7th Inning Stretch: Treading Water (Week 8)

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Apr 1, 2025 9:00 AM ET

In what was a week that, on paper, should have gone relatively well for the Louisville baseball program, in reality, it was much rockier than anticipated.

The Cardinals (20-7, 5-4 ACC) started their week with a listless drubbing at rival Cincinnati, then followed that up with a series win over Cal that very nearly could have been a sweep in the other direction.

It's no secret what was Louisville's Achilles heel this past week. Prior to the finale against Cal, the Cardinals had given up double-digit runs in four straight games. In the series against the Golden Bears alone, UofL's starting pitchers surrendered 13 earned runs in 12.2 innings, while their bullpen gave up just as many in 14.1 innings. Not to mention the six defensive errors committed.

Despite putting up double digit runs themselves in every game vs. Cal, they had to win via walk-off in the opener after blowing a big lead, blew another lead in game two, and faced the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning of the rubber match. Louisville has one of the top offenses in the league, and it was barely enough to squeak by a middle-of-the-road conference foe.

I wouldn't sound like such an alarmist if we hadn't seen this exact scenario play out several times over the last few seasons. While this team is certainly more talented than the last three UofL teams that missed the postseason, we're already starting to see some common themes from those seasons emerge.

Like this past week, Louisville had another big time opportunity in front of them, as they'll travel to Indiana in the midweek and host Boston College for a weekend series. With both teams barely being over .500, it's not big in the sense that its big time matchups, it's big in the sense that they have a chance to fine tune their pitching staff and defense before the rubber really hits the road in conference play.

News & Notes

Louisville ranks as high as No. 14 in the five major collegiate baseball polls (Baseball America).
The Cardinals are tied with NC State for seventh in the ACC standings.
Right-hander Patrick Forbes ranks 12th nationally in strikeouts with 52.
Outfielder Lucas Moore ranks second nationally in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strike Out" metric, 17th in stolen bases with 17, and 21st in runs at 35.
Infielder Jake Munroe ranks 33rd nationally in batting average at .424.

The Week Ahead

Away (Bart Kaufman Field - Bloomington, Ind.)

Tuesday, Apr. 1 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Indiana (BTN/93.9 The Ville)

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Friday, Apr. 4 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs Boston College (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Saturday, Apr. 5 at 2:00 p.m. EST vs Boston College (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Sunday, Apr. 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST vs Boston College (ACCN/93.9 The Ville)

Know The Foe

Indiana Hoosiers

Head Coach (school record): Jeff Mercer (190-138-1)
2025 Record (conference record): 15-13 (6-6)
All-Time Series Record: Indiana Leads 29-25

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF Korbyn Dickerson (28 GP, 28 GS): .355/.424/.742, 13 HR, 46 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 15 BB, 2 SB
OF Devin Taylor (28 GP, 28 GS): .375/.496/.732, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 6 2B, 2 3B, 28 BB, 4 SB
INF Jake Hanley (28 GP, 28 GS): .398/.481/.619, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 7 2B, 17 BB, 1 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Cole Gilley (9 APP, 7 GS): 3.34 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 32.1 IP, 43 K, 7 BB, .194 B/AVG
RHP Drew Buhr (7 APP, 0 GS): 2.29 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 19.2 IP, 15 K, 6 BB, .224 B/AVG
RHP Ben Grable (8 APP, 5 GS): 4.38 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 24.2 IP, 25 K, 12 BB, .268 B/AVG

Boston College Eagles

Head Coach (school record): Todd Interdonato (35-43)
2025 Record (conference record): 13-12 (5-7)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 23-5

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF Josiah Ragsdale (24 GP, 24 GS): .344/.419/.544, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 6 2B, 3 3B, 13 BB, 13 SB
OF Jack Toomey (25 GP, 25 GS): .319/.404/.473, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, 12 BB, 5 SB
1B Kyle Wolff (25 GP, 25 GS): .265/.385/.418, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 7 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Gavin Soares (7 APP, 0 GS): 2.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 14 K, 5 BB, .205 B/AVG
RHP Joey Ryan (8 APP, 0 GS): 3.10 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 20.1 IP, 27 K, 5 BB, .237 B/AVG
LHP JD Ogden (x APP, x GS): 3.77 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 15 K, 5 BB, .235 B/AVG