7th Inning Stretch: One Final Homestand (Week 14)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - If there was any doubt that the Louisville baseball program hadn't officially crossed the Rubicon yet, that was put to bed this past week.

The Cardinals (27-25, 11-16 ACC) went just 1-3 this past week, losing the annual Battle of the Barrel matchup at Vanderbilt, then following that up with a series loss at Miami.

Any slight hope that Louisville could earn an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament some may have had is gone. Barring a run in the ACC Tournament, or even winning it to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinals are facing a significant threat of finishing the 2026 season at or below .500.

Fortunately, Louisville has one last chance to generate some momentum before heading down to Charlotte for the ACC Tournament. This week, they'll return home for the final week of the regular season, hosting crosstown foe Bellarmine in the midweek and Virginia for their final weekend series of the regular season.

News & Notes

Louisville remains out of the top-25 in all five major collegiate baseball polls.
Louisville is tied for 11th in the ACC standings, and would be the No. 11 seed in the ACC Baseball Championship if it started today.
First baseman Tague Davis set the ACC single-season home run record and Louisville single-season RBI record this past weekend at Miami.
Davis ranks first nationally in home runs with 33, first in RBI with 91, first in total bases with 185, and third in slugging percentage at 0.877.
Outfielder Lucas Moore ranks 14th nationally in stolen bases with 33.
Left-handed pitcher Wyatt Danilowicz ranks 12th nationally in games started at 1213

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, May 12 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Bellarmine (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)
Thursday, May 14 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Virginia (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)
Friday, May 15 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Virginia (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)
Saturday, May 16 at 1:00 p.m. EST vs. Virginia (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)

Know The Foe

Bellarmine Knights

Head Coach (school record): Ben Reel (36-68)
2026 Record (conference record): 19-30 (11-16 ASUN)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 47-30

Top Hitters:

INF A.J. Swader (49 GP, 49 GS): .376/.460/.672, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 20 2B, 3 3B, 26 BB, 2 SB
INF Landon Akers (48 GP, 48 GS): .362/.420/.541, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 15 2B, 2 3B, 17 BB, 12 SB
INF Jake Bell (46 GP, 40 GS): .301/.389/.538, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 9 2B, 2 3B, 18 BB, 1 SB

Top Pitchers:

RHP Chase Chamberlain (14 APP, 3 GS): 5.26 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 37.2 IP, 37 K, 16 BB, .229 B/AVG
RHP Cade Rusch (20 APP, 0 GS): 2.37 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 30.1 IP, 36 K, 14 BB, .246 B/AVG
RHP Aaron Ragat (20 APP, 0 GS): 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 38.0 IP, 18 K, 15 BB, .288 B/AVG

Virginia Cavaliers

Head Coach (school record): Chris Pollard (33-18)
2026 Record (conference record): 33-18 (13-14 ACC)
All-Time Series Record: Series Tied 14-14

Top Hitters:

1B/OF Sam Harris (50 GP, 50 GS): .321/.423/.596, 14 HR, 50 RBI, 11 2B, 30 BB, 5 SB
INF Joe Tiroly (51 GP, 51 GS): .308/.392/.557, 13 HR, 52 RBI, 11 2B, 23 BB, 2 SB
OF A.J. Gracia (47 GP, 47 GS): .320/.453/.596, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 10 2B, 36 BB, 4 SB

Top Pitchers:

LHP Henry Zatkowski (15 APP, 9 GS): 4.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 68.1 IP, 82 K, 20 BB, .218 B/AVG
RHP Lucas Hartman (30 APP, 0 GS): 3.35 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 56.1 IP, 61 K, 21 BB, .241 B/AVG
RHP John Paone (13 APP, 13 GS): 4.91 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 51.1 IP, 59 K, 20 BB, .237 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	BU	UVA	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	NR
RPI	227th	23rd	94th
SOS	216th	16th	58th
Home Record	8-8	22-8	21-9
Away Record	10-20	7-10	4-14
Neutral Record	1-2	4-0	2-2

Hitting:

	BU	UVA	UofL
Base on Balls	159th (220)	29th (276)	25th (277)
Batting Average	83rd (.288)	169th (.275)	29th (.305)
Home Runs	125th (52nd)	17th (88)	25th (82)
OBP	100th (.392)	91st (.395)	25th (.417)
Runs/Game	126th (6.8)	38th (8.0)	20th (8.5)
SLG	126th (.443)	40th (.491)	24th (.512)

Pitching:

	BU	UVA	UofL
ERA	281st (7.96)	58th (4.79)	228th (6.87)
Hits/9 Innings	285th (11.52)	49th (8.49)	226th (10.58)
K/9 Innings	301st (5.9)	28th (10.0)	71st (9.0)
K/BB Ratio	283rd (1.16)	56th (2.29)	193rd (1.57)
WHIP	270th (1.85)	63rd (1.43)	256th (1.81)
BB/9 Innings	202nd (5.12)	124th (4.40)	261st (5.75)

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for the latest news.