Louisville continued their hot streak at the plate, winning both the Marshall and Notre Dame series and scoring 8+ runs in all five games last week. They’ve also scored 10+ runs in six of their last eight games, including a 21-12 victory over Notre Dame to secure the series against the Fighting Irish.
The Cardinals, now sitting at 14-6, have a pivotal week ahead, as they prepare to host Northern Kentucky before heading on the road to face ranked North Carolina.
Last Week in Cliff Notes
Louisville had a week to remember at the plate, hitting 13 home runs in five games last week and scoring at least eight runs in all five (including 10+ in four of them). It started with a midweek sweep of Marshall, beating the Herd on scores of 16-5 and 18-8, both in seven innings.
Though Louisville rushed to an early 6-0 lead in game one of the Notre Dame series, the Irish responded with a ten-run frame in the fourth, which included two grand slams in that inning. Louisville responded with a two-run homer from Zion Rose, but Notre Dame scored a run in each of the final four innings to put the game out of reach, resulting in a 14-11 win for the Fighting Irish.
Read more: Around the Bases (2026): Week SixLouisville then won games two and three of the series by scores of 8-7 and 21-12, respectively. Game two saw the Cardinals overcome 4-1 and 7-5 deficits in the contest, with Tague Davis hitting the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. Game three saw Louisville tally nine extra-base hits (including four home runs), and score at least two runs in six out of eight innings.
Notre Dame’s Davis Johnson had an insane week versus Louisville, hitting 6-for-15 with 13 RBI, four home runs, and a double.
Notable Numbers
Where else could we start but with highlighting the return of outfielder Zion Rose? After missing the first five weeks of the season due to injury, the junior returned and immediately made his presence felt in the starting lineup. Rose batted .571 across all five games last week and had two home runs, three doubles, and 12 RBI to boot.
Tague Davis and Ben Slanker also had huge weeks at the plate, combining to hit seven home runs last week (Slanker with four, Davis with three). Davis is now one of three qualifying Louisville players averaging over .400 at the plate (Griffin Crain and Bayram Hot are the other two), and now leads Division I with 45 RBI entering this week (for reference, he had 52 RBI last season). He’s also tied for sixth in the country with 11 home runs. Slanker is currently batting .324 with two doubles, six home runs, and 23 RBI.
Griffin Crain had a hit in all five games last week, and went 8-for-12 with seven RBI, two doubles, one home run, and six runs scored versus Notre Dame. Crain still leads Louisville with a .474 batting average and .595 on-base percentage. Bayram Hot is also averaging over .400 (.408 batting with 13 RBI), and is riding an eight-game hit streak heading into this week. Lucas Moore (.309, 13 RBI, 16 stolen bases) is riding a ten-game hit streak as well.
One guy that has been on a tear as well in the last couple weeks is freshman Kade Elam. Elam has had a multi-hit game in each of his last seven games, batting 17-for-30 (.567) with seven RBI, three doubles, and a home run in that stretch. He’s raised his season average from .195 on March 8th, to .352 entering this week.
All this has led to Louisville carrying a team batting average of .358 (second-best in ACC) and an on-base percentage of .458 (third-best in ACC).
However, with a team ERA of 6.72 and allowing .282 at the plate (15th and 14th-best in ACC, respectively), Louisville still has to improve on the mound. Last week saw the Cardinals put on a clinic offensively, but also gave up 7+ runs in four out of five games played. Zane Stahl and Aaron England continue to remain consistent on the mound, both having shutout appearances versus the Irish. England’s appearance on Saturday versus Notre Dame was highly notable, pitching the final three innings with four hits allowed and no runs allowed as Louisville eventually pulled off the comeback victory.
This Week’s Schedule
- v. Northern Kentucky
- Wed. Mar. 18 at 4 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 970 AM)
- at North Carolina
- Fri. Mar. 20 at 8 p.m. ET (ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville)
- Sat. Mar. 21 at 2 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville or 970 AM)
- Sun. Mar. 22 at 1 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+) / 93.9 The Ville)
Opponent Primer: Northern Kentucky
The Norse (8-10) have lost seven of their last eight games, and have given up 10+ runs in five of their last six. That includes a series loss to UW-Milwaukee, where the Panthers scored 16 runs in both victories over NKU.
Marcus Harrison is batting .410 for the season and is coming off a strong series versus Milwaukee, batting for 7-for-14 (.500) with eight RBI and a home run. Mark Nowak (.302, four doubles, nine RBI) and Landon Springmeyer (.310, five doubles, 11 RBI) are averaging over .300 at the plate, with Nowak going 6-for-15 with three doubles and six RBIs last weekend. Pierce Bauerle (.293, four doubles, 15 RBI) batted 7-for-13 last weekend as well.
As mentioned, though, their pitching has struggled immensely the last two weeks. The Norse currently hold an 8.63 ERA and have allowed .304 at the plate. Gannon Wentz (3.24 ERA in seven appearances) and Jared Teke (1-0, 6.75 ERA in eight appearances) had solid appearances last weekend and should be in line to appear against the Cardinals.
Opponent Primer: North Carolina
Last year, Louisville’s upset of ranked North Carolina at home was a key moment towards the Cardinals eventual run to the College World Series. They hope to do the same again in Chapel Hill this weekend, against a Tar Heels squad that enters this week with a 17-3-1 record and coming off a series sweep of Cal. UNC is ranked as high as 11th in this week’s Top 25 from Baseball America, and is also ranked 14th and 15th on D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game, respectively.
The Tar Heels are led by a trio of transfer portal acquisitions, with Erik Paulsen (Stony Brook), Jake Schaffner (North Dakota State), and Macon Winslow (Duke) all leading the team in batting. All three players are averaging over .340 batting, with Paulsen leading the team in both home runs (six). Paulsen also had a strong weekend versus Cal, batting 6-for-12 with three RBI, one double, and one home run. Georgia State transfer Colin Hynek had 18 home runs last season with the Panthers, and is currently batting .309 with three home runs and a team-high 24 RBIs.
UNC also has a tremendous pitching rotation in the first part of the season, boasting a 3.23 ERA (third-best in ACC) and allowing just .229 at the plate. Jason DeCaro has looked like an early candidate for ACC Pitcher of the Year, holding a 4-1 record with a 1.67 ERA. DeCaro is coming off a 2025 campaign where he finished 9-3 with a 3.78 ERA, but pitched 3.2 innings with three earned runs in a loss at Louisville last year. Ryan Lynch (2-1, 3.86 ERA) and Folger Boaz (2-0, 4.09 ERA) round out the starting rotation and return from last year’s squad; Lynch earned Freshman All-American honors with both D1Baseball and Baseball America last season, going 5-1 with two saves and a 2.92 ERA with 71 strikeouts.
Additionally, the Tar Heels have a really good bullpen, with five guys holding sub-3.00 ERAs that will likely make appearances this weekend. Freshmen Caden Glauber (1-0, 1.83 ERA in seven appearances) and Jackson Rose (1-0, 1.93 ERA in five appearances) have been strong in their debut seasons, with Matthew Matthijs (1-0, 2.79 ERA in six appearances) and Walker McDuffie (4-1, 3.24 ERA in ten appearances) returning from last year’s team. Like Lynch, McDuffie also earned Freshman All-American honors last year, going 3-3 with seven saves and a 3.74 ERA in 2025.
