A VERY BAD NEWS FROM LOUISVILLE CARDINALS :Aidan McCool Just insulted Pat Kelsey today after the…….. READ MORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a weekend for Louisville baseball! A weekend sweep of nationally-ranked NC State was just what this Cardinals team needed. UofL now sits at 20-11 overall and 6-6 in ACC play.

 

Among the positives from the weekend for Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell is that his team is one that is still seeking to play its best ball of the season.

 

“The exciting thing is, we can get better,” McDonnell said. “We can get better on the bases. Obviously, there are things Coach Williams is trying to do with the pitchers, and Coach Snider and Coach Vrable are doing with our hitters. It’s hard to complain when you win three games against a really good opponent, and two one-run games.”

 

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Up next is a midweek game against a challenging Western Kentucky team in Bowling Green and a three-game home series against No. 9 Virginia. Note that due to weather, Tuesday’s game at WKU has a new start time of 4pm.

 

Three Up

I. ACC Honors

 

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Louisville had a player collect a weekly ACC honor for the first time this week as transfer pitcher Sebastian Gongora shared the league’s Pitcher of the Week honor with Clemson freshman right-handed pitcher Aidan Knaak. Gongora’s dominant performance on Friday night against visiting NC State helped spark a weekend that saw the Cardinals sweep the nationally-ranked Wolfpack.

 

Gongora threw a seven-inning complete game for Louisville on Friday, pacing the way for the Cardinals’ 11-1 run-rule win over No. 19 NC State. The left-hander allowed just one run via a solo home run while striking out a career-high 11. Between the third and fifth frames, the Dayton, Ohio, native recorded eight of nine outs via the strikeout.

 

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II. Beard Home Runs

 

Senior infielder Logan Beard’s season jumped out to a slow start at the plate with his average dipping below .200 at the end of February. Things have certainly changed recently as Beard has hit four home runs in his last six games to now lead the team with seven. His average is now sits at .242 on the season.

 

III. Conference Sweep

 

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The sweep of NC State was the first conference series sweep for Louisville this season and the first for the program since sweeping Boston College in early April of last season.

 

Three Down

I. Tucker Biven’s ERA

 

Sophomore pitcher Tucker Biven continues to impress out of the Louisville bullpen. He made two appearances over the weekend. He collected his third save of the season on Saturday night when he struck out two in the ninth to secure a 7-6 victory.

 

“You know, Coach Williams saw that in Tucker early in his career. He didn’t have all the success he wanted as a freshman, but you just saw the makeup, the character, the toughness. So, even though he wasn’t dominating necessarily in his career, you felt like he was close.”

 

II. Opposing Runs vs Lessman

 

Another pitcher displaying consistency out of the bullpen has been junior college transfer pitcher Jared Lessman. The product of Iowa Western C.C. has allowed just one earned run over his last 12.1 innings of work. Lessman pitched three scoreless relief outings NC State on Saturday. It marked the second time this season that he’s thrown a three shutout innings in a game, also doing so against Virginia Tech on March 16.

 

III. No Make-Up Date

 

The first of two games against rival Kentucky was postponed due to weather a week ago. Thus far, no make-up date for the game in Lexington has been announced. The 8th-ranked Wildcats are set to visit Jim Patterson Stadium on April 16.

 

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STAT LINE

Evan Webster

Evan Webster (Photo: Michael McCammon, 247Sports)

** Louisville’s .320 batting average is fourth in the ACC and No. 12 nationally.

 

** The team’s .542 slugging percentage is No. 5 in the ACC and No. 17 nationally.

 

** Averaging 2.26 stolen bases per game, the Cardinals lead the ACC and sit at No. 15 in the country.

 

** The team ERA of 4.99 sits at No. 6 in the league and No. 75 nationally.

 

** Freshman Michael Lippe leads the team with a .360 average.

 

** Fellow freshman Lucas Moore is second on the team with a .359 average.

 

** JT Benson tops the ACC and is No. 17 nationally with 19 stolen bases. Lucas Moore is fifth in the ACC with 15 stolen bases.

 

** Logan Beard leads the team with seven home runs, with Ryan McCoy second with six.

 

** Sebastian Gongora has 52 strikeouts to rank eighth in the ACC.

 

** Evan Webster and Gongora top the team with eight starts each.

 

** Webster ranks second in the ACC with a 2.61 ERA.

 

** The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch 46 times this season, the second-most in the ACC.

 

** Tucker Biven and Kayden Campbell have both made 12 appearances on the mound the season, most on the team.

 

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UPCOMING…

Jim Patterson Stadium Louisville Baseball

Jim Patterson Stadium (Photo: Michael McCammon, 247Sports)

Louisville at Western Kentucky

 

Louisville travels to Bowling Green for a Tuesday meeting with in-state foe Western Kentucky. The game against the 16th-ranked Wildcats will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

 

RPI: No. 112

 

TV: ESPN+

RADIO: 970 WGTK

 

WKU enters the game at 21-11 overall and is tied for second in C-USA with a 6-3 league record. The Hilltoppers are coming off a weekend that saw it take two of three in a home series against No. 8 Dallas Baptist.

 

UofL is 76-69 all-time against the Hilltoppers. The Cardinals have won 10 straight in the series.

 

Louisville vs Virginia

 

Louisville hosts No. 9 Virginia for a three-game series this weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium.

 

RPI: No. 13

 

TV: ACCNX

RADIO: 93.9 The Ville

 

Virginia is 25-7 overall and 9-6 in ACC play. The Cavaliers are coming off a home series against North Carolina that saw it win the first two games.

 

Louisville is 13-12 all-time against the Cavaliers, but the Cardinals have dropped four of the last five games.

 

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AROUND THE ACC

ACC Baseball

ACC Baseball (Photo: Michael McCammon, 247Sports)

ACC Players of the Week

 

(release) Wake Forest junior infielder Nick Kurtz was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, while Clemson freshman right-handed pitcher Aidan Knaak and Louisville left-handed pitcher Sebastian Gongora shared the conference’s Pitcher of the Week honor.

 

The ACC Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week are selected by a 17-member voting panel composed of media members and announced on Mondays during the regular season.

 

Kurtz raised his batting average by 55 points throughout four games last week with the help of six home runs. The first baseman finished 8-of-14 (.571) with seven extra-base hits, 11 RBI, and six walks. Kurtz became the fourth Demon Deacon to reach the 50-career home run mark. With three home runs on Sunday afternoon, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, native matched the Wake Forest single-game record and tallied his first three-homer game and his eighth multi-homer game of his collegiate career.

 

Knaak took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Notre Dame on Sunday, exiting the contest with an 11-1 lead. The freshman retired the side in order in five of his first six innings of action. In 7.0 innings of work, Knaak allowed three hits without a walk and one earned run, adding nine strikeouts in the Tigers’ victory. The right-hander matched his career high for innings pitched, needing just 81 pitches to do so.

 

Gongora threw a seven-inning complete game for Louisville on Friday, pacing the way for the Cardinals’ 11-1 run-rule win over No. 19 NC State. The left-hander allowed just one run via a solo home run while striking out a career-high 11. Between the third and fifth frames, the Dayton, Ohio, native recorded eight of nine outs via the strikeout.

 

ACC in the Polls

 

Clemson sits at No. 2 in the nation for a second consecutive week. The Cardinals will host the Tigers Apr 26-28.

 

Program D1 Baseball Baseball America USA Today

Clemson No. 2 No. 2 No. 2

Duke No. 7 No. 6 No. 7

Florida State No. 10 No. 7 No. 9

Virginia No. 13 No. 9 No. 10

North Carolina No. 11 No. 14 No. 12

Wake Forest No. 14 No. 18 No. 15

Virginia Tech No. 16 No. 20 No. 16

ACC Standings

 

Louisville made the jump from sixth to fourth in the Atlantic Division standings following the three-game sweep of NC State.

 

 

 

 

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Louisville Baseball (Photo: Michael McCammon, 247Sports)

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Louisville spring practice impresses 2026 athlete Sharard Vaughn

Dayton, Ohio prospect Sharard Vaughn made an unofficial visit at Louisville on April 3

Michael McCammon

MICHAEL MCCAMMON

8 hrs

VIP

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Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic 2026 athlete Sharard Vaughn was recently in Louisville for an unofficial visit with Jeff Brohm’s program.

 

The 6-foot-1, 165-pound WR/DB watched the Cardinals practice and toured the program facilities during his time on campus.

 

“The visit to Louisville was great,” Vaughn told Cardinal Authority. The campus was beautiful and I loved the facilities. Our tour guide Olivia was wonderful and kept our tour organized. She allowed us to get the best experience out of Louisville.”

 

Getting the opportunity to watch how Jeff Brohm runs his practices provided quality insight for the rising prospect.