WKU Baseball: Cardinals Descend Upon Bowling Green For Midweek Clash

The Tops’ were thiiiiiiis close to reaching a danger point of the season, snapping a three-game losing streak with a series-salvaging win…

Photo credit: WKU Athletics

The Tops’ were thiiiiiiis close to reaching a danger point of the season, snapping a three-game losing streak with a series-salvaging win on Sunday against MTSU, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier as the Tops welcome #15 Louisville to Nick Denes Field (note the location change) before hitting the road for three games at CUSA powerhouse Rice.

But, first thing’s first, the Cards are comin’.

After starting the year hot — winning their first 14 games, the Cards are 2–4 since conference play started, dropping their series finale against UNC, splitting a two-game series against Texas Tech, and dropping two of three games against Wake Forrest.

As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .283, while opponents are logging just a .220 batting clip against them. The Cards’ pitching, unsurprisingly, has been lights out, logging a 3.60 ERA through 20 games to open the year.

Drew Campbell leads the offense for UofL, batting .409 in 19 games with 12 RBI. Logan Wyatt (.333) and Jake Snider (.300) are also hitting .300 or above for the Cards, while Devin Mann (.299) is on the cusp.

There isn’t a ton of power in the Cardinals lineup, as five players share the lead with two home runs on the season.

While UofL hasn’t listed a probable starter, southpaw Troy Newell is scheduled to get the nod for WKU, who is 0–2 with a 6.75 ERA, but that number is a little inflated, as he allowed four runs in his first outing of the year against Memphis in just 0.2 innings of work. Since that outing, he’s allowed one earned run in six innings of work, good for a 1.50 ERA. In each of his last two outings out of the bullpen, he hasn’t recorded an out, or that ERA would be even lower.

This week is certainly one for the birds (get it?) for the Tops, but a win against UofL would go a long way in setting up for a successful Texas swing this weekend.

OH. Before I go, who wants to look at a bit of controversy?

The Tops and Cardinals don’t agree on who owns the season series. WKU says they have a 69–67 advantage while UofL says they lead 70–69.

Per WKU’s game notes, the Tops say they won more games against Louisville

Per UofL’s game notes, they think they hold the all-time advantage

There’s only one way to settle this.