7th Inning Stretch: The Final Homestretch (Week 14)

(Photo of Adam Elliott: William Caudill via University of Louisville Athletics)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After having a near perfect week last week, the Louisville baseball program quickly turned on their heels again. They were swept for the second time in three weeks, this time coming on the road to the hands of the North Carolina Tar Heels.

With the postseason knocking on the door, the Cardinals are quickly trending in the wrong direction. Since getting back to the diamond following the cancellation of the Pitt series, they have lost seven of their last ten games, and are starting to fall out of national polls.

To make matters a tad more uncomfortable, the final week of the regular season-which will be all at Jim Patterson Stadium-features a pair of opponents that will not be easy victories. USC Upstate has been one of the more underrated teams this season, and Miami has the potential to beat anyone.

As of now, Louisville is still in the NCAA Tournament. But if they get swept yet again, and flame out in the ACC Tournament, it will be a very uncomfortable Selection Monday.

Last Week's Recaps:

News & Notes

Louisville is ranked as high as No. 19 in the nation among the six major collegiate baseball polls (Baseball America).
Earlier this week, Louisville was not chosen as one of the 20 predetermined regional host sites for the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville is sixth in the nation in both stolen bases (101) and stolen bases per game (2.30).
Outfielder Levi Usher is sixth in the nation in stolen bases with 26.
Catcher Henry Davis is 33rd in the nation in on base percentage at .498.
Infielder Alex Binelas is 14th in the nation in both home runs at 15 and RBI with 55.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, May 18 at 3:00pm vs. USC Upstate

ACC Network Extra
1450 WXVW

Thursday, May 20 at 6:00pm vs. Miami

ACC Network
93.9 The Ville

Friday, May 21 at 6:00pm vs. Miami

ACC Network
93.9 The Ville

Saturday, May 22 at 12:00am vs. Miami

ACC Network
93.9 The Ville

Know The Foe

Midweek

School: University of South Carolina--Upstate
Nickname: Spartans
Location: Spartanburg, S.C.
Total Enrollment: 6,308
Head Coach (school record): Mike McGuire (47-18)
2021 Record (conference record): 34-13 (25-12)
All-Time Series Record: No Previous Meeting
Team Leaders:

Avg: Jack Hennessy (.333)
RBI: Three Tied (38)
HR: Julian Rip (4)
ERA: Kevin Davis (1.82)
Strikeouts: Jordan Marks (92)
Wins: Jordan Marks (9-1)

Weekend

School: University of Miami
Nickname: Hurricanes
Location: Coral Gables, Fla.
Total Enrollment: 17,811
Head Coach (school record): Gino DiMare (84-40)
2021 Record (conference record): 29-16 (17-15)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 8-5
Team Leaders:

Avg: Christian Del Castillo (.377)
RBI: Two Tied (40)
HR: Yohandy Morales (9)
ERA: Spencer Bodanza (0.82)
Strikeouts: Carson Palmquist (62)
Wins: Two Tied (5)

Opponent Breakdown

Rankings & Records:

USC Upstate	Miami	Louisville
Highest Poll Ranking	NR	NR	19th
RPI	46th	21st	55th
SOS	157th	28th	75th
Home Record	18-5	18-6	18-6
Away Record	16-6	11-10	8-12
Neutral Record	0-0	0-0	0-0

Hitting:

USC Upstate	Miami	Louisville
Base on Balls	95th (194)	80th (200)	125th (183)
Batting Average	31st (.294)	119th (.273)	54th (.284)
Hits	34th (467)	97th (420)	74th (433)
Home Runs	253rd (17)	65th (49)	40th (55)
On Base Percentage	36th (.392)	114th (.370)	77th (.378)
Runs	49th (316)	80th (292)	72nd (299)
Slugging Percentage	173rd (.393)	115th (.420)	44th (.457)

Pitching:

USC Upstate	Miami	Louisville
Earned Run Average	11th (3.45)	89th (4.57)	131st (4.96)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	61st (8.37)	95th (8.75)	92nd (8.71)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	88th (9.1)	83rd (9.1)	72nd (9.2)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	35th (2.81)	18th (3.07)	153rd (1.92)
WHIP	33rd (1.29)	36th (1.30)	144th (1.50)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	24th (3.25)	14th (2.98)	194th (4.82)

USC Upstate Spartans

While the Spartans might not be competing against top tier competition on a weekly basis, they are an incredibly well rounded team, and it shows up in the win/loss column. Not only do they lead the Big South, but they have wins against Clemson and Georgia Tech - two teams which Louisville is a combined 1-5 against.

USC Upstate doesn't hit for a ton of power, as they only have 17 home runs and a team slugging percentage of .393, but none of that matters much when you can put in play nearly every ball thrown your way. They bat .294 as a team, sport seven starters that bat .310 or higher, six with 60+ total bases, and five with 30+ RBI. If there's any batter to key on, it's catcher/first baseman Devin Buckner, who leads the Spartans in OPS at .920. But considering nearly every position player has plus-contact, this will not be an easy team to find outs on.

As well as the Spartans can hit the ball, they have a collective pitching staff that can match them, with an ERA that tops the Big South at 3.45. No matter who they throw out against the Cardinals to start, whether that be right-hander Nate Payne or left-hander Sawyer Worrell, both have a respectable ERA (4.13 and 4.21, respectively), and do a solid job striking out batters and limiting walks. They also have a solid one-two punch out of the bullpen in right-handers Kevin Davis and Austin Morgan, who collectively have 69 strikeouts to 31 walks, and surrendered just 14 runs over 55 innings.

Miami Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have had a very up and down season. While they do have series wins against then-No. 1 Florida, Georgia Tech and NC State, they also have series losses to Boston College, Pitt and Florida State. They have the capability to beat anyone, but also to lose to anyone.

Collectively, Miami is a middle-of-the-pack batting team both in the ACC and nationally, but they have a few exceptional hitters on their squad. Christian Del Castillo leads the Canes in all three slash line categories (.377/.440/.509), while is brother Adrian (.305, 3 HR, 35 RBI) is regarded as the second-best catcher in the ACC behind Henry Davis. Anthony Villar (.302, 33 BB) is great at getting on base, while Yohandy Morales (.271, 21 XBH, 91 TB) is one of the top pure power hitters on the team.

The Canes have an overall solid pitching staff, as the post an ERA of 4.57, but it more so because of their bullpen. The starting rotation of Jake Garland, Alejandro Rosario and Victor Mederos all have ERAs over 5.00, with Garland and Rosario having opposing batting averages over .280. Over in the pen, Carson Palmquist is one of the best relievers in the ACC, as he has 62 strikeouts to just six walks allowed. Spencer Bodanza and Andrew Walters also have ERAs of 0.82 and 1.27, respectively, with Walters also having good strikeout pitches.

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