The Cardinals had another .500 run in week six of the college baseball season, winning the midweek game versus Northern Kentucky, but dropped two out of three on the road to #14 North Carolina.
Up next, Louisville heads to Bowling Green for a midweek showdown at Western Kentucky, then returns home for a weekend series vs. Pittsburgh.
Last Week in Cliff Notes
Louisville notched their third straight run-rule victory in their midweek games, taking a 16-1 victory over Northern Kentucky last week. The Cardinals jumped to an early 8-0 lead after two innings, with Alex Alicea hitting an inside-the-park home run that drove in three runs. Zion Rose led Louisville with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate, driving in three RBI and stealing two bases as the Cardinals tallied 16 runs on 15 hits.
Louisville then lost the weekend series to #14 North Carolina on scores of 1-11, 2-0, and 6-7. Game one saw Louisville lose its first game of the season via run-rule, with the Tar Heels taking an 11-1 victory in eight innings. North Carolina managed to chase starter Ethan Eberle out after three innings, taking a 4-1 lead in that stretch. The Tar Heels added two more runs in the fourth, three in the seventh, and closed the game with a two-run homer from Cooper Nicholson in the eighth.
Read more: Around the Bases (2026): Week SevenAlso of note is that outfielder Zion Rose exited Friday’s game with an injury, and did not return that weekend. His status for this week is unknown.
The Cardinals rebounded in game two with a 2-0 victory over the Tar Heels, led by a career day from starter Wyatt Danilowicz. Danilowicz allowed just two hits and threw 11 strikeouts in seven shutout innings, marking his first quality start of the season. Aaron England notched his fourth save of the season, pitching the final two innings in a shutout effort. Bayram Hot (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Griffin Crain (0-2, RBI) chipped in with RBI in the second and sixth innings, respectively.
In the rubber match, Louisville saw a late 4-2 lead in the eighth inning slip away. With two outs and nobody on base, North Carolina managed to score five runs before entering the ninth inning. UNC loaded the bases and eventually scored via bases-loaded walk. Gavin Gallaher followed with an RBI single, and a bases-clearing RBI double from Erik Paulsen scored three more runs. Tague Davis hit a two-run homer in the ninth to cut UNC’s lead to 6-7, but UNC retired the final two batters to close the series with a victory over Louisville.
Notable Numbers
Wednesday’s 16-1 win over Northern Kentucky marked the third straight run-rule victory for Louisville in their midweek games, and fifth in the month of March. But the 11-1 loss to North Carolina on Friday was their first in such scenario, and it was their seventh game allowing 10+ runs to their opponent (third against ACC foes).
Tague Davis added two more home runs last week against Northern Kentucky and North Carolina, bringing his season total up to 13 and now leads Division I baseball with 50 RBI. He is still averaging over .400 at the plate as well (.404 batting), with Griffin Crain (.426, seven doubles, 29 RBI) and Bayram Hot (.407, nine doubles, 15 RBI) still leading Louisville in that category. Hot went 6-for-13 last week with three doubles and two RBI.
Collin Hartman made two starts last week, including a start on Sunday at North Carolina. His appearance as the Sunday starter comes after two midweek starts, including one versus Marshall where he allowed two earned runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Hartman pitched 7.1 innings across both games last week, throwing ten strikeouts (seven against Northern Kentucky), and allowed two earned runs (one in each game) So far this season, Hartman is 2-1 with a 4.29 ERA in six appearances.
Wyatt Danilowicz had his best start of the season on Saturday, pitching seven shutout innings and tossing 11 strikeouts at North Carolina. Aaron England earned his fourth save of the season in that same game, but gave up two earned runs in the Sunday loss to the Tar Heels.
But as a team, Louisville is currently 14th in the ACC in ERA (6.49), opponent batting average (.277), and home runs allowed (29); they are also 15th in walks (131).
This Week’s Schedule
- at Western Kentucky
- Tue. March 24 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville)
- vs. Pittsburgh
- Fri. March 27 at 6 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville OR 970 AM)
- Sat. March 28 at 2 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / radio TBA)
- Sun. March 29 at 1 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville OR 970 AM)
Opponent Primer: Western Kentucky
One year after making the NCAA Tournament and winning the Conference USA Championship (even making brief appearances in the Top 25 polls), WKU hasn’t seen the same success in 2026. The Hilltoppers enter Tuesday’s game with a 13-11 record, and are on a three-game losing streak after being swept by Jacksonville State.
Lane Arroyos (.356 batting, ten doubles, five home runs, 27 RBI) and Camden Ross (.316 batting, five doubles, 16 RBI) are the only qualifying Hilltoppers averaging over .300 batting. Kyle Hayes (.286, four doubles, 22 RBI) was Second Team All-Conference USA last season, with Reid Howard (.277, six RBI) making the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 2025.
WKU holds a 5.49 team ERA entering this week. Expect a significant number of arms for the Hilltoppers, as they’ve had at least seven guys appear on the mound across all three of their midweek games so far (eight at Kentucky, seven at Cincinnati, and ten vs. Belmont). Jacob O’Day (2-0, 3.29 ERA in nine appearances), Nathan Lawson (2-0, 3.92 ERA in nine appearances), and Zach Lyles (1-0, 3.97 ERA in nine appearances) all have sub-4.00 ERAs, with Mick Uebelhor (1-0, 1.53 ERA, SV in six appearances) being the most notable bullpen arm.
Opponent Primer: Pittsburgh
Pitt will play both Kent State and Youngstown State before heading to Louisville this weekend. The Panthers are 15-6, with a series win over Stanford and Western Michigan on their resume. The Panthers boast one of the ACC’s best offenses so far this season; they are fourth in batting average (.330), sixth in runs scored (219), and second in both home runs (46) and slugging percentage (.586).
Lorenzo Carrier is far and away the most notable player in Pitt’s lineup. He’s third in Division I baseball in RBI (44), and top ten nationally in batting average (.464). Additionally, he holds a 1.029 slugging percentage and .614 on-base percentage with 29 walks. Carrier earned national player of the week honors from multiple publications in week four of the season, where he batted a staggering 13-for-15 (.867) with 19 RBI, five home runs, two doubles, one triple, and slugged 2.200 against Ohio and San Jose State.
In addition to Carrier, Pitt has seven other qualifying players averaging over .300 batting this season. AJ Nessler (.369, four HRs, 18 RBI), Sebastian Pisacreta (.325, six HRs, 21 RBI), Julian Irizarry (.323, seven doubles, 11 RBI). and Caden Dulin (.257, 12 RBI) all return from last year’s squad; Dulin led Pitt last season with a .325 batting average, to go with 14 doubles and 29 RBI. Nessler is batting 8-for-21 (.381) with four RBI in his last five games. Pitt also has a .446 on-base percentage against ACC foes (best in conference), with Louisville’s .430 being second-best.
Pitt’s starting rotation consists of David Leslie (2-1, 5.08 ERA), Drew Lafferty (3-2, 5.18 ERA), and Vincent Spizzoucco (2-0, 5.53 ERA). Lafferty is a returning starter from last year, but all three guys have ERAs of at least 5.00 and have given up .277 batting collectively (including .330 from Lafferty). Some notable relievers to watch include Freddy Beruvides Jr. (1.42 ERA in six appearances), Andrew Luczak (1-0, 2.84 ERA in six appearances), and Joey Ciancimino (3.75 ERA in six appearances).
