Louisville went a perfect 4-0 last week, beating Morehead State and sweeping UIC in the weekend series. The Cardinals currently sit at 12-2 and are now ranked, getting into the Baseball America Top 25 at #25.
Up next, Louisville has two midweek games against Lipscomb and Oakland (MI), before beginning ACC play against #10 North Carolina in a Top 25 showdown.
Read more: Around the Bases: Beginning Conference ACCtionLast Week’s Games in Cliff Notes
Louisville started their week in dramatic fashion, rallying to beat Morehead State 9-8 in ten innings. Down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth and trailing 8-5, Matt Klein and Jake Munroe hit back-to-back home runs to put Louisville within one run. A bases-loaded walk later on put Kamau Neighbors on base, and scored Garret Pike to tie the game. After TJ Schlageter pitched a shutout tenth inning, Munroe would later deliver the walk-off win for Louisville with an RBI single.
Louisville’s weekend would be substantially less dramatic, as they took all three games in their series against UIC on scores of 10-2, 13-3, and 5-2. Louisville only trailed against UIC in game two on Saturday; the Cardinals had a 2-1 deficit after two innings, but would go on to score 12 unanswered runs to eventually win 13-3 in seven innings.
Statistics of Note
Tague Davis added two more home runs last week, bringing his total up to five on the season. He currently leads Louisville in homers, RBIs (18), and slugging (.838). He also batted .667 last week (4-for-6) with six RBIs and five walks. He, along with Jake Munroe, are one of two qualifying Louisville players averaging over .400 at the plate entering this week (Davis is slashing .405/.538/.838 as of March 10th).
Jake Munroe has continued his hot start to the season, batting 7-of-16 last week (.438) with a home run and six RBIs. He still leads the team in batting (.473) and on-base percentage (.552), and has recorded a hit in all but one game this season. His walk-off RBI single against Morehead State marked the third time that Louisville has won a game via walk-off this season.
Matt Klein (.365 batting), Zion Rose (.345), and Lucas Moore (.315) are all currently batting over .300. Moore’s 11 stolen bases is currently second in the ACC behind North Carolina’s Kane Kepley, who Louisville will face this upcoming weekend.
Bayram Hot made the most of his two starts last week, batting 5-for-6 with a double and two RBIs. Hot has been, well, hot when he’s played; in eight games played so far, he’s slashing .462/.481/.615 with one double, one home run, and eight RBIs.
Moving to the mound, Patrick Forbes has continued to excel as the Friday starter. He struck out nine batters and allowed one earned run in Friday’s win over UIC, and is now 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA, .81 WHIP, and allowing just .177 at the plate. Forbes also has 39 strikeouts to just three walks in four starts.
Peter Michael had another solid outing on Sunday, pitching five shutout innings with eight strikeouts against UIC. He is also 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and allowing .219 batting.
The bullpen efforts were once again highlighted by Jack Brown and Wyatt Danilowicz, who have become two of Louisville’s top relievers. Brown pitched two shutout innings against Morehead State and four more against UIC, and now has a 2-1 record with a 3.21 ERA in six appearances so far. Danilowicz pitched one inning and struck out three against Morehead State, and then finished Sunday’s game with 1.1 shutout innings of work. Danilowicz still has not given up an earned run in six appearances so far, and has logged 12 strikeouts to just three walks while allowing just .091 at the plate.
Brennyn Cutts has been another top reliever for Louisville. Cutts had a shutout appearance against Morehead State (2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 Ks) and allowed two earned runs in 2.2 innings against UIC on Sunday. So far, Cutts is 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA, .77 WHIP, and allowing just .177 at the plate in five appearances this season.
Kian Vorster (0.2 IP, H, 2 BB) and Ethan Eberle (1.1 IP, K) combined to finish Friday’s game with two shutout innings of work, this being Vorster’s first appearance of the 2025 season. Eberle has a 2.70 ERA and .90 WHIP with .182 batting in three appearances.
Opponent Outlook: Lipscomb
The Bisons enter Tuesday’s contest with a 4-10 record, having lost all four of its weekend series so far to Kentucky, West Virginia, Villanova, and Florida State.
Jake Berg (.340 batting) carries an eight-game hitting streak into Tuesday’s game, hitting three doubles and six RBIs in that stretch. Brady Miller (.323) is the only other qualifying Bison player with a +.300 batting average, as the Bisons currently bat .231 as a team.
Lipscomb has a 6.02 team ERA, they could see guys such as Cole O’Brien (1-0, 5.54 ERA), Kaleb Kantola (0-2, 6.00 ERA), and Jake Lynch (0-1, 6.43 ERA) in a bullpen game.
Opponent Outlook: Oakland
Oakland will come into Wednesday night with a 3-14 record, fresh off being swept in three games last weekend by Middle Tennessee State.
The Golden Grizzlies are batting .256 as a team, but are allowing .322 at the plate with a 7.36 ERA. Taylor Tomlin is batting .524 (11-for-21) in his last six games, he currently leads the team with .400 batting on the season. Matthew McGann (.333 batting) leads the team with 13 RBIs, ten of those coming in his last five games. John Lauinger (.350 batting) has also been on a tear, batting .410 in his last eight games.
With it being a Wednesday game, expect another bullpen outing between the Cardinals and Golden Grizzlies. Ryan Donley (0-1, 2.16 ERA), Andrew Landis (0-1, 3.60 ERA), and Ryan Uhlenhake (0-1, 3.86 ERA) have already made at least six appearances this season, it’s likely at least one of these names could appear on Wednesday.
Opponent Outlook: North Carolina
The Tar Heels jumped off to a 13-0 start to their 2025 season, but recently dropped their first conference series last weekend to Stanford. UNC has already swept Texas Tech, East Carolina, and Stony Brook this season, and notched a win over ranked Coastal Carolina in 11 innings last week. They enter this week ranked tenth in this week’s Top 25 from Baseball America, setting up another Top 25 matchup for Louisville this weekend.
UNC’s pitching has been solid so far, posting a 3.56 team ERA and allowing .226 at the plate (both are ranked seventh in the ACC as of March 10th). Jake Knapp (2-0), Aidan Haugh (2-1), and Jason DeCaro (3-1) all have sub-3.50 ERAs as potential starters. Knapp is coming off a complete game win against Stanford, he allowed one earned run and seven strikeouts in an 11-1 win over the Cardinal on March 8th. Haugh has a .98 WHIP and is allowing just .188 at the plate, while DeCaro is allowing just .200 hitting.
Their bullpen has a lot of depth, with Ryan Lynch (1-0, 0.82 ERA, .163 batting) and Walker McDuffie (2-0, 1.88 ERA, .111 batting) leading the charge. Both already have six appearances this season and should make at least one more this weekend. Matthew Matthijs (3.86 ERA) has two saves in nine appearances, and has struck out 19 batters and given up just two walks. As a team, UNC has thrown 170 strikeouts (fifth in the ACC) and given up 46 walks (15th in ACC, second fewest in the conference).
Offensively, the Tar Heels are led by Hunter Stokely, who won ACC Player of the Week honors on March 3rd. Stokely leads all qualifying players on the team in batting (.414), OPS (1.217), RBIs (20), and is tied for the team lead in home runs (five). Kane Kepley (.333 batting, 1.075 OPS, 15 doubles) currently leads the ACC with 13 stolen bases. Kepley is also one of three UNC players currently in the top 12 in the ACC in walks, with Luke Stevenson (.321 batting, five HRs, 18 RBIs, ACC-leading 19 walks) and Jackson Van De Brake (.294 batting, five doubles, five RBIs, 17 walks) joining him in that group.
How to Watch / Listen:
Tuesday’s game against Lipscomb starts at 3:00 p.m. ET, with the Wednesday game against Oakland starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Lipscomb can be watched on ACC Network Extra, but the Oakland game will air on ACC Network itself.
This weekend’s series against North Carolina starts with a doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, with Sunday’s games at 3:00 p.m. Friday and Sunday’s game are broadcast on ACC Network Extra, with Sunday’s series finale on ACC Network.
