Louisville Wins Rubber Match vs. Virginia in Regular Season Finale

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Wrapping up the regular season with their rubber match against Virginia, the Louisville baseball was able to send fans home happy in what was likely their final home game of the year, capturing a 10-5 victory on Saturday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The Cardinals (30-26, 13-17 ACC) conclude the 2026 regular season at 3-7 in ACC series, also beating Notre Dame 2-to-1 on Mar. 13-15 and sweeping Clemson on Apr. 24-26. They also improve 2-4 in ACC rubber matches win the series win over the Cavaliers (35-20, 14-16 ACC).

Third baseman Bayram Hot (4-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2B), outfielder Lucas Moore (3-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB) and outfielder Zion Rose (2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2B, BB) all hit home runs and had multi-hit days. Shortstop Alex Alicea (0-2, RBI, BB) and first baseman Tague Davis (0-4, 2 RBI) also drove in runs as well, and the Cardinals as a whole collected 12 base hits.

It was a Johnny Wholestaff type of day for the Cardinals, as they rolled out seven different pitchers against the Cavaliers. While the staff as a whole allowed 11 hits and two walks, six of their pitchers who took to the mound posted scoreless outings.

Louisville immediately got to work, plating three runs in the first two innings of the game. Davis notched a sacrifice fly in the opening frame, while Moore hit an RBI single and Alicea collected a fielder's choice RBI in the second.

Additionally, they held Virginia relatively in check to start the afternoon. Right-hander Jack Brown (1.0 IP, 1 K, 2 H) put up a zero in the first, fellow righty Jake Gregor (0.1 IP, 2 H) and left-hander Casen Murphy (2.2 IP, 1 H) split a scoreless second after the former allowed some early traffic, then the latter went on to twirl scoreless third and fourth innings.

After right-hander Jake Schweitzer (1.0 IP, 1 BB) posted a zero in the fifth, Louisville jumped back on the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame after a couple quiet innings, with Hot launching a 408-foot solo homer to dead center.

The same thing then happened one inning later in the sixth. Southpaw Anthony Karbowski (2.0 IP, 2 K) put up a zero, which was followed up by Rose smashing a 372-foot homer - this one being good for three runs.

Karbowski would go back out a pitch a perfect seventh, but then UVA would make a serious charge at the lead. Right-hander Peter Michael (0.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 H, 5 ER) took to the mound in the eighth, giving up an RBI single and three-run triple, eventually getting pulled without securing a single out.

Aaron England (2.0 IP, 2 K, 2 H) took over in place of Michael, and the left-hander was able to get UofL out of the frame, but not before he would allow a sacrifice fly to give the Hoos a five-spot.

Fortunately, Louisville put up a three-spot in the bottom of the eighth to give themselves some breathing room. Moore launched a 403-foot leadoff homer, Davis collected a fielder's choice RBI and Hot tallied an RBI double. England then walked back out to the mound for the ninth, and shut the door to secure the series win.

Next up for Louisville, they'll head down to Charlotte for the 2026 ACC Baseball Championship. The Cardinals' exact draw will be determined later this evening.

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