#19 Louisville (28-11, 10-8 ACC) had another .500 week last week. While the Cardinals had another Top 25 win against Western Kentucky in the midweek game, they lost another weekend series to Clemson.
The weekend series loss also puts Louisville at 4-7 in road games this season, as they prepare to face UK in Lexington in a game with crucial RPI implications. Louisville will also host #4 Florida State at Jim Patterson Stadium this weekend.
Last Week in Cliff Notes
Louisville pulled out a 5-2 win over Western Kentucky at Jim Patterson Stadium last week, giving the Cardinals a notable win over a Top 25 opponent. Tied 2-2 after four innings, the Cardinals leaned on an RBI single from Kamau Neighbors in the sixth inning to take the lead, with Zion Rose adding a two-run homer in the seventh to cement the final score.
However, Louisville lost another weekend road series to Clemson. Both losses came by one run each, as the Tigers took games one and two on scores of 7-6 and 2-1. Louisville had a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning of game one, but Clemson’s Jack Crighton hit a three-run homer in the bottom portion of the inning to give the Tigers the lead for good.
Game two had Clemson score its only runs with Jacob Jarrell hitting a solo shot to left field in the fifth, and Luke Gaffney having an RBI double in the seventh. Jake Munroe had a solo homer in the top of the ninth to bring the Cardinals within one run, but Eddie King, Jr. struck out in the final at-bat.
Louisville prevented the sweep with an 8-6 win over Clemson in 12 innings on Saturday. Tague Davis put the Cardinals ahead for good with his 15th home run of the season, a two-run homer that sealed the win.
Cards in the Polls
As a result of Louisville’s 4-4 record over the last two weeks, the Cardinals fell out of this week’s NCBWA Top 25 poll. But, the Cardinals remain 19th in both Baseball America and D1baseball.com‘s polls.
Louisville enters this week ranked 18th in the RPI.
Notable Stats
Tague Davis has had one of the best freshman seasons in the Dan McDonnell era. His 15 home runs this season makes him one of three freshmen in the Dan McDonnell era to hit that benchmark (Alex Binelas in 2019 with 14, Chris Dominguez with 15 in 2007), and one of nine Louisville players in the last decade to hit 15 or home runs in a season (Corey Ray in 2016; Brendan McKay and Drew Ellis in 2017; Alex Binelas and Henry Davis in 2021; Dalton Rushing, Ben Metzinger, and Cameron Masterman in 2022). Davis currently is averaging .306 at the plate with 15 home runs (second in the ACC) and 40 RBIs.
Eddie King, Jr. and Zion Rose have remained some of the most consistent players at the plate for Louisville. Since March 22nd, King is batting 26-for-65 (.400) with 28 RBIs, eight doubles, and seven home runs in that span; for the season, King is averaging .333 with 35 RBIs. Rose leads the team in RBIs (45) and is averaging .344 batting with 14 doubles.
Louisville has had success in recent weeks with their midweek lineup, thanks in no small part to TJ Schlageter and Jake Schweitzer. Schlageter has made four weekend starts in the last month (Northern Kentucky, Indiana, Kentucky, and Western Kentucky) and has been superb in relief, going 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 11 appearances. In his four midweek starts, Schlageter has a 1.96 ERA in 9.2 innings of work. Schweitzer is also 2-0, holding a 2.37 ERA in 12 appearances, and is coming off a strong performance at Clemson, where he pitched the final 2.1 innings in shutout fashion to help Louisville pull out an 8-6 win in 12 innings.
However, Louisville will need to find consistency on the mound in conference play. Louisville is allowing a 6.25 ERA in conference play (tenth in the ACC), and they still have to face Florida State (fourth in ACC, .303 batting in ACC play) and Georgia Tech (ACC-leading .318 batting in conference play).
Opponent Outlook: Kentucky Wildcats
Since losing to Louisville two weeks ago, UK (22-15) has managed to pull off a road series win at Tennessee last weekend. They also had a close series loss to #1 Texas at home the weekend prior, including a 5-4 win in 15 innings. Kentucky is 12-9 at home this season, but is #30 in this week’s RPI. Louisville is 4-7 on the road this season, so a win at Kentucky would be huge for their resume.
Tyler Bell (.318 batting, 15 doubles, 31 RBIs) went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Kentucky’s 4-1 win over Tennessee on Friday, and went 1-for-5 in UK’s 8-2 win over the Volunteers on Saturday. Patrick Herrera (.310 batting, 23 RBIs) had a hit in all three games of the series, batting 3-for-12 with an RBI against the Volunteers.
Kentucky’s bullpen had a strong weekend, with Simon Gregorsen (0-2, 5.03 ERA in 12 appearances) having a scoreless outing against Tennessee (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K). Jackson Nove (0-2, 4.38 ERA in 13 appearances) also had a scoreless outing last weekend (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K on Friday) and could make an appearance against Louisville. Cole Hentschel (2-2, 2.89 ERA in ten appearances) and Leighton Harris (1-1, 4.50 ERA) could also make appearances for Kentucky in this rivalry game.
Opponent Outlook: Florida State Seminoles
Florida State will host Stetson before making the trip up to Louisville, but they enter this week with a 29-7 record. FSU is resuming play after canceling last week’s series due to the on-campus shooting in Tallahassee.
Florida State leads the ACC by win percentage entering this week (.733), and they’re ranked as high as fourth in this week’s D1baseball.com poll (the Seminoles are also seventh in the NCBWA Top 25, and tenth on Baseball America’s poll).
FSU’s hitting is powered by two great players in Max Williams and Alex Lodise, both whom have double digit home run totals this season. Williams leads FSU in home runs (14) and has 37 RBIs to go with a .329 batting average, he is also batting 9-for-20 (.450) with three RBIs, two doubles, and three walks. Lodise leads the team in batting with a .434 average, which is also second in the ACC (Wake Forest’s Kade Lewis leads the conference at .440). Lodise also leads the Seminoles in OPS (1.281) and RBIs (47), to go with 12 doubles and 13 home runs. Both guys are also third and fourth in the ACC in home runs, respectively.
Gage Harrelson (.364 batting, five doubles, three HRs, 30 RBIs) and Myles Bailey (.333, seven doubles, nine HRs, 25 RBIs) have also had stellar seasons so far, highlighting a Seminoles offense that ranks second in the ACC in batting average (.324), and third in home runs (65).
Their pitching rotation has also been superb, ranking second in the ACC in team ERA (4.19) and opponent batting average (.219). They’re headlined by a stellar weekend starting trio of Joey Volini (8-1, 2.39 ERA, 71 Ks), Jamie Arnold (4-1, 2.40 ERA), and Wes Mendes (5-1, 3.83 ERA). Arnold was an All-American last season and has continued to be a force on the mound, adding 57 strikeouts and allowing just .177 at the plate. The Seminoles also have a solid bullpen led by Brady Louck (2.53 ERA in seven appearances), Joe Charles (1-0, 3.86 ERA in 12 appearances), and Payton Manca (2-1, 3.94 ERA in nine appearances), with all three guys allowing under .200 batting each.
How to Watch / Listen:
Tonight’s game against Kentucky starts at 6:30 p.m., and will air on SEC Network Extra and 93.9 The Ville.
The Florida State series starts on Friday at 6 p.m. ET, with Saturday and Sunday’s games at 2 and 3 p.m. ET. Sunday’s game will be available on ACC Network, with all three games in the series also on 93.9 The Ville.
