS): .360/.495/.707, 13 HR, 52 RBI, 14 2B, 2 3B, 36 BB
OF Enrique Bradfield Jr. (47 GP, 47 GS): .298/.451/.456, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 10 2B, 42 BB, 30 SB
IF Chris Maldonado (36 GP, 34 GS): .306/.389/.549, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 11 2B, 13 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

LHP Devin Futrell (12 APP, 11 GS): 2.42 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 63.1 IP, 48 K, 15 BB, .201 B/AVG
LHP Hunter Owen (10 APP, 10 GS): 3.16 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 57.0 IP, 67 K, 16 BB, .211 B/AVG
RHP Nick Maldonado (17 APP, 0 GS): 1.44 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 25.0 IP, 34 K, 6 BB, .119 B/AVG, 6 SV

Weekend

School: University of Virginia
Nickname: Cavaliers
Location: Charlottesville, Va.
Total Enrollment: 17,299
Head Coach (school record): Brian O'Connor (826-349-2)
2023 Record (conference record): 37-11 (13-11)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 13-9

Top Performers (Hitters):

Jake Gelof (48 GP, 48 GS): .337/.425/.758, 18 HR, 73 RBI, 20 2B, 3 3B, 30 BB
Kyle Teel (48 GP, 48 GS): .423/.482/.665, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 20 2B, 20 BB
Ethan O'Donnell (48 GP, 48 GS): .372/.463/.622, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 15 2B, 28 BB, 13 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

Connelly Early (12 APP, 11 GS): 2.89 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 53.0 IP, 63 K, 14 BB, .225 B/AVG
Brian Edgington (11 APP, 11 GS): 3.71 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 60.2 IP, 64 K, 18 BB, .251 B/AVG
Jay Woolfork (21 APP, 0 GS): 2.33 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 31 K, 16 BB, .172 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings:

Vanderbilt	Virginia	Louisville
D1Baseball Ranking	5th	21st	NR
RPI	6th	10th	30th
SOS	15th	46th	21st
Home Record	23-5	28-4	21-7
Away Record	7-6	8-7	5-11
Neutral Record	4-2	1-0	3-0

Hitting:

Vanderbilt	Virginia	Louisville
Base on Balls	96th (223)	68th (232)	159th (203)
Batting Average	147th (.280)	2nd (.336)	98th (.288)
Hits	120th (447)	1st (575)	110th (454)
Home Runs	91st (60)	109th (57)	136th (51)
On Base Percentage	115th (.386)	7th (.430)	97th (.390)
Runs Per Game	83rd (7.3)	8th (9.1)	106th (7.1)
Slugging Percentage	102nd (.462)	22nd (.528)	119th (.457)

Pitching:

Vanderbilt	Virginia	Louisville
Earned Run Average	13th (4.00)	9th (3.94)	14th (4.00)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	2nd (6.85)	50th (8.60)	18th (8.00)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	34th (10.0)	21st (10.3)	48th (9.6)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	39th (2.42)	7th (3.09)	93rd (2.04)
WHIP	3rd (1.22)	22nd (1.33)	54th (1.41)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	72nd (4.13)	13th (3.34)	160th (4.71)

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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