7th Inning Stretch: Generating Momentum (Week 4)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It might have taken until the third week of the new season, but the Louisville baseball program finally posted a perfect week.

The Cardinals (7-4) went a perfect 4-0 this past week, taking down in-state foe Eastern Kentucky in the midweek tilt, then following that up with a three-game sweep over Central Michigan. Of course, while their record this past week was perfect, Louisville's actual play on the diamond was anything but.

UofL only won 6-5 against EKU, and were also out-hit by the Colonels. Louisville managed to run-rule the Chippewas in their series opener, but had to mount a comeback to win 9-8 via walk-off in game two, and had to hold off CMU in the finale for a 7-5 win. Louisville's bullpen had some inconsistent outings, and their hitting struggled at times to hit with runners on base.

But from a positive standpoint, it's still very early in the season. Head coach Dan McDonnell is still very much in the process of figuring out rotations and lineups, which has been complicated by the fact that a few keys players haven't been 100 percent available during the first few weeks of the season.

At the end of the day, Louisville is still on a four-game win streak, and they have a great opportunity in front of them to continue building on it. As part of their 14-game home stand, the Cardinals will welcome Morehead State to Jim Patterson Stadium for their midweek tilt, and then host Seton Hall for a three-game weekend series.

News & Notes

Head coach Dan McDonnell earned his 800th career victory in the series finale against Central Michigan. McDonnell is 800-363-1 in his 20 years at Louisville, and the first head coach at the university to reach 800 career wins, regardless of sport.
Louisville has fallen out of the top-25 in all five major collegiate baseball polls.
Outfielder Zion Rose (ankle) remains day-to-day.
Outfielder Griffin Crain and second baseman Kade Elam are tied for first nationally in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strike Out" metric.
Left-handed pitcher Aaron England ranks second nationally in saves with two.
Shortstop Alex Alicea is tied for seventh seventh nationally in triple with one.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, Mar. 3 at 3:00 p.m. EST vs Morehead State (ACC Network Extra/970 WGTK)
Friday, Mar. 6 at 3:00 p.m. EST vs Seton Hall (ACC Network Extra/970 WGTK)
Saturday, Mar. 7 at 1:00 p.m. EST vs Seton Hall (ACC Network Extra/970 WGTK)
Sunday, Mar. 8 at 1:00 p.m. EST vs Seton Hall (ACC Network Extra/970 WGTK)

Know The Foe

Morehead State Eagles

Head Coach (school record): Chris Rose (18-46)
2026 Record (conference record): 4-7 (0-0 OVC)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 54-35

Top Hitters:

INF Aubrey Kearns (10 GP, 9 GS): .421/.476/.684, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB
C Caden Sheridan (10 GP, 10 GS): .303/.465/.636, x HR, xx RBI, x BB, x SB
OF Kyle Krupp (9 GP, 8 GS): .333/.405/.424, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 4 BB, 7 SB

Top Pitchers:

RHP Alex Miller (4 APP, 0 GS): 5.23 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 8 K, 6 BB, .308 B/AVG
RHP Landon Waugh (3 APP, 3 GS): 5.27 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 15 K, 5 BB, .192 B/AVG
RHP Devin Costa (4 APP, 0 GS): 2.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, .269 B/AVG

Seton Hall Pirates

Head Coach (school record): Rob Sheppard (606-521-4)
2026 Record (conference record): 4-4 (0-0 Big East)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 11-8

Top Hitters:

OF Aiden Dill (8 GP, 8 GS): .346/.595/.538, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 13 BB, 10 SB
INF Ryan Frontera (8 GP, 8 GS): .367/.441/.533, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB
INF Gabe Cavazzoni (8 GP, 8 GS): .290/.452/.452, 5 RBI, 7 BB, 4 SB

Top Pitchers:

LHP Mason Christopher (2 APP, 1 GS): 6.43 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 15 K, 3 BB, .300 B/AVG
LHP John Downing (2 APP, 2 GS): 3.95 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 11 K, 6 BB, .281 B/AVG
RHP Steven Svenson (3 APP, 3 GS): 3.95 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 10 K, 4 BB, .245 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	MSU	SHU	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	NR
RPI	260th	243rd	138th
SOS	266th	285th	158th
Home Record	2-1	0-0	6-2
Away Record	2-6	1-2	0-0
Neutral Record	0-0	3-2	1-2

Hitting:

	MSU	SHU	UofL
Base on Balls	185th (14)	100th (19)	47th (25)
Batting Average	219th (.232)	249th (.213)	68th (.309)
Home Runs	120th (3)	226th (1)	62nd (5)
OBP	169th (.365)	177th (.362)	33rd (.452)
Runs/Game	162nd (5.5)	247th (3.7)	43rd (9.5)
SLG	129th (.421)	260th (.298)	44th (.520)

Pitching:

	MSU	SHU	UofL
ERA	289th (12.13)	135th (5.04)	144th (5.29)
Hits/9 Innings	295th (15.65)	109th (8.28)	91st (7.94)
K/9 Innings	236th (7.0)	205th (7.6)	41st (10.9)
K/BB Ratio	262nd (1.06)	130th (2.10)	207th (1.52)
WHIP	290th (2.48)	88th (1.32)	196th (1.68)
BB/9 Innings	254th (6.65)	93rd (3.60)	268th (7.15)