7th Inning Stretch: Baseball is Back! (Week 1)

College baseball is finally back, and Louisville is set to open up the 2023 season with a lengthy home stand.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following another long offseason, college baseball has finally returned to the Ville! The Louisville baseball program begins their 2023 season this weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium.

After missing out on the NCAA Tournament in 2021, the Cardinals returned to their typical form in 2022. Not only did they get back to the Big Dance, but they hosted and won their regional before falling to Texas A&M in the College Station Super Regional. 

Related: Louisville Baseball 2023 Season Preview

Despite losing their fair share of talent to the MLB Draft, transfer portal and graduation, Louisville still boasts an incredibly deep and talented squad heading into 2023. The prospect of reaching the College World Series is very attainable for the Cards.

All that being said, it's time to dive into another season of college baseball, and take a look at Louisville's first week of the 2022 college baseball season:

News & Notes

• Out of the six major college baseball preseason polls, Louisville ranks as high as the No. 5 team in the nation, courtesy of Baseball America.
• Two Cardinals have been tabbed as preseason All-Americans. Catcher Jack Payton was named a Second-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newpaper and a Third-Team All-American by Baseball America, while shortstop Christian Knapczyk was named to the Second-Team by D1 Baseball.
• Louisville was picked as the favorite to win the Atlantic Division, as well as the co-favorite with Wake Forest to win the ACC.
• Senior left-handed pitcher Tate Kuehner, junior second baseman Logan Beard, junior right fielder Isaac Humphrey and Payton were selected by the players and coaches to be the captains for the 2023 season.
• Head coach Dan McDonnell enters his 17th season with the program, compiling a 688-285-1 record during his tenure as the Louisville skipper - the second-most wins of any team in the country since his hiring in 2007.

The Week Ahead

Home (Louisville, Ky.)

• Friday, Feb. 17 at 3:00pm vs. Bucknell
  • ACC Network Extra
  • 970 WGTK
• Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1:00pm vs. Bucknell
  • ACC Network Extra
  • 970 WGTK
• Sunday, Feb 19 at 1:00pm vs. Bucknell
• ACC Network Extra
• 970 WGTK

Know The Foe

Weekend

School: Bucknell University
Nickname: Bison
Location: Lewisburg, Penn.
Total Enrollment: 3,757
Head Coach (school record): Scott Heather (178-257-1)
2022 Record (conference record): 22-26 (14-11)
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

Top Performers (Hitters, 2022):

• OF Chris Cannizzaro (41 GP, 41 GS): .329/.396/.524, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 13 2B, 16 BB
• OF Grant Voytovich (48 GP, 48 GS): .320/.384/.418, 2 HR, 37 RBI, 13 2B, 15 BB
• OF Jacob Corson (45 GP, 45 GS): .325/.439/.448, 2 HR, 32 RBI, 12 2B, 27 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers, 2022)

• RHP Will Greer (13 APP, 13 GS): 4.39 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 82.0 IP, 50 K, 25 BB, .252 B/AVG
• RHP Tyler O'Neill (14 APP, 5 GS): 3.81 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 54.1 IP, 40 K, 25 BB, .259 B/AVG
• RHP Austin Odell (12 APP, 12 GS): 3.82 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 73.0 IP, 45 K, 27 BB, .254 B/AVG

Opponent Breakdown

Rankings:

	Bucknell	Louisville
Highest Poll Ranking	NR	5th
RPI	N/A	N/A
SOS	N/A	N/A
Home Record	0-0	0-0
Away Record	0-0	0-0
Neutral Record	0-0	0-0

Hitting (2022):

	Bucknell	Louisville
Base on Balls	199th (212)	8th (342)
Batting Average	107th (.284)	13th (.309)
Hits	229th (462)	5th (709)
Home Runs	285th (19)	26th (95)
On Base Percentage	113th (.381)	11th (.416)
Runs	217th (297)	6th (551)
Slugging Percentage	230th (.390)	18th (.512)

Pitching (2022):

	Bucknell	Louisville
Earned Run Average	176th (5.99)	108th (5.21)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	177th (10.13)	78th (9.01)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	289th (6.3)	24th (10.1)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	261st (1.36)	88th (2.17)
WHIP	186th (1.64)	108th (1.52)
Walk Allowed/9 Innings	170th (4.59)	177th (4.66)

Ever since Scott Heather took Bucknell to the NCAA Tournament in just his second year at the helm, the Bison haven't moved the needle much. Although they came close to doing so last season, Bucknell hasn't posted a winning season since 2015. To be fair, they were able to get to the Patriot League championship game, and narrowly fell to Army, 8-7, for a postseason berth. They were also picked second in this year's Patriot League preseason poll.

The Bisons lost a key component of their offense after outfielder Chris Cannizzaro graduated, but another name to keep an eye out for is Grant Voytovich. After batting .320 with two homers, 13 doubles and 37 RBI, the junior outfielder was named to the preseason All-Patriot League team. However, as a whole, Bucknell doesn't have a super threatening offense. While they can put the ball in play at times, it more often than not won't go far.

Over on the mound, Bucknell also has a preseason All-Patriot League pitcher in Will Greer. Last season, the senior lefty posted a 4.39 ERA with a team-best 50 strikeouts to 25 walks. But outside of sophomore right-handed reliever Tyler O'Neill, who had a team best ERA of 3.81 in 14 appearances, the Bison pitching staff poses less of a threat than their hitting does. They gave up a fair amount of runs last year, and were one of the worst staffs in D1 when it came to striking out batters.

(Photo of Alex Galvan: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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