Game Thread | (G1) No. 6 Louisville at Notre Dame
No. 6 Louisville (18-2, 2-1) at Notre Dame (10-8, 2-4)
When: March 24th
Time: 3:00 PM ET
Where: Frank Eck Stadium | South Bend, Ind.
Watch: ACC Network
QUICK FACTS
- Louisville leads the all-time series 36-9.
- Notre Dame is 2-15 at home against the Cardinals.
- The Irish were swept at Louisville in 2022 in the last series.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | RHP Jackson Dennies | 0-2 | 4.40 | 14.1 | 13 |
| Louisville | RHP Ryan Hawks | 4-0 | 3.00 | 30.0 | 35 |
Saturday
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | LHP Jack Findlay | 3-0 | 1.99 | 22.2 | 35 |
| Louisville | LHP Greg Farone | 1-1 | 3.98 | 20.1 | 30 |
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | - | - | - | - | - |
| Louisville | RHP Carson Liggett | 4-0 | 1.75 | 25.2 | 27 |
WHAT TO WATCH
- If you thought things would get easier for Notre Dame after a road trip to now No. 2 ranked Wake Forest, you would be wrong as No. 6 Louisville comes to South Bend for a three-game series. The good news is Louisville’s offense isn’t quite as potent as Wake Forest, but it’s still very good as the Cardinals sit at No. 2 in batting average in the ACC as seven batters sit over .300 and two over .400.
Louisville starting rotation has combined for a 9-1 record and 92 strikeouts on the year.
- The good news for Notre Dame is the bats have started to come around as five players are now over .250 and the Irish have started to get timely hits over the last two weeks. Jack Zyska desperately needed to get on track and he hit a home run during Tuesday’s win over Valpo.
Brooks Coetzee is batting .250 and his average can come up a bit, but he’s still being productive as he leads the nation in hit-by-pitches at 18 in 18 games.
- Perhaps the biggest move on paper heading into this weekend is Shawn Stiffler moving forward with sophomore LHP Jack Findlay as a starter. Findlay started his first game of the year on Sunday as the Irish beat Wake Forest 3-1. The New Jersey native went 5.2 innings and gave up just two hits, no runs and struck out 10.
It’d be hard to duplicate this weekend, but Findlay is Notre Dame’s best pitcher and getting off to a good start is crucial for a team looking for offense. Findlay did throw 93 pitches last weekend, so it’ll be interesting how his arm handle the added workload. Entering the weekend, Findlay sits at No. 5 in the ACC in strikeouts with 35.
OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)
| STAT | Louisville | Notre Dame |
| Batting Avg. | .321 | .210 |
| Runs | 170 | 97 |
| Hits | 215 | 123 |
| 2B | 44 | 22 |
| 3B | 9 | 3 |
| Home Runs | 23 | 15 |
| RBI | 155 | 88 |
| SLG% | .517 | .334 |
| Walks | 98 | 73 |
| Hit by Pitch | 38 | 41 |
| Strikeouts | 141 | 168 |
| OB% | .431 | .337 |
PITCHING STATS (Entering the series)
| STAT | Louisville | Notre Dame |
| ERA | 3.44 | 4.97 |
| Hits | 140 | 143 |
| Runs | 75 | 103 |
| ER | 68 | 85 |
| Walks | 84 | 66 |
| Strikeouts | 211 | 155 |
| Opponent Batting Avg. | .215 | .243 |
Notre Dame Lineup
| NAME | POSITION | BATTING AVERAGE |
| Jack Penney | 3B | .183 |
| Zack Prajzner | SS | .277 |
| Jack Zyska | LF | .107 |
| Carter Putz | 1B | .277 |
| Brooks Coetzee | RF | .250 |
| Danny Neri | C | .261 |
| Estevan Moreno | 2B | .155 |
| DM Jefferson | DH | .185 |
| TJ Williams | CF | .172 |
Louisville Lineup
| NAME | POSITION | BATTING AVERAGE |
| Christian Knapczyk | SS | .300 |
| Jack Payton | C | .443 |
| Ryan McCoy | 1B | .324 |
| Patrick Forbes | DH | .349 |
| JT Benson | LF | .422 |
| Isaac Humphrey | RF | .268 |
| Eddie King Jr. | CF | .339 |
| Gavin Kilen | 2B | .318 |
| Logan Beard | 3B | .262 |
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