7th Inning Stretch: Do or Die (Week 14)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's hard to have a worse week than the Louisville baseball program did.

The Cardinals (29-22, 9-18 ACC) not only blew a golden opportunity in the Battle of the Barrel against Vanderbilt, but then followed that up by getting swept at Virginia to go 0-4 on the week.

It has gotten to the point where Louisville isn't even on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament anymore. They've lost their last five ACC series, three of which have been sweeps, are on a seven-game losing streak and have dropped 15 of their last 19 overall.

Making matters worse, the Cardinals are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to even making the ACC Tournament. They sit at No. 13 in the league standings heading into the final week of the regular season, and only 12 teams go to Durham.

However, all postseason hope is not lost, as they are not yet mathematically eliminated from making the ACC Tournament. Plus, after a midweek matchup with Northern Kentucky, Louisville will host Florida State - who is having an even worse season than UofL, and is already eliminated - for their final series of the regular season.

I'll dive into the seeding possibilities later this week (surprise, it's complicated and has a lot of math involved), but I'll put it quite bluntly right now: Louisville *must* win this upcoming weekend. A sweep over the 'Noles will guarantee them a spot in the 12-team ACC Tournament field, and a 2-1 series win will get them in with a little bit of help. A series loss will eliminate them.

Louisville has officially run out of time. It's either win, or the season is done.

Last Week's Recaps:

Game 48: Louisville Falls to Vanderbilt in Extras
Game 49: Louisville Blasted by Virginia in Series Opener
Game 50: Louisville Falls at Virginia to Clinch Fifth-Straight ACC Series Loss
Game 51: Louisville Drops Seventh Straight, Secures Sweep at Virginia

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).

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, May 16 at 6:00 p.m. vs. Northern Kentucky

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Thursday, May 18 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Florida State

ACC Network
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Friday, May 19 at 6:00 p.m. vs. Florida State

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Saturday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m. vs. Florida State

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Know The Foe

Midweek

School: Northern Kentucky University
Nickname: Norse
Location: Highland Heights, Ky.
Total Enrollment: 10,814
Head Coach (school record): Dizzy Peyton (47-57)
2023 Record (conference record): 28-22 (16-11)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 15-7

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Noah Fisher (47 GP, 47 GS): .362/.521/.751, 17 HR, 64 RBI, 14 2B, 2 3B, 48 BB
INF Liam McFadden-Ackman (50 GP, 45 GS): .320/.430/.635, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 16 2B, 32 BB, 7 SB
OF Colton Kucera (44 GP, 39 GS): .387/.508/.487, 28 RBI, 11 2B, 2 3B, 28 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

RHP Kaden Echeman (13 APP, 13 GS): 4.55 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 63.1 IP, 74 K, 28 BB, .265 B/AVG
LHP Ben Gerl (13 APP, 13 GS): 5.20 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 71.0 IP, 62 K, 22 BB, .301 B/AVG
Clay Brock (15 APP, 9 GS): 3.95 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 70.2 IP, 53 K, 13 BB, .273 B/AVG

Weekend

School: Florida State University
Nickname: Seminoles
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Total Enrollment: 33,593
Head Coach (school record): Link Jarrett (20-30)
2023 Record (conference record): 20-30 (7-20)
All-Time Series Record: Florida State leads 32-11

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF/1B James Tibbs III (50 GP, 50 GS): .331/.460/.657, 15 HR, 40 RBI, 12 2B, 1 3B, 42 BB
OF Jamie Ferrer (50 GP, 50 GS): .333/.376/.551, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 20 2B, 9 BB
INF Cam Smith (47 GP, 47 GS): .255/.322/.531, 12 HR, 33 RBI, 7 2B, 5 3B, 19 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

RHP Jackson Baumeister (14 APP, 13 GS): 5.16 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 61.0 IP, 87 K, 27 BB, .257 B/AVG
RHP Conner Whittaker (16 APP, 7 GS): 4.56 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 73.0 IP, 64 K, 18 BB, .267 B/AVG
LHP Andrew Armstrong (31 APP, 1 GS): 4.15 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 52.0 IP, 51 K, 19 BB, .256 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings:

NKU	FSU	Louisville
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	NR
RPI	217th	64th	34th
SOS	270th	1st	15th
Home Record	17-8	16-13	21-8
Away Record	9-13	4-16	5-14
Neutral Record	2-1	0-1	3-0

Hitting:

NKU	FSU	Louisville
Base on Balls	14th (300)	279th (163)	173rd (214)
Batting Average	74th (.293)	169th (.276)	141st (.282)
Hits	59th (509)	133rd (480)	119th (484)
Home Runs	140th (54)	151st (52)	151st (52)
On Base Percentage	21st (.416)	273rd (.347)	129th (.384)
Runs Per Game	26th (416)	235th (5.8)	132nd (6.9)
Slugging Percentage	100th (.467)	161st (.438)	156th (.442)

Pitching:

NKU	FSU	Louisville
Earned Run Average	195th (6.45)	148th (5.94)	28th (4.30)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	210th (10.45)	114th (9.54)	32nd (8.27)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	182nd (8.1)	34th (9.8)	49th (9.6)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	157th (1.81)	131st (1.89)	99th (2.01)
WHIP	175th (1.66)	165th (1.64)	62nd (1.45)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	121st (4.46)	218th (5.18)	166th (4.75)

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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