Clemson Hosts Louisville for Tough ACC Battle

B.J. Bailey pitched during Clemson's game vs. Stanford. (Photo By Charles Mays/Tiger View Media)

The Clemson Tigers return to action on Thursday night for a three-game series against the Louisville Cardinals. The Tigers are coming off a series win against the Stanford Cardinal but could not complete the sweep on Sunday, losing 11-6. Clemson looks to get back to their winning ways on Thursday night against a tough Louisville team. The Tigers come into this game sporting a 33-6 record overall and an 11-4 record within ACC play, while the Cardinals are 27-9 overall and 9-6 within conference play.

Louisville Scouting Report

The Louisville Cardinals come into this three-game weekend set off the back of a 5-2 win against #20-ranked Western Kentucky on Tuesday night. Before their midweek bout with the Hilltoppers, the Cardinals lost two out of three to North Carolina State in a wild weekend series that saw a total of 69 runs scored between the two teams.

Last year, Louisville finished the season with a 32-24 record overall and a 16-14 record within ACC play. The Cardinals made the ACC tournament with that record but were knocked out after going 0-2 against the Miami Hurricanes and the Clemson Tigers. Head Coach Dan McDonnell has been with the Cardinals since 2006, compiling a record of 751-335-1 coming into this season. Louisville has been highly successful under his tenure, making 13 Regional appearances, nine Super Regional appearances, and five College World Series appearances.

Louisville is led by their transfer from John A. Logan College, Jake Munroe. The junior from Champaign, Illinois, has had a terrific first season with the Cardinals, tied for the team lead in hits while being second in batting average. After two extraordinary seasons with John A. Logan College, Munroe has not missed a beat with the Cardinals. The Illinois native is tallying a .371 batting average, a .467 on-base percentage, a .586 slugging percentage (second-highest on the team), and a 1.053 OPS (second-highest on the team) this season. In just one season with the team, Munroe has become the focal point of the Louisville offense and is the main reason why the Cardinals look like they’re headed for another NCAA tournament appearance.

The Cardinals get their power from their freshman, Tague Davis. The 6’4 Philadelphia native has a team-high 14 home runs in 34 games played this season. Davis can also pitch at a high level, as he went 7-1 with a 1.40 ERA in his senior year of high school. Louisville’s extraordinary two-way player has not missed a beat since making the jump to college baseball. Davis has tallied a .304 batting average, a .429 on-base percentage, a .705 slugging percentage (team-high), and a 1.134 OPS (team-high) in his first collegiate baseball season. The Clemson pitching staff must be careful when facing Davis, as he can change a game with one swing of the bat.

Projected Starting Pitching Matchup

• Thursday, April 17, at 7:00 PM - Clemson’s ace, Aidan Knaak, will get the start for the Tigers as he looks to continue his terrific second season in purple and orange. Patrick Forbes will get the ball for the Cardinals, hoping to avoid walking seven batters in three innings like he did against the Wolfpack last outing.

  
  

• Friday, April 18, at 5:00 PM - Ethan Darden will get the ball from Erik Bakich in game two of this three-game set as he looks to get his season back on track. For Louisville, Ethan Eberle will get the ball from Dan McDonnell, as he’ll try to bounce back from allowing three runs in three innings last Saturday.

  
  

• Saturday, April 19, at 1:00 PM - BJ Bailey will be on the bump for the Tigers on Sunday as he looks to improve on his most recent start when he allowed seven runs. Peter Michael will get the start on Sunday, hoping his defense plays better around him, as he allowed six unearned runs in his latest start.