Cardinals Host Xavier in Wednesday Home Opener

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team will take the field at Jim Patterson Stadium for the first time in 2024 against Xavier on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra and radio coverage will be available on 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville dropped a pair of one-run contests to open the season against Indiana State and UConn in Tampa, Fla. The Cards held a 7-5 lead over Indiana State after six innings and a 3-1 edge against UConn after seven, but were unable to hang on for the win.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville holds a 42-21 edge in the all-time series against Xavier. The Cardinals have won 14 of the last 16 meetings between the two programs and are 20-5 against the Musketeers under Dan McDonnell.

The Cardinals turned in a 12-8 victory over Xavier last February. Logan Beard hit a game-tying three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Cards plated four more in the eighth to secure the win. Ryan McCoy and Eddie King Jr. each went 3-for-4 with a homer.

TEAM NOTES

The Cards are 15-2 in home openers during Dan McDonnell's first 17 seasons.
Louisville has an .828 winning percentage (154-32) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 125-15 (.893) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
Seven different Cardinals made their Louisville debuts last weekend, including two collegiate debuts.

PLAYER NOTES

Sebastian Gongora made his Louisville debut as the Opening Day starter against Indiana State. The Wright State transfer struck out seven over five innings with just two runs allowed.
Evan Webster kicked off his fifth season in a Louisville uniform with just the fourth start of his career. The southpaw tossed four scoreless innings against UConn, matching his career-long outing and career-high in strikeouts with four. Webster owns 69 career appearances, nine shy of cracking Louisville's top 10 list all-time. Webster has knocked more than a full run off his ERA each of the last two seasons, posting a 3.09 mark in 35 innings last year.
Carson Liggett was a second team All-ACC selection in 2023 after posting a 7-2 record with a 3.42 ERA. The right-hander led the Cardinals in wins as a sophomore and was a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist.
Ryan McCoy is Louisville's top returner in power production, leading the team with 44 RBIs last season and tying for the team lead with 12 home runs.
JT Benson, Eddie King Jr. and Isaac Humphrey each return after starting at least 40 games in the outfield in 2023. Benson hit .288 and was second on the team with 16 stolen bases, while King paced the Cards with 11 doubles and was second with 42 driven in, and Humphrey finished third on the team with a .406 on-base percentage.
Gavin Kilen made 38 starts as a freshman in 2023 and now takes over the starting shortstop position this spring. The sophomore hit .302 for Falmouth during the summer and was named a Cape Cod League All-Star.
Logan Beard has started 116 of 119 games over the last two seasons after sitting out in 2021. The 2022 Freshman All-American is a career .297 hitter with 11 homers and 88 RBIs.

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Players Mentioned

Logan Beard

JT Benson

Sebastian Gongora

Isaac Humphrey

Gavin Kilen

Eddie King Jr.

Carson Liggett

Ryan McCoy

Evan Webster

University of Louisville Athletics