Friday, March 23
LOUISVILLE, KY
6:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
CLEMSON
Sophomore Shay Smiddy has a 2-0 record and a 2.04 ERA this season.
Photo by: Jermaine Bibb | Louisville Athletics
No. 11 Baseball Hosts No. 10 Clemson for Weekend Series
March 22, 2018 | Baseball
Cardinals and Tigers set for Friday at 6 p.m., ET, Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
| GAME DAY INFORMATION #11 Louisville (17-4, 3-3) vs. #10 Clemson (16-5, 3-3) Location: Louisville, Kentucky Venue: Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000) Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball Game Notes: Louisville | Clemson | Media Center UofL Tickets: Buy Now | Patterson Stadium Guide/FAQ Friday, March 23 | 6 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ACC Network Extra | Radio: 93.9 The Ville LOU: Jr. LHP Adam Wolf (3-0, 1.80 ERA) CLE: So. LHP Jacob Hennessy (1-1, 2.54 ERA) Saturday, March 24 | 1 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ACC Network Extra | Radio: 93.9 The Ville LOU: So. RHP Shay Smiddy (2-0, 2.04 ERA) CLE: Jr. RHP Brooks Crawford (1-1, 2.86 ERA) Sunday, March 25 | 1 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ACC Network Extra | Radio: 93.9 The Ville LOU: So. LHP Nick Bennett (1-0, 3.60 ERA) CLE: So. LHP Jake Higginbotham (3-0, 3.29 ERA) |
ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
Louisville rebounded from its first series loss of the season last weekend at Wake Forest by earning an 8-5 win at WKU on Wednesday night. After winning their first 14 games of the season, the Cardinals have lost four of seven contests since registering the third best start to a season in school history. The nation's last unbeaten team for the second straight year, the Cardinals are ranked as high as 11th in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll.
Sophomore Logan Wyatt has a .333 average with one homer, 17 RBIs, 10 doubles and 24 walks to pace the offense. Junior infielder Devin Mann is hitting .310 with two home runs, 27 RBIs, 20 walks and 20 runs scored. Three different Cardinals have 10 or more stolen bases as Jake Snider is 12-for-14, Josh Stowers is 11-of-13 and Tyler Fitzgerald is 10-for-11.
The pitching staff is led by All-American righty Sam Bordner, who has eight saves, a 1-0 record and a 0.82 ERA in 11.0 innings this season. The junior has allowed just three earned runs in his last 54.2 innings (0.49 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 while starting each of the first five series-openers for the Cardinals. Sophomore righty Shay Smiddy will make his third weekend start while sophomore lefty Nick Bennett is set to make his first start of the season.
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 CLEMSON TIGERS
Clemson enters the weekend at 16-5 overall following a midweek loss at Coastal Carolina and 3-3 in the ACC after being swept last week by NC State. Guided by third year head coach Monte Lee, the Tigers were 42-21 last season and finished third in the ACC Atlantic with a 17-13 mark. Clemson hosted an NCAA Regional falling in the championship round to Vanderbilt.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville trails 9-8 in the all-time series with Clemson, which dates back to 1970. After losing the first six games from 1970-72, the Cardinals have won eight of 11 between the teams since joining the ACC. Louisville earned a series sweep last season at Doug Kingsmore Stadium while clinching their third straight ACC Atlantic title in the finale. The Cardinals are 3-0 at home against the Tigers having earned the series sweep in 2016.
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 11 different defensive lineups and submitted 19 different batting orders through the first 21 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 21 games this season.
• Louisville has started seven different players in the outfield through 21 games.
• The Cardinals had a 50-0 record last season when leading after eight innings and are 15-0 this season when entering the ninth inning with a lead.
• UofL is 8th in the nation in strikeouts per 9 IP (10.6).
• Offensively, the Cardinals are 6th in the nation in sacrifice flies, 8th in walks, 10th in triples, 17th in on-base percentage, 22nd in runs, 26th in scoring and 30th in doubles.
• Louisville is ranked 11th in the nation in stolen bases in 2018 with 41 in 49 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 had his scoreless streak halted at 23.1 innings at WKU on March 21. His career long scoreless streak is 31.2 innings spanning the end of 2016 and much of 2017.
• Bordner has surrendered just three earned runs in his last 54.2 innings (0.49 ERA) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
• Bordner ranks 4th in the nation with his eight saves in 2018.
• Logan Wyatt leads the team with 9 multi-hit performances this season while Devin Mann has 8 multi-hit games in 2018.
• Mann is the team leader in career home runs (10), career doubles (26) and career RBIs (88).
• Wyatt is ranked 5th in the nation in walks, Devin Mann is 16th nationally, Jake Snider is 29th and Josh Stowers is 39th.
• Wyatt also ranks 10th nationally in doubles.
• Snider is ranked 11th in the NCAA in stolen bases, while Stowers is 17th in the nation and 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.
FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won more than 78 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 358-99 record (.783 winning percentage), including an impressive 33-4 mark during the 2017 season at the corner of Third and Central. Louisville set a school record for home wins with 36 in 2016 and the Cardinals have registered 30 or more wins at home in four of the last five seasons.
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.
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
3B
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
1B
/ BaseballBSB: 2025 Louisville Baseball Super Regional Recap
Wednesday, June 11
BSB: 2025 Louisville Baseball Regional Recap
Friday, June 06
BSB: Lucas Moore Postgame vs. Vanderbilt
Wednesday, May 07
BSB: Dan McDonnell Postgame vs. Vanderbilt
Wednesday, May 07
