Cardinals Aim for Eighth Straight Win on Tuesday

Wednesday, March 6

Louisville, Ky.

3:00 PM

University of Louisville

Morehead State

The Cardinals huddle before playing Youngstown State.

Photo by: Rachel Klotz | Louisville Athletics

March 04, 2024 | Baseball

First pitch against Morehead State is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.

By: Stephen Williams

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team will play host to Morehead State on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra with radio coverage available on 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals extended their winning streak to seven games after a weekend sweep of Youngstown State. Louisville outscored the Penguins 38-8 in the three-game series.

Louisville's offense has been on fire during its seven-game win streak. The Cards have scored 104 runs over that stretch, averaging just shy of 15 runs per game while hitting .392 with 22 doubles, 11 home runs and 20 stolen bases.

The Louisville pitching staff has also excelled during that stretch, pitching to a 3.54 ERA with 76 strikeouts to just 13 walks.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Morehead State square off for the 89th time on Tuesday. The Cards lead the all-time series 52-36, a series that has seen the two programs match up in all but two years (1984 and 1998) dating back to 1972. Isaac Humphrey and Brandon Anderson helped lead the Cards to an 11-1 victory over the Eagles last spring, with each tallying two hits and driving in three.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .826 winning percentage (161-34) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 132-17 (.886) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
The Louisville offense currently ranks top three in the ACC in batting average, doubles, hit by pitch, on-base percentage, runs, runs per game, stolen bases and triples.
Louisville scored double-digit runs in five straight games from Feb. 23-March 1. It was the first time the Cardinals had done so since April 23-30, 2019.

PLAYER NOTES

Brandon Anderson missed four games early due to injury, but he has been a force when in the lineup. The junior is hitting .522 and has a team-leading 15 RBIs, despite having just 23 at-bats. Anderson hit just one home run during his sophomore season and needed just five games to surpass that total this spring.
JT Benson has been an offensive force for the Cards to start the season. He currently ranks top five in the ACC in on-base percentage (.591), stolen bases (7) and walks (12) and is 14th in batting average (.414).
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 eight games, as he's hitting .433 with nine RBIs and a team-best seven extra-base hits.
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, fifth in runs, fifth in HBPs and is also top 20 in on-base percentage.
Matt Klein had his freshman season cut short in 2023 due to injury, but has been strong in his return in 2024. The sophomore is hitting .385 through his first nine games with a .484 on-base percentage.
Alex Alicea is Louisville's first switch hitter since Sutton Whiting (2015) and showing offensive prowess from both sides of the plate. Alicea is hitting .375 with a double and four RBIs right-handed and .353 with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs from the left side.
Michael Lippe sat out his freshman season in 2023 and is vying for playing time in the outfield this spring. The sophomore is 9-for-18 (.500) to start his collegiate career, including a three-hit game against Youngstown State on March 2 with all three hits registering an exit velocity of 108 mph or higher.
Evan Webster had made just three starts in his career prior to this season and has already matched that total through three weekends. The southpaw has allowed just one run in 14 innings for a 0.64 ERA. Webster owns 71 career appearances, seven shy of cracking Louisville's top 10 list all-time.
Sebastian Gongora had a lot of fanfare entering his first season with the Cardinals and has been excellent through his first three starts. The left-hander is 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings, including matching his career high with 10 strikeouts against Youngstown State on March 1.
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.