Cardinals Host Miami in Final Regular Season Series

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 18-ranked University of Louisville baseball wraps up the regular season with three games against Miami starting Thursday at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch on Thursday and Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, while the Saturday regular season finale will begin at noon ET. All three games will be televised on the ACC Network with radio coverage on 93.9 The Ville.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals tallied an 8-6 victory over USC Upstate on Tuesday night. Luke Brown recorded his second consecutive four-hit night at the plate to lead a 12-hit offensive attack. Cooper Bowman and Lucas Dunn each hit home runs, their eighth and fifth of the season, respectively.

Louisville enters the final series of the regular season in fourth place in the ACC Atlantic Division and the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament as it currently stands. The Cardinals can finish as high as second in the Atlantic and the No. 3 seed in next week's tournament.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Miami have 13 previous meetings heading into the three-game series. The Cardinals own an 8-5 edge all-time with a 5-2 record against the Hurricanes in Louisville. UofL took two out of three from Miami at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2019 in the last meeting between the two programs.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville owns 127 conference wins since joining the ACC in 2015, the most conference wins during that time of any Power Five school.
UofL has won 45 of its 61 ACC series (one series ended 1-1) since joining the league and is 47-12 in its series finales during that span, including a 17-6 record in rubber games.
The Cardinals have won 23 of their 29 ACC series (one ended 1-1) at home since debuting in the conference.
Louisville's offense ranks among the best in the ACC this season. The Cardinals currently lead the ACC in on-base percentage and stolen bases, while sitting second in the league in runs per game, batting average and triples. UofL ranks third in hits per game and RBIs.
The Cardinals' offense has registered double digit hits in 23 games this season (nine or more in 28 games), and tallied at least one home run in 35 of 45 games. Louisville is 24-4 this season when it outhits the opposition.
Louisville stole its 100th base during the second game of the series at North Carolina. The Cardinals have stolen at least 100 bases in seven of the past eight full seasons and were on pace for 119 during the 2020 regular season. The one year it didn't reach 100 since 2013, UofL finished with 98 in 2017.
The Cardinals have been the one of the best in the country on the basepaths this season with 104 stolen bases, 48 more than anyone in the ACC. Levi Usher leads the ACC and is seventh in the country with 26, while Luke Brown is second in the ACC with 17 and Cooper Bowman is third with 16.

PLAYER NOTES

Luke Brown has quietly been a hitting machine for the Cardinals in 2021. The junior outfielder leads the team with 22 multi-hit games, including 10 in the last 17 contests. Over the last 17 games, Brown has a .418 (28-for-67) batting average with seven doubles. Brown has registered back-to-back four-hit games against North Carolina and USC Upstate, the first four-hit games of his Louisville career. He enters the weekend series with hits in seven consecutive plate appearances.
Alex Binelas got off to a slow start but has returned to being a major run producer in the middle of the Louisville order. Over his last 29 games, Binelas is hitting .310 (35-for-113) with three doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 45 RBIs. He registered his third career multi-homer game against Florida State, including his first career grand slam, and later homered in all three games of the series at Virginia. Binelas also recorded two triples against Western Kentucky, becoming the first Louisville player with two triples in a game since Ty Young did so against Notre Dame on March 28, 2013.
Henry Davis has been the most consistent hitter for the Cardinals this season. Davis saw his 23-game hitting streak come to an end in the second game at Notre Dame, and then followed it with a 16-game hit streak. The sophomore leads the ACC in on-base percentage. He also ranks top 10 in batting average, hits, home runs, walks, runs, RBIs, total bases, hit by pitches, and slugging percentage. Davis also has 10 stolen bases after having just one through his first two seasons at Louisville.
Levi Usher busted out of a long extra-base hit slump during the Duke series. Usher tallied a triple and home run in the third game of the season against Bellarmine. He did not register another extra-base hit until he hit a two-run home run in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader with the Blue Devils. Usher then homered again in the nightcap of the double dip. The sophomore set a Louisville school record (since 2000) with five stolen bases in the win over Murray State. Usher is seventh nationally in stolen bases with 26, 10 more than anyone else in the ACC. Since joining the Cardinals, Usher is 37-of-40 (26-for-28 this year) on the basepaths in 60 career games.
Tate Kuehner has been one of the most valuable and versatile pieces out of the Louisville bullpen this season. The southpaw has elevated his performance over the last month, allowing just three runs in 18.1 innings across seven appearances. Over those seven trips to the mound, Kuehner has a 3-1 record with a 1.47 ERA, 22 strikeouts and opponents are hitting just .175 against him.
Luke Seed opened the season as the midweek starter for the Cardinals, but moved into the weekend rotation during the NC State series and has been there ever since. Despite not having a decision on the year, Seed currently leads all qualified ACC pitchers with a 2.66 ERA. The left-hander has allowed one earned run or less in eight of his 11 starts this season.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Binelas

Cooper Bowman

Luke Brown

Henry Davis

Lucas Dunn

Tate Kuehner

Luke Seed

Levi Usher

University of Louisville Athletics