Around the Bases: 2025 ACC Baseball Championship

Louisville (35-20, 15-15 ACC) begins postseason play with the ACC Baseball Championship this week, starting with a first-round matchup against Pitt (27-26, 10-20 ACC).

Last Two Weeks in Cliff Notes

Louisville enters the postseason in a cold stretch, losing seven of its final 11 games in the regular season. They managed to beat #10 Vanderbilt 5-4 on May 6th (photo gallery from that game can be seen here), and started the Georgia Tech series with a 16-2 win in seven innings. The win was highlighted by a mammoth second inning, one which saw the Cardinals score 13 runs in the frame.

But, things took a quick downturn for Louisville as they lost their next five games. Georgia Tech took both ends of a Sunday doubleheader against Louisville (6-0 and 2-1 victories for the Yellow Jackets), holding the Cardinals to just one hit in both games. Louisville then lost their final midweek game of the regular season to Bellarmine, dropping a 10-9 game to the Knights, and lost the first two games in the Wake Forest series (14-4 on Thursday, 5-4 on Friday). However, Louisville avoided a weekend sweep with a 14-9 victory on Senior Day.

Notable Stats and News

Louisville’s bid for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament is still looking solid, despite their recent stumbles. The Cardinals are currently 29th in the RPI and have a 12-14 record against Quad 1 opponents, with an opportunity to grab more if they can at least knock off Duke in the ACC Baseball Championship.

Currently, Louisville is projected by D1baseball.com as a 2-seed in the Vanderbilt regional, which would put Louisville into a potential rematch with the Commodores in the NCAA Tournament.

Five Louisville players were selected on All-ACC teams this season. Lucas Moore and Zion Rose were both named as First-Team players, with Eddie King, Jr. and Tague Davis being named as Second-Team and Third-Team players, respectively. Davis, along with left-handed pitcher Ethan Eberle, were also named to the All-ACC Freshman team.

Moore and Rose were both named on the First-Team as outfielders, and both were among Louisville’s most consistent performers. Moore led all qualifying Louisville players in batting (.376), on-base percentage (.471), and stolen bases (46), leading the ACC in stolen bases as well. Rose batted .330 with a team-high 59 RBIs, 15 doubles, 11 home runs, and 29 stolen bases. Eddie King, Jr. batted .324 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs, and 47 RBIs.

Davis had a strong freshman season as Louisville’s primary first baseman, hitting a modern Louisville freshman record 18 home runs, to go with 50 RBIs. Eberle emerged late in the season as a weekend starter for Louisville, with the freshman piling together a 5-2 record, 4.84 ERA, and 36 strikeouts in 15 appearances.

In 2026 news, Louisville will be making a return to Arlington, Tx. for the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. Louisville will be part of a six-team field that includes Auburn, Florida State, Kansas State, Nebraska, and Michigan (opponents have yet to be announced as of this post).

The New ACC Tournament Format

With the new conference additions this season, the ACC changed its format for their baseball tournament, moving to a single elimination bracket.

Louisville begins tournament play as the 10-seed, facing 15-seed Pitt (27-26, 10-20 ACC) on Tuesday. Should the Cardinals win, they will advance to face 7-seed Duke (36-18, 17-13 ACC) on Wednesday. If Louisville beats Duke, they will then face 2-seed Florida State (37-13, 17-10 ACC) on Friday, with the semifinals and finals scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The entire schedule for the ACC Baseball Championship can be seen here.

Opponent Outlook: Pitt Panthers

Pitt (27-26, 10-20 ACC) only won one series against an ACC opponent this season, sweeping Virginia Tech in three games on May 2-4. They also have recent midweek wins against Penn State and West Virginia, the latter which could be in contention to host a regional in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

The Panthers have four qualifying hitters averaging over .300 at the plate, with Ryan Zuckerman (.302, 16 doubles, 13 HRs, 48 RBIs) leading the team in home runs and RBIs. Zuckerman has 22 career home runs in his two seasons as a Panther, but has struck out a whopping 85 times this season (146 in his career). Caden Dulin leads Pitt with a .341 batting average to go with 14 doubles and 29 RBIs, he is batting 9-for-25 (.360) in his last two weeks.

Pitt has announced that Ryan Reed (5-4, 4.66 ERA) will start on Tuesday against Louisville. Reed won ACC Pitcher of the Week honors on April 7th, pitching seven shutout innings with five strikeouts in a win against Miami (FL) on April 4th. Reed also has 65 strikeouts and allowing .284 batting at the plate. Potential names to watch from the bullpen include Ethan Firoved (2-4, 3.20 ERA, eight saves in 22 appearances) and Noah Czajkowski (2-0, 6.23 ERA in 14 appearances).

Opponent Outlook: Duke Blue Devils

Duke (36-18, 17-13 ACC) is currently projected as a 2-seed in the Auburn regional on D1baseball.com’s NCAA Tournament projections, and like Louisville, their resume is backed with some quality wins. The Blue Devils hold series wins over Cincinnati, Virginia (three-game sweep), NC State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and Clemson.

The Blue Devils had four All-ACC selections, including third baseman Ben Miller, who earned First-Team honors in back-to-back years. Miller led all qualifying Duke players in batting (.330), home runs (18), had 58 RBIs, and was tabbed as a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. Miller also earned First-Team All-Ivy League honors at Penn in 2022, and is coming off a solid series against Georgia Tech, where he batted 6-for-11 with two RBIs and doubles each.

AJ Gracia and Jake Hyde both earned All-ACC Second-Team honors as well. Gracia batted .296 at the plate with nine doubles, 12 home runs, and 49 RBIs, while Hyde averaged .303 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs, and had a team-leading 60 RBIs. Gracia earns All-ACC honors for the second time in his collegiate career, while Hyde earns All-ACC honors in addition to his two All-Big East Second-Team honors at Georgetown (2022 & 2023).

Reid Easterly earned Third-Team All-ACC honors as a reliever, posting an 8-2 record with four saves, 3.28 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 31 appearances. Gabe Nard (6-2, 3.55 ERA in 25 appearances) and Mark Hindy (1-0, 3.60 ERA in 21 appearances) have over 20 appearances each on the mound this season, and are notable bullpen names to watch.

Opponent Outlook: Florida State Seminoles

Of the three opponents we are breaking down, Louisville has only played Florida State in the regular season. After Louisville took the weekend series against Florida State, the Seminoles went on to finish with a 37-13 regular season record, getting a notable series win over Clemson. FSU is projected as the #11 overall seed in D1baseball.com’s recent NCAA Tournament projections, but could still slide into a potential top-eight overall seed by winning the ACC Baseball Championship.

FSU is headlined by ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Alex Lodise, who put together a monster season at shortstop. Lodise had a .422 batting average with 17 doubles, 17 home runs, and 63 RBIs, all of which led the team (he also led the ACC in batting average and slugging percentage). He is also a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy. Lodise was one of seven Seminole players named to All-ACC teams this season, including starting pitcher Jamie Arnold (6-2, 2.59 ERA, 90 Ks) and second baseman Drew Faurot (.314 batting, six doubles, 14 home runs, 47 RBIs).

Starting pitcher Joey Volini (8-4, 3.63 ERA, 91 Ks) and Max Williams (.323 batting, nine doubles, 17 home runs, 44 RBIs) were named as All-ACC Second-Team players, with Gage Harrelson (.340 batting, eight doubles, five HRs, 37 RBIs) and Myles Bailey (.302 batting, nine doubles, 12 home runs, 41 RBIs) named as Third-Team and All-Freshman players, respectively.

Notable names to watch from FSU’s bullpen include Joe Charles (2-0, 4.39 ERA, two saves in 17 appearances), Brady Louck (3.86 ERA in nine appearances), and John Abraham (4-0, 4.35 ERA in 19 appearances).

How to Watch / Listen:

Every game in the ACC Baseball Championship, except for the finals, will air on ACC Network. Louisville’s first game against Pitt is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with coverage on 93.9 The Ville or 970 AM.

If Louisville wins on Tuesday, they will play Duke on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. ET. If Louisville beats Duke, they will then play Florida State on Friday at 3:00 p.m. ET. The winner of that game will go to the semifinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET against one of either North Carolina, Virginia, Notre Dame, or Boston College.

The ACC Baseball Championship finals is scheduled for noon ET, and will air on ESPN2.