7th Inning Stretch: One Last Home Stand (Week 14)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Once again, the Louisville baseball program squandered a golden opportunity this past week.

The Cardinals (34-17, 14-13 ACC) actually started the week on a great note, beating rival Vanderbilt in the midweek and routing Georgia Tech in the series opener. However, that was then promptly followed up by getting swept in a doubleheader to drop their series at the Yellow Jackets.

The GT series epitomized two of Louisville's biggest problems this season: inconsistency and an inability to win on the road. They put up 16 runs in game one, including a whopping 13 in the second inning alone, and then were promptly one-hit in back-to-back games. This in turn dropped the Cards to a woeful 0-5 in road ACC series this season.

Why is this such a big deal? Because unless they sweep this week and then make a run in the ACC Baseball Championship, Louisville will almost certainly have to go on the road to start the NCAA Tournament. Considering they're just 6-12 in true road environments this year, it could make for a quick exit in the postseason.

But before Louisville travels to Charlotte for the ACC Baseball Championship, they have one last week to build up momentum. They'll spend the final week of the regular season at home, first hosting local foe Bellarmine then facing Wake Forest in the weekend series. The Cardinals will have to start playing their best baseball right now in order to potentially get a better NCAA Tournament draw.

News & Notes

Louisville ranks as high as No. 21 in the five major collegiate baseball polls (D1 Baseball).
The Cardinals are tied for nine in the ACC standings, which is one spot behind what would give them a single bye in the ACC Baseball Championship.
Outfielder Lucas Moore ranks fourth nationally in runs scored with 73, fourth in stolen bases with 42, and 24th in hits with 77.
Infielder Tague Davis broke Louisville's single-season home run record for a freshman (16) this past weekend.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, May 13 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Bellarmine (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Thursday, May 15 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs Wake Forest (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Friday, May 16 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs Wake Forest (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Saturday, May 17 at 12:00 p.m. EST vs Wake Forest (ACCN/93.9 The Ville)

Know The Foe

Bellarmine Knights

Head Coach (school record): Ben Reel (13-38)
2025 Record (conference record): 13-38 (8-19)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 47-29

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Landon Akers (49 GP, 49 GS): .352/.391/.505, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 14 2B, 8 BB, 16 SB
INF/OF Casey Sorg (51 GP, 51 GS): .287/.384/.451, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 8 2B, 27 BB, 5 SB
OF Joey Milto (51 GP, 48 GS): .250/.418/.426, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 10 2B, 2 3B, 34 BB, 3 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Mike Sokol (14 APP, 1 GS): 4.13 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 48.0 IP, 25 K, 28 BB, .236 B/AVG
RHP Chase Carver (14 APP, 13 GS): 7.94 ERA, 2.23 WHIP, 62.1 IP, 37 K, 42 BB, .351 B/AVG
RHP Cooper Hellman (20 APP, 0 GS): 7.15 ERA, 2.12 WHIP, 34.0 IP, 31 K, 28 BB, .308 B/AVG

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Head Coach (school record): Tom Walter (490-378-1)
2025 Record (conference record): 34-17 (14-13)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 20-10-1

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Kade Lewis (50 GP, 50 GS): .414/.517/.674, 11 HR, 54 RBI, 14 2B, 40 BB, 4 SB
INF Marek Houston (51 GP, 51 GS): .340/.451/.570, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 13 2B, 39 BB, 19 SB
INF Jack Winnay (50 GP, 50 GS): .278/.398/.545, 12 HR, 55 RBI, 10 2B, 2 3B, 29 BB, 6 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Blake Morningstar (13 APP, 12 GS): 2.44 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 66.1 IP, 75 K, 24 BB, .202 B/AVG
RHP Griffin Green (21 APP, 0 GS): 2.32 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 34 K, 16 BB, .178 B/AVG
Haiden Leffew (23 APP, 0 GS): 3.99 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 29.1 IP, 50 K, 15 BB, .250 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	BU	WF	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	21st
RPI	259th	27th	22nd
SOS	155th	32nd	20th
Home Record	7-9	24-8	26-4
Away Record	6-26	8-9	6-12
Neutral Record	0-3	2-0	2-1

Hitting:

	BU	WF	UofL
Base on Balls	128th (233)	5th (326)	161st (223)
Batting Avg.	284th (.248)	25th (.308)	30th (.307)
Home Runs	204th (40)	19th (85)	63rd (64)
OBP	265th (.356)	11th (.431)	66th (.405)
Runs/Game	200th (6.2)	34th (8.4)	46th (8.1)
SLG	268th (.377)	16th (.526)	39th (.501)

Pitching:

	BU	WF	UofL
ERA	289th (9.77)	29th (4.40)	102nd (5.40)
Hits/9 Innings	298th (13.70)	5th (7.19)	59th (8.84)
K/9 Innings	299th (5.2)	6th (11.5)	67th (9.1)
K/BB Ratio	295th (0.76)	58th (2.24)	184th (1.57)
WHIP	293rd (.255)	39th (1.37)	157th (1.62)
BB/9 Innings	283rd (6.76)	195th (5.13)	247th (5.77)