Louisville Blasts Xavier in Midweek Tilt

Hosting Xavier for their first midweek contest of the 2026 season, the Louisville baseball program was able to bounce back from a disappointing opening weekend, earning an emphatic 23-11 win on Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The No. 15 Cardinals (2-2) get to .500 after dropping their season-opening series against Michigan State this past weekend. With the victory over the Musketeers (2-2), head coach Dan McDonnell is now five wins away from 800 career victories.

Louisville's hitters had a field day at the plate against Xavier, as every starter reached base at least three times, and all but one drove in at least two runs. As a team, they collected 23 base hits, nine extra bases, three home runs and 10 walks.

Tague Davis (4-6, HR, 3 RBI, 2B, BB) and Jimmy Nugent (2-3, 2 RBI, 2B, 3 BB) reached base five times in the contest; while Alex Alicea (4-7, 2 RBI, 2B), Kyle Campbell (3-5, BB), Griffin Crain (2-4, 4 RBI, 3B, BB, HBP) and Lucas Moore (3-6, HR, 3 RBI, 3B, HBP) did so four times. Crain had the first four-RBI game of the season for the Cards, with Davis, Jax Hisle (2-5, HR, 3 RBI, BB) and Moore all driving in three runs as well.

It made up for a very up-and-down game for Cardinals pitchers. Xavier was able to to collect 16 bases hits, launching four home runs in the process.

Like in the finale against Michigan State, Louisville's offense exploded in the early innings. Moore collected a groundout RBI in the first to get the scoring started, then the Cardinals put up a seven-spot in the second.

Moore had a 360-foot two-run home run in the frame, Davis and Hisle smoked 453- and 404-foot solo homers, respectively, Alicea collected a two-run single, and Crain hit an RBI single. Campbell also scored on an error in the third to give UofL nine runs through the first three innings.

This early outburst at the plate proved to be just what Louisville needed, as Xavier plated nine runs through five innings, including five in the fourth and two in the fifth.

Peter Michael (3.0 IP, 5, K, 1 BB, 7 H, 6 ER) posted a shaky start out on the mound. The right-hander gave up an RBI double in the second, a solo home run in the third, and then a two-run blast in the fourth before getting an early hook.

Fellow right-hander Jake Schweitzer (1.2 IP, 2 K, 6 H, 3 ER) was the first reliever out of the pen, and promptly gave up a three-run home run. Then in the next frame, he allowed back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game, resulting in him also getting yanked early and needing left-hander Ty Starke (1.1 IP, 1 BB) to get the Cards out of the fifth.

The game was not tied for long, as Louisville immediately retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth with their second seven-spot of the afternoon. Elam (0-3, 2 RBI, 3 BB, SF), Davis, Hisle and Nugent drew four consecutive bases loaded walks, Crain pushed across a run on a groundout, then Bayram Hot (3-6, 2 RBI, 2B) collected a two-RBI single.

Two innings later in the seventh, UofL added insult to injury with a six-spot. Davis and Hisle notched RBI singles, Nugent struck an RBI double, while Griffin Crain laced an RBI triple and later scored on an error. In the eighth, Elam then scratched across the final Louisville run of the day on a sacrifice fly.

Down the stretch, the Cardinals got a much better effort out of their bullpen. Starke went back out for the sixth and put a zero, fellow southpaw Colton Hartman (3.0 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, 3 H, 2 ER) twirled a three-inning relief outing to earn the first save of the season for the Cards, only allowing a two-run blast in the ninth.

Next up for Louisville, they'll head to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas for the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, and will take on Nebraska in their first of three games in the Lone Star State. First pitch is slated for Friday, Feb. 20 at 4:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on FloSports and broadcast on 970 WGTX.