7th Inning Stretch: Baseball is Back! (Week 1)

 Following another long offseason, college baseball has finally returned to the Ville! The Louisville baseball program begins their 2024 season this weekend down in Tampa, Fla., and will make their return to Jim Patterson Stadium next week.

The Cardinals are coming off a season where they missed the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three season, as well as the ACC Tournament for the first time since joining the conference.

That being said, Louisville does retain a lot players from last season, and has the potential to make some noise if everything comes together.

All that being said, it's time to dive into another season of college baseball, and take a look at Louisville's first week of their 2024 campaign:

News & Notes

• Louisville is not ranked in the preseason top 25 in any of the six major collegiate baseball polls.
• One Cardinal was tabbed as a preseason All-American. Left-Handed Pitcher Sebastian Gongora was named a Second-Team All-American by the NCBWA.
• Louisville was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division, behind conference-favorite Wake Forest, Clemson, NC State and Florida State.
• Junior infielder Logan Beard, junior outfielder J.T. Benson, senior infielder Dylan Hoy, junior outfielder Issac Humphrey and senior left-handed pitcher Evan Webster were selected by the players and coaches to be the captains for the 2023 season.
• Head coach Dan McDonnell enters his 18th season with the program, compiling a 719-309-1 record during his tenure as the Louisville skipper - the third-most wins of any team in the country since his hiring in 2007.

The Week Ahead

Away (USF Baseball Stadium - Tampa, Fla.)

• Friday, Feb. 16 at 12:00pm vs. Indiana State
  • No Television Designation
  • 93.9 The Ville
• Saturday, Feb. 17 at 4:00pm at South Florida
  • ESPN+
  • 93.9 The Ville
• Sunday, Feb 18 at 9:00am vs. UConn
• No Television Designation
• 93.9 The Ville

Know The Foe

Indiana State Sycamores

Head Coach (school record): Mitch Hannahs (311-199-1)
2024 Record (conference record): 0-0 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Indiana State leads 21-15

Top Performers (Hitters, 2023):

• OF Adam Pottinger (59 GP, 55 GS): .299/.449/.535, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 9 2B, 31 BB
• INF Randal Diaz (62 GP, 61 GS): .297/.372/.502, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 15 2B, 3 3B, 16 BB
• IF Mike Sears (62 GP, 62 GS): .261/.389/.563, 19 HR, 62 RBI, 10 2B, 32 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers, 2023)

• RHP Matt Jachec (17 APP, 16 GS): 4.05 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 104.1 IP, 104 K, 17 BB, .256 B/AVG
• RHP Connor Fenlong (17 APP, 16 GS): 3.45 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 114.2 IP, 76 K, 31 BB, .222 B/AVG
• LHP Zach Davidson (20 APP, 3 GS): 2.50 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 36.0 IP, 56 K, 16 BB, .227 B/AVG

USF Bulls

Head Coach (school record): Billy Mohl (148-158-1)
2024 Record (conference record): 0-0 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: USF leads 41-36

Top Performers (Hitters, 2023):

• INF Eric Snow (56 GP, 55 GS): .343/.418/.526, 8 HR, 45 RBI, 13 2B, 22 BB
• UTIL Bobby Boser (55 GP, 52 GS): .323/.445/.621, 15 HR, 41 RBI, 7 2B, 3 3B, 28 BB
• OF/1B Daniel Cantu (49 GP, 49 GS): .302/.399/.557, 11 HR, 41 RBI, 14 2B, 18 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers, 2023)

• RHP Hunter Mink (16 APP, 14 GS): 6.75 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 73.1 IP, 82 K, 38 BB, .263 B/AVG
• LHP Ethan Brown (16 APP, 8 GS): 6.75 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 53.1 IP, 70 K, 25 BB, .258 B/AVG
• RHP Jack Cobert (16 APP, 14 GS): 5.05 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 76.2 IP, 65 K, 21 BB, .289 B/AVG

UConn Huskies

Head Coach (school record): Jim Penders (700-449-5)
2024 Record (conference record): 0-0 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 19-13

Top Performers (Hitters, 2023):

• Ben Huber (52 GP, 52 GS): .341/.442/.688, 17 HR, 66 RBI, 21 2B, 34 BB
• Dominic Freeberger (61 GP, 61 GS): .346/.429/.484, 7 HR, 61 RBI, 13 2B, 34 BB
• Luke Broadhurst (60 GP, 57 GS): .312/.441/.590, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 13 2B, 39 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers, 2023)

• Zach Fogell (36 APP, 0 GS): 1.89 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 47.2 IP, 60 K, 23 BB, .210 B/AVG
• Stephen Quigley (15 APP, 14 GS): 4.83 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 76.1 IP, 74 K, 29 BB, .269 B/AVG
• Justin Willis (24 APP, 0 GS): 3.04 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 29 K, 11 BB, .190 B/AVG, 12 SV

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings:

	ISU	USF	UConn	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	NR	NR
RPI	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SOS	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Home Record	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0
Away Record	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0
Neutral Record	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0

Hitting (2023):

	ISU	USF	UConn	UofL
Base on Balls	173rd (235)	244th (206)	17th (335)	175th (234)
Batting Average	190th (.272)	175th (.275)	32nd (.301)	147th (.280)
Hits	72nd (578)	84th (570)	23rd (639)	168th (517)
Home Runs	106th (73)	99th (74)	80th (78)	152nd (57)
On Base Percentage	179th (.374)	237th (.361)	22nd (.411)	121st (.384)
Runs Per Game	178th (6.5)	239th (5.8)	38th (7.8)	123rd (6.9)
Slugging Percentage	158th (.438)	173rd (.433)	66th (.483)	154th (.441)

Pitching (2023):

	ISU	USF	UConn	UofL
Earned Run Average	5th (3.84)	221st (6.82)	57th (4.89)	24th (4.39)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	10th (7.97)	232nd (10.78)	92nd (9.27)	25th (8.30)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	113th (8.6)	87th (8.9)	67th (9.2)	43rd (9.6)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	14th (2.77)	98th (2.00)	60th (2.20)	92nd (2.02)
WHIP	3rd (1.23)	191st (1.69)	78th (1.49)	59th (1.45)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	6th (3.11)	124th (4.44)	81st (4.18)	170th (4.75)