7th Inning Stretch: Back in the Big Dance (Week 16)

The Cardinals are back in the NCAA Tournament, heading down to Nashville this weekend to get their postseason run started.

Louisville baseball outfielder Zion Rose | Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The postseason is finally back. For the first time since 2022, the Louisville baseball program has made the NCAA Tournament.

The Cardinals (35-21) were able to secure a No. 2 seed for the Big Dance, and while they won't be hosting a regional this year, they won't have to go very far. Louisville was placed in the Nashville Regional, where No. 1 overall national seed Vanderbilt (42-16) is the host. No. 3 East Tennessee State (41-15) and No. 4 Wright State (38-19) round out the regional.

On one hand, Louisville is certainly battle tested for the NCAA Tournament. They're 12-14 against Quadrant 1 opponent, and are 6-2 against the top nine national seeds in the NCAA Tournament. On the other hand, they're not exactly heading into the postseason with much momentum, having lost seven of their last 10 - including a one-and-done showing in the ACC Baseball Championship.

That being said, the early exit did give Louisville a little extra time to prepare for their NCAA Tournament run - which is sorely needed. Not only did all three other teams in the Nashville Regional win their conference tournaments, injuries have played a massive role in Louisville's season up to this point. They need all the R&R they can get.

As always, the Road to Omaha for the College World Series isn't an easy one. Especially when you consider that Louisville is 8-14 in road and neutral site matchups this season. That being said, anything can happen in college baseball.

News & Notes

• Louisville remains unranked across the five major collegiate baseball polls.
• Of McDonnell's 13 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, he holds a 36-12 record in Regionals, including 8-7 in UofL's four times when not hosting.
• Louisville has advanced to the Super Regionals nine times, and but have only made it once in four prior attempts on the road under McDonnell, coming during his first season at the helm in 2007.
• Louisville hosted Vanderbilt back on May 6 for the annual Battle of the Barrel, winning the showdown 5-4 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
• Outfielder Lucas Moore ranks second nationally in stolen bases with 46, sixth in runs with 78, and 31st in hits with 84.
• Outfielder Eddie King Jr. ranks 38th nationally in slugging percentage at .717.

The Week Ahead

Neutral/Road (Hawkins Field - Nashville, Tenn.)

Friday, May 30

• Game 1: No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 3 East Tennessee State - 2:00 p.m. EST
• Game 2: No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 Wright State - 6:00 p.m. EST

Saturday, May 31

• Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 3:00 p.m. EST
• Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 9:00 p.m. EST

Sunday, June 1

• Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser - 3:00 p.m. EST
• Game 6: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 9:00 p.m. EST

Monday, June 2

• *Game 7: Game 6 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner - Time TBA

*If Necessary

Know The Foe

Vanderbilt Commodores

Head Coach (school record): Tim Corbin (963-459-1)
2025 Record (conference record): 42-16 (19-11)
All-Time Series Record: Vanderbilt Leads 29-13

Top Performers (Hitters):

• INF Riley Nelson (57 GP, 57 GS): .358/.464/.534, 7 HR, 45 RBI, 13 2B, 1 3B, 33 BB, 7 SB
• INF Brodie Johnston (53 GP, 52 GS): .258/.291/.516, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 14 2B, 1 3B, 8 BB, 2 SB
• UTIL Jacob Humphrey (47 GP, 46 GS): .292/.414/.465, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 5 2B, 4 3B, 21 BB, 19 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

• LHP J.D. Thompson (15 APP, 15 GS): 4.06 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 82.0 IP, 110 K, 29 BB, .240 B/AVG
• RHP Connor Fennell (16 APP, 7 GS): 2.68 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 50.1 IP, 82 K, 11 BB, .168 B/AVG
• RHP Sawyer Hawks (17 APP, 0 GS): 1.64 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 44.0 IP, 56 K, 11 BB, .170 B/AVG

East Tennessee State Buccaneers

Head Coach (school record): Joe Pennucci (231-159)
2025 Record (conference record): 41-15 (14-7)
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

Top Performers (Hitters):

• INF Cooper Torres (56 GP, 55 GS): .378/.477/.783, 23 HR, 72 RBI, 15 2B, 2 3B, 38 BB, 9 SB
• INF Cody Miller (56 GP, 56 GS): .330/.433/.604, 16 HR, 55 RBI, 14 2B, 28 BB, 27 SB
• INF Grant Gallagher (56 GP, 55 GS): .285/.480/.687, 20 HR, 49 RBI, 10 2B, 64 BB, 4 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

• RHP Brady Frederick (23 APP, 0 GS): 2.54 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 71.0 IP, 70 K, 19 BB, .178 B/AVG
• RHP Jace Hyde (14 APP, 14 GS): 3.72 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 67.2 IP, 55 K, 21 BB, .264 B/AVG
• RHP Carter Fink (15 APP, 15 GS): 3.97 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 68.0 IP, 56 K, 17 BB, .299 B/AVG

Wright State Raiders

Head Coach (school record): Alex Sogard (222-142)
2025 Record (conference record): 38-19 (25-5)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 9-8

Top Performers (Hitters):

• C/OF Boston Smith (55 GP, 55 GS): .337/.511/.767, 23 HR, 67 RBI, 10 2B, 2 3B, 56 BB, 15 SB
• INF J.P. Peltier (56 GP, 55 GS): .315/.403/.662, 20 HR, 69 RBI, 14 2B, 1 3B, 29 BB, 22 SB
• 1B/OF Cam Gilkerson (54 GP, 53 GS): .315/.408/.594, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 12 2B, 2 3B, 26 BB, 12 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

• RHP Cam Allen (15 APP, 12 GS): 5.43 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 61.1 IP, 64 K, 38 BB, .261 B/AVG
• LHP Garrett Peters (19 APP, 5 GS): 4.88 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 51.2 IP, 52 K, 25 BB, .242 B/AVG
• RHP Warren Hartzell (20 APP, 0 GS): 4.58 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 47 K, 18 BB, .236 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	VU	UofL	ETSU	WSU
USAT Ranking	4th	RV	RV	NR
RPI	1st	32nd	36th	98th
SOS	2nd	25th	98th	254th
Home Record	28-5	27-7	25-8	17-3
Away Record	10-9	6-12	13-7	13-15
Neutral Record	4-2	2-2	3-0	8-1

Hitting:

	VU	UofL	ETSU	WSU
Base on Balls	141st (254)	155th (248)	70th (284)	14th (330)
Batting Avg,	206th (.270)	33rd (.306)	18th (.313)	35th (.305)
Home Runs	122nd (62)	74th (72)	4th (116)	31st (88)
OBP	202nd (.374)	65th (.404)	35th (.414)	16th (.424)
Runs/Game	153rd (6.7)	39th (8.2)	14th (8.8)	10th (9.1)
SLG	158th (.435)	37th (.500)	4th (.568)	22nd (.517)

Pitching:

	VU	UofL	ETSU	WSU
ERA	9th (3.76)	122nd (5.72)	29th (4.44)	168th (6.31)
Hits/9 Innings	4th (7.20)	75th (9.04)	45th (8.57)	92nd (9.23)
K/9 Innings	1st (11.9)	61st (9.1)	139th (8.3)	68th (9.0)
K/BB Ratio	6th (3.22)	188th (1.55)	38th (2.40)	157th (1.63)
WHIP	6th (1.21)	163rd (1.65)	25th (1.33)	152nd (1.64)
BB/9 Innings	41st (3.71)	250th (5.83)	22nd (3.44)	232nd (5.52)

(Photo of Zion Rose: Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI)

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