Louisville (1-2) stumbled out of the starting block for their 2026 season, dropping the opening series to Michigan State at home on scores of 3-4 and 4-13. They did, however, avoid a sweep with a 9-1 victory over the Spartans in game three, giving the Cardinals some momentum heading into week two.
The Cardinals look to bounce back with a midweek game against Xavier on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Arlington, Texas to play Nebraska, Michigan, and Auburn in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series.
Louisville in the Polls
| Baseball America | D1Baseball.com | Perfect Game |
| unranked | 15th (8th last week) | 23rd (16th last week) |
Highlights from the Weekend
Wyatt Danilowicz earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors with a dominant performance in game three of the series, pitching six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and just two hits allowed. Ethan Eberle also had a solid outing in the series opener, pitching 4.1 innings with two earned runs and six strikeouts.
Ben Slanker and Bayram Hot led the team this weekend at the plate, with Slanker hitting two home runs and six RBIs along with a 5-for-10 (.500 batting) showing at the plate, and Hot batted .462 (6-for-13). Lucas Moore stole four bases and batted .429 on the weekend (6-for-14) with three RBIs. Freshman Kade Elam started his collegiate career on the right track, batting .300 (3-for-10) with a double and an RBI.
Read more: Around the Bases (2026): Week TwoPhotos from the Weekend
In case you missed it, take a look at our photo gallery from last weekend’s series as well.
Gallery Link: Louisville v. Michigan State (Baseball)
This Week’s Schedule
- v. Xavier
- Tue. Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. ET (970 AM / ACCNX via ESPN+)
- v. Nebraska
- Fri. Feb 20 at 4 p.m. ET (970 AM / FloSports)
- v. Michigan
- Sat. Feb. 21 at noon ET (970 AM / FloSports)
- v. Auburn
- Sun. Feb. 22 at 11:30 a.m. ET (970 AM / FloSports)
Opponent Primer: Xavier
The Musketeers (2-1) got a head start on their 2026 schedule with a series win over East Carolina, part of a tough out-of-conference slate that includes road trips to Louisville, Arkansas, Cal State Fullerton, Oregon State, Oregon, Vanderbilt, and Georgia Tech. Xavier was picked to finish third in the Big East preseason poll, behind UConn and Creighton.
Xavier played last weekend without star first baseman Connor Misch, who was named Preseason Big East Player of the Year after earning First Team all-conference honors last year (.332 batting, 11 doubles, 50 RBIs in 2025). Also out of action was outfielder Clay Burdette, who led Xavier with 13 home runs last year and also earned Preseason All-Big East honors earlier this year.
Their status for Tuesday’s game will be one to monitor, but Xavier was able to get six home runs from their lineup against ECU. Josh Stonehouse went 6-for-12 (.500) last weekend with a home run and two RBIs, with Peter Johnson (6-for-14, 2B, HR, three RBIs) also having a strong showing.
On the mound, expect a bullpen night for Xavier, with names such as Karter Muck (1-0, 2.70 ERA) and Michael Murphy (1-0, zero ERA, .38 WHIP) possibly available. Owen Poole got the first save of 2026 in game one of the series versus ECU.
Opponent Primer: Nebraska
Nebraska (3-1) will be participating in their second regular season invitational in as many weeks, coming off an appearance in the MLB Desert Invitational. The Huskers started their 2026 season with two victories over UConn, Northeastern, and Grand Canyon, but head into their game versus Louisville off a 6-11 loss to Stanford. The Huskers were picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten preseason poll.
Case Sanderson and Jett Buck were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list this preseason and had great debuts in 2026. Sanderson led the team with .636 batting (7-for-11) with two doubles and an RBI. Buck had a hit in every game last weekend and went 6-for-13 (.462) with a double and four RBIs. Will Jesske (5-for-8, two RBIs), Joshua Overbeek (6-for-12, three doubles, seven RBIs), and Dylan Carey (7-for-15, 2B, 3B, HR, six RBIs) also averaged over .450 at the plate last weekend.
On the mound, expect Ty Horn or Carson Jasa to make the start on Friday. Horn pitched 4.2 innings with one earned run and six strikeouts against UConn, while Wertz had three earned runs with nine strikeouts in five innings of work versus Northeastern. Nebraska had a 3.18 ERA in the four-game invitational last weekend, with relievers such as Chase Olson (1-0, two hits, three Ks) and Caleb Clark (1-0, one earned run, three Ks) as names to watch.
Opponent Primer: Michigan
Michigan (3-1) is also coming to their second regular season invitational, already getting solid wins over #12 Oregon State, Stanford, and Arizona. The Wolverines will play Florida State on Friday before taking on the Cardinals on Saturday.
Evan Haeger had a big outing against Oregon State on Friday, with four RBIs late in the game (two in the sixth and eighth innings) to help the Wolverines pull off a 5-3 upset over the Beavers. He batted .400 on the weekend (6-for-15) with five RBIs, while Brandon Stressler (7-for-14, 2B, HR, three RBIs) led the team in batting last weekend. Catcher Noah Miller (3-for-10, RBI) was named on the Big Ten Players to Watch list.
Michigan’s pitching staff had a 3.00 ERA last weekend against a schedule that included two top 25 opponents. Cade Montgomery had 6.1 shutout innings in Michigan’s win over Stanford, with Gavin Devooght already making two saves in three appearances this season. Kurt Barr is another possible starter to watch for their game versus Louisville; he pitched seven innings with eight strikeouts and one earned run allowed.
Opponent Primer: Auburn
Auburn (3-0) swept Youngstown State in three games last week, and will have a game today against Cincinnati before heading to Arlington to begin their portion of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. The Tigers took a pair of 2-1 victories in games one and two, before closing the sweep with a 17-2 victory in seven innings.
All three weekend starters had outstanding performances, with Jake Marciano (5.0 IP, two H, ER, 12 Ks), Jackson Sanders (6.0 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, eight Ks), and Alex Petrovic (5.0 IP, H, nine Ks) allowing just two earned runs between those three. Auburn’s pitching staff allowed just .126 hitting for the series, with Drew Whalen (1-0, three Ks) not allowing a hit in three innings of work, and Jett Johnson (three hits, three Ks) also having a strong bullpen outing.
Chase Fralick (6-for-12, HR, two RBIs) and Eric Guevara (6-for-13, three doubles, RBI) led Auburn with +.400 batting for the series, with Fralick and Bub Terrell (.385 batting, three RBIs) both hitting home runs. Both Fralick and Terrell earned Preseason All-SEC Second Team honors, while Chris Rembert earned First Team honors at second base. Rembert had an outstanding freshman campaign last year, batting .344 with 14 doubles, ten home runs, and 56 RBIs en route to Freshman All-American honors.
