Cardinals Set to Square Off with No. 8 North Carolina

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team heads to Chapel Hill for three games against North Carolina. The series begins on Friday at 6 p.m. ET with Saturday and Sunday games scheduled for noon ET. Games one and two will be televised on ACC Network Extra, while the finale will be on ACC Network. All three games can be heard on 93.9 The Ville.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville took a 4-2 loss at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. Gavin Kilen and Zion Rose each had a pair of hits, while Isaac Humphrey hit his ninth home run of the season.

The weekend series against North Carolina will mark the sixth this season against a ranked team. The Cardinals are 7-10 this season against ranked opponents.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and North Carolina have 16 previous meetings with the Tar Heels holding a 9-7 advantage. The Cardinals are 2-6 all-time in Chapel Hill.

Louisville and North Carolina did not play in 2023. The Cardinals took two of three from UNC in the most recent meeting during the 2022 season in Louisville.

TEAM NOTES

UofL is 56-32-2 in its 90 all-time ACC series (one series ended 1-1, one ended 1-1-1) since joining the league and is 61-26-1 in its series finales during that span, including a 21-14-1 record in rubber games.
The Louisville offense currently ranks top 30 nationally in batting average, doubles, hits, runs, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
Louisville has notched double digit hits 27 times this season and is 26-3 when it records more hits than the opposition.
The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch 70 times this season, the second-most in the ACC.

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 .405 batting average in conference play and ranks sixth with a .479 on-base percentage. He leads the Cardinals in average, hits, runs, triples, total bases and on-base percentage in ACC play.
Evan Webster had made just three starts in his career prior to this season. The southpaw has started every weekend in 2024 for the Cardinals, ranking second on the team in innings pitched and strikeouts. Webster has been especially strong in five road starts this season, allowing just three earned runs in 28 innings (0.96 ERA) against UConn, Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami and Boston College. Webster owns 80 career appearances, eighth-most in program history.
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 36 games since, he's hitting .349 with nine doubles, eight homers and 32 RBIs. Humphrey has Louisville's second-best batting average in ACC action at .333.
Dylan Hoy has been scorching hot over the last 14 games. The senior saw his average dip to .288 following the game on April 13, but has gone 21-for-56 (.375) in the last 14 contests to add 36 points to his average. Hoy has scored 16 runs and driven in nine during that stretch.
JT Benson continues to lead Louisville' charge on the basepaths, leading the ACC and ranking sixth nationally with 31 stolen bases. The senior swiped a career-high four bases in the win over Virginia on April 13 and is 15-for-16 in conference play. Benson is the 10th player in program history to swipe 30 bags in a season and just three shy of cracking Louisville's top 10 all-time for career steals.
Gavin Kilen has taken his offensive production to another level during his sophomore season. Kilen is hitting .350 with 31 extra-base hits, leading the Cardinals in hits, doubles 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 leading the ACC in doubles, sixth in triples, and ranks top 20 in batting average and total bases.
Tucker Biven has been rock solid out of the Louisville bullpen this spring, leading the team with a 2.86 ERA in 19 relief appearances. Biven has closed out seven of Louisville's 13 wins in ACC play and has recorded more than three outs in 11 of his appearances.

CARDINALS SHOWING OFF WELL-BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK
The Louisville offense has been among the best in the ACC and country this season, ranking top 30 nationally in seven different categories. It's an offense that has featured 13 different players that have made at least 19 starts. While several Cardinals are having standout seasons, the balance is what jumps off the page:

Eleven Cardinals have a batting average above .300 with at least 50 at-bats
There are also 12 different hitters with at least 20 RBIs
Six Cardinals have hit at least eight home runs this season
Seven players have stolen at least eight bases

Louisville has scored double digit runs in 19 games this season. The Cardinals feature the ACC's leader in doubles (Gavin Kilen), stolen bases (JT Benson), and batting average in conference play (Zion Rose).

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Players Mentioned

JT Benson

Tucker Biven

Dylan Hoy

Isaac Humphrey

Gavin Kilen

Zion Rose

Evan Webster

University of Louisville Athletics