Louisville Hosts Lipscomb for Two-Game Midweek Series

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team will play Lipscomb in a pair of midweek games this week at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET with Wednesday set as Louisville's annual Elementary School Day starting at 11 a.m. ET. Both games will be televised on ACC Network Extra with radio coverage available on 970 WGTK Tuesday and 93.9 The Ville Wednesday.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals took two of three from Northwestern last weekend, extending their winning streak to 10 games before losing the series finale.

Louisville has scored in double figures in nine games this season and currently ranks in the top three in the ACC in eight different offensive categories.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Lipscomb meet for the third consecutive season with the Bisons having defeated the Cardinals each of the last two years. Louisville is 0-4 all-time against Lipscomb heading into the two-game series.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .824 winning percentage (164-35) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 135-18 (.882) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
The Louisville offense currently ranks top 20 nationally in batting average, hits, on-base percentage, runs, runs per game, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch in all but one game this season and currently lead the ACC with 30 on the season.
Louisville hit just one home run over the first six games, but has homered at least once in each of the last nine contests. Louisville's longest home run streak in 2023 was five.
Dan McDonnell has shuffled his lineup through the first 15 games with 13 different position players drawing at least six starts. Gavin Kilen is the only player to start all 15 games.

PLAYER NOTES

Gavin Kilen made 38 starts as a freshman in 2023, hitting .265 with 10 extra-base hits. The sophomore has moved into the starting shortstop position and taken his offensive game to another level. Through 15 games, Kilen is hitting .362 with 13 extra-base hits. Kilen hit his first career home run against Morehead State on March 6 and then proceeded to homer in each of the next two games as well. He is second in the ACC in triples, third in doubles, 11th in total bases and 19th in runs.
Michael Lippe sat out his freshman season in 2023 and is vying for playing time in the outfield this spring. The sophomore is 15-for-32 (.469) with a 10-game hitting streak to start his collegiate career. He currently ranks fourth in the ACC in batting average and 16th in on-base percentage Lippe scored five runs in the win over Morehead State, becoming the first Cardinal to score five times in a game since Alex Binelas against Alabama A&M on April 26, 2019.
Lucas Moore drew the Opening Day start in left field against Indiana State, becoming the first Louisville true freshman to start on Opening Day since Tyler Fitzgerald in 2017. The freshman ranks second in the ACC in stolen bases and top 20 in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored and runs per game.
Luke Napleton led all of Division II in home runs (29) and RBIs (87) in 2023 at Quincy University. His offensive production has come with him to Louisville through his first 10 games, as he's hitting .417 with 11 RBIs, four doubles and three home runs.
Alex Alicea has started 11 of the last 12 games at second base for the Cardinals and the freshman has held his own at the plate. The switch hitter has a hit in all but one of his starts, including four multi-hit games.
Evan Webster had made just three starts in his career prior to this season. The southpaw has been outstanding in four weekend starts this season, ranking third in the ACC and 15th nationally with a 0.90 ERA, giving up just two earned runs in 20 innings. Webster owns 72 career appearances, six shy of cracking Louisville's top 10 list all-time.
Patrick Forbes was a two-way player as a freshman in 2023, seeing more time in the batter's box than the mound. However, he's moved into the weekend rotation as a sophomore and allowed just three runs on four hits in seven innings of work in his two starts.

LOUISVILLE OFFENSE GOES ON TEAR DURING 10-GAME WINNING STREAK
After losing its first four games to start the season, the Cardinals ripped off 10 consecutive victories behind an offense that was bludgeoning opposing pitching staffs.

During the 10-game winning streak, the Louisville offense hit .393, averaging 144 runs per game with 29 doubles and 21 home runs while swiping 27 bases.

Louisville scored double digit runs in nine of the 10 games, plating nine runs in the lone non-double figure performance.

LOUISVILLE FRESHMEN MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
The Louisville roster features 11 seniors and seven juniors, but members of the freshmen class have been contributing on both sides of the diamond.

Alex Alicea, Lucas Moore and Zion Rose have combined to start 28 games so far this season. The freshmen trio is hitting .363 (37-for-102) with six doubles, two triples, a home run, 37 runs scored and 28 RBIs. They have 14 walks and six HBPs while striking out just 12 times.

On the mound, Ty Starke and Colton Hartman have been strong out of the bullpen. The two southpaws have combined to allow just one run in 10.2 innings of relief work, striking out 14 with just six hits surrendered.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Alicea

Patrick Forbes

Colton Hartman

Gavin Kilen

Michael Lippe

Lucas Moore

Luke Napleton

Zion Rose

Ty Starke

Evan Webster

University of Louisville Athletics