Game 23
Miami RedHawks (18-4) at No. 11 Louisville Cardinals (18-6)
Tuesday, March 26 – 6 p.m.
ACC Network Extra
Jim Patterson Stadium – Louisville, Ky.
ON TAP
The Miami University baseball team gets its first chance to test itself against a nationally ranked opponent as it travels to No. 11 Louisville for a midweek game on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m, and it will stream live on ACC Network Extra.
ABOUT LOUISVILLE
Having reached the College World Series in three of the past six seasons, the Cardinals are 18-6 in 2019. They were ranked as high as fourth in the D1Baseball Poll, before settling in at 11th this week after dropping two of three to ACC rival Georgia Tech. Louisville bases its success on having a dominant pitching staff. It has a team ERA of 2.79 and 252 strikeouts over 219.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting only .198 on the season against the Cardinals. Their top hitter has been junior infielder Tyler Fitzgerald. He is batting .323 with three home runs and 20 RBIs.
SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE
Miami holds a 12-9 lead in the all-time series with Louisville. The Cardinals have won the past four meetings between the teams, however. Their last meeting came on May 2, 2017 in Louisville. The RedHawks jumped to a 5-0 lead in the top of the sixth against the second-ranked Cardinals, but UL stormed back to tie the contest and force extra innings. Louisville scored in the bottom of the 10th to take a 6-5 victory.
NOTABLE – MIAMI IN NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Miami's historic 18-4 start is tied for the best through 22 games in school history. The RedHawks also rank highly in several national statistical categories. Here is a sample of the team statistics (there are 299 NCAA Division I schools that play baseball). Check back Thursday for the Eastern Michigan preview where individual rankings will be looked at.
Category                             Rank (Miami's total)
Batting Average                 45th (.291)
Scoring Average                16th (7.8 runs per game)
Runs Scored                       25th (172)
Triples                                  4th (13)
Slugging Percentage         35th (.448)
On Base Percentage         17th (.405)
Stolen Bases                       19th (47)
Walks                                   40th (121)
ERAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 54th (3.66)
Strikeouts per 9 Inn.        21st (10.1)
Hits Allowed per 9 Inn.    36th (7.47)
WHIPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 46th (1.28)
UP AHEAD
The RedHawks return home for Mid-American Conference play as they welcome Eastern Michigan to McKie Field at Hayden Park this weekend. The game on Friday will begin at 5 p.m., on Saturday it will be at 4 p.m. and it will conclude on Sunday with first pitch at 1 p.m.
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