Cardinals Host No. 4 Clemson For Weekend Series

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team welcomes Clemson to Jim Patterson Stadium for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET with Sunday's finale set for 4 p.m. ET. The opening two games will be televised on ACC Network Extra, while Sunday's contest will be on ACC Network. All three games can be heard on 93.9 The Ville.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville used an explosive start on its way to a 16-5 victory in seven innings over Western Kentucky on Tuesday. The Cardinals set a program record with 13 runs in the opening inning, the most in any inning in UofL history.

Clemson enters the weekend ranked fourth nationally, the fifth opponent in the last six weekends to be ranked in the top 25. The Cardinals are 6-6 in the 12 weekend games against ranked ACC competition.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Clemson have met 34 times previously, with the Tigers holding a 20-14 edge in the all-time series. However, the Cardinals are 7-2 against the Tigers in Louisville, including a three-game sweep at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2022.

TEAM NOTES

UofL is 55-31-2 in its 88 all-time ACC series (one series ended 1-1, one ended 1-1-1) since joining the league and is 60-25-1 in its series finales during that span, including a 21-13-1 record in rubber games.
The Cardinals have won 32 of their 43 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
The Louisville offense currently ranks top 25 nationally in batting average, hits, runs, runs per game, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
Louisville has notched double digit hits 24 times this season, including 10 of the past 13 games.
The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch 54 times this season, the third-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 30 of 34. 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 throughout 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 leads all ACC hitters with a .438 batting average in conference play and ranks fourth with a .500 on-base percentage. He leads the Cardinals in average, hits, runs, triples, total bases, slugging and on-base percentage in ACC play.
Dylan Hoy has been scorching hot over the last six games. The senior saw his average dip to .288 following the game on April 13, but has gone 13-for-25 (.520) in the last six contests to add 55 points to his average. Hoy has scored 10 runs and driven in six during that stretch.
Isaac Humphrey has very quietly had a strong senior campaign at the plate. Humphrey hit just .250 through his first 10 games of the season with just one home run and four RBIs. In the 28 games since, he's hitting .365 with eight doubles, five homers and 24 RBIs. Humphrey has Louisville's second-best batting average in ACC action at .322.
Tucker Biven has been rock solid out of the Louisville bullpen this spring, leading the team with a 1.96 ERA in 15 relief appearances. The sophomore has surrendered just five earned runs in 23 innings with 29 strikeouts. Biven has closed out six of Louisville's nine wins in ACC play.
JT Benson continues to lead Louisville' charge on the basepaths, leading the ACC and ranking 11th nationally with 25 stolen bases. The senior swiped a career-high four bases in the win over Virginia on April 13 and is 12-for-13 in conference play. Benson is just five shy of becoming the 10th player in program history to swipe 30 bags in a season.
Gavin Kilen has taken his offensive production to another level during his sophomore season. Kilen is hitting .368 with 26 extra-base hits, leading the Cardinals in hits, doubles, triples and total bases. 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 doubles, fifth in triples, and ranks top 20 in batting average and total bases.
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.

LOUISVILLE HAS FIRST INNING TO REMEMBER AGAINST WKU
It was a record setting first inning for the Cardinals against Western Kentucky on April 23.

The Cardinals sent 18 batters to the plate, scoring 13 runs on 11 hits with all nine hitters reaching base without recording an out to start the inning. The 13 runs were the most in any inning on record in program history.

Louisville launched three home runs in the frame, including a grand slam from Gavin Kilen. Eddie King Jr. went back-to-back with Kilen and Zion Rose later added a two-run shot.

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Players Mentioned

JT Benson

Tucker Biven

Dylan Hoy

Isaac Humphrey

Gavin Kilen

Eddie King Jr.

Ryan McCoy

Zion Rose

University of Louisville Athletics