Friday, June 1
Lubbock, Texas
7:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
Kent State
The Cardinals practiced at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock on Thursday.
No. 21 Baseball Faces Kent State on Friday in NCAA Regional Opener
May 30, 2018 | Baseball
First pitch for Cardinals and Golden Flashes set for 7 p.m., ET in Lubbock, Texas
| 2018 NCAA REGIONAL Location: Lubbock, Texas Venue: Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park (Click Here for Info on Lubbock Regional Tailgate on June 1-2) Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball TV: WatchESPN.com | Radio: 93.9 The Ville Live Stats/NCAA Bracket: NCAA.com Game Notes: Louisville | Media Center Practice Day Videos: Practice Highlights Press Conference Highlights | Full Press Conference Friday, June 1 G1: No. 1 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 New Mexico State - 2 p.m. G2: No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 3 Kent State - 7 p.m. Saturday, June 2 G3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 3 p.m. G4: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 8 p.m. Sunday, June 3 G5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser - 3 p.m. G6: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 7 p.m. Monday, June 4 (if necessary) G7: Game 6 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner - 7 p.m. - All times are Eastern Daylight Savings |
PRACTICE DAY IN LUBBOCK FOR THE CARDINALS
Louisville conducted an 85-minute practice session at Rip Griffin Park on Thursday in preparation for the 2018 NCAA Regional in Lubbock. Following the practice, the Cardinals met with the media while later in the day, coach Dan McDonnell participated in a press conference with the head coaches for each of the four teams in the Lubbock Regional.
ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
Louisville is making its 11th NCAA postseason appearance in the last 12 seasons and the program's 12th NCAA appearance overall. The Cardinals take to the road for an NCAA Regional for the first time since finishing 2-2 and falling in the title game to host Arizona in the 2012 Tucson Regional. Having hosted an NCAA Regional in each of the last five seasons, Louisville enters the Lubbock Regional on a 15-game winning streak in NCAA Regional contests. The Cardinals have advanced to an NCAA Super Regional in each of the last five seasons, the nation's longest active streak.
The Louisville baseball team enters the 2018 NCAA Championship having won 23 of the last 29 games overall, including a trio of wins at last week's ACC Championship in Durham, North Carolina. The Cardinals had their six-game winning streak halted with Sunday's 11-8 loss in 10 innings to No. 7 Florida State in the ACC Championship title game. The nation's last unbeaten team for the second straight year after winning 14 straight games to open the 2018 season, Louisville is ranked in each of the six major national polls this week, including No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll and the Perfect Game Top 25.
All-ACC First Team selections Josh Stowers and Logan Wyatt pace Louisville's offense. Stowers enters the NCAA Regional eighth in the nation in both stolen bases (33-of-40) and runs scored (66) while hitting .341 with nine home runs, 13 doubles and 59 RBIs. He has reached base safely in a career best 43 straight games. Wyatt is fifth in the NCAA in walks (59) and 12th in doubles (22) while hitting .336 with four home runs and 59 RBIs.
The pitching staff is led by All-ACC Second Team honorees Adam Wolf and Nick Bennett and All-ACC Third Team selection Bobby Miller. Wolf has a 7-2 record, 2.26 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 95.2 innings and 15 starts. Bennett has an 8-1 mark, 2.20 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 69.2 innings, including 10 starts. Miller has a 5-1 record and 2.45 ERA in 58.2 innings this season, including eight starts.
NCAA REGIONAL SNAPSHOT FOR THE CARDINALS
Louisville has a 37-25 record all-time in its 11 previous NCAA Championship appearances, including a 26-10 mark in NCAA Regional games. The Cardinals are 6-7 in NCAA Regional games away from home. Louisville has advanced to a Super Regional once in its four NCAA Regional appearances on the road -- 2007 when the Cardinals defeated Missouri to win the Columbia Regional.
SERIES HISTORY AND NOTES
• Louisville holds a 16-12 edge in the all-time series with Kent State, which dates to 1996. The Cardinals have won seven of the last eight against the Golden Flashes, including a 5-0 victory in the opening game of the 2014 NCAA Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium. That is the only previous meeting between the programs in the postseason.
• The Cardinals and Texas Tech split their only two previous meetings, which came earlier this season on March 13-14 at Jim Patterson Stadium. The Red Raiders opened the midweek series with an 8-4 victory before Louisville bounced back for a 7-4 win in the finale.
• Louisville is 4-1 all-time against New Mexico State, including a 3-2 victory in the first round of the 2012 Tucson Regional in the most recent meeting between the programs. Prior to that game, the Cardinals and Aggies played four games from 1972 to 1975.
• The Lubbock Regional marks the first visit to the state of Texas for Louisville since 2014 when they earned a three-game sweep at Houston on April 11-13. That was a regular season conference series for the Cardinals during their only year in the American Athletic Conference.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• UofL enters the NCAA Championship final having won 23 of its last 29 games. The Cardinals were also 12-3 in the second half of the ACC schedule.
• In Louisville's six losses since April 10, two have been in extra innings, three have been one-run losses and the other was a two-run defeat.
• From March 9 to April 8, the Cardinals played 15 of 19 games against ranked opponents, including 12 against top 10 foes. Overall, UofL has an 9-11 record against ranked foes this season.
• Louisville has started 20 different defensive lineups and submitted 43 different batting orders through its 60 games this season.
• Seven pitchers have made weekend series starts this season but the Cardinals used the same trio in the final seven weeks of the regular season -- Adam Wolf, Nick Bennett and Bobby Miller.
• Five different Louisville pitchers have earned saves this season, including three in the series sweep at Pittsburgh (Shay Smiddy, Michael McAvene and Adam Elliott) on May 11-13.
• The Cardinals are 37-4 this season when entering the ninth inning with a lead. From 2012-17, Louisville accumulated a six-year record of 266-3 when entering the ninth with a lead, including a 50-0 mark in 2017.
• On the mound, Louisville is 3rd in the nation in hits allowed per 9 IP (7.19), 14th in strikeouts per 9 IP (9.7) and 14th in ERA (3.26). UofL leads the ACC in ERA and hits allowed per 9 IP.
• Louisville is ranked 5th in the nation and No. 1 in the ACC in stolen bases in 2018 with 116 in 138 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.
• Offensively, the Cardinals are 13th in the NCAA in walks (307), 17th in doubles (120), 19th in sacrifice flies (32) and 19th in on-base percentage (.397). Louisville leads the ACC in doubles.
• UofL has won 31 of its 40 ACC series since joining the league and is 33-6 in its series finales during that span, including an 11-4 record in rubber games.
• The Cardinals have won 16 of their 20 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
• From March 16 through April 8, UofL suffered four straight series losses for the first time since 2004 when they had seven straight series losses.
• While at Louisville, coach Dan McDonnell has guided the Cardinals to four College World Series berths, seven NCAA Super Regional appearances, 11 NCAA Regional bids, eight regular season conference championships and two conference tournament titles with 34 All-Americans.
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
• Josh Stowers has reached base safely in a career best 43 straight games matching the longest streak for a Louisville player since 2000 equaling Phil Wunderlich's 43 straight in 2009.
• An All-ACC First Team selection, Stowers is 8th in the nation with his 33 stolen bases in 40 attempts, which is also the 7th highest total in school history. Overall, Stowers has 57 career stolen bases in 72 attempts, placing him eighth all-time at Louisville. (Complete list on page 10)
• In the 32 games since moving to the 5th spot in the Cardinals lineup, Stowers has a .416 average (47-for-113), 41 RBIs, 41 runs, 21 walks (.521 OB%) and is 20-for-25 on stolen bases.
• Logan Wyatt is 5th in the nation in walks (59), 12th in doubles (22) and 16th in on-base percentage (.487).
• An All-ACC First Team honoree, Wyatt leads the ACC in walks, doubles and on-base percentage.
• Devin Mann is Louisville's active career leader in games played (163), games started (143), doubles (36), RBIs (110), runs scored (127) and walks (100).
• Over his last 19 games, Mann has a .367 batting average (29-of-79) with 4 home runs, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 19 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
• An All-ACC Third Team selection, Mann is 8th in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC with his 53 walks this season. He is also 10th nationally and second in the ACC in sac flies with 8.
• In his last 19 games, Jake Snider has a .370 batting average (27-of-73) with 5 doubles and 20 runs scored.
• An All-ACC Third Team honoree, Danny Oriente is tied for 2nd on the team with 13 multi-RBI games this season.
• Drew Campbell has a .346 average (18-for-52) in his last 19 games.
• Tyler Fitzgerald is 3rd on the team with 19 multi-hit games, including 4 3-hit games.
• An All-ACC Second Team honoree, Adam Wolf has 15 starts this season, including all 14 series-openers, and the junior has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 13 of those outings.
• Wolf is ranked No. 3 in the ACC in ERA and No. 3 in WHIP (1.03).
• In his 10 starts this season, All-ACC Second Team standout Nick Bennett has a 6-1 record, 1.99 ERA (13 earned runs) with 54 strikeouts in 58.2 innings.
• Bennett is ranked No. 1 in the ACC in ERA (2.20) and No. 2 in WHIP (1.02).
• In his 8 starts this season, Bobby Miller has a 2.89 ERA (14 ER) with 34 strikeouts in 43.2 innings. Miller was an All-ACC Third Team honoree and an ACC All-Freshman Team member.
• In his 18 relief appearances in 2018, Shay Smiddy has a 4-0 record, 1.23 ERA (4 ER), 38 strikeouts and just 9 walks in 29.1 innings.
• Bryan Hoeing has a 1.23 ERA, 5-1 record and 32 strikeouts in 44.0 innings and 18 relief outings this season.
• Austin Conway has 22 career saves -- 20 at Indiana State and 2 for the Cardinals in 2018.
• Despite not pitching since April 17 due to elbow inflammation, Sam Bordner ranks No. 3 in the ACC with his 10 saves in 2018, just one behind the league leaders.
• 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.
LOUISVILLE FINDS OFFENSIVE STRIDE IN MONTH OF MAY
Louisville found its happy place at the plate in May as the Cardinals had a .332 team batting average while going 14-3 overall in the month. As a group, Louisville's hitters were 200-for-603 at the plate with 17 home runs, 37 doubles and a .419 on-base percentage. The Cardinals averaged 7.9 runs per game in the month and they have scored five or more runs in 13 straight games. Josh Stowers led the way as the junior was 31-for-66 (.470) at the plate with six home runs, seven doubles, 31 RBIs and a .556 on-base percentage in May. Devin Mann was 28-for-73 (.384) with four home runs, eight doubles and 18 RBIs in the month.
CARDINALS PITCHING STAFF REGISTERS 2.78 ERA IN LAST 29 GAMES
Having won 23 of its last 29 games, the Louisville pitching staff has been a big part of that success registering a 2.78 ERA (81 ER in 262.0 IP) during that stretch. The Cardinals have piled up 257 strikeouts in the last 29 games while opposing batters have a .211 average (205-for-970). Louisville has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 15 of the last 29 games. Junior righthander Bryan Hoeing has a 0.62 ERA (2 ER in 29.0 IP) with 20 strikeouts in 12 total appearances over the last 29 games, while sophomore righty Shay Smiddy has a 1.02 ERA (2 ER in 17.2 IP) and 21 strikeouts in his 12 appearances in that span.
STOWERS, WYATT LEAD EIGHT ALL-ACC HONORS FOR THE CARDINALS
Louisville received eight ACC individual honors in 2018, highlighted by All-ACC First Team selections for outfielder Josh Stowers and first baseman Logan Wyatt. The announcement marked the first career All-ACC honors for both Stowers and Wyatt. They were joined by All-ACC Second Team starting pitchers Nick Bennett and Adam Wolf as well as All-ACC Third Team honorees Devin Mann (second baseman), Bobby Miller (starting pitcher) and Danny Oriente (designated hitter/utility player). Miller also received ACC All-Freshman Team recognition.
Louisville has earned seven or more All-ACC honorees in each of its four seasons in the league. The Cardinals have also placed at least one player on the All-Freshman Team all four seasons. Overall, UofL has accumulated 30 All-ACC selections, five ACC All-Freshman Team honorees and seven ACC major awards in the last four years.
LOUISVILLE ADVANCES TO FIRST ACC CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE GAME
The Louisville baseball team made its first ever appearance in the title game of the ACC Championship falling 11-8 in 10 innings to Florida State. It marked the first postseason conference championship title game appearance for the Cardinals since falling to Houston (10-4) in the 2014 American Conference championship in Clearwater, Fla. Louisville last won a postseason
conference title in 2009 when they claimed the second of back-to-back Big East titles with an 11-3 win over UConn in Clearwater.
CARDINALS REGISTER SEVENTH STRAIGHT 40-WIN SEASON
With its victory against Notre Dame on May 19, Louisville clinched its seventh consecutive 40-win season, including the sixth straight 40-win regular season. UofL is the only program in the nation to win 40 or more regular season games in each of the last six seasons. The Cardinals have won at least 40 games in 11 of head coach Dan McDonnell's 12 seasons at the helm. Louisville had never registered a 40-win season prior to winning 47 games in McDonnell's first season as the head coach in 2007.
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM CONTINUES FOR LOUISVILLE
While the Louisville baseball program continued its run of success on the diamond with its seventh straight NCAA Championship berth on Monday, the Cardinals also extended their impressive streak in the classroom in the spring registering a 3.26 cumulative GPA, the 14th consecutive semester with a team GPA of 3.0 or better.
A total of 27 members of the Louisville baseball team closed the 2018 spring semester with a 3.0 GPA or better. The current stretch of academic success for the Cardinals dates back to the fall semester in 2011. The span of 14 straight semesters with a team GPA of 3.0 of better coincides with unparalleled success on the field for Louisville, which has three College World Series appearances, five NCAA Super Regional berths, seven NCAA Regional bids and six conference championships during those seven seasons.
Last week, the Cardinals baseball program was among 10 UofL athletic teams to post perfect scores in the most recent single-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released by the NCAA. The 10 UofL sports with a perfect 1,000 single-year APR score for the most recent 2016-17 figures were baseball, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, men's tennis and women's tennis, women's track and volleyball. Six additional Cardinal sports teams had a 2016-17 APR at 970 or above.
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. Louisville is ranked in all six major polls entering the 2018 NCAA Championship, including No. 21 in both the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll and Perfect Game Top 25.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at @UofLBaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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