The University of Louisville baseball team heads north to take on No. 20 Indiana at 6 p.m. ET in Bloomington. The game will be televised on ESPNU with radio coverage available on 93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS

Louisville dropped the opening two games of the weekend against No. 2 Wake Forest but rallied for a 7-2 victory in the finale on Sunday. JT Benson hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Cards the lead as they scored seven unanswered for the win.

SERIES HISTORY

Louisville and Indiana meet for the 54th time on Tuesday night with the Hoosiers holding a slim 28-25 edge in the all-time series. The two teams have met in every season of Dan McDonnell’s tenure except for the COVID shortened 2020 season and in 2021 when the Big Ten did not play conference games.

The Cardinals are making their first trip to Bloomington since 2019, when they defeated the Hoosiers 8-7 in 12 innings. Louisville tallied 23 strikeouts in the win, the most for the program since at least 2000.

TEAM NOTES

  • Louisville has an .852 winning percentage (150-26) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 121-14 (.896) mark in regular season non-conference home games.
  • Louisville had just 12 stolen bases through the first 14 games, but has stolen 46 in the last 21.
  • The Cardinals rank top 25 nationally in earned run average (3.87) and hits allowed per nine innings (7.61).
  • The Cardinals have held the opposition to two runs or fewer 16 times through 35 games. Louisville limited opponents to two or less 14 times in 2022.
  • Louisville has been excellent early in games this spring, outscoring opponents 103-49 in the first three innings.
  • Through 35 games, the Cardinals have started 33 different batting orders and 29 different defensive alignments.

PLAYER NOTES

  • Jack Payton finished with an ACC-best 23 doubles in 2022, but homered just four times. The junior is still racking up the doubles with eight this season. However, Payton has shown more power this spring, matching his total from last year just 10 games into 2023 and sitting with double that number entering Tuesday. He recorded his first multi-homer game at Cincinnati, homering in the each of the first two innings, and currently leads the Cards with 15 multi-hit games including six with three hits.
  • Christian Knapczyk is the catalyst at the top of the Louisville lineup and currently ranks second in the ACC with 16 stolen bases and third with 13 HBPs. The junior has a hit in 29 of the 34 games he’s played this season and has reached base in all but three contests. Knapczyk enters Tuesday on a nine-game hitting streak.
  • JT Benson hit cleanup in the 2022 Opening Day lineup in his first collegiate game. However, a pair of fluke injuries derailed his sophomore campaign and limited him to just 14 starts. A fully healthy Benson has been excellent in 2023, hitting .319 with 12 extra-base hits and 22 RBI. Benson has also been good on the bases, swiping nine bags in 10 tries.
  • Logan Beard was a Freshman All-America selection in 2022 after hitting .310 with 12 doubles, four homers and 54 RBIs. Beard has flashed more power this spring, already surpassing his home run total from last season, including his sixth of the year against Lipscomb. The Louisville native is 11-for-26 in the last eight games driving in seven runs and upping his average to .284.
  • Brandon Anderson made just seven starts during his freshman season, posting a .316 average with all 12 of his hits going for singles. Anderson was Louisville’s Opening Day starter at third base but started only sporadically through the first month of the season. The sophomore has started each of the last seven games and has been excellent when he’s been in the starting lineup this season, hitting .397 (23-for-58) with 15 RBIs in his 17 starts.
  • Carson Liggett earned the Sunday starting role to open the season and has been terrific through the first half of the season. The sophomore is 7-0, one win shy of the national lead, and is second in the ACC with a 1.66 ERA. The right-hander has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his nine starts, and is the first Louisville pitcher to win his first seven decisions in a season since Kade McClure finished the 2016 season 12-0.
  • Greg Farone dominated junior college hitters in 2022, striking out 139 in just 60 innings on the mound. Farone opened the year in the bullpen before earning a spot in the weekend rotation. The southpaw has since returned to the bullpen where he has been dominant this season. In five relief appearances, Farone has allowed just one run over 10 innings with 15 strikeouts.
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@UofLSheriff50. Louisville native, University of Louisville Business School Grad c/o 2004. Co-Founder of TheCrunchZone.com

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