Cardinals Wrap Up Homestand Tuesday Against Lipscomb

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team finishes up its 18-game homestand with a midweek contest against Lipscomb on Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and will be televised on ACC Network Extra. Radio coverage will be available on 970 WGTK.

GAME PROMOTION
Tuesday is Bark at the Park Night at Jim Patterson Stadium. All dogs are invited to join their humans at the ballpark and take in the game from the outfield berm. Admission is free on Tuesday for all fans and pups.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville is coming off a three-game sweep of No. 1 Notre Dame, outslugging the Irish for a 16-11 win on Friday before late offense propelled the Cardinals to 8-1 and 7-5 victories on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. UofL is currently 15-2 on its extended homestand.

The Cardinals have won six straight and 13 of their last 14, their best stretch in nearly three years. The last time comparable stretch for Louisville came from April 7-May 5, 2019 when the Cardinals won 16 of 17 games.

SERIES HISTORY
Despite being less than 200 miles apart, the only previous meetings between Louisville and Lipscomb came in a doubleheader in Nashville in 1977. The Bisons won a pair of seven-inning games that day.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .845 winning percentage (125-23) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 102-11 (.903) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
After getting off to a slow start through four games, Louisville's offense has been scorching hot over the last 16 contests. The Cardinals are averaging 11.6 runs and 12.1 hits per game over that stretch with 84 extra-base hits (39 doubles, 15 triples, 30 home runs), 100 walks, 28 HBPs and 39 stolen bases.
Louisville opened ACC play with a sweep of No. 1 Notre Dame. The Cardinals scored 31 runs on the weekend against a Notre Dame pitching staff that had allowed just 29 runs through its first 13 games.
UofL's offense has been explosive so far this season, plating four or more runs in an inning 16 times through 20 games. The Cardinals had just 19 such innings in 50 games in 2021.
UofL is 14-0 this season when it tallies more hits than the opposition. During Dan McDonnell's 16 seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals are 531-60 (.898) when they record more hits.

PLAYER NOTES

Christian Knapczyk has hit in the leadoff spot every game this season after hitting ninth in 42 of his 43 starts in 2021. Knapczyk leads the Cardinals with 11 multi-hit games and leads the country with 35 runs scored. The Louisville shortstop has scored at least one run in 18 of 20 games this season, including two or more in 12. Knapczyk picked up his first career home run in the second game of the Akron series and hit a leadoff homer against Northern Kentucky. Knapczyk ranks seventh nationally in triples and eighth in 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 20 games in 2022, Payton is hitting .423 with 30 hits, eight doubles and 10 RBIs. Payton is on a career-long seven-game hitting streak and is 15-for-27 (.556) over that span. The sophomore ranks top 10 in the ACC in doubles (fourth), batting average (sixth) and hits (eighth).
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 all but two games, hitting .387 with four doubles, two homers and 22 RBIs. Beard is 18-for-41 (.439) over the last 12 games, scoring 15 runs and driving in 17, including a two-homer game in the series finale against Akron.
Ben Metzinger returned fully healthy in 2022 and has been one of the pillars of the Louisville lineup. The senior ranks eighth nationally with nine home runs and his 29 RBIs are 16th-best in the country. Metzinger leads the ACC in walks and is sixth or better in homers, RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage. 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.
Levi Usher struggled during the 2021 season and got off to a slow start in 2022, but the senior has been heating up over the last three weeks. Usher was named the ACC Player of the Week after going 9-for-15 (.600) in four games against TCU and Michigan with two doubles, a triple, a homer, eight RBIs and six stolen bases. Usher is 15-for-39 (.385) over the last 11 games and is now 11-of-11 in stolen bases this season, upping his career total to 48-for-51 at Louisville.
Ben Bianco has already turned in a career season this spring setting career highs in runs (17), hits (20), triples (3), home runs (4) and RBIs (25). 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.
Jared Poland started his time at Louisville as a two-way player, playing second base and pitching out of the bullpen. Poland took on a pitcher-only role in 2021 and has now worked into a starting pitcher. The right-hander was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week after tossing seven scoreless innings against No. 1 Notre Dame, striking out a career best 10. Poland is working on a 14.1 inning scoreless streak and is the only qualified ACC pitcher with a sub-1.00 ERA at 0.90.
Riley Phillips pitched just 4.2 innings as a freshman with a 15.43 ERA, but has taken on a much larger role during his sophomore campaign. The southpaw has moved into a weekend starter role and enters the weekend 2-0 with a 2.52 ERA and a team-high 27 strikeouts. Phillips has turned in quality starts each of his last two trips to the mound with one run over six innings against Michigan and two earned in six innings versus Notre Dame.
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 has continued his strong work out of the bullpen, closing down three of Louisville's last four games and has not allowed a run in his last nine innings. The junior leads the ACC and is fourth nationally with six saves.

CARDINALS FEATURE ONE OF NATION'S TOP OFFENSES
The 2022 Louisville offense has been arguably the most potent in Dan McDonnell's 16-year tenure. The Cardinals have more runs (206), triples (15), home runs (33), total bases (404) and a higher on-base percentage (.440) and slugging percentage (.580) through 20 games than any other Louisville team under McDonnell.

Louisville currently ranks seventh nationally averaging 10.3 runs per game. The Cardinals also lead the country in triples and rank fifth in slugging percentage, sixth in batting average, sixth in runs, sixth in hits and eighth in on-base percentage. Louisville is also top 15 in home runs and stolen bases.

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Players Mentioned

Logan Beard

Ben Bianco

Alex Binelas

Christian Knapczyk

Ben Metzinger

Jack Payton

Riley Phillips

Jared Poland

Michael Prosecky

Levi Usher

University of Louisville Athletics