Cardinals Welcome Xavier for Midweek Contest

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team hosts Xavier in midweek action on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra with radio coverage available on 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville opened the season with three victories over Bucknell last weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium. The Cardinals outscored the Bison 23-6 in the series and are 3-0 to start the season for the seventh time under Dan McDonnell.

The Cardinals struck out 39 hitters during the opening weekend, their highest total through three games since 2017 (also 39).

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville leads the all-time series against Xavier 41-21 and holds a 31-13 record against the Musketeers in Louisville. The Cardinals have won 13 of the last 15 overall in the series, but the games have been tight in recent history. Three of the last five contests have been decided by one run, with none of the five final margins larger than three.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .849 winning percentage (135-24) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 110-12 (.902) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
The Cardinals are averaging 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings through the first three games, the 15th-best total in the country. Louisville ranked inside the top 20 nationally in K/9 every season from 2013-20.
Louisville used eight different relievers in the series against Bucknell. The bullpen allowed just two runs in 12.1 innings (1.46 ERA) and recorded 20 strikeouts.
Eleven different Cardinals made their Louisville debut in the series against Bucknell, with eight making their collegiate debuts.

PLAYER NOTES

Christian Knapczyk picked up right where he left off last spring going 5-for-11 against Bucknell, reaching base eight times and stealing three bases. The junior reached base leading off the first inning in all three games. Knapczyk was the sparkplug at the top of the order in 2022 with the Cardinals averaging 9.1 runs in the 53 games he started versus just 6.2 in the 11 games he did not start.
Eddie King Jr. officially stepped onto the field for the first time in a Louisville uniform against Bucknell and did so with a bang. King tripled to left-centerfield for his first career hit in the opener and added a double later in the contest. The sophomore reached base in 7-of-10 trips to the plate over the first three games.
Ryan McCoy announced his presence in the middle of the Louisville lineup immediately last weekend. The junior was 3-for-4 on Opening Day, including a 427-foot home run that ended up on the train tracks beyond right field. McCoy tallied five hits and drove in a team-best five runs in the sweep of Bucknell.
Ryan Hawks drew the Opening Day start for the Cardinals, just the second start of his collegiate career. The senior made the most of it though, allowing just one run over 6.1 innings with nine strikeouts and not surrendering a hit until the fifth inning. Hawks set career-high marks for innings pitched and strikeouts while turning in the longest Opening Day outing by a Louisville starter since Kyle Funkhouser worked seven innings in the 2015 opener.
Greg Farone dominated junior college hitters in 2022, striking out 139 in just 60 innings on the mound. He had similar success in his first outing with the Cards, punching out eight hitters in three innings of relief work in the series finale against Bucknell.

LOUISVILLE SWEEPS OPENING WEEKEND AGAINST BUCKNELL
Louisville registered a three-game series sweep of Bucknell to start the 2023 campaign. It marks the seventh time the Cardinals have started a season 3-0 during Dan McDonnell's tenure.

The Cards were the last remaining undefeated team during both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, starting out 19-0 and 14-0 in those years, respectively.

McDONNELL CLOSING IN ON 700 WINS
Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell enters the 2023 season with 688 career wins. The man in charge will eclipse 700 wins this spring, putting him in rare company.

McDonnell will be just the ninth active coach in Division I baseball to win 700 games at the first head coaching stop and just the third at a Power Five school – John Anderson (Minnesota) and Brian O'Connor (Virginia).

McDonnell enters 2023 ranked second in active winning percentage (.705 - 16 seasons) among coaches that have coached at least five seasons at the Division I level, trailing only Tony Vitello at Tennessee (.713 - five seasons). During McDonnell's tenure, the Cardinals have made five College World Series appearances, captured 11 conference titles, reached the postseason 13 times and rank second nationally with 688 wins over that span.

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Players Mentioned

Greg Farone

Ryan Hawks

Eddie King Jr.

Christian Knapczyk

Ryan McCoy

University of Louisville Athletics