Tuesday, March 19
Richmond, KY
5:00 PM
University of Louisville
at
Eastern Kentucky
Photo by: Nick Grace
No. 4 Louisville Baseball Heads to Eastern Kentucky Tuesday
March 18, 2019 | Baseball
First pitch from Richmond, Ky. is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.
| GAME DAY INFORMATION #4 Louisville at Eastern Kentucky Location: Richmond, Ky. Venue: Earle Combs Stadium (1,000) Twitter Updates: @LouisvilleBSB Game Notes: Louisville | Eastern Kentucky Tuesday, March 19 | 5:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ESPN+ | Radio: 1450 WXVW / 680 ESPN LOU: Jr. RHP Luke Smith (1-0, 4.29 ERA) EKU: Fr. RHP Jacob Ferris (2-1, 6.06 ERA) |
ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
The Cardinals had arguably the best week of any team in the country last week, turning in five consecutive victories against ranked competition. Louisville took two from No. 7 Ole Miss at home during the midweek and went on the road and swept No. 24 Duke over the weekend.
Louisville jumped on the Blue Devils with three runs in the first inning on Friday night and never looked back in an 8-3 victory. On Saturday, Zach Britton's RBI single in the eighth inning lifted the Cardinals to a 2-1 win, and then UofL rallied from a 4-1 deficit for a 8-6 win on Sunday to cap off the three-game sweep in Durham, N.C.
Louisville had a strong offensive showing last week, scoring at least eight runs with 10 or more hits in three of the five games. Louisville has now won 11 of its last 12 games since starting the season 5-3.
The Cardinals began head coach Dan McDonnell's 13th season ranked as high as fourth in the national polls. UofL is coming off a 45-19 record in 2018, its seventh straight 40-win season and the 11th in 12 seasons under McDonnell. The Cardinals advanced to the championship round of an NCAA Regional for the seventh straight season.
ABOUT EASTERN KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky is 11-8 overall coming into Tuesday's contest. However, the Colonels were swept at Morehead State over the weekend in their first Ohio Valley Conference series of the season. EKU is giving up nearly 5.5 runs per game this year, and surrendered 29 runs in its three losses last weekend.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Eastern Kentucky will play for the 119th time on Tuesday, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series 69-48-1. UofL has won 12 in a row over the Colonels and is 17-1 against EKU under Dan McDonnell.
Louisville defeated EKU 5-1 back on Feb. 19 in its home opener at Jim Patterson Stadium. The Cardinals jumped in front with three runs in the first inning and Luke Smith and the pitching staff took care of the rest. Smith allowed just a single unearned run on two hits over six innings of work in his first start as a Cardinal. Michael Kirian, Michael McAvene and Shay Smiddy combined for three scoreless frames to close it out.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
- Louisville pitching currently leads the ACC and ranks top 15 in the country in ERA (2.66), WHIP (1.05), shutouts (4) and hits allowed per nine innings (6.30).
- Louisville's starting pitcher has pitched five innings or more with one earned run or fewer allowed in 12 games this season.
- Louisville scored in the first inning of all five victories last week. For the season, the Cardinals have plated at least one run in the first inning in 13 of 20 games and have scored first in 15.
- The Cardinals recorded double digit hits in two of the three games at Duke last weekend. Louisville has at least 10 hits in nine games this season.
- Logan Wyatt holds the national lead with 30 walks through 20 games and is currently on pace for 84 this season. Wyatt is 11 walks away from reaching UofL's top-10 career list.
- Louisville swiped a season-high nine bases on March 6 against Morehead State. It was the most since the Cardinals finished with 10 stolen bases against Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 20, 2013. UofL is currently second in the ACC and 11th in the NCAA with 43 stolen bases on the year. Louisville has finished in the top five in the country in stolen bases in four of the last six seasons.
- In the victory over Morehead State on March 6, the Cardinals set a program record with eight different players recording a stolen base.
- The Cardinals are 14-0 this season when leading after eight innings. 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.
- UofL has won 33 of its 42 ACC series since joining the league and is 34-7 in its series finales during that span, including an 11-4 record in rubber games.
- The Cardinals have won 17 of their 21 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
- Eleven different Cardinals have made their Louisville debuts this season (Binelas, Davis, Leonard, Lohman, Masterman, Metzinger, Perkins, Poland, Schmeltz, Smith and Wright). It was the collegiate debut for 10 of the 11.
- Louisville has 24 games on its schedule against teams ranked inside the top 25 in at least one of the six major preseason polls (Clemson, Connecticut, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Mississippi, NC State, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest).
- 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 37 All-Americans.
LOUISVILLE'S WEEKEND 1-2 PUNCH DOMINATING OPPOSITION
Louisville has consistently produced strong frontline arms under Dan McDonnell and pitching coach Roger Williams. The 2019 season has been no different.
The Cardinals' top two starters on the weekend, Reid Detmers and Nick Bennett, have been at the forefront of a Louisville pitching staff that leads the ACC in ERA (2.66), hits allowed per nine innings (6.30), shutouts (4) and WHIP (1.05).
Detmers are Bennett are a combined 8-0 through five starts each with the Cardinals 9-1 in games started by the duo. Of their 10 starts this season, the duo has allowed one run or fewer in eight/ Detmers ranks ninth in the country and second in the ACC with a 0.53 ERA and his 50 strikeouts are the third-most in Division I. Meanwhile, Bennett is fourth in the conference with a 1.55 ERA and is now one win away from cracking Louisville's top-10 list for career victories.
CARDINALS CONTINUE TO FIND SUCCESS IN ACC PLAY
Since joining the ACC before the 2015 season, Louisville has seen its success at the conference level spill over into its new league. The Cardinals won regular season titles in each of their first three seasons in the ACC and were voted the preseason favorite in 2019.
With its three-game sweep at Duke over the weekend, Louisville has now won 33 of 42 conference series since joining the league. The Cardinals have now tallied nine conference road sweeps over the last four-plus seasons and 18 sweeps in ACC play altogether.
Louisville is currently tied with NC State atop the Atlantic Division with a 5-1 start through two weekends of conference action.
LOUISVILLE FRESHMEN HAVE BIG WEEK AT THE PLATE
On a roster that returned seven of its position starters from the 2018 season, Louisville had three freshmen with memorable moments at the dish last week.
Alex Binelas was the first of three to hit his first collegiate home run, doing so in the third inning against Ole Miss on Wednesday. The two-run shot was part of a 2-for-4 showing with four RBIs for the Oak Creek, Wis. native.
Henry Davis, who has split time behind the plate this season, launched his first collegiate home run with a towering shot in the seventh inning of Friday's win at Duke. He then added a second long ball in Sunday's game, when he was 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Two batters after Davis hit his second homer of the weekend, Jared Poland got in on the act with a two-run blast that tied the game at four as the Cardinals rallied back for the victory.
DETMERS EARNS BACK-TO-BACK ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Sophomore lefthander Reid Detmers was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week in consecutive weeks after dominant starts against Brown and James Madison.
Detmers tossed seven no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts against Brown. The southpaw retired the first 16 batters he faced before issuing a walk with one out in the sixth inning. Detmers then retired the next five hitters to finish off his outing.
He then followed it up with seven more hitless innings against James Madison before allowing the only hit of the game to lead off the eighth. Detmers finished his eight innings with a career-high 14 strikeouts.
Through five starts, Detmers has allowed just two runs over 33.2 innings with 50 strikeouts and an opponents' batting average of .124.
LOUISVILLE TABBED AS PRESEASON ACC FAVORITE
The Louisville baseball team was voted as the 2019 ACC preseason favorite by the league's 14 head coaches. The Cardinals were selected as the favorite in both the Atlantic Division and the conference.
Louisville received seven first place votes in the Atlantic Division and tallied 90 points to narrowly edge out Florida State, which picked up six votes for the top spot and 86 points. Clemson was third with 71 points followed by NC State (53), Wake Forest (49), Notre Dame (24) and Boston College (19).
North Carolina was a near unanimous selection to win the Coastal Division, as 13 coaches voted the Tar Heels in the top spot. Virginia received the other first place tally and is tied with Duke for the second position with 64 points. Miami (61), Georgia Tech (59), Pitt (24) and Virginia Tech (23) round out the rest of the division.
BENNETT AND WYATT RECEIVE 2019 PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITION
A pair of Louisville players were named preseason All-Americans in 2019 by various organizations. Junior first baseman Logan Wyatt garnered preseason All-America honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game. Additionally, junior lefthanded pitcher Nick Bennett was a preseason All-America selection by the NCBWA and Perfect Game.
A Louisville native, Wyatt earned Third Team All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball newspaper and was an All-ACC First Team honoree as a sophomore last season after hitting .339 with six home runs, 69 RBIs, 22 doubles, 63 walks, 51 runs scored, .559 slugging percentage and .490 on-base percentage. He closed 2018 ranked third in the NCAA in walks, 15th in on-base percentage, 17th in RBIs and 18th in doubles. Wyatt was also named to the 2018 NCAA All-Lubbock Regional Team after finishing 6-for-16 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in four NCAA Regional games.
Bennett, a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, closed his sophomore season with an 8-2 record, 2.84 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 73.0 innings pitched, including 11 starts. He was an All-ACC Second Team honoree and was an All-ACC Academic Team selection in 2018. During his first collegiate season in 2017, Bennett earned Freshman All-America honors and was an All-ACC Third Team selection while accumulating a 5-1 record, 3.18 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 65.0 innings pitched and 15 total appearances, including 13 starts.
WYATT NAMED TO USA BASEBALL GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior first baseman Logan Wyatt was named to the preseason watch list for the 2019 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. The list features 55 of the nation's top amateur players across high school and college baseball.
Wyatt is the 11th Cardinal to appear on the preseason watch list since 2009, including Brendan McKay who won the Golden Spikes Award in 2017.
An All-American in 2018, Wyatt has garnered preseason All-America honors in 2019 from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game. The Louisville native was an All-ACC First Team honoree as a sophomore last season after hitting .339 with six home runs, 69 RBIs, 22 doubles, 63 walks, 51 runs scored, .559 slugging percentage and .490 on-base percentage. Wyatt was also named to the 2018 NCAA All-Lubbock Regional Team after finishing 6-for-16 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in four NCAA Regional games.
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 2019, the Cardinals have earned a preseason national ranking in 11 straight seasons (2008-2018) overall. Louisville entered the 2019 season ranked fourth in the D1Baseball rankings, eighth in the Perfect Game and USA Today polls, ninth in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and NCBWA rankings and 11th by Baseball America.
LOUISVILLE LEADS COUNTRY IN WINS SINCE 2007
Dan McDonnell took the reins of the Louisville baseball program in 2007. Louisville entered 2019 with the most wins of any Division I program from 2007-18 with 554.
| Most Wins Since 2007 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. Louisville | 570 | |
| 2. Florida State | 566 | |
| LSU | 566 | |
| 4. North Carolina | 565 | |
| 5. Vanderbilt | 552 | |
FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won more than 77 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 381-109 record (.778 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 six seasons.
LOUISVILLE 2018 RECRUITING CLASS AMONG BEST IN COUNTRY
The University of Louisville baseball program received its highest recruiting ranking in program history after D1Baseball tabbed the 2018 class at No. 3 in the nation. Louisville's 2018 class was also ranked fourth nationally by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
The 2018 class ranking marked the ninth time in the last 11 years Louisville has earned a top 25 national recruiting ranking under the guidance of head coach Dan McDonnell. The Cardinals had the top class in the ACC according to D1Baseball and was among five ACC programs in the top 25 classes – No. 6 Florida State, No. 8 Miami, No. 12 Clemson and No. 17 Virginia.
BENNETT, FITZGERALD, PINKHAM, WYATT NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
Lefthanded pitcher Nick Bennett, infielder Tyler Fitzgerald, catcher Zeke Pinkham and first baseman Logan Wyatt have been selected by University of Louisville players and coaches as team captains for the Cardinals baseball team in 2019.
Bennett, a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, closed his sophomore season with an 8-2 record, 2.84 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 73.0 innings pitched, including 11 starts. He was an All-ACC Second Team honoree and was an All-ACC Academic Team selection in 2018. During his first collegiate season in 2017, Bennett earned Freshman All-America honors and was an All-ACC Third Team selection while accumulating a 5-1 record, 3.18 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 65.0 innings pitched and 15 total appearances, including 13 starts.
A junior from Rochester, Illinois, Fitzgerald had a .264 batting average with three home runs, 17 doubles, 24 RBIs, 57 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 24 attempts while playing in all 64 games in 2018, including 63 starts. Fitzgerald was named to the 2018 All-ACC Academic Team.
Hailing from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Pinkham has made 58 appearances with 26 starts behind the plate during his three seasons with the Cardinals. After missing the 41 games of 2018 recovering from off-season injury, Pinkham closed his junior season with 17 appearances and 11 starts.
A Louisville native, Wyatt earned Third Team All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball newspaper and was an All-ACC First Team honoree as a sophomore after hitting .339 with six home runs, 69 RBIs, 22 doubles, 63 walks, 51 runs scored, .559 slugging percentage and .490 on-base percentage. He closed the 2018 season ranked third in the NCAA in walks, 15th in on-base percentage, 17th in RBIs and 18th in doubles. Wyatt was also named to the 2018 NCAA All-Lubbock Regional Team after finishing 6-for-16 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in four NCAA Regional games.
ALL LOUISVILLE BASEBALL GAMES SLATED FOR RADIO COVERAGE
Each of Louisville's 56 regular season games as well as all postseason games can be heard on radio locally in Louisville and online via TuneIn.com.
Sean Moth will once again be on the call of Louisville baseball games this spring, while 93.9 The Ville will serve as the flagship station for the fifth consecutive season. Selected games during the regular season will be broadcast on 1450 WXVW.
ESPN Louisville, the group behind local stations ESPN 680 and 105.7 FM, launched 93.9 The Ville, powered by ESPN, on Jan. 29, 2015. The station provides coverage of the Cardinals through an official partnership with Louisville Sports Properties, which represents UofL athletics.
LOUISVILLE TO PLAY 52 GAMES ON ESPN NETWORKS
Louisville's 2019 television schedule features 52 of 56 regular season games set for ESPN platforms. The 52 regular season games scheduled for television coverage matches the 2018 season for most in program history.
The television schedule is headlined by a pair of games slated for ESPNU. The Cardinals will host Vanderbilt on May 7 in the annual Battle of the Barrel and will later appear on ESPNU May 14 at Indiana.
Forty-eight of the 52 games will be televised exclusively on ACC Network Extra, available on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. The Cardinals will also appear on SEC Network+ on the road at Kentucky on April 16 and on ESPN+ at Eastern Kentucky March 19.
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