Cardinals Close Out Homestand with Northern Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team hosts Northern Kentucky on Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET for Louisville's annual Cancer Awareness Night. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra with radio available on 93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK.

CARDINALS OPEN ACC PLAY WITH SERIES WIN
Louisville began ACC play with a series victory over No. 6 North Carolina, winning the opening game of a Friday doubleheader and the finale on Sunday. The offense shook off a four-run deficit for the win on Friday, while the pitching staff stymied the Tar Heels in a one-hit shutout on Sunday.

WRAPPING UP THE HOMESTAND
Tuesday's game will close out a 17-game homestand for the Cardinals. Louisville is 14-2 so far at Jim Patterson Stadium, averaging more than nine runs per contest.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY SERIES HISTORY
Louisville holds a 17-7 advantage in the all-time series with Northern Kentucky. After more than 30 years without playing, the series resumed in 2017 and the Cardinals are a perfect 6-0 against the Norse since. Zion Rose helped lead the Cards to an 11-7 victory over NKU last season, going 2-for-3 with a pair of triples and three RBIs.

TEAM NOTES

Louisville has an .821 winning percentage (184-40) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016.
The Cardinals are 98-22 (.817) under Dan McDonnell against teams from the state of Kentucky (Bellarmine, EKU, Kentucky, Morehead State, Murray State, NKU and WKU).
The Cardinals cranked up the running game in the last two weeks, swiping 28 bases in the last nine games. Louisville is currently second in the ACC with 43 overall.
The Louisville offense has tallied double digit hits in 12 of 19 games to start the season, going 11-1 in those contests. The Cards notched at least 10 hits 29 times in 2024, posting a 22-7 mark when doing so.
The Cardinals has more free passes as an offense than strikeouts, tallying 90 walks and 32 HBPs to just 102 strikeouts.

PLAYER NOTES

Jake Munroe has made an immediate impact in the middle of Louisville's lineup. The junior college All-American is second in the ACC in hits, and ranks fourth in batting average, fifth in triples, sixth in on-base percentage, 10th in runs, 11th in total bases and 13th in RBIs and slugging. Munroe has a hit in 17 of 19 games this season and leads the team with 11 multi-hit games.
Matt Klein had a breakout summer in the Cape Cod League that saw him hit .375 for the Cotuit Kettleers. His hitting ways have continued to start the spring, as he has recorded multiple hits in eight games and multiple RBIs in eight as well. Klein leads the Cards and ranks 12th in the ACC with 24 driven in.
Lucas Moore has been the ultimate table-setter at the top of the lineup for the Cards. Moore leads the Cardinals with 29 runs scored and tops the ACC in runs per game. The speedy outfielder is also a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen bases, the second-highest total in the conference.
Peter Michael transferred to Louisville with a career 13.25 ERA after one year each at San Diego and Northwestern. However, the right-hander has taken huge steps forward as the Sunday starter for the Cards. Michael is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA through five starts with 28 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. Michael turned in the best start of his career against North Carolina, taking a no-hitter into the seventh and finishing with just one hit allowed.
Wyatt Danilowicz missed all of the 2024 season due to injury, but has been outstanding in his return to the mound. In eight relief appearances, the southpaw has allowed just one unearned run over 9.1 innings with 14 strikeouts. Danilowicz earned his first career save in the weekend finale against UIC, recording the final four outs.
Ethan Eberle has had an excellent start to his collegiate career as a key piece of the Louisville bullpen. The lefty has allowed just one run over 7.0 innings, striking out 10. Eberle earned his first career victory against North Carolina with three shutout frames, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced.

CARDINALS CLIMBING THE POLLS
The Louisville baseball team returned to the national rankings last week, and are charging up the polls after a 4-1 week and a series win over North Carolina. The Cardinals' highest ranking is No. 15 in the Baseball America poll.

The Cardinals were not ranked in any national poll during the 2024 season and were last in the national rankings on May 1, 2023.

Louisville was ranked in at least one poll every week from the start of 2012 until the middle of May 2021, a stretch of 155 consecutive rankings. The Cardinals were also ranked for the majority of the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

NOTABLE NUMBERS
15 – The Cards' No. 15 ranking in this week's Baseball America poll is their highest ranking in any poll since April 17, 2023.
9 – Louisville took two of three from North Carolina, the ninth time in 11 seasons it has won its opening ACC series.

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Players Mentioned

Wyatt Danilowicz

Ethan Eberle

Matt Klein

Peter Michael

Lucas Moore

Jake Munroe

Zion Rose

University of Louisville Athletics