No. 11 Cardinals Travel to WKU for Midweek Tilt

GAME DAY INFORMATION
#11 Louisville (16-4) at Western Kentucky (10-10)
Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Venue: Nick Denes Field
Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball
Game Notes: Louisville | WKU | Media Center
UofL Tickets: Buy Now | Patterson Stadium Guide/FAQ

Wednesday, March 21 | 5 p.m. ET | Live Stats
TV: None | Radio: 1450 WXVW/93.9 The Ville
LOU: TBD
WKU: Jr. LHP Troy Newell (0-2, 6.75 ERA)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 11th-ranked Louisville baseball team closes its four-game road stretch with a visit to Western Kentucky for a midweek game on Wednesday at 5 p.m., ET at Nick Denes Field. The game was previously scheduled for Tuesday (March 20) at Bowling Green Ballpark but was changed due to inclement weather. Radio coverage for the game will begin on 1450 WXVW before moving to 93.9 The Ville at 6 p.m.

ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
Louisville dropped its first weekend series of the season losing two of three games last week at Wake Forest. After winning their first 14 games of the season, the Cardinals have lost four of their six contests since registering the third best start to a season in school history. The nation's last unbeaten team for the second straight season, the Cardinals are ranked as highly as 11th in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll.

Sophomore Logan Wyatt has a .333 average with one homer, 16 RBIs, nine doubles and 22 walks to pace the offense. Junior infielder Devin Mann is hitting .299 with two home runs, 25 RBIs, 20 walks and 20 runs scored. Three different Cardinals have eight or more stolen bases as Josh Stowers is 11-of-13, Jake Snider is 9-for-11 and Tyler Fitzgerald is 8-of-9.

The Louisville pitching staff is led by All-American righty Sam Bordner, who has eight saves and a 1-0 record while not allowing a run in his 10.0 innings this season. Overall, the junior has a scoreless streak of 23.0 innings dating back to last season and has surrendered just two earned runs in his last 53.2 innings (0.33 ERA).    The weekend rotation is paced by junior lefthander Adam Wolf, who has a 3-0 record, 1.80 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 30.0 innings pitched while starting each of the first five series-openers for the Cardinals.

Louisville is guided by head coach Dan McDonnell, who is in his 12th season in The Ville following a record-setting campaign in 2017 when the Cardinals ranked fifth in every major national poll after advancing to the College World Series for the fourth time in school history. UofL set a school record for wins with a 53-12 mark and earned the program's third straight ACC Atlantic Division title.

ABOUT THE WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS
Western Kentucky enters the week at 10-10 overall and 1-2 in Conference USA after losing two of three games at home against Middle Tennessee last weekend. Last season, the Hilltoppers were 16-39 overall and 12th in C-USA with a 6-24 conference mark.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville owns a 70-69 advantage in the all-time series with Western Kentucky, which dates back to 1924. The Cardinals have won three straight and six of the last seven games against the Hilltoppers, including an 11-1 win last season at Jim Patterson Stadium. In the most recent visit to Bowling Green, Louisville earned a 17-0 victory against WKU on March 29, 2016 at Nick Denes Field.

TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
   • With this week's series against No. 10 Clemson, the Cardinals will have played eight of their last 12 games against ranked opponents.
   • Louisville is in the midst of a 20-game stretch where it plays 15 games against nationally ranked foes -- No. 13 North Carolina (3 games), No. 5 Texas Tech (2 games), No. 10 Clemson (3 games), No. 5 Florida State (3 games), No. 7 Kentucky (1 game) and No. 6 NC State (3 games).
   • Louisville has started 10 different defensive lineups and submitted 18 different batting orders through the first 20 games of the 2018 season.
   • UofL has started the same four infielders -- Logan Wyatt at first, Devin Mann at second, Tyler Fitzgerald at shortstop and Justin Lavey at third -- in all 20 games this season.
   • Louisville has started seven different players in the outfield through 20 games.
   • The Cardinals had a 50-0 record last season when leading after eight innings and are 14-0 this season when entering the ninth inning with a lead.
   • UofL is 7th in the nation in strikeouts per 9 IP (11.0) and 29th in hits allowed per 9 IP (7.41).
   • Offensively, the Cardinals are 3rd in the nation in sacrifice flies, 7th in triples, 9th in walks, 19th in on-base percentage, 25th in runs and 27th in scoring.
   • Louisville is ranked 18th in the nation in stolen bases in 2018 with 35 in 43 attempts after ranking 17th in 2017 (98-of-123). The Cardinals were 12th in the NCAA in 2016 with 101 stolen bases, fourth nationally with 127 stolen bases in 2015, second in the nation in 2014 with 133 and second in 2013 with 150.
   • UofL has won 27 of its 32 ACC series since joining the league and is 28-3 in its series finales during that span, including an 11-2 record in rubber games.
   • The Cardinals have won 15 of their 16 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
   • While at Louisville, coach Dan McDonnell has guided the Cardinals to four College World Series berths, seven NCAA Super Regional appearances, 10 NCAA Regional bids, eight regular season conference championships and two conference tournament titles with 34 All-Americans.

PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
   • Sam Bordner has a scoreless streak of 23.0 innings dating back to last season. His career long scoreless streak is 31.2 innings spanning the end of 2016 and much of 2017.
   • Bordner has surrendered just two earned runs in his last 53.2 innings (0.33 ERA) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
   • Bordner ranks 2nd in the nation with his eight saves in 2018.
   • Logan Wyatt leads the team with nine multi-hit performances this season while Devin Mann and Drew Campbell have seven each.
   • Mann is the team leader in career home runs (10), career doubles (25) and career RBIs (86).
   • Wyatt is ranked 7th in the nation in walks, Devin Mann is 12th nationally, Josh Stowers is 31st and Jake Snider is 45th.
   • Wyatt also ranks 21st nationally in doubles.
   • Stowers ranks 11th in the nation in stolen bases and he has 35 career stolen bases in 45 total attempts.
   • Junior catcher Pat Rumoro was named on March 6 to the initial watch list for the 2018 Johnny Bench Award, presented annually to the nation's top catcher.

CARDINALS WIN 14 STRAIGHT TO OPEN 2018 FOR THIRD BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Louisville won its first 14 games in 2018 marking the third best start in school history and the second longest season-opening winning streak in head coach Dan McDonnell's 12 years at the helm. The 2017 Cardinals set a school record by winning 19 straight games to begin the season, which culminated with the program's fourth College World Series appearance, while the 1957 Louisville baseball team finished with a 17-0 record overall.

LOUISVILLE IN NATIONAL POLLS EVERY WEEK SINCE START OF 2012
Louisville, which surpassed its previous high national ranking of No. 2 (in 2016) with the No. 1 ranking on March 13 and March 20 during the 2017 season, has enjoyed a historic run by remaining ranked in at least one major national poll every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such span in school history. Ranked in the top 25 in all six major preseason polls for 2018, the Cardinals have earned a preseason national ranking in 11 straight seasons (2008-2018) overall.

WYATT NAMED ACC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON MARCH 12
Louisville sophomore first baseman Logan Wyatt was named as the ACC Co-Player of the Week on March 12. The conference honor is the first for Wyatt, who shared the recognition with Clemson's Seth Beer. Wyatt was 7-for-12 at the plate with a home run, three doubles, one triple and eight RBIs as the Cardinals went 3-1 that week with a series win over No. 13 North Carolina. Wyatt added seven walks and scored five runs while registering a 1.250 slugging percentage and .737 on-base percentage in the four games. After opening the week with four hits and five RBIs in a win over Morehead State, the Louisville native was 2-for-3 with a pivotal three-run double and scored the game-winning run in the 5-4 series-opening victory against the Tar Heels.

FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at @UofLBaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.

2018 LOUISVILLE BASEBALL TICKETS
Season ticket packages as well as single game tickets for the 2018 University of Louisville baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online at GoCards.com/bsbtickets, by phone at 502-GO-CARDS or by visiting the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office, located near Gate 2 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (2800 South Floyd Street) on weekdays from 9 a.m., until 5 p.m., ET.

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Players Mentioned

Sam Bordner

Drew Campbell

Tyler Fitzgerald

Justin Lavey

Devin Mann

Pat Rumoro

Jake Snider

Josh Stowers

Adam Wolf

Logan Wyatt

University of Louisville Athletics