7th Inning Stretch: Battle of the Barrel (Week 13)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Just when it seems that the Louisville baseball program starts to regain some big time momentum, they run into another bump in the road.

The Cardinals (32-15, 13-11 ACC) started last week on a positive note, taking down Eastern Kentucky in the midweek then claiming their series opener vs. Notre Dame. However, that was then promptly followed up with back-to-back losses in South Bend to drop the series against the Fighting Irish.

While Louisville's inconsistent pitching issues are well documented at this point, one constant has remained: road woes. The Cards are now 5-10 in true road games this season, losing all four of their ACC road series up to this point.

Sure, some of this can be partially attributed to bad injury luck, but this same team also has home series wins against a pair of top-five opponents in Florida State and North Carolina. Considering that Louisville is just on the outside looking in when it comes to hosting the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they need to find a way to close out strong.

However, with the penultimate week of the regular season is coming up, that's easier said than done. Louisville will start the week with the annual Battle of the Barrel rivalry showdown vs. Vanderbilt, then hit the road for the last time in the regular season and face Georgia Tech.

Considering that the final week of the regular season has them hosting Bellarmine and an under-performing Wake Forest, this week is the last big chance that Louisville has to add to their NCAA Tournament resume. It could be the difference between hosting a regional, and having to hit the road.

News & Notes

Louisville ranks as high as No. 19 in the five major collegiate baseball polls (Baseball America).
The Cardinals are eighth in the ACC standings, which would give them the final single bye in the ACC Baseball Championship.
Outfielder Lucas Moore ranks second nationally in runs scored with 71, fifth in stolen bases with 39, and 31st in hits with 71.
Outfielder Garret Pike ranks 19th nationally in sacrifice flies at 6, and 49th in doubles at 17.
Infielder Tague Davis ranks 47th nationally in home runs with 15.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. EST vs. Vanderbilt (ACCN/93.9 The Ville)

Away (Russ Chandler Stadium - Atlanta, Ga.)

Friday, May 9 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs Georgia Tech (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Saturday, May 10 at 2:30 p.m. EST vs Georgia Tech (ACCN/93.9 The Ville)
Sunday, May 11 at 12:00 p.m. EST vs Georgia tech (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)

Know The Foe

Vanderbilt Commodores

Head Coach (school record): Tim Corbin (955-457-1)
2025 Record (conference record): 34-14 (14-10)
All-Time Series Record: Vanderbilt Leads 29-12

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Riley Nelson (47 GP, 47 GS): .361/.478/.536, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 9 2B, 1 3B, 31 BB, 6 SB
INF Brodie Johnston (43 GP, 42 GS): .276/.315/.529, 9 HR, 46 RBI, 14 2B, 1 3B, 8 BB, 2 SB
UTIL Jacob Humphrey (38 GP, 37 GS): .314/.438/.492, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 4 2B, 4 3B, 19 BB, 16 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

LHP J.D. Thompson (12 APP, 12 GS): 3.95 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 66.0 IP, 88 K, 21 BB, .227 B/AVG
RHP Connor Fennell (13 APP, 6 GS): 3.20 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 72 K, 9 BB, .176 B/AVG
RHP Sawyer Hawks (13 APP, 0 GS): 1.26 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 35.2 IP, 47 K, 8 BB, .153 B/AVG

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Head Coach (school record): Danny Hall (1,236-671-1)
2025 Record (conference record): 33-14 (15-9)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 12-8

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Kyle Lodise (42 GP, 42 GS): .353/.461/.743, 14 HR, 50 RBI, 19 2B, 2 3B, 29 BB, 12 SB
OF Drew Burress (47 GP, 47 GS): .330/.459/.692, 15 HR, 51 RBI, 19 2B, 1 3B, 41 BB, 9 SB
INF Alex Hernandez (46 GP, 46 GS): .337/.425/.584, 10 HR, 52 RBI, 10 2B, 2 3B, 30 BB, 4 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Mason Patel (16 APP, 0 GS): 2.75 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 52.1 IP, 49 K, 10 BB, .204 B/AVG
RHP Tate McKee (12 APP, 12 GS): 4.33 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 60.1 IP, 65 K, 25 BB, .249 B/AVG
RHP Brady Jones (12 APP, 12 GS): 4.33 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 52.0 IP, 60 K, 30 BB, .246 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	VU	GT	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	11th	NR	20th
RPI	3rd	28th	27th
SOS	3rd	50th	38th
Home Record	25-5	23-8	25-4
Away Record	8-7	10-5	5-10
Neutral Record	1-2	0-1	2-1

Hitting:

	VU	GT	UofL
Base on Balls	109th (226)	29th (262)	170th (204)
Batting Avg.	195th (.270)	8th (.320)	17th (.313)
Home Runs	141st (47)	33rd (70)	66th (60)
OBP	182nd (.378)	20th (.424)	58th (.409)
Runs/Game	144th (6.8)	13th (9.0)	37th (8.4)
SLG	166th (.428)	11th (.545)	30th (.511)

Pitching:

	VU	GT	UofL
ERA	14th (3.81)	29th (4.36)	113th (5.53)
Hits/9 Innings	3rd (7.06)	47th (8.48)	63rd (8.85)
K/9 Innings	1st (12.2)	26th (9.8)	64th (9.1)
K/BB Ratio	5th (3.25)	47th (2.35)	192nd (1.56)
WHIP	6th (1.20)	52nd (1.40)	160th (1.63)
BB/9 Innings	42nd (3.76)	74th (4.16)	249th (5.85)