Thursday, April 6
Louisville, Ky.
6:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
Boston College
Photo by: Karthik Kalvakuri | Louisville Athletics
Cardinals Host Boston College in Top-10 Weekend Series
April 05, 2023 | Baseball
The three-game set gets underway on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team starts a three-game series against No. 7 Boston College on Thursday night at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch Thursday and Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET with the series set to wrap on Saturday at noon ET. All three games will be televised on ACC Network Extra with radio coverage available on 93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville allowed a season-high 12 runs in a 12-7 loss against Lipscomb on Tuesday. Logan Beard recorded three of the Cardinals' six hits, including his sixth home run of the season, and drove in three.
The Cardinals now begin a stretch of seven consecutive games against teams currently ranked in the top 10. It's the longest such stretch for Louisville since playing 10 straight top-10 opponents March 23-April 8, 2018.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville leads the all-time series against Boston College 17-5 with all 22 meetings coming since the Cards joined the ACC for the 2015 season. The Cardinals have won six straight over the Eagles, including a three-game sweep at BC last March.
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
STARTING PITCHING CONTINUES TO GET JOB DONE
The Cardinals had a multitude of starting pitching options heading into the spring. However, Louisville has been pretty consistent with who has taken the ball to start games.
Ryan Hawks, Greg Farone, Carson Liggett and Kade Grundy have combined to start 25 of 28 games so far this season. The quartet has allowed three runs or fewer in 19 of those 25 starts, with 13 of those covering five innings or more.
Louisville starting pitchers have combined for a 3.65 ERA with 134 strikeouts in 130.2 innings and an opponents' batting average of .224.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville allowed a season-high 12 runs in a 12-7 loss against Lipscomb on Tuesday. Logan Beard recorded three of the Cardinals' six hits, including his sixth home run of the season, and drove in three.
The Cardinals now begin a stretch of seven consecutive games against teams currently ranked in the top 10. It's the longest such stretch for Louisville since playing 10 straight top-10 opponents March 23-April 8, 2018.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville leads the all-time series against Boston College 17-5 with all 22 meetings coming since the Cards joined the ACC for the 2015 season. The Cardinals have won six straight over the Eagles, including a three-game sweep at BC last March.
TEAM NOTES
- Louisville owns 149 conference wins since joining the ACC in 2015, the most conference wins during that time of any Power Five school.
- UofL has won 52 of its 75 ACC series (52-20-2 - one series ended 1-1, one ended 1-1-1) since joining the league and is 56-16-1 in its series finales during that span, including a 21-8-1 record in rubber games.
- The Cardinals have won 30 of their 36 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
- Louisville had just 12 stolen bases through the first 14 games, but has stolen 38 in the last 14.
- The Cardinals rank top 25 nationally in earned run average (3.87) and hits allowed per nine innings (7.51).
- The Cardinals have held the opposition to two runs or fewer 13 times through 28 games. Louisville limited opponents to two or less 14 times in 2022.
- Louisville has been excellent early in games this spring, outscoring opponents 86-32 in the first three innings.
PLAYER NOTES
- Jack Payton finished with an ACC-best 23 doubles in 2022, but homered just four times. The junior is still racking up the doubles with seven already this season. However, Payton has shown more power this spring and matched his sophomore season total just 10 games into 2023. He recorded his first multi-homer game at Cincinnati, homering in the each of the first two innings, and currently leads the Cards with 14 multi-hit games including six with three hits.
- Gavin Kilen was selected in the 13th round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox but elected to come to Louisville. The freshman infielder has transitioned smoothly into the college game and currently ranks second on the team in batting average (.317) and doubles (five). Kilen has also stepped up his game in conference play, leading the Cardinals with a .393 average against ACC competition. He currently ranks as the toughest hitter to strike out in the ACC, going down on strikes just once every 12.6 at-bats.
- Christian Knapczyk is the catalyst at the top of the Louisville lineup and currently ranks second in the ACC with 15 stolen bases and third with 12 HBPs. The junior has been on a tear on the basepaths lately, swiping 12 bags in the last 14 games. Knapczyk also ranks as the second-toughest hitter to strike out in the ACC with one strikeout per 10.4 at-bats.
- Carson Liggett earned the Sunday starting role to open the season and has been terrific through the first half of the season. The sophomore is 6-0 and turned in the best start of his college career against Michigan in the finale at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Liggett gave up just one hit over seven shutout innings in what turned out to be a complete-game effort as the Cards run-ruled Michigan. The right-hander has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his seven starts.
- Riley Phillips opened the season as the Saturday starter for the Cardinals, but moved to the bullpen after two starts. The southpaw has been an excellent option in a relief role this season, making six appearances with three runs allowed in 12.0 innings and tallying 21 strikeouts. Phillips struck out six of the eight batters he faced in 2.1 innings of work last week at Cincinnati.
- Tucker Biven has the ability to play both ways for the Cardinals, but his biggest impact so far has come on the mound. The right-hander has made eight relief appearances, five of which have been longer than one inning, and has allowed just two runs in 15.1 innings of work.
STARTING PITCHING CONTINUES TO GET JOB DONE
The Cardinals had a multitude of starting pitching options heading into the spring. However, Louisville has been pretty consistent with who has taken the ball to start games.
Ryan Hawks, Greg Farone, Carson Liggett and Kade Grundy have combined to start 25 of 28 games so far this season. The quartet has allowed three runs or fewer in 19 of those 25 starts, with 13 of those covering five innings or more.
Louisville starting pitchers have combined for a 3.65 ERA with 134 strikeouts in 130.2 innings and an opponents' batting average of .224.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
Players Mentioned
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