Friday, April 22
Louisville, Ky.
8:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
NC State
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
No. 11 Cardinals Host No. 23 NC State for Weekend Series
April 21, 2022 | Baseball
The series begins on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team hosts a top-25 weekend with No. 23 NC State coming to Jim Patterson Stadium for three games starting on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. ET and the series wraps up on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Friday's game will be televised on ACC Network with the final two on ACC Network Extra. All three games can be heard on 93.9 The Ville.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals enter the weekend coming off a 4-2 victory over in-state rival Kentucky on Tuesday in the Battle of the Bluegrass. Louisville used eight different pitchers and scored all four runs with two outs on its way to the win.
The weekend series against NC State will be the third straight for the Cardinals against a ranked opponent. The ACC currently has seven teams ranked inside the top 25 and 11 of the 14 teams have earned a top-25 ranking at some point this spring.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and NC State have 19 previous meetings heading into the weekend series, with the Cardinals holding a 15-4 edge overall. Louisville has won six straight against the Wolfpack, all of which came in Raleigh. NC State is making its first trip to Louisville since 2018, when it won two out of three.
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
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 25 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 .354 and has been an on-base machine in the leadoff spot, ranking sixth in the ACC with a .486 on-base percentage. The shortstop has scored 53 runs through 36 games, the second most in the country.
Metzinger has taken advantage of having his fellow infielder on base in front of him, hitting .324 with a team-best 46 RBIs that ranks top 25 nationally. The senior has 14 home runs on the season, 10 of which have come with Knapczyk on base.
The duo has scored 96 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 30 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.
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 (339), home runs (60), total bases (691), walks (207) and a higher on-base percentage (.424) and slugging percentage (.534) through 36 games than any other Louisville team under McDonnell.
Louisville currently ranks eighth the country in scoring at 9.4 runs per game. The Cardinals rank sixth nationally in on-base percentage, seventh in slugging percentage, eighth in runs, 10th in hits, 10th in walks, 11th in batting average, 11th in triples, and 13th in home runs.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals enter the weekend coming off a 4-2 victory over in-state rival Kentucky on Tuesday in the Battle of the Bluegrass. Louisville used eight different pitchers and scored all four runs with two outs on its way to the win.
The weekend series against NC State will be the third straight for the Cardinals against a ranked opponent. The ACC currently has seven teams ranked inside the top 25 and 11 of the 14 teams have earned a top-25 ranking at some point this spring.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and NC State have 19 previous meetings heading into the weekend series, with the Cardinals holding a 15-4 edge overall. Louisville has won six straight against the Wolfpack, all of which came in Raleigh. NC State is making its first trip to Louisville since 2018, when it won two out of three.
TEAM NOTES
- Louisville owns 136 conference wins since joining the ACC in 2015, the most conference wins during that time of any Power Five school.
- UofL has won 48 of its 67 ACC series (one series ended 1-1) since joining the league and is 50-15 in its series finales during that span, including an 18-7 record in rubber games.
- The Cardinals have won 26 of their 32 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
- UofL's offense has been explosive so far this season, plating four or more runs in an inning 32 times through 36 games, surpassing its total of 19 in 50 games in 2021.
- 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 15.
- 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 the weekend on a career-best 14-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in 22 of the last 23 games. The sophomore ranks top 10 in the ACC in batting average (4th), doubles (5th) and hits (6th).
- 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 22-for-22 this season. Usher has moved into ninth place on Louisville's career stolen base list with 59 in 62 attempts. He enters the weekend one behind eighth (Josh Stowers) and three back of seventh (Doug Inghram). Usher is also in the midst of a career-best 11-game hitting streak, hitting .372 (16-for-43) over that time.
- 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 22nd-best in the country. Metzinger is top 10 in the ACC in home runs (2nd), walks (5th), total bases (7th), RBIs (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.
- 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 put together an 18-inning scoreless streak from March 8-26, which included starts against ranked opponents TCU and Notre Dame. The senior is sixth in the ACC in ERA and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings.
- 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 (35), hits (47), doubles (10), homers (13) and RBIs (43). Masterman currently ranks sixth in the ACC in home runs, ninth in total bases and 10th in 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 is second in the country with 53 runs scored. The Louisville shortstop has scored at least one run in 30 of 36 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) and on-base percentage (6th).
- Ben Bianco has already turned in a career season this spring setting career highs in runs (25), 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 20th in the ACC in RBIs.
- 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 second in the ACC with seven 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 25 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 .354 and has been an on-base machine in the leadoff spot, ranking sixth in the ACC with a .486 on-base percentage. The shortstop has scored 53 runs through 36 games, the second most in the country.
Metzinger has taken advantage of having his fellow infielder on base in front of him, hitting .324 with a team-best 46 RBIs that ranks top 25 nationally. The senior has 14 home runs on the season, 10 of which have come with Knapczyk on base.
The duo has scored 96 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 30 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.
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 (339), home runs (60), total bases (691), walks (207) and a higher on-base percentage (.424) and slugging percentage (.534) through 36 games than any other Louisville team under McDonnell.
Louisville currently ranks eighth the country in scoring at 9.4 runs per game. The Cardinals rank sixth nationally in on-base percentage, seventh in slugging percentage, eighth in runs, 10th in hits, 10th in walks, 11th in batting average, 11th in triples, and 13th in home runs.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
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