After matching a season-long five-game win streak, Louisville baseball went 0-4 last week with a loss to Indiana in the midweek game, and swept by Wake Forest in their weekend series.
Louisville now has a pair of rematches from last year’s NCAA Tournament in the penultimate week of the regular season. They first head to Nashville to face Vanderbilt in their annual rivalry game, then go to Coral Gables for a weekend series against Miami (FL).
Last Week in Cliff Notes
Indiana blitzed Louisville early with an 7-0 lead through three innings, including five runs in the third, and cruised to an eventual 10-6 win over the Cardinals. Cole Decker and Landen Fry had two RBI on back-to-back base hits in the third inning, with both going 1-for-4 at the plate. Jake Hanley (2-for-4, RBI) and Owen ten Oever (2-for-5, RBI) both had home runs for the Hoosiers, with Louisville’s Jimmy Nugent (2-for-3, RBI, two BBs) adding another home run to his recent hot stretch.
Read more: Around the Bases (2026): Week 13Louisville lost all three games in the weekend series at Wake Forest by a combined four runs, with the first two games ending in walk-off fashion. Game one was a 9-8 loss in ten innings, as Wake Forest scored the winning run on a fielding error by Zach Davis. Game two ended in a walk-off HBP in nine innings, which was a 6-5 win by Wake Forest.
Game three closed a Wake Forest sweep of the Cards with a 7-5 victory for the Demon Deacons, marking the first time that Wake swept Louisville in ACC play. Louisville had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth with runners on second and third, but a pop-up closed Louisville’s chance to prevent a sweep.
Tague Davis added four more homers in the Wake Forest series, including two in Friday’s loss, and became the third player in ACC history (first in Louisville history) to hit 30 home runs in a single season. He also has 84 RBI on the season, and needs five more to break the Louisville single-season record of 88 (held by Richie Hawks in 1991, and Rob Newman in 1992). Jimmy Nugent has been among Louisville’s best players in the last three weeks, batting 18-for-44 (.410) with seven home runs (including six in the last six games) and 17 RBI.
This Week’s Schedule
- at Vanderbilt
- Tues. May 5th at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2 / 93.9 The Ville / 970 AM)
- at Miami (FL)
- Thurs. May 7th at 7 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville / 970 AM)
- Fri. May 8th at 7 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville / 970 AM)
- Sat. May 9th at 2 p.m. ET (ACCNX via ESPN+ / 93.9 The Ville / 970 AM)
Opponent Primer: Vanderbilt
One year after winning the SEC Tournament and earning the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, Vanderbilt has had one of the roughest seasons in Tim Corbin’s 24-year career with the Commodores. The Commodores are 27-22 entering Tuesday night’s game, and are currently a bubble team in many NCAA Baseball Tournament projections for this year, including Baseball America (from April 28th). Vanderbilt is #69 in the RPI heading into this week and 22-8 at home entering this week.
Vanderbilt is averaging .289 batting as a team (sixth in the SEC), with Brodie Johnston (.347/.429/.643) and Braden Holcomb (.342/.422/.622) leading the team. Holcomb leads the team in RBI (44) and doubles (16), Mike Mancini (.302 batting) has 11 doubles, 13 home runs, 41 RBI, and a team-high 16 stolen bases.
Vanderbilt also has five players with ten or more home runs (including Johnston’s team-high 14 and Holcomb’s 13), and has 97 on the season (second in the conference). That does come with 456 strikeouts though (third-most in conference), so if Vanderbilt can keep the bats hot throughout the game, it is a dangerous lineup.
However, Vanderbilt’s 5.33 team ERA is 15th out of 16 teams in the SEC. Nate Schlott (3-1, 0.47 ERA) has been a frequent contributor in Vanderbilt’s midweek games as of late, he is allowing just .133 at the plate (but does have 17 walks in 19 innings). Tristan Barstow (1-0, 3.24 ERA) has had shutouts in eight of his ten appearances this season, with Tyler Baird (0-4, 4.78 ERA) logging five saves in 20 appearances (with five starts).
Opponent Primer: Miami (FL)
One year after upsetting Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Regional and falling short in the Louisville Super Regional, Miami hopes to make a similar run — perhaps greater — in this postseason. The Hurricanes are 33-14 entering this week, and will host FIU before welcoming the Cardinals in Coral Gables.
Derek Williams has been among the best hitters in the ACC, batting a team-high .394 (third best in ACC) with 14 doubles and home runs apiece, and 61 RBI. He leads a Miami offense that is averaging .300 as a team, with seven players averaging over .300 at the plate. Jake Ogden (.315 batting, 11 doubles, 31 RBI) has been hot at the plate, batting 16-for-38 (.421) with three doubles and two RBI in the last nine games.
On the mound, expect Rob Evans (8-3, 3.45 ERA) and AJ Ciscar (4-3, 3.84 ERA) to make weekend starts, with Lazaro Collera (3-2, 4.53 ERA) as the third starter. Evans is allowing .197 batting on the mound and has struck out 73 batters (team-high, sixth-most in ACC). Lyndon Glidewell (3-0, 3.14 ERA in 22 appearances) and Jake Dorn (5-0, 3.16 ERA in 24 appearances) have been excellent relievers on the mound, allowing .175 and .198 batting, respectively. Additionally, Glidewell has struck out 44 batters and allowed just ten walks in 28.2 innings of work. Ryan Bilka (2-0, 4.85 ERA in 21 appearances) has four saves on the year and has struck out 31 batters in 26 innings.
