Cardinals Host Northwestern for Weekend Series

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team hosts Northwestern for a weekend set beginning on Friday at 3 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. The series continues on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and concludes Sunday at noon ET. All three games will be televised on ACC Network Extra with radio coverage available on 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals made it eight straight wins with a 19-5 victory over Morehead State on Wednesday. Louisville pounded out 10 extra-base hits and scored at least 15 runs for the fifth time during the win streak.

Louisville's offense has been on fire during its eight-game win streak. The Cards have scored 123 runs over that stretch, averaging just over 15 runs per game while hitting .402 with 27 doubles, 15 home runs and 23 stolen bases.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Northwestern have played 14 previous times but all prior to Dan McDonnell's tenure. The two programs were scheduled to play a three-game series in March of 2008, but the games were canceled due to snow.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .827 winning percentage (162-34) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 133-17 (.887) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
The Louisville offense currently ranks top 20 nationally in batting average, doubles, hits, on-base percentage, runs, runs per game, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
Lucas Moore and JT Benson became the first Louisville teammates to drive in five runs apiece in a game since Logan Beard and Ben Bianco did it against Akron on March 5, 2022.

PLAYER NOTES

Michael Lippe sat out his freshman season in 2023 and is vying for playing time in the outfield this spring. The sophomore is 12-for-22 (.545) to start his collegiate career, including a pair of three-hit games in his four starts. 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.
JT Benson has been an offensive force for the Cards to start the season. He currently ranks top 10 in the ACC in on-base percentage (.583), stolen bases (8), walks (12) and batting average (.433).
Brandon Anderson missed four games early due to injury, but he has been a force when in the lineup. The junior is hitting .520 and has a team-leading 15 RBIs, despite having just 25 at-bats. Anderson hit just one home run during his sophomore season and needed just five games to surpass that total this spring.
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 12 games, Kilen is hitting .362 and already has matched his 10 extra-base hit total. Kilen is currently tied for the ACC lead in doubles with seven.
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 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 and fifth in runs.
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 .300 with a double and four RBIs right-handed and .368 with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs from the left side.
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.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Alicea

Brandon Anderson

Logan Beard

JT Benson

Patrick Forbes

Sebastian Gongora

Gavin Kilen

Michael Lippe

Lucas Moore

Luke Napleton

Evan Webster

University of Louisville Athletics