Cardinals Host Vanderbilt Tuesday in Battle of the Barrel

Tuesday, May 9

Louisville, Ky.

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

Vanderbilt

The Cardinals huddle before playing Bellarmine.

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

Cardinals Host Vanderbilt Tuesday in Battle of the Barrel

May 08, 2023 | Baseball

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium.

By: Stephen Williams

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team will take on Vanderbilt in the Battle of the Barrel on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN2 with radio coverage available on 93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville is coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of Clemson over the weekend. The Cardinals scored just three runs in each of the three games.

BATTLE OF THE BARREL SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday night will be the 40th meeting all-time between Louisville and Vanderbilt. The Commodores lead the series 27-12. Since Dan McDonnell took over the UofL program in 2007, the two programs have combined for 1,448 wins, 11 College World Series appearances and 19 Super Regionals over that time.

The Cardinals put on an elite pitching display in the 2022 Battle of the Barrel matchup, winning the annual showdown 1-0 in Nashville. Seven different Louisville pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout, striking out 14, and Ben Bianco's fifth inning solo home run proved to be the difference.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .849 winning percentage (152-27) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 121-14 (.896) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
Louisville had just 12 stolen bases through the first 14 games, but has stolen 65 in the last 33.
Fifteen different Cardinals have stolen a base this season.
The Cardinals rank top 20 nationally in earned run average (4.00) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.00).
The Cardinals have held the opposition to two runs or fewer 18 times this spring. Louisville limited opponents to two or less 14 times in 2022.
Louisville has been excellent early in games this spring, outscoring opponents 125-64 in the first three innings.
The Cardinals are 17-2 this season when they do not allow a home run and 22-8 when they hit at least one long ball.
Through 47 games, the Cardinals have started 44 different batting orders and 38 different defensive alignments.

PLAYER NOTES

Brandon Anderson made just seven starts during his freshman season, posting a .316 average with all 12 of his hits going for singles. Anderson was Louisville's Opening Day starter at third base but started only sporadically through the first month of the season. The sophomore has started each of the last 19 games and has been excellent when he's been in the starting lineup this season, hitting .337 (35-for-104) with 22 RBIs in his 29 starts.
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 entering the weekend. He recorded his first multi-homer game at Cincinnati, homering in the each of the first two innings, and currently leads the Cards with 17 multi-hit games including six with three hits. Payton has not started seven of Louisville's last 13 games due to injury and the Cardinals are 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 and RBIs and is second in walks. In his last 11 games, McCoy is hitting .317 (13-for-41) with five homers, 17 RBIs and 11 runs scored. With the injuries to Louisville's catchers, McCoy has been moved behind the plate and caught each of the last five games.
Christian Knapczyk is the catalyst at the top of the Louisville lineup and currently ranks fourth in the ACC with 16 stolen bases and third with 14 HBPs. The junior has a hit in 33 of the 39 games he's played this season and has reached base in all but three 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.

CARDINALS RUNNING GAUNTLET OF TOP-20 OPPONENTS
Since Early April, the Louisville schedule has featured a strong run of teams currently ranked inside the top 20 of at least one poll in the latest rankings.

Sixteen of Louisville's last 19 games have been against teams currently ranked in the top 20 and that number will continue to grow with Tuesday's game against No. 3 Vanderbilt and three games at No. 10 Virginia this weekend.

Louisville is 8-8 this season against teams that were ranked at the time of the game.

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