LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University baseball team's first game experience as a Division I program may not be occurring on campus, but it nevertheless will unfold in Louisville.

On Wednesday, Bellarmine and the University of Louisville both announced that the Knights and crosstown Cardinals will meet in a three-game series Feb. 19-21 at Jim Patterson Stadium.

A national powerhouse under Coach Dan McDonnell, Louisville has been bestowed preseason rankings of No. 2 by Perfect Game, No. 5 by D1Baseball and No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball. The Cardinals, who have made five College World Series appearances since 2007, went 13-4 last season before the remainder of the year was canceled due to the pandemic. Five Louisville players have earned preseason All-America accolades.

Bellarmine is entering its first season in Division I and the ASUN Conference coming off the most successful stretch in program history in Division II. Under Coach Larry Owens, the Knights earned three consecutive NCAA II Tournament berths from 2017-19 and, in the latter season, captured the GLVC Tournament title.

Bellarmine amassed a minimum of 34 wins those same years, and the Knights were well on their way to adding another last season after going 10-4 with a six-game winning streak when the heightened spread of the pandemic took hold. After the season, junior right-hander Brandon Pfaadt was selected in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Senior catcher/outfielder Chris Gambert and junior outfielder Matt Higgins were both DII All-Americans in 2019 and return for Bellarmine. In August, Higgins was recognized by D1Baseball as the 150th top college prospect of 2021. Gambert, Higgins, senior third baseman Josh Finerty, senior right-hander Jacob Nagel and senior right-hander/utility Deylen Miley each earned All-GLVC honors in their careers before the transition to D1.

"We are very excited to begin the 2021 baseball season," Owens said. "The excitement of reclassifying to the NCAA Division I level as a member of the ASUN is something our student-athletes, alumni and fans will remember forever. We are thankful to the University of Louisville baseball program and to Dan and his staff for giving us the opportunity to play our first-ever Division I baseball games against a national power — and be able to do it at home in the city of Louisville."

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