7th Inning Stretch: Finding Consistency (Week 6)
(Photo of Michael Kirian: Steven Branscombe - USA TODAY Sports)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After dropping their first Atlantic Coast Conference series of the season down at Georgia Tech, the Louisville baseball program has flipped a switch in conference play, winning six in a row to sweep both Boston College and NC State.
During their midweek games? It's the little bit of a different story. The Cardinals have dropped two of their last three midweek contests, winning against Murray State but losing to Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky. For the season, Louisville is 12-3 during weekend series, and 2-2 during midweeks.
That being said, the Cardinals are still operating at a high level, especially at the plate. Catcher Henry Davis is still hitting at a Golden Spikes level, outfielder Cam Masterman and infielder Cooper Bowman are still maintaining breakout years, shortstop Christian Knapczyk has remained on fire since becoming a starter, and third baseman Alex Binelas is starting to turn a corner.
Pitching is still up and down at times as the starting rotation is still in flux, but it has still delivered. Left-hander Michael Kirian has made a phenomenal transition to starter, left-hander Luke Seed has broken into a weekend role, and right-hander Glenn Albanese has not skipped a beat since returning from COVID. In the bullpen, Kaleb Corbett continues to be on fire, as he has still not surrendered an earned run.
If Louisville can start to address some of their midweek woes, get some other bats going as well as some regular starters on the mound, this will be a much more consistent and complete team.
Last Week's Recaps:
- Game 16: Louisville Drops Rematch at Eastern Kentucky
- Game 17: Louisville Dominates NC State in Series Opener
- Game 18: Louisville Clinches Road Series at NC State
- Game 19: Louisville Rallies Past NC State to Complete Sweep
News & Notes
- Louisville is ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation among the six major collegiate baseball polls (Perfect Game).
- Louisville is first in the nation in stolen bases (55) and fifth in stolen bases per game (2.89).
- Outfielder Levi Usher is first in the nation in stolen bases with eighteen.
- Catcher Henry Davis is 19th in the nation in RBI (23) and 28th in hits (28).
- Left-handed pitcher Michael Kirian was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week after taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning and tossing a career-best 13 strikeouts vs. NC State on Friday.
The Week Ahead
Coming up this week, the Cardinals open up at home, then head back on the road. They will start with a midweek game vs. Western Kentucky, then a three-game weekend series at Notre Dame.
- Tuesday, Mar. 23 at 6:00pm at Western Kentucky
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville
- Friday, Mar. 26 at 4:00pm at Notre Dame
- ACC Network Extra
- Radio TBA
- Saturday, Mar. 27 at 2:00pm at Notre Dame
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville
- Sunday, Mar. 28 at 1:00pm at Notre Dame
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville
Know The Foe
Midweek
School: Western Kentucky University
Nickname: Hilltoppers
Location: Bowling Green, Ky.
Total Enrollment: 18,171
Head Coach (school record): John Pawlowski (107-144-1)
2021 Record (conference record): 10-9 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 72-69
Team Leaders:
- Avg: Matthew Meyer (.449)
- RBI: Ray Zuberer III (23)
- HR: Ray Zuberer III (3)
- ERA: Collin Lollar (1.00)
- Strikeouts: Jake Kates (41)
- Wins: Mason Vinyard (3)
Weekend
School: University of Notre Dame
Nickname: Fighting Irish
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Total Enrollment: 12,681
Head Coach (school record): Link Jarrett (20-5)
2021 Record (conference record): 9-3 (9-3)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 32-8
Team Leaders:
- Avg: Jared Miller (.380)
- RBI: Niko Kavadas (21)
- HR: Niko Kavada (7)
- ERA: Joe Sheridan (0.00)
- Strikeouts: John Bertrand (22)
- Wins: Two Tied (3)
Opponent Breakdown
Rankings & Records:
| Western Kentucky | Notre Dame | Louisville | |
|---|---|---|---|
Highest Poll Rankings | NR | 15th | 7th |
RPI | 161st | 14th | 38th |
SOS | 146th | 66th | 107th |
Home Record | 9-5 | 9-3 | 10-2 |
Away Record | 1-4 | 2-1 | 4-3 |
Neutral Record | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Hitting:
| Western Kentucky | Notre Dame | Louisville | |
|---|---|---|---|
Base on Balls | 69th (80) | 189th (51) | 42nd (89) |
Batting Average | 112th (.266) | 139th (.258) | 35th (.290) |
Hits | 50th (169) | 195th (110) | 19th (188) |
Home Runs | 157th (9) | 75th (16) | 35th (21) |
On Base Percenatage | 109th (.369) | 171st (.350) | 51st (.387) |
Runs | 82nd (107) | 159th (78) | 26th (136) |
Slugging Percentage | 131st (.393) | 81st (.427) | 46th (.452) |
Pitching:
| Western Kentucky | Notre Dame | Louisville | |
|---|---|---|---|
Earned Run Average | 162nd (5.17) | 68th (3.85) | 46th (3.54) |
Hits Allowed/9 Innings | 220th (10.22) | 34th (7.36) | 70th (7.82) |
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings | 83rd (9.7) | 175th (8.7) | 57th (10.1) |
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio | 46th (2.89) | 142nd (2.00) | 133rd (2.09) |
WHIP | 157th (1.51) | 63rd (1.30) | 108th (1.40) |
Walks Allowed/9 Innings | 48th (3.36) | 126th (4.34) | 176th (4.82) |
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers:
While they had a bit of a rough start to the season, Western Kentucky is actually heading into their midweek game with a little bit of momentum. They have won six of their last eight games, including a series win over Valparaiso and a four-game sweep over Bowling Green. On the year, they also have a series win at Cincinnati and came within one run of downing Kentucky, but did get rocked at Vanderbilt.
The Hilltoppers have a very top-heavy batting order, powered by infielder Matthew Meyer and outfielders Jackson Gray & Ray Zuberer III. Meyer leads Western Kentucky in all three slash line categories (.449/.548/.714), Gray leads in both hits (24) and walks (14), and Zuberer is their primarily RBI and base stealing threat with 23 and 7, respectively. Outside of that trio, the rest of the Hilltoppers are batting a combined .222.
WKU's pitching staff collectively is great in one regard and poor in another. While they do a good job at not allowing free passes via walks, they also surrender base hits at a high clip. Louisville should expect to see left-hander Devyn Terbrak as the midweek starter, who is three appearances and 13.2 innings pitched, has struck out 13 batters but also surrendered 16 hits and 6 earned runs. They don't have a particularly strong bullpen, as their three go-to relief arms in right-handers Mason Vinyard, Bailey Sutton and Collin Lollar have combined for an ERA of 3.15.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish:
Notre Dame is continuing their incredibly hot start under second year head coach Link Jarrett. They've won every one of their four series played so far this year, winning against Duke and at Clemson & Wake Forest, while earning a sweep at Virginia.
Much like Western Kentucky, Notre Dame also has a front-loaded batting lineup, except they have been more battle-tested. The Irish sport one of the ACC's best power hitters in first baseman Niko Kavadas, as he leads the conference slugging percentage (.837) and is top five in both home runs (7) and RBI (21). Not to outdone, infielders Jared Miller & Carter Putz and outfielder Ryan Cole are all batting over .350, with Miller and Putz joining Kavadas in having an OPS over 1. However, everyone else for Notre Dame is batting a combined .205.
As far as their starting pitching goes, it has been anything but consistent, as left-hander John Bertrand is the only pitcher to start every weekend, sporting a 3.38 ERA in four starts and 26.2 innings, with 22 strikeouts to 9 walks. Their bullpen is a different story, as they have a pair of lights-out relievers in left-hander Joe Sheridan and right-hander Alex Rao. The duo has just one earned run between them and 20 strikeouts to 7 walks in 26.1 relief innings. Right-handers Christian Scafidi and Liam Simon are also solid options out of the pen.
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