7th Inning Stretch: Conference Play Begins (Week 5)

After passing their first real test of the season, now the season starts really ramping up for the Louisville baseball program.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's safe to say that that the Louisville baseball program passed their first real test of the season.

The easy part of the non-conference slate was out of the way, and the Cardinals were tasked with facing No. 15 TCU and Michigan last week. They still went 3-1 on the week, holding off the Horned Frogs long enough to escape with a big midweek victory, then capturing the series against the Wolverines, 2-1.

Once again, offense was the star of the show. Even against two top tier Power Five programs, the bats were still red hot. In fact, the Cardinals has more runs, triples, home runs, total bases and a higher slugging percentage through 15 games than any other Louisville team under head coach Dan McDonnell.

Over on the mound, things are beginning to take form. After some early shuffling, the starting rotation seems to be trending towards Tate Kuehner, Riley Phillips and Jared Poland, with the trio combining for a 1.88 ERA. The only remaining issue seems to be finding a consistant arm out of the bullpen other than Michael Prosecky.

Now things really start to get serious. Louisville not only has a long week in store, but they are kicking off conference play against arguably the best team in the league. Things are looking up after a rough first two weeks, but it won't get any easier from here on out.

Last Week's Recaps:

• Game 12: Louisville Holds Off TCU in Midweek Showdown
• Game 13: Louisville Claims Series Opener vs. Michigan
• Game 14, 15: Louisville Spilts Doubleheader vs. Michigan to Clinch Series

News & Notes

• Louisville remains unranked in the top 25 of all of the six major collegiate baseball polls.
• Levi Usher was named the ACC Player of the Week after going 9-for-15 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, eight RBIs and six stolen bases.
• Christian Knapczyk ranks first in the nation in runs with 25, and is 25th in on base percentage at .554.
• Ben Metzinger ranks 11th in the nation in home runs with 7, and 12th nationally in RBIs with 24. 
• Ben Bianco, Usher and Knapczyk are all tied for fifth nationally in triples with three.
• Michael Prosecky is 11th in the nation in saves with four.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

• Tuesday, Mar. 15 at 3:00pm vs. Northern Kentucky
• ACC Network Extra
• 970 AM
• Wednesday, Mar. 16 at 11:00am vs. Bellarmine
  • ACC Network Extra
  • 970 AM
• Friday, Mar. 18 at 7:00pm vs. Notre Dame
  • ACC Network
  • 970 AM
• Saturday, Mar. 19 at 1:00pm vs. Notre Dame
  • ACC Network Extra
  • 93.9 The Ville
• Sunday, Mar. 20 at 1:00pm vs. Notre Dame
• ACC Network Extra
• 93.9 The Ville

Know The Foe

Midweek

School: Northern Kentucky University
Nickname: Norse
Location: Highland Heights, Ky.
Total Enrollment: 11,507
Head Coach (school record): Dizzy Peyton (5-9)
2022 Record (conference record): 5-9 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 3-0

Top Performers (Hitters):

• INF Manny Vorhees (14 GP, 14 GS): .375/.485/.661, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 7 2B, 9 BB, 9 SB
• C Michael Hall (11 GP, 6 GS): .414/.452/.655, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 3B, 2 BB
• OF Brennan Gick (13 GP, 11 GS): .286/.432/.657, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2B, 7 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

• RHP Tyler Ollier (4 APP, 0 GS): 1.93 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4 K, 3 BB, .250 B/AVG
• RHP Bryson Lonsbury (5 APP, 0 GS): 3.07 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3 K, 5 BB, .226 B/AVG
• LHP Noah Richardson (4 APP, 0 GS): 3.52 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 11 K, 4 BB, .214 B/AVG

Midweek

School: Bellarmine University
Nickname: Knights
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Total Enrollment: 2,484
Head Coach (school record): Larry Owens (203-196)
2022 Record (conference record): 2-14 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads modern series 3-0

Top Performers (Hitters):

• OF Matt Higgins (16 GP, 16 GS): .303/.413/.591, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 7 2B, 10 BB, 6 SB
• INF Clayton Mehlbauer (16 GP, 16 GS): .300/.370/.557, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 8 BB
• OF Jacob Mulcahy (16 GP, 16 GS): .304/.338/.337, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B

Top Performers (Pitchers)

• RHP Casey Sorg (5 APP, 1 GS): 1.59 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 11 K, 11 BB, .162 B/AVG
• LHP Nick Parrish (4 APP, 0 GS): 0.00 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 3 K, 2 BB, .133 B/AVG
• LHP Gavin Braunecker (4 APP, 3 GS): 4.22 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 17 K, 8 BB, .268 B/AVG

Weekend

School: University of Notre Dame
Nickname: Fighting Irish
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Total Enrollment: 8,874
Head Coach (school record): Link Jarrett (56-17)
2022 Record (conference record): 11-1 (2-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 33-7

Top Performers (Hitters):

• INF Carter Putz (12 GP, 12 GS): .372/.431/.628, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 1 2B, 2 3B, 6 BB
• OF TJ Williams (10 GP, 7 GS): .353/.389/.588, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2B, 2 3B, BB
• OF Brooks Coetzee (12 GP, 12 GS): .348/.380/.674, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 3 2B

Top Performers (Pitchers)

• RHP Austin Temple (4 APP, 3 GS): 1.71 ERA, 27 K, 5 BB, .136 B/AVG
• LHP John Bertrand (4 APP, 4 GS): 1.80 ERA, 28 K, 3 BB, .218 B/AVG
• RHP Ryan McLinskey (4 APP, 0 GS): 0.00 ERA, 20 K, 3 BB, .143 B/AVG

Opponent Breakdown

Rankings:

	NKU	Bellarmine	Notre Dame	Louisville
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	6th	NR
RPI	117th	200th	8th	53rd
SOS	77th	60th	91st	97th
Home Record	2-0	1-0	0-0	10-2
Away Record	3-9	1-11	5-0	0-1
Neutral Record	0-0	0-2	6-1	1-1

Hitting

	NKU	Bellarmine	Notre Dame	Louisville
Base on Balls	163rd (58)	70	245th (42)	82nd (71)
Batting Average	108th (.276)	.255	47th (.299)	7th (.330)
Hits	110th (136)	144	141st (131)	17th (175)
Home Runs	62nd (17)	10	113th (12)	11th (25)
On Base Percentage	146th (.366)	.349	123rd (.373)	15th (.430)
Runs	137th (88)	76	55th (112)	9th (152)
Slugging Percentage	72nd (.457)	.366	61st (.468)	4th (.589)

Pitching

	NKU	Bellarmine	Notre Dame	Louisville
Earned Run Average	271st (9.00)	6.92	2nd (1.71)	126th (4.87)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	259th (11.62)	9.74	1st (5.63)	95th (8.46)
Strikeouts/9 Innings	280th (6.4)	6.78	13th (11.5)	54th (10.3)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	282nd (1.05)	1.11	7th (4.27)	99th (2.41)
WHIP	263rd (1.97)	1.76	1st (0.92)	99th (1.41)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	260th (6.08)	6.11	8th (2.69)	133rd (4.26)

(Photo of Louisville Players: Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)

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