7th Inning Stretch: Returning Home (Week 5)

The past week was not perfect, but it was by all means a success. The #2 Louisville Cardinals (11-4, 2-1) got things started with a 16-3 thumping of the Morehead State Eagles, then followed that up with a 2-1 series victory over Wake Forest in the ACC opener.

For the most part, the offense was as efficient as it had been all season. They combined to outscore the Eagles & Deacs 38-11, plating 16 runs twice and three times in the last five outings. The lone hiccup came in game two of the Wake Forest series, where the Cards struck out a combined 17 times. However this was quickly put in the rear view mirror as the rubber match featured 13 different players collect a base hit for Louisville.

Despite having missed a couple key players through most of the season at this point, at the plate the Cards have absolutely dominated opposing pitchers. Louisville has three qualified hitters (2 PA/G, 75% games played) with an OPS above 1.000 in Levi Usher, Henry Davis & Zach Britton, with an additional two in Tim Borden & Cam Masterman coming primarily off the bench.

With as overwhelming as Louisville has been at the plate, it's hard to fathom that their pitching has been even better. They continue to feature one of if not the most dominant weekend rotations in Detmers/Miller/Smith, with the bullpen finding their groove as well. LHP Michael Kirian might be the most noteworthy reliever on the staff as he has a D1 best 6 saves, but RHP Glenn Albanese is having a good start to 2020 as well with 18 strikeouts over just 8.2 innings pitched.

Both pitching and hitting alike will have to be in sync, as the Cardinal Nine will prepare for a slate of five games this upcoming week instead of the normal four. One of which consists of the 2020 ACC home opener against a squad who is 8-2 on the road this season. No pressure.

News & Notes

Louisville is ranked as high as 2nd in the nation among the six major collegiate baseball polls (D1Baseball).
The Cards are second in the nation in doubles with 48, trailing only to Texas Tech's 53. However they are first in doubles per game at 3.20.
The Cards are second in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings with 12.6, trailing only Ohio State's 12.9.
Their .317 batting average is 12th in the nation and second in the ACC (NC State - .326)
LHP Reid Detmers is second in the nation in strikeouts with 48.
LHP Michael Kirian leads the nation in saves with 6.
Outfielder Zach Britton leads the nation in doubles with 10

The Week Ahead

Coming up this week, the Cardinals will have a longer than normal week with 5 games this week, all of which are at home. They'll start with a two game midweek series vs. Chicago State, then carry on with ACC play with a weekend series against Notre Dame.

Home (Louisville, KY)

Tuesday, March 10th at 3:00pm vs. Chicago State

ACC Network Extra
1450 WXVW

Wednesday, March 11th at 12:00pm vs Chicago State

ACC Network Extra
1450 WXVW

Home (Louisville, KY)

Friday, March 13th at 6:00pm vs. Notre Dame
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville or 1450 WXVW

Saturday, March 14th at 1:00pm vs. Notre Dame

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville or 1450 WXVW

Sunday, March 15th at 1:00pm vs. Notre Dame

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville

Know The Foe

Midweek

School: Chicago State University
Nickname: Cougars
Location: Chicago, IL
Total Enrollment: 2,964
Head Coach (school record): Steve Joslyn (89-301-1)
2019 Record (conference record): 2-14 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: UofL leads 4-0
Team Leaders:

Avg: Richard Paulino (.345)
RBI: Richard Paulino & Andy Gaytan (6)
HR: Richard Paulino (2)
ERA: Kyle Merkel (1.35)
Strikeouts: Rodny Valdes (16)
Wins: Rodny Valdes & Vinnie Venturi (1)

Weekend

School: University of Notre Dame
Nickname: Fighting Irish
Location: South Bend, IN
Total Enrollment: 12,607
Head Coach (school record): Link Jarrett (10-2)
2019 Record (conference record): 10-2 (3-0)
All-Time Series Record: UofL leads 32-8
Team Leaders:

Avg: Spencer Myers (.435)
RBI: Niko Kavadas (15)
HR: Niko Kavadas (6)
ERA: Three tied at 0.00
Strikeouts: Tommy Vail (24)
Wins: Tommy Sheehan (3)

Opponent Breakdown

Rankings:

Chicago State	Notre Dame	Louisville
RPI	266	32	27
SOS	174	156	54
Home Record	0-0	0-0	8-1
Away Record	0-8	8-1	3-3
Neutral Record	2-6	2-1	0-0

Hitting:

Chicago State	Notre Dame	Louisville
Base On Balls	212 (52)	49 (76)	121 (63)
Batting Average	268 (.211)	33 (.296)	12 (.317)
Hits	218 (107)	122 (128)	15 (164)
Home Runs	258 (3)	33 (15)	52 (13)
On Base Percentage	268 (.300)	20 (.410)	29 (.401)
Runs	282 (38)	49 (107)	23 (120)
Slugging Percentage	275 (.276)	27 (.470)	14 (.493)

Pitching:

Chicago State	Notre Dame	Louisville
Earned Run Average	222 (5.82)	92 (3.58)	68 (3.33)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	250 (10.49)	5 (5.67)	70 (7.48)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	294 (5.5)	62 (10.1)	2 (12.6)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	263 (1.24)	133 (2.16)	18 (3.78)
WHIP	224 (1.66)	34 (1.15)	50 (1.20)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	173 (4.47)	190 (4.67)	47 (3.33)

*Key: Rank out of 298 (Value)

Chicago State Cougars

Surprisingly, this is not the first time that the Cardinals and Cougars will have done battle on the diamond. Louisville is 4-0 against Chicago State, having played a pair of insane doubleheaders in the late 70's & early 80's where the combined run total was 63-8 in favor of the Cards. The way things are going this season for the Cougars, it could be looking like a repeat of the first four games in series history. They are just 2-14 on the season, with their lone wins coming against Dartmouth & Indiana State. Most recently, they were swept by the Auburn Tigers this past weekend, and were outscored 31-2.

The main reason for their woes so far this season is undoubtedly their hitting. Chicago State as a team is batting a measly .211/.300/.276, with only three players having collected double digit base hits (conversely, Louisville has nine). However as bad as they are at the plate, there are still a pair of hitters that could possibly break a shutout. Both junior infielder Richard Paulino & senior outfielder Andy Gaytan are the only Cougars with a batting average over .250 (min. 5 AB), over 20 total bases, have all 3 homers (2 for Paulino, 1 for Gaytan), and lead the team in hits, double, triples and RBI. Paulino is primarily a hit-for-contact guy with a team best .345 average and .422 on base percentage, while Gaytan is the power compliment with a team best 5 doubles and the team's only triple. While these two have established themselves so far this season, it is not enough to overcome the rest of the team's offensive ineptitude.

The pitching for the Cougars is only marginally better than their hitting. As a team they post a 5.82 ERA, with only senior righty Kyle Merkel having one less than 4 (1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP). As for the probable midweek starters, the Cards will probably see junior RHP Blake Kaplan on Tuesday followed by fellow junior righty Brett Gregory on Wednesday. With an ERA of 4.32, Kaplan actually has the second best ERA of all the pitchers on the staff with a start for the season. However this is only over 8.1 IP, was two of his starts resulted in him getting chased out in 2.0 innings or less. It doesn't get much better with Gregory, as his ERA of 8.40 is actually the worst on the staff among pitchers with a start on the season. The potential damage Louisville could do will be accelerated once this becomes a bullpen game, as five of their seven relievers have an ERA above 6.00, four of which are in double digits.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Before the Cards defeated Morehead State this past Tuesday for their 20th consecutive win over the Eagles, Louisville's longest active win streak over a single opponent was tied at 19 with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. That being said, there's a very real chance that this streak could be brought to an end this weekend. The Irish have started out the 2020 season hot under first year head coach Link Jarrett, posting a 10-2 record and coming off a three game road sweep over North Carolina.

So far this season, their offense is much improved than what we are used to seeing out of the Irish. As a team they are batting .296, with three players having a batting average over .330 and another three have double digit RBIs. Their leadoff men in infielders Spencer Myers & Carter Putz do a great job at getting on base, as the duo leads the team in batting average and on base percentage. Myers' batting average of .423 is 4th in the ACC, while Putz' 8 walks are 13th in the league. Not only that, but Myers is No. 1 in the nation in stolen bases with 15. Combining the on-base prowess of these two is the slugging capabilities of first baseman Niko Kavadas. While he has a batting average of just .220, his team leading 6 home runs and 15 RBI more than makes up for it. Louisville may have one of the best weekend rotations in the nation, but they will still have to be on their A-game if they want to limit the Irish damage.

Notre Dame's pitching might not be as good as their hitting, but it's still good enough to keep them competitive. Friday night starter LHP Tommy Sheehan sports a 2.70 ERA and also has a 22/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The best arm the Irish have is left handed reliever Tommy Vail, as he has team best 24/3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 2.25 ERA (min. 10.0 IP). Vail and Sheehan help contribute to a pitching staff that is ranked 5th in D1 in hits allowed. Beyond these two however, the Irish are inconsistent on the mound. Saturday & Sunday starters LHP Will Mercer & RHP Alex Rao both have an ERA around 6.00 and an opponent's batting average over .250. Outside of Vail the bullpen has an ERA of 3.02, with only Joe Boyle reaching double digit strikeouts (albeit, this comes with double digit walks). One of the keys to this series will probably be to chase the starters out and make Vail eat some innings to force the rest of the pen to step up.

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