7th Inning Stretch: Rivalry Week, Part Two (Week 11)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As Yogi Berry once said, it's starting to get late early for the Louisville baseball program.

The Cardinals (22-18, 7-11 ACC) once again had a losing week of baseball, winning their midweek rematch vs. Western Kentucky but dropping their series at Cal.

This was a week in which Louisville absolutely needed to go 4-0. Instead, not only have they lost 12 of their last 19 games, they have now dropped five straight series in ACC play to remain tied for 10th in the ACC standings.

There's no other way to put it: Louisville's margin for error moving forward is now zero. With just four weeks left in the regular season, at this current juncture, the Cardinals are in no way, shape or form an NCAA Tournament team.

Of course, pitching has been this problem's biggest hinderance. There's no need to get deeper into that again. But there have been moments where the hitting has struggled with runners on base and with two outs, and defense has also been touch-and-go as well. There's not a magic fix-it-all option for Dan McDonnell's squad at the moment.

Once again, Louisville is facing a critical week - and they're facing an opponent that would love to kick them while they'e down. They kick off the week with a home rematch against Kentucky, then stay at Jim Patterson Stadium for a weekend series vs. Clemson.

News & Notes

Louisville remains out of the top-25 in all five major collegiate baseball polls.
First baseman Tague Davis ranks first nationally in first in home runs with 24, first in runs batted in with 73, second in slugging percentage at 0.911, second in total bases with 143, 16th in total hits with 51.
Left-handed pitcher Wyatt Danilowicz ranks 12th nationally in games started at 10.
Outfielder Lucas Moore ranks 14th nationally in stolen bases with 26.

The Week Ahead

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, Apr. 21 at 7:00 p.m. EST vs. Kentucky (ACC Network/93.9 The Ville)
Friday, Apr. 24 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Clemson (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)
Saturday, Apr. 25 at 7:00 p.m. EST vs. Clemson (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)
Sunday, Apr. 26 at 2:00 p.m. EST vs. Clemson (ACC Network/93.9 The Ville)

Know The Foe

Kentucky Wildcats

Head Coach (school record): Nick Mingione (321-204)
2026 Record (conference record): 26-12 (8-10 SEC)
All-Time Series Record: Kentucky Leads 67-50-1

Top Hitters:

INF Ethan Hindle (38 GP, 38 GS): .279/.425/.589, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 13 2B, 3 3B, 23 BB, 12 SB
OF Jayce Tharnish (38 GP, 38 GS): .353/.427/.481, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 7 2B, 2 3B, 16 BB, 24 SB
INF Luke Lawrence (38 GP, 38 GS): .343/.472/.464, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 8 2B, 21 BB, 13 SB

Top Pitchers:

RHP Jaxon Jelkin (10 APP, 10 GS): 3.22 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 58.2 IP, 66 K, 14 BB, .232 B/AVG
RHP Nate Harris (9 APP, 9 GS): 5.08 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 39.0 IP, 36 K, 20 BB, .229 B/AVG
RHP Nile Adcock (17 APP, 0 GS): 3.63 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 31 K, 12 BB, .193 B/AVG

Clemson Tigers

Head Coach (school record): Erik Bakich (158-69)
2026 Record (conference record): 25-16 (6-12 ACC)
All-Time Series Record: Clemson Leads 25-16

Top Hitters:

C/OF Nate Savoie (41 GP, 41 GS): .341/.420/.640, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 10 2B, 18 BB, 5 SB
C Jacob Jarrell (38 GP, 38 GS): .277/.383/.631, 15 HR, 38 RBI, 5 2B, 19 BB
INF/OF Tryston McCladdie (37 GP, 37 GS): .312/.417/.532, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 7 2B, 22 BB, 15 SB

Top Pitchers:

RHP Aidan Knaak (9 APP, 9 GS): 5.02 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 43.0 IP, 70 K, 17 BB, .256 B/AVG
LHP Michael Sharman (10 APP, 10 GS): 2.70 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 56.2 IP, 55 K, 10 BB, .197 B/AVG
RHP Hayden Simmerson (12 APP, 0 GS): 3.43 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 21.0 IP, 30 K, 5 BB, .133 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	UK	Clemson	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	NR
RPI	29th	39th	117th
SOS	46th	35th	104th
Home Record	17-5	16-7	17-8
Away Record	9-7	7-7	3-8
Neutral Record	0-0	2-2	2-2

Hitting:

	UK	Clemson	UofL
Base on Balls	134th (178)	98th (188)	43rd (211)
Batting Average	113th (.281)	79th (.289)	19th (.314)
Home Runs	184th (31)	44th (55)	35th (59)
OBP	45th (.410)	105th (.391)	21st (.423)
Runs/Game	113th (6.9)	146th (6.6)	25th (8.4)
SLG	130th (.432)	77th (.465)	22nd (.516)

Pitching:

	UK	Clemson	UofL
ERA	71st (4.81)	31st (4.26)	192nd (6.45)
Hits/9 Innings	44th (8.29)	23rd (7.76)	206th (10.26)
K/9 Inning	53rd (9.5)	19th (10.5)	63rd (9.3)
K/BB Ratio	92nd (2.06)	10th (3.12)	170th (1.67)
WHIP	67th (1.43)	10th (1.24)	228th (1.76)
BB/9 Innings	136th (4.62)	15th (3.37)	240th (5.59)

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