7th Inning Stretch: Bouncing Back (Week 7)

Conference play is in full swing for the Louisville baseball program, and all of a sustained consistency has become a little bit of an issue.

The Cardinals (16-8, 3-3 ACC) are coming off of a 2-2 showing this past week, easily capturing their midweek matchup against Northern Kentucky, but then dropping their first true road series at North Carolina.

It's pretty easy to see why Louisville is .500 in ACC play and are 4-3 in their last seven games after having a good amount of success in the latter portion of their non-conference schedule. In their series at UNC. they gave up 11 runs in the opener before the mercy rule kicked in, and then allowed five runs in the eighth inning of the rubber match en route to a loss there. While game two was a shutout win, the other two games in the series saw UofL allow 38 combined hits and walks.

Hitting wasn't much better. After putting up 45 runs against Notre Dame the weekend before in their opening ACC series, Louisville plated only nine total runs at Carolina. This is partially because star outfielder Zion Rose had to exit the opener due to injury and didn't play the rest of the weekend, but there are plenty of other capable players that can help carry the load.

Once again, Louisville has to find away to be able to weather the storm, especially considering they have another big week coming up. This week, they'll head to Bowling Green for a matchup against in-state foe Western Kentucky, then return home to host a red-hot Pitt squad.

News & Notes

• Louisville remains out of the top-25 in all five major collegiate baseball polls.
• First baseman Tague Davis ranks first nationally in runs batted in with 50, third in total bases with 89, 6th in home runs with 13, 8th in slugging percentage at 0.899 and 9th in total hits with 40.
• Outfielder Griffin Crain ranks 15th nationally in on-base percentage at 0.556, and 20th in batting average at 0.426.
• Outfielder Lucas Moore ranks 12th nationally in triples with three and 16th in stolen bases with 17.
• Left-handed pitcher Aaron England ranks 17th nationally in saves with four.

The Week Ahead

Away (Nick Denes Field - Bowling Green, Ky.)

• Tuesday, Mar. 24 at 7:00 p.m. EST vs Western Kentucky (ESPN+/970 WGTK)

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

• Friday, Mar. 27 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs Pitt (ACC Network Extra/970 WGTK)
• Saturday, Mar. 28 at 2:00 p.m. EST vs Pitt (ACC Network Extra/970 WGTK)
• Sunday, Mar. 29 at 1:00 p.m. EST vs Pitt (ACC Network Extra/970 WGTK)

Know The Foe

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Head Coach (school record): Marc Rardin (128-73)
2026 Record (conference record): 13-11 (3-3 Sun Belt)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 78-70

Top Hitters:

• INF Lane Arroyos (24 GP, 24 GS): .356/.473/.633, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 10 2B, 20 BB, 1 SB
• INF Kyle Hayes (21 GP, 19 GS): .286/.400/.557, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 4 2B, 9 BB, 1 SB
• C Camden Ross (24 GP, 24 GS): .316/.490/.461, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 5 2B, 20 BB, 1 SB

Top Pitchers:

• RHP Gavin Perry (6 APP, 6 GS): 6.23 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 26.0 IP, 27 K, 12 BB, .320 B/AVG
• RHP Mick Uebellhor (6 APP, 0 GS): 1.53 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 17.2 IP, 22 K, 4 BB, .169 B/AVG
• LHP Aaron Robertson (5 APP, 5 GS): 3.91 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 23.0 IP, 19 K, 0 BB, .281 B/AVG

Pitt Panthers

Head Coach (school record): Mike Bell (176-180)
2026 Record (conference record): 15-6 (3-3 ACC)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 22-12

Top Hitters:

• OF Lorenzo Carrier (21 GP, 21 GS): .464/.614/.1.029, 10 HR, 44 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 29 BB, 3 SB
• OF A.J. Nessler (21 GP, 21 GS): .369/.505/.595, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 1 2B, 3 3B, 20 BB, 7 SB
• C Sebastian Pisacreta (21 GP, 21 GS): .325/.432/.613, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, 12 BB

Top Pitchers:

• RHP David Leslie (6 APP, 6 GS): 5.08 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 28.1 IP, 29 K, 8 BB, .263 B/AVG
• LHP Vincent Spizzoucco (6 APP, 6 GS): 5.53 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 17 K, 6 BB, .240 B/AVG
• RHP Drew Lafferty (6 APP, 6 GS): 5.19 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 17 K, 6 BB, .330 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

Hitting:

Pitching: