Cardinals Host Kentucky in Battle of the Bluegrass

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team starts an eight-game homestand on Tuesday night with the Battle of the Bluegrass against Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. The game will be televised on ACC Network and can be heard on 93.9 The Ville.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals head into Tuesday's game on a three-game losing streak after dropping all three games at Florida State over the weekend. Louisville returns home for eight straight, where it has an 18-4 record and is averaging 10.7 runs per game this season.

SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday will be the 113th Battle of the Bluegrass contest. Kentucky leads the all-time series 64-47-1, but the series is even 29-29-1 in Louisville. The in-state rivals have met in all but two seasons since 1985. The two teams did not meet in 2020 because of the cancellation of the season due to COVID-19 and had both matchups rained out in 2002.

Louisville and Kentucky split the two meetings during the 2021 season with each team winning on the road. The Cardinals had won eight in a row against UK at Jim Patterson Stadium prior to last year's 11-7 loss.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .841 winning percentage (127-24) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 103-12 (.896) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
Louisville has scored 10 runs or more 13 times this season and registered at least 10 hits in 22 games, including 11 of its last 14 entering Tuesday.
UofL is 21-2 this season when it tallies more hits than the opposition. During Dan McDonnell's 16 seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals are 538-62 (.897) when they record more hits.

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 currently leads the team with 18 multi-hit games on the season, including eight with three hits. Payton enters Tuesday on a career-best 13-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in 21 of the last 22 games. The sophomore ranks top 10 in the ACC in batting average (5th), hits (5th) and doubles (5th).
Ben Metzinger returned fully healthy in 2022 and has been one of the pillars of the Louisville lineup. The senior ranks 11th nationally with 14 home runs and his 46 RBIs are 17th-best in the country. Metzinger is top 10 in the ACC in home runs (2nd), walks (4th), total bases (4th), RBIs (4th), runs (8th) and slugging percentage (9th). 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 (34), hits (46), doubles (10), homers (12) and RBIs (42). Masterman currently ranks eighth in the ACC in home runs, and ninth in total bases and RBIs. Masterman recorded the first multi-homer game of his career against Cincinnati.
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 17 multi-hit games and leads the country with 53 runs scored. The Louisville shortstop has scored at least one run in 30 of 35 games this season, including two or more in 16. 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), hits (6th) and on-base percentage (6th).
Ben Bianco has already turned in a career season this spring setting career highs in runs (24), hits (34), 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 15th in the ACC in RBIs.
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 two behind eighth (Josh Stowers) and four back of seventh (Doug Inghram). Usher has shown off his speed at the plate as well, sitting fourth in the ACC in triples and seventh in doubles.
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.

LOUISVILLE LINEUP SHOWING DEPTH TOP TO BOTTOM
Louisville's offensive attack has drawn headlines for its performance this season and the Cardinals are doing it by committee with strong production up and down their lineup.

All nine of Louisville's regulars are hitting better than .280 this season, the only lineup in the ACC with nine qualified hitters above that mark. Louisville's starting nine all have at least 30 hits and 24 runs scored, the most of any team in the ACC in either category.

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 .361 and has been an on-base machine in the leadoff spot, ranking sixth in the ACC with a .492 on-base percentage. The shortstop has scored 53 runs through 35 games, the most in the country.

Metzinger has taken advantage of having his fellow infielder on base in front of him, hitting .331 with a team-best 46 RBIs that ranks top 20 nationally. The senior has 14 home runs on the season, 10 of which have come with Knapczyk on base.

The duo has scored 95 runs and been active on the basepaths as well, combining for 22 stolen bases on the season in just 26 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 63 stolen bases and 59 home runs through the first half of the season, making them the only team in the country to rank in the top 25 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.

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Players Mentioned

Ben Bianco

Alex Binelas

Christian Knapczyk

Cameron Masterman

Ben Metzinger

Jack Payton

Michael Prosecky

Levi Usher

University of Louisville Athletics