Top Offenses Square Off as Cards Head to Wake Forest

Saturday, May 7

Winston-Salem, N.C.

11:30 PM

University of Louisville

Wake Forest

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

May 05, 2022 | Baseball

The series gets underway on Friday at 6 p.m. ET in Winston-Salem, N.C.

By: Stephen Williams

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball program heads out on the road for three games at Wake Forest starting Friday at 6 p.m. ET in Winston-Salem, N.C. Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET with the series set to wrap on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. All three games will be televised on ACC Network Extra. The Friday and Sunday contests can be heard on 93.9 The Ville, while Saturday's game will air on 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville rolls into the weekend with a six-game winning streak after a 1-0 victory at No. 14 Vanderbilt on Tuesday in the Battle of the Barrel. Ben Bianco hit a solo home run leading off the fifth inning and the Cardinals made the lead stand.

Seven different pitchers combined to record Louisville's first shutout of the season on Tuesday at Vanderbilt, limiting the Commodores to just two hits on the night. The Cardinals took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out 14 in the victory.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Wake Forest have met 23 times previously with the Cardinals leading the all-time series 18-5. The two teams have squared off each season since Louisville joined the ACC in 2015 and the Cards have taken six of seven weekend series between the two. UofL is 6-3 all-time in Winston-Salem and won two out of three in its last visit there in 2020.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville owns 141 conference wins since joining the ACC in 2015, the most conference wins during that time of any Power Five school.
UofL has won 50 of its 69 ACC series (one series ended 1-1) since joining the league and is 52-15 in its series finales during that span, including a 19-7 record in rubber games.
UofL's offense has been explosive so far this season, plating four or more runs in an inning 40 times through 44 games, surpassing its total of 19 in 50 games in 2021.
Louisville has scored 10 runs or more 19 times this season and registered at least 10 hits in 28 games, including 17 of its last 23.
The Cardinals defeated Vanderbilt 1-0 on May 3 behind a Ben Bianco solo home run and a dominant pitching effort. It was the first 1-0 Louisville victory in which the lone run came on a homer since records are available in 2000.
UofL is 26-2 this season when it tallies more hits than the opposition. During Dan McDonnell's 16 seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals are 543-62 (.898) 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 is currently leading the team with 21 multi-hit games on the season, including nine with three hits. Payton has at least one hit in 29 of the last 31 games and ranks top five in the ACC in doubles (3rd), hits (3rd) and batting average (6th).
Jared Poland started his time at Louisville as a two-way player, playing second base and pitching out of the bullpen before moving into a pitcher-only role in 2021. The right-hander was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week after tossing seven scoreless innings against No. 1 Notre Dame, striking out 10. Poland put together an 18-inning scoreless streak from March 8-26, which included starts against ranked opponents TCU and Notre Dame. His last start was a career-long eight shutout innings with a career-high 13 strikeouts against Clemson. Poland has struck out double digits in four of seven ACC starts and ranks top 10 in the ACC in strikeouts (3rd), strikeouts per nine innings (3rd), ERA (4th) and strikeout to walk ratio (9th).
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 .349 with 10 doubles, four homers and 44 RBIs. Beard has 18 multi-hit games on the season and has driven in 14 runs in the last 10 games, including four in the finale against Clemson. He has also been Louisville's top weapon with runners in scoring position, hitting .431 (25-for-58) in those situations.
Isaac Humphrey has quietly put together an excellent season for the Cardinals after not seeing action during the 2021 season. Humphrey is currently second on the team and ranks 11th in the ACC with a .472 on-base percentage. The sophomore is 26-for-70 (.371) over his last 20 games, surging his average up to .323. Humphrey has been Louisville's second-best hitter this season with runners in scoring position, hitting .396 (19-for-48) and reaching base at a .549 clip in that situation.
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 27-for-28 this season. Usher has moved into seventh place on Louisville's career stolen base list with 64 in 68 attempts. Usher is hitting .372 (29-for-78) over his last 19 games and has his batting average above .300.
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 20 multi-hit games and is third in the country with 63 runs scored. The Louisville shortstop has scored at least one run in 36 of 44 games this season, including two or more in 20. 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), triples (2nd), hit by pitch (4th), stolen bases (6th), on-base percentage (9th) and walks (10th).
Ben Metzinger returned fully healthy in 2022 and has been one of the pillars of the Louisville lineup. Metzinger is top 10 in the ACC in walks (4th), home runs (7th), runs (8th) and total bases (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.
Ben Bianco has already turned in a career season this spring setting career highs in runs (33), hits (43), triples (3), home runs (10) and RBIs (45). 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 hit a solo homer in Louisville's 1-0 win over Vanderbilt and is currently 16th 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 nine saves.

CARDINALS FEATURE FOUR DOUBLE-DIGIT HOME RUN HITTERS
Ben Bianco slugged his 10th home run of the season on Tuesday night at Vanderbilt, lifting the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory in the Battle of the Barrel.

In doing so, Bianco became the fourth Cardinal to reach double figures in home runs this season. He joined Ben Metzinger, Cameron Masterman and Dalton Rushing with 10 or more.

This is the first Louisville team to have at least four players with 10 home runs since the 2010 Cardinals had five do so - Phil Wunderlich (21), Ryan Wright (16), Stewart Ijames (14), Andrew Clark (13) and Adam Duvall (12).

NO GAME IS OVER FOR THE CARDS
Louisville has had a knack for rallying back after falling behind in games this season, including two more times last week in wins over Western Kentucky and Clemson.

The Cardinals have now won 17 games during which they trailed, including eight of their 14 ACC victories. UofL has won six games in which it trailed in the seventh inning or later, four of which were in ACC play.

Louisville has excelled at the plate in the late innings, scoring 152 runs in the seventh inning or later and outscoring opponents 96-42 from the eighth inning on.

BIANCO DOING DAMAGE WITH THE BASES LOADED
Ben Bianco has found himself at the plate with an opportunity to drive in runs on a consistent basis this season. Despite hitting ninth in the Louisville order, he currently ranks 16th in the ACC and third on the team with 44 RBIs.

Nearly half of his RBI total this season has come thanks to his work with the bases loaded. With the bases juiced, Bianco is 6-for-12 with a triple, three grand slams and 19 RBIs.

The three grand slams have all come at important times for the Cardinals. Bianco's first extended Louisville's 2-1 lead to 6-1 in the eighth inning against then No. 1 Notre Dame on March 19. The second turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead against No. 20 North Carolina in a game the Cardinals would go on to win in 10 innings on April 9. Bianco then left the yard again on April 22 against No. 23 NC State, erasing a 4-1 deficit in the seventh inning.

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 .290 this season, the only lineup in the ACC with nine qualified hitters above that mark. Louisville's starting nine all have at least 40 hits and 30 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 .333 and has been an on-base machine in the leadoff spot, ranking ninth in the ACC with a .474 on-base percentage. The shortstop has scored 63 runs through 44 games, the third most in the country.

Metzinger has taken advantage of having his fellow infielder on base in front of him, hitting .319 with 52 RBIs. The senior has 14 home runs on the season, 10 of which have come with Knapczyk on base.

The duo has scored 115 runs, the most of any ACC teammates, and been active on the basepaths as well, combining for 24 stolen bases on the season in just 28 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 75 stolen bases and 68 home runs through 44 games, making them one of only two teams in the country (Campbell) with at least 65 of each.

All nine of Louisville's regular starters have at least two home runs and 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 (418), home runs (68), total bases (834), walks (251) and a higher on-base percentage (.426) through 44 games than any other Louisville team to this point in the season under McDonnell.

Louisville currently ranks fourth the country in scoring at 9.5 runs per game. The Cardinals rank fourth nationally in on-base percentage, seventh in runs, eighth in slugging percentage, ninth in walks, 10th in hits, 10th in triples, 11th in batting average, 19th in doubles, 22nd in home runs and 27th in stolen bases.

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