Cardinals Host NKU, Bellarmine in Midweek

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team opens up a five-game week with midweek games against Northern Kentucky and Bellarmine Tuesday and Wednesday. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 3 p.m. ET, while Wednesday is Elementary School Day at Jim Patterson Stadium and will begin at 11 a.m. ET. Both games will be televised on ACC Network Extra. Radio coverage will be available on 970 WGTK on Tuesday and 93.9 The Ville Wednesday.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville enters the week having won eight of its last nine games, including a 3-1 record last week with a win over No. 15 TCU and taking two-of-three against Michigan. The Cardinals are currently 10-2 at Jim Patterson Stadium as part of an 18-game homestand.

SERIES HISTORY
The Cardinals own a 14-7 lead in the all-time series against Northern Kentucky. The two teams resumed playing in 2017 after having not played since 1985. Louisville defeated NKU in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with an 11-2 victory in the most recent meeting.

Louisville and Bellarmine have met 72 times previously, but the two programs had not played since 1993 before opening up the 2021 season against each other. Louisville leads the all-time series 43-29 after sweeping the Knights last season. Cameron Masterman homered in all three games against Bellarmine in 2021, while Dalton Rushing and Levi Usher also went deep.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .843 winning percentage (123-23) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 100-11 (.901) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
Louisville's offense has been scorching hot over the last 11 games. The Cardinals are averaging 11.9 runs and 12.6 hits per game over that stretch with 63 extra-base hits (26 doubles, 15 triples, 22 home runs), 60 walks, 22 HBPs and 27 stolen bases in 28 tries.
UofL starting pitching turned in its best week of the season against TCU and Michigan. Jared Poland, Tate Kuehner and Riley Phillips turned in quality starts with the trio each working six innings. The three starters combined to strike out 21 batters and allowed just nine hits (seven singles).
UofL is 9-0 this season when it tallies more hits than the opposition. During Dan McDonnell's 16 seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals are 526-60 (.898) when they record more hits.
Louisville has used 21 different pitchers this season, 19 of which have made multiple appearances on the mound.

PLAYER NOTES

Levi Usher struggled during the 2021 season and got off to a slow start in 2022, but the senior has started to heat up over the last two weeks. Usher was named the ACC Player of the Week on Monday after going 9-for-15 (.600) in four games last week with two doubles, a triple, a homer, eight RBIs and six stolen bases. Usher is 11-for-20 (.550) over the last six games and has his average up to .298. The centerfielder is now 9-of-9 in stolen bases this season, upping his career total to 46-for-49 at Louisville.
Ben Metzinger returned fully healthy in 2022 and has been one of the pillars of the Louisville lineup. The senior ranks 11th nationally with seven home runs and his 24 RBIs are 12th-best in the country. Metzinger has homered six times in the last nine games, and has 10 long balls in the last 17 games dating back to last season. His five home runs were tied for the most through 11 games of any Cardinal under Dan McDonnell (Chris Dominguez - 2009, Corey Ray - 2016). Metzinger hit a three-run walk-off homer against Morehead State, the first walk-off blast for the Cardinals since Nick Solak's home run beat Notre Dame on March 11, 2016.
Christian Knapczyk has hit in the leadoff spot in all 12 games this season after hitting ninth in 42 of his 43 starts in 2021. Knapczyk leads the Cardinals with nine multi-hit games and is tied for the national lead with 25 runs scored. The Louisville shortstop has scored at least one run in 14 of 15 games this season, including two or more in eight. Knapczyk picked up his first career home run in the second game of the Akron series, hitting a two-run shot in the fifth that sparked Louisville's 11-run frame. Knapczyk ranks fifth nationally in triples and is top 25 in hits and on-base percentage.
Jack Payton played sparingly as a freshman, appearing in 13 games with seven starts. Payton tallied just six hits and two RBIs in his first season. Through the first 15 games of 2022, Payton is hitting .392 with 20 hits, four doubles and six RBIs after recording his fourth three-hit game of the season on Sunday against Michigan. Payton is 14-for-29 (.483) over his last eight games.
Ben Bianco has already turned in a career season despite 2022 being just 15 games old. Bianco has set career highs in runs (16), hits (18), triples (3) and RBIs (19), while matching his career best with three home runs. The fifth-year senior had five hits in the finale against Dartmouth, becoming the first Cardinal with five hits in a game since Alex Binelas did so against Alabama A&M on April 26, 2019.
Logan Beard used the 2021 season as a redshirt year and has made the most of his opportunity to play in 2022. The Louisville native has started 13 of 15 games, hitting .356 with a three doubles and two homers. Beard is 10-for-24 (.417) over the last seven games, scoring nine runs and driving in 12, including a two-homer game in the series finale against Akron.
Michael Prosecky has taken over as the Louisville closer for the 2022 season after pitching in a variety of roles during his first two years. The southpaw recorded the final six outs in each of Louisville's first two victories, earning his first two career saves. Prosecky closed things down twice last week as well, earning saves against TCU and Michigan. He is currently tied for 11th nationally with four saves.

CARDINALS OFF TO FAST START AT THE PLATE
The 2022 Louisville offense has been arguably the most potent in Dan McDonnell's 16-year tenure. The Cardinals have more runs (152), triples (15), home runs (25), total bases (312) and a higher slugging percentage (.589) through 15 games than any other Louisville team under McDonnell.

Louisville currently ranks eighth nationally averaging 10.1 runs per game. The Cardinals also lead the country in triples and rank fourth in slugging percentage, seventh in batting average and ninth in runs. Louisville is also top 20 in home runs, on-base percentage and hits.

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Players Mentioned

Logan Beard

Ben Bianco

Alex Binelas

Christian Knapczyk

Tate Kuehner

Cameron Masterman

Ben Metzinger

Jack Payton

Riley Phillips

Jared Poland

Michael Prosecky

Dalton Rushing

Levi Usher

University of Louisville Athletics