7th Inning Stretch: Chasing 700 (Week 4)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Talk about a statement weekend from the Louisville baseball program.

After taking care of business against Eastern Kentucky in the midweek, the Cardinals traveled to Houston for the Shriners Children's College Classic, and took Minute Maid Park by storm. They swept the event against Texas A&M, TCU and Michigan, being the only program to go 3-0 in the six-team field.

There was very little Louisville did wrong down in Houston. They outscored their competition 27-5, with their first two wins coming against top-15 competition. Considering their relatively weak non-conference slate in the first two weeks of the season, doing this can put the rest of the ACC on notice.

Now, the Cardinals come home to kick off a nine-game homestand at Jim Patterson Stadium. During that stretch, most likely during this upcoming week, their skipper has a chance to reach a significant career milestone.

Head coach Dan McDonnell is now just two wins away from career victory No. 700. Since becoming Louisville's head coach in 2007, McDonnell sports an overall record of 698-288-1 and a win percentage of 70.7 percent. Entering the season, he ranked second nationally amongst active coaches (minimum of five years) in winning percentage.

He still has a way to go before he cracks the top 25 in total wins by active head coaches, but getting to 700 wins, nonetheless, will be a big milestone for the longtime Cardinals head coach. Barring a midweek loss to Morehead State and series loss to Dayton, this milestone will be reached later this week.

Last Week's Recaps:

News & Notes

Out of the six major collegiate baseball polls, Louisville ranks as high as the No. 4 team in the nation, courtesy of Baseball America.
RHP Ryan Hawks ranks 16th in the nation in ERA at 0.46, and 27th in strikeouts with 25.
LHP Greg Farone ranks 17th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings at 15.32.
RHP Carson Liggett is one of just 25 pitchers in D1 to toss a complete game so far this season.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, Mar. 7 at 3:00 p.m. vs. Morehead State

ACC Network Extra
970 WGTK

Friday, Mar. 10 at 3:00 p.m. vs. Dayton

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Saturday, Mar. 11 at 1:00 p.m. vs. Dayton

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Sunday, Mar. 12 at 1:00 p.m. vs. Dayton

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Know The Foe

Midweek

School: Morehead State University
Nickname: Eagles
Location: Morehead, Ky.
Total Enrollment: 8,984
Head Coach (school record): Mik Aoki (65-63)
2023 Record (conference record): 9-3 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 51-36

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Jackson Feltner (12 GP, 12 GS): .368/.519/.789, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 12 BB
OF Ryley Preece (12 GP, 12 GS): .302/.423/.791, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 2 3B, 9 BB, 3 SB
UTIL Chase Vinson (12 GP, 11 GS): .184/.319/.447, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 1 2B, 7 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

LHP John Bakke (3 APP, 2 GS): 1.23 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 12 K, 6 BB, .185 B/AVG
RHP Joe Rotkis (3 APP, 2 GS): 2.08 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 12 K, 1 BB, .300 B/AVG
RHP Grant Herron (3 APP, 3 GS): 3.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 19 K, 12 BB, .209 B/AVG

Weekend

School: University of Dayton
Nickname: Flyers
Location: Dayton, Oh.
Total Enrollment: 11,971
Head Coach (school record): Jayson King (108-126-1)
2023 Record (conference record): 2-7 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Series split 6-6

Top Performers (Hitters):

C Eddie Yamin IV (8 GP, 6 GS): .261/.320/.609, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB
1B Marcos Pujols (8 GP, 8 GS): .296/.406/.519, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB
IF Ben Jones (9 GP, 9 GS): .324/.368/.382, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

LHP Mark Manfredi (3 APP, 3 GS): 3.29 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 16 K, 9 BB, .226 B/AVG
LHP Nate Espelin (3 APP, 2 GS): 6.35 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 11 K, 5 BB, .304 B/AVG
RHP Matthew Johnson (2 APP, 0 GS): 3.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, .158 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings:

Morehead State	Dayton	Louisville
Highest Poll Ranking	NR	NR	4th
RPI	171st	197th	108th
SOS	273rd	51st	240th
Home Record	4-0	2-1	7-1
Away Record	5-3	0-6	0-0
Neutral Record	0-0	0-0	3-0

Hitting:

Morehead State	Dayton	Louisville
Base on Balls	41st (65)	265th (30)	199th (42)
Batting Average	174th (.261)	289th (.199)	15th (.329)
Hits	170th (93)	283rd (55)	40th (122)
Home Runs	50th (16)	204th (7)	50th (16)
On Base Percentage	123rd (.384)	290th (.283)	45th (.422)
Runs Per Game	125th (6.8)	295th (2.7)	47th (8.6)
Slugging Percentage	79th (.473)	273rd (.325)	31st (.544)

Pitching:

Morehead State	Dayton	Louisville
Earned Run Average	65th (4.37)	156th (5.92)	16th (2.88)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	124th (9.13)	123rd (9.12)	4th (5.94)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	51st (10.4)	146th (9.0)	42nd (10.7)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	91st (2.28)	176th (1.70)	60th (2.50)
WHIP	122nd (1.52)	163rd (1.60)	12th (1.13)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	130th (4.57)	195th (5.30)	96th (4.27)

(Photo of Riley Phillips: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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