Louisville baseball goes for season sweep of Kentucky Wednesday night

The second-ranked Louisville baseball team will go for a season sweep of rival Kentucky when it faces the Wildcats in Lexington Wednesday night at 6:30. The Cards won a 2-1 10 inning thriller at Jim Patterson Stadium eight days ago.

Kentucky is in the midst of an eight-game stretch in which it has played nothing but games against opponents ranked in the top 10. Louisville, meanwhile, is gearing up for a three-game weekend set against No. 7 Florida State in which it can lock up both the Atlantic Division title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.

Here's your vital information for tonight's tilt:

#2 Louisville (37-11, 21-3 ACC) at Kentucky (26-20, 11-12 SEC)
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 | 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Lexington, Ky.
Venue: Cliff Hagan Stadium
TV: SEC Network+ (Watch)
Radio: 93.9 The Ville

STARTING PITCHERS

LOU: Fr. RHP Kade McClure (1-0, 3.09 ERA)
UK: Fr. LHP Zach Logue (2-2, 5.04 ERA)

TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS

• Through 48 games this season, the Louisville bullpen has a 1.54 ERA with a 17-0 record, 179 strikeouts to just 63 walks in 164.0 innings and opposing batters are hitting only .168.

• Louisville has won 131 straight games when entering the ninth inning with a lead dating back to May 2012. The Cardinals were 43-0 last season and 46-0 in 2013 when leading after the eighth.

• The Cardinals are 29-2 this season when out-hitting their opponents, 2-8 when out-hit and 6-1 when hits are tied. Last season, Louisville was 38-3 when out-hitting its opponents.

• The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 30 of 48 games this season. Last season, they did it in 40 of 67 games, while in 2013, they accomplished the feat in 36 of 65 games.

• Louisville is 26-0 this season when scoring first and 14-0 when scoring in the first inning.

PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS

• Sutton Whiting leads the Cardinals in hitting with a .348 average overall in 47 starts. In ACC action, Whiting has a .387 average and has reached safely in 22 of his 23 conference games.

• Corey Ray leads the Cardinals with 11 home runs, 46 RBI, 39 runs scored and 26 stolen bases in 32 attempts. He's also hitting .332 overall while starting all three outfield positions.

• In 24 ACC games, Ray has seven home runs, 25 RBI, 21 stolen bases and a .343 average.

• As the first player in Dan McDonnell's nine seasons to start on the mound and play virtually every day as a position player/hitter, freshman Brendan McKay is 7-1 with four saves, a 1.81 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched (15 appearances, eight starts.). At the plate, he is hitting .333 with two home runs, 26 RBI, 27 runs scored and 30 walks in 41 starts as a hitter. 

• In his last 10 starts on the mound, Josh Rogers is 7-0 with a 1.76 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched.

• Nick Solak has his career-best 20-game hitting streak halted on Saturday at Clemson, however he continues to produce carrying a .328 average with a team-high 12 doubles, 32 RBI, 36 runs scored and 17 stolen bases in 20 attempts. In 24 ACC games, Solak is hitting .356 with eight doubles, 18 RBI and 20 runs scored.