After struggling Wednesday against Wright State in the home opener, Louisville continued the home stand with a sweep of Valparaiso this weekend. Although the loss to Wright State was alarming, it is a very long year and this college baseball season has been very similar to college basketball this year with upsets. We have seen Cal Poly beat Vandy, EKU beat LSU, Niagara over FSU, and Grand Canyon over Oklahoma State, to name a few. Do I have concerns about this Louisville team? Sure. Is it time to panic? Not a chance.
At the moment, the pitching staff consists of our three weekend starters (Detmers, Miller, and Smith), Adam Elliott, and Michael Kirian. Other than that, we haven’t seen much consistency, which is alarming. The sophomore class is just not producing right now, putting a lot of pressure on the freshmen. We have seen some bright moments from some of the freshmen, but when they are being relied on so heavily, we are going to have some growing pains, for example, Wright State. From an experience standpoint, this is not a bad thing as they will be prepared when their number is called down the road.
From an offensive standpoint, the Cards bats finally picked up this weekend, recording 31 hits and 23 runs over 3 games. I look for the offensive production to continue to increase over time as Lucas Dunn and Alex Binelas return from hamate injuries. They should both be back within a few weeks to a month. It will also help as the younger players continue to log additional plate appearances and become more comfortable in Coach McDonnell’s system. Here’s a recap from this weekend.
Friday Night
Reid Detmers (2-0) stole the spotlight, striking out 14 batters and only allowing 3 hits over 6 innings as the Cards beat the Crusaders 3-0. Glenn Albanese and Michael Kirian finished the game, striking out 8 more and only giving up one hit. At the plate, the Cards were led by Ben Bianco’s 2-run HR in the 6th inning. Henry Davis and Levi Usher both added two hits apiece.
Saturday
The pitching staff picked up on Saturday right where they left off on Friday night. Bobby Miller (1-0) allowed just 4 hits over 6 innings and struck out 12 batters while giving up one run. Adam Elliott, Ryan Hawks, Kellan Tulio, and Michael Kirian (S, 2) closed out the final 3 frames, only giving up 1 hit and striking out 8 more in the 6-1 victory. Luke Brown and Tim Borden led the offensive attack with 2 hits apiece while Borden and Metzinger each added 2 RBI. The highlight on Saturday was the aggressive base running by Levi Usher as he tied a Jim Patterson Stadium record, swiping 4 bases. As a team, the Cards stole 8 total bases.
Sunday
There was no shortage of offense as Louisville finished the sweep of the Crusaders, 14-10 on a beautiful February day in The Ville. Luke Smith (1-0) picked up the win throwing 5.1 innings, giving up 8 hits, and 3 earned runs. He gave up two additional unearned runs. Freshman Evan Webster came in to relieve Smith and recorded two massive strikeouts with the bases loaded in the 6th. After that, it was a struggle for the bullpen, allowing 5 runs over the final 1.2 innings. Coach McDonnell was trying to mix in Carter Lohman and Andrew Benefield to get some experience on the mound, but they gave up 6 hits and 5 earned runs combined over one inning. Due to the lack of confidence in some of the bullpen options, the coaching staff is experimenting with position players to see if they can fill some of the mid-inning gaps, but that didn’t work with Benefield on Sunday. Don’t be surprised if we see a few position players log innings on the mound if we have a large lead down the road.
This was by far the best offensive performance by the Cards, outhitting the Crusaders 16-15. Ben Metzinger, Henry Davis, and Jared Poland led the Cards with 3 hits apiece, while Danny Oriente and Justin Lavey each recorded 3 RBI. Louisville scored at least one run for six consecutive innings, from the 2nd through the 7th, putting up 6 runs in the 6th inning. Anytime Valpo would score a few runs, Louisville always had an answer and it seemed to always come from a different player. Due to the large lead in the middle innings, McDonnell was able to get a lot of different faces involved by pinch running, pinch-hitting, and playing defense.
The Week Ahead
Louisville continues the home stand this week with 4 more games at Jim Patterson Stadium, hosting Xavier on Tuesday at 3:00pm. Xavier has struggled this year, going 2-4, with both wins coming against Memphis on opening weekend. They traveled to Oxford this weekend to play a 3 game series with Ole Miss and lost all 3 by a total score of 35-3. I know the Cards midweek pitching struggled last week, but I would like to think the offense would be able to put up a few runs after gaining confidence this weekend. Admission is free and it will be a Cardinals Cap Day promotion. All fans that wear a Louisville hat to the game will receive a voucher for a free popcorn or pretzel. Go for the pretzel.
Next Weekend
The Cards will host Western Michigan next weekend for a 3 game series starting on Friday afternoon. They have been all over the place so far this season, beating Southern California 8-5, but then losing to them 16-2 and 14-3. Their other four wins were against Alabama A&M, which they won by a combined 77-15 and none of the game surpassed 75 fans in attendance. I wouldn’t put much stock in those games, I remember Louisville playing Alabama A&M last season. It was UGLY. More to come on the series with Western Michigan later in the week.
Friday – 3:00pm on ACCNX and 1450AM – Budweiser Two Buck Night (Domestic canned beer and small Pepsi products for $2)
Saturday – 1:00pm on ACCNX and 93.9 The Ville – Trading Card Giveaway (1 of 4) and BBQ on the Berm ($3 hamburgers, foot-long hotdogs, and 12 oz. canned beer through the end of the 2nd inning)
Sunday – 1:00pm on ACCNX and 93.9 The Ville – Family Fun Day
