No. 6 Cardinals Host Western Kentucky Tuesday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The sixth-ranked University of Louisville baseball team is back at home on Tuesday, as the Cardinals take on Western Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ACC Network Extra. Radio coverage of the game will be available on 93.9 The Ville.

CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT
Tuesday's game is Louisville baseball's annual Cancer Awareness Night. The team will be wearing commemorative black and pink uniforms in honor of those who have previously battled or are currently battling cancer. Donations will be taken throughout the night with all proceeds to benefit Gilda's Club Kentuckiana.

Admission is free on Tuesday night, the final free game at Jim Patterson Stadium this season. Gates open at 5 p.m. ET and the general public will be allowed in until the limited capacity has been reached.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals earned their second consecutive sweep with three wins at NC State last weekend. It marks the first time Louisville has swept back-to-back conference series since taking all three against Pitt and Notre Dame in the final two weekends of the 2018 regular season.

Louisville's offense was on track in Raleigh, putting up 27 runs on 36 hits in the three games. The Cardinals matched their season-high totals for runs (13) and hits (16) in the series opener, and tallied double-digit hits in all three contests.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Western Kentucky will meet for the 143rd time on Tuesday night. The Cardinals own a 73-69 all-time record against the Hilltoppers, including six consecutive victories. The two teams have met every season since 1990 with the exception of last season, when the two didn't meet due to the COVID cancellation of the season.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .852 winning percentage (109-19) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 87-8 (.916) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
Michael Kirian took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday night at NC State. Louisville had a pitcher reach the eighth inning without allowing a hit four times in 2019, with Reid Detmers and Bobby Miller each doing so twice.
Louisville's offense ranks among the best in the ACC this season. The Cardinals currently lead the ACC in runs and stolen bases, while ranking second in the ACC in batting average, hits, hit by pitch, on-base percentage and walks.
The Cardinals have been the best in the country on the basepaths this season with 55 stolen bases, 32 more than anyone in the ACC. Levi Usher leads the ACC and country with 18, while Henry Davis is second in the ACC with eight, Luke Brown is fourth with six and Cooper Bowman is fifth with five.

PLAYER NOTES

Henry Davis has been the most consistent hitter for the Cardinals through 19 games, picking up at least one hit in every game so far. With a hit in all three games at NC State, Davis is now tied for the second-longest hitting streak in program history at 21 games. The sophomore is currently hitting .412 and ranks second in the ACC with 28 hits and third with 23 RBIs. The catcher also ranks second in the conference with eight stolen bases after having just one through his first two seasons at Louisville.
- Longest Hitting Streaks in Louisville History
  - 25 - Tommy Barnes (3/5-4/22/1992)
  - 21 - Dave Williams Jr. (4/1-5/4/2003)
  - 21 - Henry Davis (3/8/2020-3/21/2021)
  - 20 - Nick Haley (3/7-4/9/2004)
  - 20 - Nick Solak (3/27-4/28/2015)
  - 19 - Boomer Whiting (3/7-4/6/2007)
Cooper Bowman slid into the leadoff spot for the three-game series at Georgia Tech and made an immediate impact. In 11 games in the leadoff spot, Bowman is 15-for-44 (.341) with four home runs, eight RBIs and 13 runs scored. Bowman hit a leadoff homer on March 7 at Georgia Tech was the first for the Cardinals since Corey Ray at Miami on March 18, 2016. One game later, he became the first Cardinal since Alex Binelas in 2019 to homer twice in a single game.
Christian Knapczyk has started the last 11 games at shortstop for the Cardinals and has been a sparkplug at the bottom of the UofL lineup. The freshman is 15-for-36 (.417) in his 11 starts, tallying five doubles, a triple, 10 RBIs and scoring 11 times. Knapczyk has a hit in 11 of the 13 games he's played in this season.
Levi Usher set a Louisville school record (since 2000) with five stolen bases in the win over Murray State. Usher is the national leader in stolen bases with 18, 10 more than anyone else in the ACC. Since joining the Cardinals, Usher is 29-of-30 (18-for-18 this year) on the basepaths in 35 career games.
Michael Kirian has smoothly made the transition from closer to weekend starter this season. The southpaw improved to 4-0 on the season after taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday at NC State and tallying a career-high 13 strikeouts. Since the start of the 2019 season, Kirian has a 1.17 ERA in 61.2 innings with 80 strikeouts and just 16 walks.
Glenn Albanese drew the Opening Day start this season for the Cardinals, allowing just one run in five innings against Bellarmine. After missing two weeks, he has won back-to-back starts against Boston College and NC State. Albanese has a 1.88 ERA over the last two seasons, allowing just five earned runs in 24 innings.
Kaleb Corbett has made a massive impact in his first season with the Cardinals. The right-hander has made eight relief appearances, tossing 13.1 scoreless innings with just six hits allowed and 20 strikeouts. Corbett earned the win against Eastern Kentucky and then went the final 3.1 innings in the finale versus Western Illinois for his first career save.

KIRIAN NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Following a career night on the mound at NC State, Michael Kirian was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week.

Kirian took a no-hitter into the eighth inning Friday night at NC State, finishing the evening with one run allowed on two hits with a career-best 13 strikeouts on his way to improving to 4-0 on the season.

The southpaw retired the first 11 hitters he faced before a two-out walk in the fourth inning. Kirian followed the free pass by retiring the next 10 NC State hitters.

FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Glenn Albanese

Alex Binelas

Cooper Bowman

Luke Brown

Kaleb Corbett

Henry Davis

Reid Detmers

Michael Kirian

Christian Knapczyk

Bobby Miller

Levi Usher

University of Louisville Athletics