The woes continue for Louisville baseball, who went 1-3 last week. Although the Cardinals managed to avenge their loss to Western Kentucky back in March, they also dropped a crucial series at California, losing on scores of 5-8 and 5-6. They did manage to avoid a sweep, taking an 8-5 win over the Golden Bears in game three.
At 21-18, Louisville has four weeks left to punch their ticket to the ACC Baseball Championship next month. They’ll have a chance to avenge another loss on Tuesday, hosting rival Kentucky at Jim Patterson Stadium. The Cardinals then host Clemson in another crucial series that could go a long way to deciding who gets into the ACC Baseball Championship.
Last Week in Cliff Notes
Louisville took a 7-3 victory over Western Kentucky last Tuesday, one that saw the Cardinals pounce on the Hilltoppers with early offense. Louisville scored two runs in each of the first two innings, then added three more in the third to put the game out of reach. Drew Freeman made his first career start and also hit his first home run, blasting a two-run shot to left field in the third inning to extend Louisville’s lead to 7-1.
Despite having two home runs from Tague Davis, and one from Bayram Hot, Louisville fell short in a 5-8 loss to California in game one of their series. Trailing 4-0 after four innings, the Golden Bears scored three runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 4-3. After Davis hit his second homer in the sixth inning, Cal responded with two of their own, including a three-run homer from Carl Schmidt that put the Golden Bears ahead for good.
Game two saw California once ahead come from behind in the middle portion of the game, overcoming a 4-3 deficit in the fifth to take a 6-5 victory over Louisville. Daniel Murillo led Cal with a perfect 3-for-3 outing, hitting two home runs and driving in five RBI, including a go-ahead two-run blast in the fifth. Louisville had a chance to extend the game after Zach Davis cut Cal’s lead to 6-5 with an RBI single in the ninth, but a groundout ended Louisville’s attempt at a comeback.
The Cardinals, though, managed to avoid a sweep, taking an 8-5 win over California in game three. Louisville overcame a 4-0 deficit after the first inning, with Tague Davis hitting three homers, all to right field. Davis led the team with a 4-for-5 afternoon and five RBI. Brandon Shannon and Ty Starke had great outings from the bullpen; Shannon pitched 5.1 innings with just one earned run allowed, getting the win and advancing his record to 2-2. Starke earned his first save of 2026, pitching the final three innings in a shutout effort.
Davis had an outstanding series at the plate, hitting five home runs and bringing his total to 24 on the season. He’s now the sixth player to hit 20+ home runs since Dan McDonnell arrived in 2007, and is one away from tying the single-season school record (25; held by Chris Dominguez (2009) and Randy Delph (1974)).
This Week’s Schedule
- vs. Kentucky
- Tues. April 21 at 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville)
- vs. Clemson
- Fri. April 24 at 6 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville / 970 AM)
- Sat. April 25 at 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville / 970 AM)
- Sun. April 26 at 2 p.m. ET (ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville)
Opponent Primer: Kentucky
Since beating Louisville on April 7th, the Wildcats have dropped four of their last six games, entering Tuesday’s contest with a 26-12 record. Kentucky will be looking to sweep both legs of the rivalry game versus Louisville for the first time under head coach Nick Mingione, who is in his tenth season in Lexington.
Kentucky’s pitching staff held Louisville to just two hits in their last game, with Oliver Boone (2-0, 4.36 ERA in seven appearances) earning the win with a shutout fifth inning in relief. Tristan Hunter (2.57 ERA in 13 appearances), Nile Adcock (4-1, 3.63 ERA in 17 appearances), and Jackson Soucie (0-1, 4.50 ERA in 14 appearances) are other notable Kentucky relievers; all three also didn’t allow a run in their win against Louisville.
Scott Campbell Jr. (.263 batting, five doubles, 22 RBI) was the only Kentucky batter with a multi-hit game versus Louisville two weeks ago, batting 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jayce Tharnish (.353, seven doubles, 24 RBI) and Luke Lawrence (.343, eight doubles, 25 RBI) are among Kentucky’s leading batters.
Opponent Primer: Clemson
Clemson and Louisville have both had a similar trajectory this season. Once a team that was ranked in most preseason polls and tabbed as a possible ACC contender, Clemson enters this week with a 25-16 record (6-12 in ACC), and are coming off a series loss to Virginia last weekend. The Tigers have won just one conference series all season (taking two of three at Stanford), and after starting the season 15-1, are just 10-15 since.
Nate Savoie leads the Tigers in batting (.341) and RBI (44), and he’s been hot as of late. Savoie is batting 10-for-23 (.435) with two home runs and five RBI in his last five games. Luke Gaffney (.297 batting, 11 doubles, five triples, 30 RBI) also had a good series against Virginia, batting 6-for-14 with two triples and three RBI. Tryston McCladdie (.312 batting, eight HRs, 36 RBI) and Jack Crighton (.308, ten doubles, 18 RBI) are the other Clemson qualifying players averaging over .300, with Jacob Jarrell (.277, 38 RBI) leading the team with 15 home runs.
Michael Sharman (5-1, 2.70 ERA) and Aidan Knaak (2-4, 5.02 ERA) are the two primary weekend starters to watch for Clemson. Sharman has been solid all season long, holding opponents to a .197 average at the plate and tossing 55 strikeouts to just ten walks. He’s also coming off one of his best performances of the season, allowing just one earned run in eight innings versus Virginia on April 17th (and had a complete game versus South Carolina on February 28th). Knaak has a team-high 70 strikeouts.
Clemson’s 4.26 team ERA is fifth-best in the ACC, and a huge part of that is due to their bullpen. Brendon Bennett (1.93 ERA in 13 appearances), Ariston Veasey (2.55 ERA in 13 appearances), and Dion Brown (2-1, 2.70 ERA in ten appearances) all have sub-3.00 ERAs.
