Cardinals Finish Regular Season with Florida State

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team wraps up the regular season with three games against Florida State at Jim Patterson Stadium. The series starts on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on ACC Network. Friday's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and Saturday's is set for 1 p.m. ET with both on ACC Network Extra. Radio coverage will be available all weekend on 93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville matched its season high in runs in an 18-5 victory over Northern Kentucky in the final non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday. The Cardinals have scored 10 runs or more in 14 games this season.

The Cardinals will recognize six graduates (JT Benson, Tyeler Hawkins, Ryan Hawks, Isaac Humphrey, Tate Kuehner, Evan Webster) and four seniors (Hawkins, Hawks, Kuehner, Webster) this weekend.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Florida State have 43 previous meetings with the Seminoles leading the all-time series 32-11. Florida State swept the Cardinals last season in Tallahassee, but the Cards have taken two of three in FSU's last two trips to Louisville.

TEAM NOTES

The Cardinals have won 31 of their 39 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
Louisville had just 12 stolen bases through the first 14 games, but has stolen 73 in the last 38.
Fifteen different Cardinals have stolen a base this season.
The Cardinals rank top 30 nationally in earned run average (4.32) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.20).
The Cardinals are 18-3 this season when they do not allow a home run and 13-2 when they hit multiple homers.
Through 52 games, the Cardinals have started 48 different batting orders and 41 different defensive alignments.

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 nine this season. However, Payton has shown more power this spring, matching his total from last year just 10 games into 2023 and sitting with more than double that number as the end of the regular season approaches. He recorded his first multi-homer game at Cincinnati, homering in the each of the first two innings, and currently leads the Cards with 20 multi-hit games including six with three hits. Payton did not start seven games in late April and early May due to injury and the Cardinals were 1-6 in those contests.
Ryan McCoy has provided a power presence in the middle of the Louisville lineup in his first season with the Cards. The junior leads the team in runs, home runs, RBIs and walks. In his last 16 games, McCoy has tallied five homers, 20 RBIs and 14 runs scored. With the injuries to Louisville's catchers, McCoy moved behind the plate and caught five games.
Christian Knapczyk is the catalyst at the top of the Louisville lineup and currently ranks second in the ACC with 17 HBPs and fourth with 19 stolen bases. The junior has a hit in 35 of the 42 games he's played this season and has reached base in all but four contests. Knapczyk missed seven games due to injury before pinch-hitting in the eighth inning of the finale against Miami, doubling off the wall to drive in a run. He returned to the starting lineup on May 2, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

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Players Mentioned

JT Benson

Tyeler Hawkins

Ryan Hawks

Isaac Humphrey

Christian Knapczyk

Tate Kuehner

Ryan McCoy

Jack Payton

Evan Webster

University of Louisville Athletics