7th Inning Stretch: Conference Play Begins (Week 5)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While there might not have been the cleanest baseball played at times, week three of an 18-game homestand for the Louisville baseball program was still a perfect one.

The Cardinals (12-2) were able to mount a comeback to take down Morehead State in extras for their midweek matchup, then followed that up with a largely dominant three-game sweep over UIC.

Against the Flames, Louisville combined to score 28 runs, while only giving up seven runs. While the competition has been far from world beaters over the last couple weeks, and there are still areas to improve upon, the Cardinals are started to build back up some momentum following their pedestrian series win over St. John's the weekend prior.

Louisville is going to need all the momentum they can for this week for two reasons. One: there will be two midweeks games played this week, with one of them getting played at 8pm after getting picked up by the ACC Network. Two: ACC play officially starts this upcoming weekend, and their first confernce test will come against No. 6 North Carolina - who is eager to bounce back after a series loss to Stanford.

The Cardinals have a fantastic opportunity in front of them, one where they can throw their name into the hat of ACC contenders. They just have to keep ironing out the kinks.

News & Notes

Louisville ranks as high as No. 25 in the five major collegiate baseball polls (Baseball America).
Right-Handed Pitcher Parker Detmers was forced to exit his Saturday start early due to an unspecified injury.
Right-Handed Pitcher Patrick Forbes ranks No. 7 nationally in strikeouts with 39, No. 36 in WHIP at 0.81, and No. 44 in ERA at 1.29.
Infielder Jake Munroe ranks no. 17 nationally in batting average at .473.
Infielder Lucas Moore ranks No. 18 nationally in stolen bases with 11, and No. 45 in runs per game at 1.43
Infielder Tague Davis ranks No. 42 nationally in slugging percentage at .838.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, Mar. 11 at 3:00 p.m. EST vs. Lipscomb (ACCNX/970 WGTK)
Wednesday, Mar. 12 at 8:00 p.m. EST vs. Oakland (ACCN/93.9 The Ville)
Friday, Mar. 14 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs UNC (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Saturday, Mar. 15 at 2:00 p.m. EST vs UNC (ACCNX/93.9 The Ville)
Sunday, Mar. 16 at 3:00 p.m. EST vs UNC (ACCN/93.9 The Ville)

Know The Foe

Lipscomb Bisons

Head Coach (school record): Jeff Forehand (483-511)
2025 Record (conference record): 4-10 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Trails 2-4

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF/C Jake Berg (14 GP, 14 GS): .340/.469/.420, 6 RBI, 4 2B, 9 BB, 2 SB
INF David Coppedge (14 GP, 14 GS): .281/.328/.509, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 5 2B, 3B, 4 BB, 3 SB
INF Damion Kenealy Jr. (13 GP, 13 GS): .212/.281/.481, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Jake Poindexter (4 APP, 4 GS): 4.87 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 20.1 IP, 18 K, 10 BB, .310 B/AVG
LHP Rigo Ramos (4 APP, 4 GS): 5.29 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 17.0 IP, 11 K, 12 BB, .246 B/AVG
RHP Cole O'Brien (5 APP, 2 GS): 5.54 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 8 K, 10 BB, .300 B/AVG

Oakland Bears

Head Coach (school record): Brian Nelson (3-14)
2025 Record (conference record): 3-14 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 3-0

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF Taylor Tomlin (11 GP, 7 GS): .400/.455/.400, 1 RBI, 2 BB
OF John Lauinger (16 GP, 16 GS): .350/.452/.400, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 7 BB, 3 SB
INF Brandon Nigh (17 GP, 17 GS): .262/.368/.410, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 6 2B, 7 BB, 2 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Hunter Pidek (4 APP, 4 GS): 6.10 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 20.2 IP, 12 K, 6 BB, .300 B/AVG
LHP Grant Garman (4 APP, 4 GS): 6.98 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 19.1 IP, 15 K, 10 BB, .312 B/AVG
LHP Daniel Duley (3 APP, 1 GS): 2.70 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 11 K, 2 BB, .255 B/AVG

North Carolina Tar Heels

Head Coach (school record): Scott Forbes (168-91)
2025 Record (conference record): 14-2 (1-2)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Trails 7-12

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Hunter Stokely (16 GP, 16 GS): .414/.493/.724, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 3 2B, 9 BB
OF Kane Kepley (16 GP, 16 GS): .333/.531/.544, 8 RBI, 4 2B, 4 3B, 15 BB, 13 SB
C Luke Stevenson (16 GP, 16 GS): .321/.493/.607, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 1 2B, 19 BB, 1 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

RHP Jake Knapp (4 APP, 3 GS): 2.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 18.0 IP, 20 K, 3 BB, .229 B/AVG
RHP Aidan Haugh (4 APP, 4 GS): 2.79 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 19.1 IP, 26 K, 6 BB, .188 B/AVG
RHP Jason DeCaro (4 APP, 4 GS): 3.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 18 K, 7 BB, .200 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	LU	OU	UNC	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	6th	NR
RPI	149th	186th	13th	152nd
SOS	17th	77th	52nd	279th
Home Record	4-8	0-0	12-2	10-1
Away Record	0-2	3-14	1-0	0-0
Neutral Record	0-0	0-0	1-0	2-1

Hitting:

	LU	OU	UNC	UofL
Base on Balls	166th (63)	197th (59)	14th (102nd)	136th (70)
Batting Avg.	263rd (.231)	202nd (.256)	66th (.300)	8th (.338)
Home Runs	174th (11)	217th (8)	111th (15)	96th (16)
OBP	253rd (.339)	219th (.355)	51st (.420)	22nd (.443)
Runs/Game	252nd (4.6)	255th (4.6)	77th (7.9)	34th (8.9)
SLG	245th (.349)	248th (.348)	89th (.463)	36th (.524)

Pitching:

	LU	OU	UNC	UofL
ERA	153rd (6.02)	211th (7.36)	38th (3.56)	89th (4.57)
Hits/9 Innings	174th (9.99)	243rd (11.45)	41st (7.63)	89th (8.56)
K/9 Innings	258th (7.0)	295th (5.6)	34th (10.6)	23rd (10.9)
K/BB Ratio	215th (1.39)	254th (1.19)	10th (3.70)	36th (2.79)
WHIP	166th (1.67)	209th (1.80)	19th (1.17)	74th (1.39)
BB/9 Innings	163rd (5.03)	140th (4.73)	11th (2.88)	68th (3.91)

(Photo via Chris Jones - Imagn Images)

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