Preview and Live Updates: Miami vs. Louisville

For the first time in eight years, the Hurricanes host the Louisville Cardinals at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Cardinals are just 1-3 all-time in Coral Gables

Poll News

Miami remains outside this week's top-25 D-1 Baseball Poll.

The ACC has eight teams ranked in the poll, including Clemson (2nd), Duke (9th), and North Carolina (10th) ranked in the top ten.

The remaining conference teams ranked in the top 25 are Virginia Tech (11th), Florida State (13th), Virginia (15th), NC State (19th), and Wake Forest (21st).

Duke, Florida State, and Virginia Tech are the remaining ranked opponents on Miami's 2024 schedule.

Miami has qualified for the College World Series 25 times - the second-most of any program nationwide, trailing only Texas (37). The Hurricanes' four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001) are tied for fifth-most all-time.

Notable Miami Stats

Through its first 27 games, Miami has notched 11 comefrom-behind victories, including four walk-off wins against NJIT on Feb. 16, then-No. 15 North Carolina on March 16, FIU on March 19, and then-No. 3 Clemson on March 28.

The Hurricanes have tallied eight victories in situations where they are trailing after six innings, more than their entire win total in those situations from last year.

On March 9, Miami overcame a nine-run deficit against then-13 Virginia, scoring 13 unanswered runs. The come-from-behind win marked the Hurricanes' largest comeback victory since erasing a nine-run deficit against Tampa on May 13, 1992.

Miami has posted a 6-2 record in one-run games, including a 3-1 mark in conference contests.

Sophomore first baseman Jason Torres is tied for 10th in hits (48) and ranks 13th nationally in batting average (.440).

Among Division I freshmen, Daniel Cuvet is tied for second in home runs (9) and third in slugging (.745) and OPS (1.230)

Miami lost more than half its starting position players from a year ago, so Torres has taken the next step to fill the void.

As of April 1, Torres is tied for 10th in hits (48) and 13th in average (.440) nationally. In the ACC, the 6-foot-1, 228-pound infielder ranks second in average and third in hits.

The Hialeah, Fla., native has reached base safely in all but one game this season

In 145 career at-bats, Torres is slashing .448/.487/.759 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI.

Freshman Cuvet has quickly made a name for himself in the heart of the Hurricanes' lineup.

As of April 1, Cuvet is second in hits (42), tied for second in home runs (9), third in slugging (.745) and OPS (1.230), sixth in average (.396) and runs (30), and seventh in RBI (31), among all Division I freshmen.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native started his career on a 17-game on-base streak, totaling eight multi-RBI performances and a co-team-leading 14 multi-hit efforts.

Sophomore Blake Cyr has picked up where he left off after bursting onto the college baseball scene in his debut campaign last year.

A 2023 consensus Freshman All-American, Cyr was tabbed the ACC Player of the Week on March 11.

Cyr batted .500 (8-for-16) with three home runs, 11 RBI, and a 1.682 OPS across the Hurricanes' 3-1 stretch, highlighted by a series win over then-No. 13 Virginia.

The Windermere, Fla., native homered in three of the four games, including a go-ahead grand slam Saturday to cap Miami's largest comeback victory since May 13, 1992.

Cyr also scored eight runs, drew four walks, and reached base safely 13 times, notching three multi-hit and multi-RBI efforts.

Last season, he was among five rookies nationally with 17 homers and 63 RBI.

Cyr is one of only four Miami freshmen to hit at least 17 home runs, along with Ryan Braun (17), Phil Lane (17), and Pat Burrell (23).

In Miami's 14-6 win over then-No. 6 Florida on March 4, 2023, Cyr finished one RBI shy of the Hurricanes' freshman single-game record set by Randy Guerra (8) in 1976.

Stats are as of April 16, 2024

The Opponent

In their loss to Kentucky, the Cardinals had 18 hits, their second-highest total of the season.

Louisville is 54-31-2 in its 87 all-time ACC series (one series ended 1-1, one ended 1-1-1) since joining the league and is 60-24-1 in its series finales during that span, including a 21-13-1 record in rubber games.

The Louisville offense currently ranks among the top 30 nationally in batting average, doubles, hits, runs, slugging percentage, stolen bases, and triples.

The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch 52 times this season, the second-most in the ACC. Louisville hit just one home run over the first six games but homered at least once in each of the next 14 contests and 27 of 30. The 14 straight games with a home run was the longest streak for the Cardinals since homering in 15 in a row from April 25 to May 18, 2017.

Zion Rose has been a catalyst in Louisville's lineup as a freshman, especially in ACC play. Rose is hitting .400 against conference foes, which is the best average on the team. He also leads the team in ACC games in hits, runs, triples, and on-base percentage, and he is second in RBIs and stolen bases. Tucker Biven has been rock solid out of the Louisville bullpen this spring, leading the team with a 1.83 ERA in 13 relief appearances. The sophomore has surrendered just four earned runs in 19.2 innings with 23 strikeouts. Biven has closed out four of Louisville's seven wins in ACC play.

JT Benson continues to lead Louisville's charge on the basepaths, leading the ACC and ranking eighth nationally with 24 stolen bases. The senior swiped a career-high four bases in the win over Virginia on April 13 and is 11-for-12 in conference play. Benson is just six shy of becoming the 10th player in program history to swipe 30 bags in a season.

Gavin Kilen has taken his offensive production to another level during his sophomore season. Through 34 games, Kilen is hitting .370 with 23 extra-base hits. Kilen did not hit a home run in his first 57 collegiate games before tallying his first against Morehead State and homering five times in an eight-game stretch. He hit for the cycle in the series opener against Virginia Tech, becoming the first Cardinal to do so since Alex Binelas in 2019. Kilen is tied for the ACC lead in doubles, fourth in triples, and ranks top 25 in batting average and total bases.

Starting Pitchers

(Game 1 | Friday | 7 PM)

Miami: RHP Gage Ziehl (2-3) (4.13 ERA) will make his tenth start of the season. The junior has pitched 61 innings, allowing 34 runs on 54 hits, striking out 54, and walking 18.

Louisville: LHP Sebastian Gongora (4-3) (5.21 ERA) makes his tenth appearance of the season. The senior has pitched 48.1 innings, allowing 34 runs on 46 hits, striking out 69 and walking ten.

(Game 2 | Friday | 8 PM)

Miami: LHP Rafe Schlesinger (2-3) (5.33 ERA) will make his tenth start of the season. The junior has pitched 49 innings, allowing 32 runs on 65 hits, striking out 49, and walking 14.

Louisville: LHP Evan Webster (3-1) (3.48 ERA) will make his tenth appearance of the season. The senior has pitched 41.1 innings, allowing 18 runs on 42 hits, striking out 38 and walking 13.

(Game 3 | Saturday | 2 PM)

Miami: LHP Herick Hernandez (2-4) (5.96 ERA) will make his tenth start of the season. The junior has pitched 45.1 innings, allowing 37 runs on 50 hits, striking out 63 and walking 19.

Louisville: TBA

Miami Athletics Athletics and Louisville Athletics contributed to this report

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