Louisville Heads to Miami for Weekend Set

Friday, April 19

Coral Gables, Fla.

7:00 PM

University of Louisville

Miami

The Cardinals during the national anthem.

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

April 18, 2024 | Baseball

The series begins on Friday at 7 p.m. ET in Coral Gables, Fla.

By: Stephen Williams

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team heads south for three games at Miami beginning on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET in Coral Gables, Fla. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET with Sunday's finale at 2 p.m. ET. Friday and Sunday will be televised on ACC Network Extra with Saturday set for the ACC Network. Radio coverage will be available all weekend on 93.9 The Ville.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville lost 17-13 to Kentucky on Tuesday night in the Battle of the Bluegrass. The Cardinals finished with 18 hits on the night, their second-highest total of the season.

The series at Miami marks the start of the second half of the ACC schedule for the Cardinals. Louisville heads into the back half of its conference schedule at 7-8 and in fifth place in the Atlantic Division.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville trails the all-time series with Miami 10-9. The Cardinals are just 1-3 all-time in Coral Gables and are making their first trip to Miami since the 2016 season. The Hurricanes have won five of the last six against the Cards, including taking two of three last April in Louisville.

TEAM NOTES

UofL is 54-31-2 in its 87 all-time ACC series (one series ended 1-1, one ended 1-1-1) since joining the league and is 60-24-1 in its series finales during that span, including a 21-13-1 record in rubber games.
The Louisville offense currently ranks top 30 nationally in batting average, doubles, hits, runs, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch 52 times this season, the second-most in the ACC.
Louisville hit just one home run over the first six games, but homered at least once in each of the next 14 contests and 27 of 30. 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 half of the season with 13 different position players drawing at least 18 starts.

PLAYER NOTES

Zion Rose has been a catalyst in Louisville's lineup as a freshman, especially in ACC play. Rose is hitting .400 against conference foes, the best average on the team. He also leads the team in ACC games in hits, runs, triples and on-base percentage and is second in RBIs and stolen bases.
Tucker Biven has been rock solid out of the Louisville bullpen this spring, leading the team with a 1.83 ERA in 13 relief appearances. The sophomore has surrendered just four earned runs in 19.2 innings with 23 strikeouts. Biven has closed out four of Louisville's seven wins in ACC play.
JT Benson continues to lead Louisville' charge on the basepaths, leading the ACC and ranking eighth nationally with 24 stolen bases. The senior swiped a career-high four bases in the win over Virginia on April 13 and is 11-for-12 in conference play. Benson is just six shy of becoming the 10th player in program history to swipe 30 bags in a season.
Ryan McCoy has shown off elite power in his two seasons at Louisville, having led the team with 12 home runs in 2023. His power was on full display in the weekend series against Virginia, as he launched a pair of homers in the Saturday game before adding another in the finale on Sunday. McCoy's first home run of the weekend traveled 482 feet, the longest home run measured by Trackman hit by a Louisville player since data became available in 2019. McCoy also hit a 480-foot homer at Duke in April of 2023.
Gavin Kilen has taken his offensive production to another level during his sophomore season. Through 34 games, Kilen is hitting .370 with 23 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 tied for the ACC lead in doubles, fourth in triples, and ranks top 25 in batting average and total bases.
Eddie King Jr. has stepped up his play against ACC competition. The junior is hitting .343 in conference play as opposed to .265 in non-conference action. King ranks second on the team in batting average and RBIs (10) in ACC play.