Devin Mann and the Cardinals open the ACC Championship on Wednesday against Duke.
Photo by: Jeff Reinking | Louisville Athletics
No. 24 Cardinals Open ACC Championship Wednesday
May 22, 2018 | Baseball
No. 5 seeded Cardinals play No. 9 Wake Forest on Wednesday at 11 a.m., ET and No. 4 Duke on Friday at 11 a.m.
| GAME DAY INFORMATION #24 Louisville (40-16, 18-12) at 2018 ACC Championship Location: Durham, N.C. Venue: Durham Bulls Athletic Park Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball Game Notes: Louisville | Media Center | ACC Central Wednesday, May 23 | 11 a.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ACC Network Extra | Radio: 93.9 The Ville LOU: Fr. LHP Reid Detmers (3-1, 4.30 ERA) WF: So. RHP Colin Peluse (6-1, 3.76 ERA) Friday, May 25 | 11 a.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ACC Network Extra | Radio: 93.9 The Ville LOU: Jr. LHP Adam Wolf (6-2, 2.33 ERA) DUKE: TBD Saturday, May 26 Semifinal #1 (Pool A vs. Pool D), 1 p.m. Semifinal #2 (Pool B vs. Pool C), 5 p.m. Sunday, May 27 Championship, Noon |
The ACC Baseball Championship features a pool-play format, leading into a four-team, single-elimination bracket to determine the league champion. The four teams with the best records within their respective pools will advance to Saturday's semifinals, with the winners playing on Sunday in the ACC Championship Game.
Regional Sports Networks from across the conference footprint and across the nation will carry all 14 games on Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday's noon championship game will televised nationally by ESPN2. All games will also be available on the ESPN app (subject to blackout). Radio coverage for all Louisville postseason games will be provided by 93.9 The Ville.
ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
Louisville closed the regular season with a 40-16 record overall and an 18-12 mark in the ACC after registering a series sweep of Notre Dame last weekend. The nation's last unbeaten team for the second straight year after winning 14 straight games to open the 2018 season, Louisville is ranked in three of six major national polls this week -- 24th in the NCBWA poll, 25th in the USA Today Coaches poll and 25th in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
All-ACC First Team selections Josh Stowers and Logan Wyatt pace the offense for the Cardinals. Stowers enters the postseason as the ACC leader in stolen bases with 33 in 40 attempts and runs scored (60) while hitting .335 with seven home runs, 11 doubles and 49 RBIs. He has reached base safely in a career best 39 straight games. Wyatt leads the ACC in doubles (22) and walks (55) while hitting .332 with four home runs and 56 RBIs.
The pitching staff is led by All-ACC Second Team honorees Adam Wolf and Nick Bennett and All-ACC Third Team selection Bobby Miller. Wolf has a 6-2 record, 2.33 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 88.2 innings and 14 series-opening starts. Bennett has a 7-1 mark, 2.12 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 63.2 innings, including nine straight weekend starts. Miller has seven consecutive weekend starts, a 5-1 record and 2.08 ERA in 56.1 innings this season.
STOWERS, WYATT LEAD EIGHT ALL-ACC HONORS FOR THE CARDINALS
Louisville received eight ACC individual honors in 2018, highlighted by All-ACC First Team selections for outfielder Josh Stowers and first baseman Logan Wyatt. The announcement marked the first career All-ACC honors for both Stowers and Wyatt. They were joined by All-ACC Second Team starting pitchers Nick Bennett and Adam Wolf as well as All-ACC Third Team honorees Devin Mann (second baseman), Bobby Miller (starting pitcher) and Danny Oriente (designated hitter/utility player). Miller also received ACC All-Freshman Team recognition.
Louisville has earned seven or more All-ACC honorees in each of its four seasons in the league. The Cardinals have also placed at least one player on the All-Freshman Team all four seasons. Overall, UofL has accumulated 30 All-ACC selections, five ACC All-Freshman Team honorees and seven ACC major awards in the last four years.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• Louisville was ranked No. 27 in the official NCAA RPI released on May 21. The Cardinals were among seven ACC teams in the top 46 of the RPI.
• UofL closed the regular season by winning 20 of its final 25 games. The Cardinals were also 12-3 in the second half of the ACC schedule.
• From March 9 to April 8, the Cardinals played 15 of 19 games against ranked opponents, including 12 against top 10 foes. Overall, UofL has an 8-10 record against ranked foes this season.
• Louisville has started 20 different defensive lineups and submitted 42 different batting orders through its 56 games this season.
• Seven UofL pitchers have made weekend series starts this season but the Cardinals have used the same trio each of the last seven weeks -- Adam Wolf, Nick Bennett and Bobby Miller.
• Five different Louisville pitchers have earned saves this season, including three in the series sweep at Pittsburgh (Shay Smiddy, Michael McAvene and Adam Elliott) on May 11-13.
• The Cardinals are 34-4 this season when entering the ninth inning with a lead. From 2012-17, Louisville accumulated a six-year record of 266-3 when entering the ninth with a lead, including a 50-0 mark in 2017.
• On the mound, Louisville is 4th in the nation in hits allowed per 9 IP (7.18), 15th in strikeouts per 9 IP (9.7) and 15th in ERA (3.28). UofL leads the ACC in ERA and hits allowed per 9 IP.
• Louisville is ranked 6th in the nation and No. 1 in the ACC in stolen bases in 2018 with 111 in 133 attempts after ranking 17th in 2017 (98-of-123). The Cardinals were 12th in the NCAA in 2016 with 101 stolen bases, fourth nationally with 127 stolen bases in 2015, second in the nation in 2014 with 133 and second in 2013 with 150.
• Offensively, the Cardinals are 10th in the NCAA in walks (294), 18th in sacrifice flies (31), 17th in on-base percentage (.397) and 19th in doubles (114). Louisville leads the ACC in doubles.
• UofL has won 31 of its 40 ACC series since joining the league and is 33-6 in its series finales during that span, including an 11-4 record in rubber games.
• The Cardinals have won 16 of their 20 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
• From March 16 through April 8, UofL suffered four straight series losses for the first time since 2004 when they had seven straight series losses.
• While at Louisville, coach Dan McDonnell has guided the Cardinals to four College World Series berths, seven NCAA Super Regional appearances, 10 NCAA Regional bids, eight regular season conference championships and two conference tournament titles with 34 All-Americans.
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
• Josh Stowers ranks 5th in the nation with his 33 stolen bases in 40 attempts. Overall, Stowers has 57 career stolen bases in 72 total attempts.
• In the 28 games since moving to the 5th spot in the Cardinals lineup, Stowers has a .417 average (40-for-96), 35 runs scored, 19 walks (.529 OB%) and is 20-for-25 on stolen bases.
• Stowers has reached base safely in a career best 39 straight games.
• Logan Wyatt is 5th in the nation in walks, 10th in doubles and 28th in on-base percentage.
• Wyatt is No. 1 in the ACC in doubles and walks.
• Over his last 30 games, Danny Oriente has a .382 batting average (39-for-102) with 29 RBIs.
• Devin Mann is Louisville's active career leader in games played (159), doubles (33), RBIs (102), runs scored (119) and walks (98).
• Mann is 8th in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC with his 51 walks this season. He is also 9th nationally and second in the ACC in sac flies with 8.
• Tyler Fitzgerald is third on the team with his 18 multi-hit games this season, including 4 3-hit games.
• Adam Wolf started all 14 series-openers this season and the junior has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 12 of those outings.
• Wolf is ranked No. 4 in the ACC in ERA (2.33) and No. 5 in WHIP (1.03).
• In his 9 weekend starts this season, Nick Bennett has a 6-1 record, 1.99 ERA (13 earned runs) with 54 strikeouts in 58.2 innings.
• Bennett is ranked No. 2 in the ACC in ERA (2.12) and No. 3 in WHIP (1.02).
• During his 7 starts this season (all on the weekend), Bobby Miller has a 2.40 ERA (11 ER) with 32 strikeouts in 41.1 innings.
• In his 16 relief appearances in 2018, Shay Smiddy has a 4-0 record, 1.33 ERA (4 ER), 35 strikeouts and just 8 walks in 27.0 innings.
• Despite not pitching since April 17 due to elbow inflammation, Sam Bordner ranks No. 3 in the ACC with his 10 saves in 2018, just one behind the league leaders.
• Bordner had his scoreless streak halted at 23.1 innings at WKU on March 21. His career long scoreless streak is 31.2 innings spanning the end of 2016 and much of 2017.
LOUISVILLE CHASING FIRST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TITLE SINCE 2009
The Louisville baseball team arrives in Durham looking for its first conference tournament title since winning the Big East Championship in 2009. That title capped back-to-back Big East championships for Louisville. Since joining the ACC, the Cardinals have a 3-5 record in three previous ACC Championship appearances, including a 1-1 record in last year's event at Louisville Slugger Field. All three of Louisville's ACC Championship wins have come in the team's opening game of the event. The Cardinals are 1-0 against Wake Forest in the ACC Championship after earning a 9-5 win in 2016. Friday's game will mark Louisville's first postseason meeting with Duke.
CARDINALS REGISTER SEVENTH STRAIGHT 40-WIN SEASON
With its victory against Notre Dame on May 19, Louisville clinched its seventh consecutive 40-win season, including the sixth straight 40-win regular season. UofL is the only program in the nation to win 40 or more regular season games in each of the last six seasons. The Cardinals have won at least 40 games in 11 of head coach Dan McDonnell's 12 seasons at the helm. Louisville had never registered a 40-win season prior to winning 47 games in McDonnell's first season as the head coach in 2007.
LOUISVILLE IN NATIONAL POLLS EVERY WEEK SINCE START OF 2012
Louisville, which surpassed its previous high national ranking of No. 2 (in 2016) with the No. 1 ranking on March 13 and March 20 during the 2017 season, has enjoyed a historic run by remaining ranked in at least one major national poll every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such span in school history. Ranked in the top 25 in all six major preseason polls for 2018, the Cardinals have earned a preseason national ranking in 11 straight seasons (2008-2018) overall. Louisville is ranked in three national polls this week landing at No. 24 in the NCBWA poll, No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll and No. 25 in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at @UofLBaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
