Let's put that midweek loss behind us. Let's go Cards.
Finally some press. I was getting worried.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The fifth-ranked University of Louisville baseball team starts a seven-game homestand with three against Wake Forest beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. Saturday's game is set for 1 p.m. ET and the series wraps up Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. The first two games of the weekend can be seen on ACC Network Extra with Sunday's game scheduled to air on ESPN2. Radio coverage of all three games will be available on 93.9 The Ville.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals suffered their second straight walk-off loss on Tuesday, losing 13-12 at Cincinnati in 10 innings. Trey Leonard had a career-night at the plate going 4-for-6 with two doubles and a home run with three RBIs in the loss.
The Louisville offense stayed hot on Tuesday, scoring 12 runs on 15 hits. Over the last seven games, the Cardinals are averaging 8.9 runs and 11.9 hits, with 31 extra-base hits during that stretch.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Wake Forest have 20 previous meetings heading into the weekend. The Cardinals are 16-4 all-time including an 8-1 mark in Louisville. UofL took two-of-three against the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem last season.
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
BINELAS EARNS D1BASEBALL NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Alex Binelas got off to a slow start in 2021, but his bat caught fire in the middle of March. Binelas was named the D1Baseball National Player of the Week for March 22-28 after going 7-for-10 (.700) with two triples, two home runs and 10 RBIs in three games against Western Kentucky and Notre Dame.
Binelas opened the week with a 4-for-4 showing against WKU with five RBIs, becoming the first Louisville player with two triples in the same game since Ty Young during the 2013 season. He then homered in both games at Notre Dame, including a game-tying shot in the ninth inning of the Saturday game.
Finally some press. I was getting worried.
Links
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The fifth-ranked University of Louisville baseball team starts a seven-game homestand with three against Wake Forest beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. Saturday's game is set for 1 p.m. ET and the series wraps up Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. The first two games of the weekend can be seen on ACC Network Extra with Sunday's game scheduled to air on ESPN2. Radio coverage of all three games will be available on 93.9 The Ville.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals suffered their second straight walk-off loss on Tuesday, losing 13-12 at Cincinnati in 10 innings. Trey Leonard had a career-night at the plate going 4-for-6 with two doubles and a home run with three RBIs in the loss.
The Louisville offense stayed hot on Tuesday, scoring 12 runs on 15 hits. Over the last seven games, the Cardinals are averaging 8.9 runs and 11.9 hits, with 31 extra-base hits during that stretch.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Wake Forest have 20 previous meetings heading into the weekend. The Cardinals are 16-4 all-time including an 8-1 mark in Louisville. UofL took two-of-three against the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem last season.
TEAM NOTES
- Louisville owns 119 conference wins since joining the ACC in 2015, the most conference wins during that time of any Power Five school.
- UofL has won 41 of its 55 ACC series (two series ended 1-1) since joining the league and is 44-9 in its series finales during that span, including a 14-6 record in rubber games.
- The Cardinals have won 20 of their 26 ACC series (one ended 1-1) at home since debuting in the conference.
- Louisville's offense ranks among the best in the ACC this season. The Cardinals currently lead the ACC in runs, hits, triples, total bases, on-base percentage, RBIs and stolen bases, while ranking second in batting average and slugging percentage, and third in walks, hit by pitches and home runs.
- The Cardinals have been the one of the best in the country on the basepaths this season with 66 stolen bases, 38 more than anyone in the ACC. Levi Usher leads the ACC and country with 19, while Cooper Bowman is third with 10, Luke Brown fourth with nine, and Henry Davis fifth with eight.
PLAYER NOTES
- Henry Davis has been the most consistent hitter for the Cardinals this season. Davis saw his 23-game hitting streak come to an end in the second game at Notre Dame, the first game he didn't record a hit this season. The sophomore is tied for first in the ACC in RBIs while ranking third in hits and on-base percentage, and fifth in batting average, total bases and stolen bases. Davis also has eight stolen bases after having just one through his first two seasons at Louisville.
- Alex Binelas has seen his bat start to heat up over the last two weeks. The sophomore has caught fire over the last four games going 9-for-18 (.500) with two triples, three home runs, seven runs scored and 12 RBIs. Binelas recorded two triples against Western Kentucky, becoming the first Louisville player with two triples in a game since Ty Young did so against Notre Dame on March 28, 2013.
- Trey Leonard is having the best season of his Louisville career in 2021. The junior enters the weekend leading the team with a .400 batting average after a career-night on Tuesday at Cincinnati. Leonard was 4-for-6 with three RBIs against the Bearcats, hitting a go-ahead home run in the sixth, a game-tying double in the eighth and adding another double in the 10th. Leonard set career-highs in hits, doubles and RBIs
- Cooper Bowman slid into the leadoff spot for the three-game series at Georgia Tech and made an immediate impact. In 15 games in the leadoff spot, Bowman is 21-for-61 (.344) with six home runs, 11 RBIs and 19 runs scored. Bowman hit a leadoff homer on March 7 at Georgia Tech was the first for the Cardinals since Corey Ray at Miami on March 18, 2016. One game later, he became the first Cardinal since Alex Binelas in 2019 to homer twice in a single game.
- Christian Knapczyk has started the last 15 games at shortstop for the Cardinals and has been a sparkplug at the bottom of the UofL lineup. The freshman is 19-for-53 (.359) in his 15 starts, tallying five doubles, two triples, 13 RBIs and scoring 14 times. Knapczyk has a hit in 15 of the 17 games he's played in this season.
- Levi Usher set a Louisville school record (since 2000) with five stolen bases in the win over Murray State. Usher is the national leader in stolen bases with 19, eight more than anyone else in the ACC. Since joining the Cardinals, Usher is 30-of-33 (19-for-21 this year) on the basepaths in 39 career games.
- Michael Kirian has smoothly made the transition from closer to weekend starter this season. The southpaw improved to 4-0 on the season after taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday at NC State and tallying a career-high 13 strikeouts. Since the start of the 2019 season, Kirian has a 1.49 ERA in 66.1 innings with 82 strikeouts and just 22 walks.
- Kaleb Corbett has made a massive impact in his first season with the Cardinals. The right-hander has made 11 relief appearances, finishing eight games with four saves. Corbett started his collegiate career with 17.1 scoreless innings before stumbling in the 10th inning at Cincinnati.
BINELAS EARNS D1BASEBALL NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Alex Binelas got off to a slow start in 2021, but his bat caught fire in the middle of March. Binelas was named the D1Baseball National Player of the Week for March 22-28 after going 7-for-10 (.700) with two triples, two home runs and 10 RBIs in three games against Western Kentucky and Notre Dame.
Binelas opened the week with a 4-for-4 showing against WKU with five RBIs, becoming the first Louisville player with two triples in the same game since Ty Young during the 2013 season. He then homered in both games at Notre Dame, including a game-tying shot in the ninth inning of the Saturday game.
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