Tuesday, April 9
Bowling Green, Ky.
4:00 PM
University of Louisville
at
Western Kentucky
Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
Cardinals Travel to Bowling Green to Take On Western Kentucky
April 08, 2024 | Baseball
First pitch is now scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team hits the road on Tuesday to take on Western Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET in Bowling Green. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with radio coverage available on 970 WGTK.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville notched a weekend sweep of No. 19 NC State over the weekend. The Cardinals needed just seven innings for an 11-1 victory on Friday before securing 7-6 wins on Saturday and Sunday.
The Louisville bullpen was strong in the series against NC State, allowing just three earned runs in 10.2 innings, led by a pair of saves from Tucker Biven in the final two games of the weekend.
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday will be the 147th all-time meeting between the two programs. The Cardinals hold a 77-69 edge in the series, including 10 consecutive victories. During the 10-game winning streak, Louisville has scored in double figures eight times.
Louisville is just 31-34 against the Hilltoppers in Bowling Green, but has won its last four on the road at WKU.
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
GONGORA NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sebastian Gongora was named ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week after his dominant performance in Louisville's series opening 11-1 victory over No. 19 NC State on April 5.
Gongora turned in a seven-inning complete game effort, striking out a career high 11 batters in the process. The Dayton, Ohio, native surrendered just one run on a solo home run while allowing three hits.
Gongora dominated the middle innings, recording strikeouts for eight of his nine outs in the third through fifth frames.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville notched a weekend sweep of No. 19 NC State over the weekend. The Cardinals needed just seven innings for an 11-1 victory on Friday before securing 7-6 wins on Saturday and Sunday.
The Louisville bullpen was strong in the series against NC State, allowing just three earned runs in 10.2 innings, led by a pair of saves from Tucker Biven in the final two games of the weekend.
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday will be the 147th all-time meeting between the two programs. The Cardinals hold a 77-69 edge in the series, including 10 consecutive victories. During the 10-game winning streak, Louisville has scored in double figures eight times.
Louisville is just 31-34 against the Hilltoppers in Bowling Green, but has won its last four on the road at WKU.
TEAM NOTES
- Louisville has an .828 winning percentage (168-35) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 139-18 (.885) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
- The Cardinals are 96-20 (.828) under Dan McDonnell against teams from the state of Kentucky (Bellarmine, EKU, Kentucky, Morehead State, Murray State, NKU and WKU).
- The Louisville offense currently ranks top 30 nationally in batting average, doubles, hits, on-base percentage, runs, runs per game, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
- The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch 46 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 22 of 25. 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 14 different position players drawing at least 10 starts. No Louisville player has started all 31 games this season.
PLAYER NOTES
- Zion Rose has been a catalyst in Louisville's lineup as a freshman, especially in ACC play. Rose is hitting .372 against conference foes, the second-best average on the team. He also leads the team in ACC games in hits, triples and on-base percentage and is tied for the team lead in runs and RBIs. Rose enters Tuesday with a 12-game reached base streak.
- Tucker Biven has been rock solid out of the Louisville bullpen this spring, leading the team with a 1.08 ERA in 12 relief appearances. The sophomore has surrendered just two earned runs in 16.2 innings with 20 strikeouts. Biven has closed out four of Louisville's last five wins in ACC play.
- Logan Beard hit four home runs in 2022 and seven more in 2023. The senior has already matched his home run total from last year just 31 games into the season. Beard has seen a power surge recently, hitting four in his last six games played, including two in the weekend sweep against NC State.
- Gavin Kilen has taken his offensive production to another level during his sophomore season. Through 29 games, Kilen is hitting .345 with 22 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 doubles, third in triples, and ranks top 25 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 .342 with 23 RBIs, six 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.
- Jared Lessman joined the Cardinals after a pair of seasons at Iowa Western CC. He allowed three runs while recording just three outs in his first two appearances in a Louisville uniform. However, he locked it down over his next seven trips to the mound, giving up just one earned run over 12.1 innings. Lessman pitched scoreless relief outings of three innings each against Virginia Tech and NC State.
GONGORA NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sebastian Gongora was named ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week after his dominant performance in Louisville's series opening 11-1 victory over No. 19 NC State on April 5.
Gongora turned in a seven-inning complete game effort, striking out a career high 11 batters in the process. The Dayton, Ohio, native surrendered just one run on a solo home run while allowing three hits.
Gongora dominated the middle innings, recording strikeouts for eight of his nine outs in the third through fifth frames.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
Players Mentioned
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