Tuesday, April 12
Louisville, Ky.
6:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
Cincinnati
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
Louisville Hosts Cincinnati Tuesday for Cancer Awareness Night
April 11, 2022 | Baseball
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team closes out a quick homestand with a midweek contest Tuesday against Cincinnati. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra and can be heard on 93.9 The Ville.
PROMOTIONS
Tuesday night is the Louisville baseball program's annual Cancer Awareness Night. The Cardinals will wear special black and pink jerseys and money raised throughout the night will go to support Home Runs for Hope, a fundraiser with all the proceeds benefiting Gilda's Club Kentuckiana.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville turned in a dramatic weekend with walk-off victories on Saturday and Sunday to clinch the series against No. 20 North Carolina. Ben Metzinger launched his second walk-off home run of the season in the 10th inning for the win on Saturday, while the Cardinals erased a four-run deficit in the ninth on Sunday before Isaac Humphrey walked it off with a bases loaded single in the 14th.
The Cardinals have shown a great ability to come from behind this season, having trailed in 12 of their 23 victories. Louisville has already picked up four wins in which it was behind in the final three innings, most recently rallying back from down four in the ninth on Sunday.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Cincinnati meet for the 184th time on Tuesday. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 101-82 and have won 14 of the last 16 between the two. Louisville in 24-6 all-time against Cincinnati under Dan McDonnell. The Bearcats won a wild affair in last year's meeting, defeating the Cards 13-12 in 10 innings.
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
KNAPCZYK, METZINGER PROVIDING LETHAL 1-2 COMBINATION
The Louisville offense has beat opponents in a variety of ways in 2022, but the combination of Christian Knapczyk and Ben Metzinger at the top of the Cardinals' lineup has been at the center of it all. Both players were named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List for their performances through the first half of the season.
Knapczyk is hitting .349 and has been an on-base machine in the leadoff spot, ranking seventh in the ACC with a .484 on-base percentage. The shortstop has scored 46 runs through 31 games, the second-most in the country.
Metzinger has taken advantage of having his fellow infielder on base in front of him, hitting .344 with a team-best 41 RBIs that ranks top 20 nationally. The senior has 13 home runs on the season, nine of which have come with Knapczyk on base.
The duo has scored 83 runs and been active on the basepaths as well, combining for 22 stolen bases on the season in just 25 attempts.
LOUISVILLE SHOWING OFF RARE COMBO OF SPEED AND POWER
Louisville's offense has showed off its versatility this season, beating teams with power at the plate and speed on the basepaths.
The Cardinals have tallied 62 stolen bases and 54 home runs through the first half of the season, making them the only team in the country to rank in the top 20 nationally in both categories.
All nine of Louisville's regular starters have at least two home runs, while eight of the nine have a stolen base.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
PROMOTIONS
Tuesday night is the Louisville baseball program's annual Cancer Awareness Night. The Cardinals will wear special black and pink jerseys and money raised throughout the night will go to support Home Runs for Hope, a fundraiser with all the proceeds benefiting Gilda's Club Kentuckiana.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville turned in a dramatic weekend with walk-off victories on Saturday and Sunday to clinch the series against No. 20 North Carolina. Ben Metzinger launched his second walk-off home run of the season in the 10th inning for the win on Saturday, while the Cardinals erased a four-run deficit in the ninth on Sunday before Isaac Humphrey walked it off with a bases loaded single in the 14th.
The Cardinals have shown a great ability to come from behind this season, having trailed in 12 of their 23 victories. Louisville has already picked up four wins in which it was behind in the final three innings, most recently rallying back from down four in the ninth on Sunday.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Cincinnati meet for the 184th time on Tuesday. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 101-82 and have won 14 of the last 16 between the two. Louisville in 24-6 all-time against Cincinnati under Dan McDonnell. The Bearcats won a wild affair in last year's meeting, defeating the Cards 13-12 in 10 innings.
TEAM NOTES
- Louisville has an .840 winning percentage (126-24) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 102-12 (.895) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
- UofL's offense has been explosive so far this season, plating four or more runs in an inning 28 times through 31 games, surpassing its total of 19 in 50 games in 2021.
- Louisville has scored 10 runs or more 12 times this season and registered at least 10 hits in 20 games, including nine of its last 10 entering Tuesday.
- UofL is 20-1 this season when it tallies more hits than the opposition. During Dan McDonnell's 16 seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals are 537-61 (.898) when they record more hits.
- Louisville had lost 26 consecutive games when trailing after eight innings before Ben Metzinger hit a three-run walk-off home run against Morehead State on March 1 that turned a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 victory. It was the Cardinals' first victory when trailing after eight innings since walking off Mississippi State in the College World Series on June 20, 2019. The Cardinals then did it again on April 10 against North Carolina, trailing 5-1 entering the ninth before scoring four times and eventually winning 6-5 in 14 innings.
PLAYER NOTES
- 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. He is currently tied for the team lead with 15 multi-hit games on the season, including seven with three hits. Payton enters Tuesday's game on a career-best nine-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in 17 of the last 18 games. The sophomore ranks top 10 in the ACC in doubles (4th), hits (6th) and batting average (8th).
- Ben Metzinger returned fully healthy in 2022 and has been one of the pillars of the Louisville lineup. The senior ranks eighth nationally with 13 home runs and his 41 RBIs are 17th-best in the country. Metzinger is top 10 in the ACC in home runs (3rd), walks (3rd), RBIs (4th), total bases (4th), slugging percentage (7th) and runs (10th). He earned ACC Player of the Week honors after tallying four straight multi-hit games against Lipscomb and Boston College. Metzinger owns walk-off home runs against Morehead State and North Carolina this season, the first walk-off blasts for the Cardinals since Nick Solak's home run beat Notre Dame on March 11, 2016.
- Cameron Masterman has solidified his spot in the middle of Louisville's lineup with a strong start to the 2021 season. Masterman has already set career highs in runs (31), hits (43), doubles (9), homers (10) and RBIs (36). The fifth-year senior has tallied multiple hits in 10 of the last 17 games, with six home runs and 22 RBIs over that stretch. Masterman currently ranks ninth in the ACC in total bases and home runs, 11th in RBIs and 14th in hits.
- Christian Knapczyk has hit in the leadoff spot every game this season after hitting ninth in 42 of his 43 starts in 2021. Knapczyk owns 14 multi-hit games and is second nationally with 46 runs scored. The Louisville shortstop has scored at least one run in 27 of 31 games this season, including two or more in 14. 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 top 10 in the ACC in runs (1st), stolen bases (3rd), triples (4th), hit by pitch (6th), on-base percentage (7th) and hits (10th).
- Ben Bianco has already turned in a career season this spring setting career highs in runs (21), hits (31), triples (3), home runs (8) and RBIs (37). 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. Bianco also homered in all three games of the weekend series against North Carolina, including a go-ahead grand slam in game two and a leadoff shot that helped sparked Louisville's ninth-inning rally in the finale. He is currently 10th in the ACC in RBIs and 20th in home runs.
- Levi Usher has been a terror on the basepaths for opponents since arriving at Louisville for the 2020 season. The centerfielder led the ACC with 26 stolen bases in 2021 and is a perfect 21-for-21 this season. Usher has moved into ninth place on Louisville's career stolen base list with 58 in 61 attempts. He enters Tuesday's game two behind eighth (Josh Stowers) and four back of seventh (Doug Inghram).
- 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 and put together 15 consecutive scoreless innings before allowing two unearned runs against North Carolina. The junior is third in the ACC with six saves.
KNAPCZYK, METZINGER PROVIDING LETHAL 1-2 COMBINATION
The Louisville offense has beat opponents in a variety of ways in 2022, but the combination of Christian Knapczyk and Ben Metzinger at the top of the Cardinals' lineup has been at the center of it all. Both players were named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List for their performances through the first half of the season.
Knapczyk is hitting .349 and has been an on-base machine in the leadoff spot, ranking seventh in the ACC with a .484 on-base percentage. The shortstop has scored 46 runs through 31 games, the second-most in the country.
Metzinger has taken advantage of having his fellow infielder on base in front of him, hitting .344 with a team-best 41 RBIs that ranks top 20 nationally. The senior has 13 home runs on the season, nine of which have come with Knapczyk on base.
The duo has scored 83 runs and been active on the basepaths as well, combining for 22 stolen bases on the season in just 25 attempts.
LOUISVILLE SHOWING OFF RARE COMBO OF SPEED AND POWER
Louisville's offense has showed off its versatility this season, beating teams with power at the plate and speed on the basepaths.
The Cardinals have tallied 62 stolen bases and 54 home runs through the first half of the season, making them the only team in the country to rank in the top 20 nationally in both categories.
All nine of Louisville's regular starters have at least two home runs, while eight of the nine have a stolen base.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
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