Cardinals Set to Host Cincinnati on Tuesday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team returns home to take on Cincinnati on Tuesday night at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and will be televised on ACC Network Extra. Radio coverage will be available on 970 WGTK with 93.9 The Ville joining in progress at 6 p.m. ET.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville returns to Jim Patterson Stadium after a three-game series at Wake Forest. The Cardinals lost the first two games before a 7-3 victory in the series finale on Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday night will mark the 186th all-time meeting between Louisville and Cincinnati with the Cardinals holding a 103-82 edge. The 185 previous meetings are the most for Louisville against any opponent.

Louisville is 26-6 against Cincinnati under Dan McDonnell, including an 11-1 mark at home. The Cardinals picked up a 14-1 victory in seven innings at Cincinnati last spring. Eddie King Jr. and Matt Klein each homered and combined for five hits and five RBIs in the win.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .827 winning percentage (167-35) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 138-18 (.885) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
The Louisville offense currently ranks top 25 nationally in batting average, doubles, hits, runs, runs per game, sacrifice flies, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch in all but three games this season and currently rank second in the ACC with 38 on the season.
Louisville hit just one home run over the first six games, but homered at least once in each of the next 14 contests and 17 of 18. The 14 straight games with a home run was the longest streak for the Cardinals since homering in 15 in a row from April 25-May 18, 2017.
Dan McDonnell has shuffled his lineup through the first 24 games with 14 different position players drawing at least nine starts. No Louisville player has started all 24 games this season.

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 24 games, Kilen is hitting .344 with 18 extra-base hits. Kilen did not hit a home run in his first 57 collegiate games before tallying his first against Morehead State and homering five times in a eight-game stretch. He hit for the cycle in the series opener against Virginia Tech, becoming the first Cardinal to do so since Alex Binelas in 2019. Kilen is second in the ACC in triples, fifth in doubles, and ranks top 20 in total bases.
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, as he's hitting .389 with 21 RBIs, five doubles and a team-leading seven home runs. Napleton launched three homers in the series opener against Virginia Tech, the first Cardinal to do so since Alex Binelas against Clemson in the 2021 ACC Tournament.
Tucker Biven has been rock solid out of the Louisville bullpen this spring, leading the team with a 0.79 ERA in nine relief appearances. The sophomore has surrendered just one earned run in 11.1 innings with 16 strikeouts. Biven turned in his best outing of the season in the finale at Wake Forest, keeping the Demon Deacons off the scoreboard while recording the final 10 outs of the victory.
Ty Starke has made an immediate impact on the Louisville pitching staff as a freshman. The southpaw has started his collegiate career with just one earned run allowed over 10.1 innings in seven appearances.

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Players Mentioned

Tucker Biven

Gavin Kilen

Eddie King Jr.

Matt Klein

Luke Napleton

Ty Starke

University of Louisville Athletics