The Cardinal Nine Start Their 2026 Season on a Low Note
Louisville Baseball has always, in their modern history at least, been notable, exceptional, and sometimes dominant in each phase of the game. Be it defense, base running, or any of the bats or arms which are etched in memory, forever on the outfield wall, and even still doing it at the highest level of the sport (see: Will Smith in Game 7). On a day and weekend series where Lucas Moore’s name graced the right field wall with the rest of Louisville’s All-Americans, and 2025 was added to the College World Series Banner in Left-Center Field, those crucial phases of the game took some time to get rolling in this young 2026 season, dropping the first two games of the series to Michigan State. Friday ended in a one-run game, Saturday was a shellacking – it happens. Sunday was the Louisville Baseball we know.
The Offense Looked Anemic Until Sunday
Without Zion Rose (ankle, day-to-day), Griffin Crain got the start in Left Field and batted out of the ninth spot. His day got off to an incredible start with a leaping catch in Left, but as far as offense, it was obvious that his arrival in the lineup was fast-tracked. Crain is young and has time, and Opening Day nerves are a real thing, but the confidence in the box and pitch selection just were not there to replace what Zion Rose would have otherwise given this lineup. That same critique can be made for most of the guys 1-9 as pitch selection and situational hitting were mysteries that Cardinal batters struggled to solve in game 1, going 2/15 with runners on, stranding eight Cardinal baserunners, and notching double digit strikeouts to aid a Michigan State bullpen that really didn’t show much in the way of dominant pitches. Louisville hitters were swinging through balls in the lower half of the zone, and were in front of fastballs that failed to touch 90mph. It seemed at times Louisville would get a guy to the plate and the mindset was to draw a walk. The scout on the Michigan State pitchers has got to be ‘you sit fastball and if it doesn’t come then these guys will struggle to find the zone.’ A walk is a walk but there were enough hittable pitches in game one where the top of the order especially just watched them go by for strikes. Not reaching base enough times was the missed opportunity of the first game.
Bright spots in Game 1 were definitely Kade Elam who debuted in a Louisville uniform with a double in his first appearance, and Ben Slanker’s debut with a home run and a double of his own. Tague Davis had a two-hit day as well with a double and a single through the shift that is one of the most satisfying hits a guy can get.
Game one’s struggles can be summed up in the ninth inning when Jax Hisle lead off with a laser beam single to the left side. He was pinch run for with Kyle Campbell who very confidently stole second base. Tying run in scoring position, Griffin Crane batting, then the top of the order with Lucas Moore. Louisville looked the part of starting 2026 like they did 2025 – walking off a win in game one. This is where things got weird and really summed up the offense in this game. Crane tried a hit-and-run where Campbell would have easily just stolen second but it was ruled a foul tip. The next pitch he attempted a bunt that was popped up but into foul territory and not caught for an out, but caused Coach McDonnell to call an offensive timeout. A take on the next pitch got Campbell to second on the aforementioned steal, but then Crain just waved at strike three. Lucas Moore, with a chance to tie the game with an RBI yet again, worked a 2-2 count (watched a perfect pitch go by for strike one) but then on a ball inside that hit Moore, MSU called for a replay – saying Lucas leaned into the pitch. The replay confirmed such, and strike three was called. It’s a horrible rule, but it’s the rule. Louisville went from the tying run a base hit away from scoring and no outs, to suddenly needing Alex Alicea to deliver with no margin for error. Alicea then popped out to Left Field to end the game.
That ended up being a harbinger of what was to come for Saturday, as well. Michigan State’s bats caught fire for 14 hits, while Louisville was just behind with 13. The problem was, Louisville again couldn’t do much with the guys who got on base, while MSU did everything they needed to do. Parker Picot and Randy Seymour were both studs Friday and Saturday, belting home runs that left no doubt against Louisville’s pitchers, while Louisville was really reduced to Bayram Hot and Ben Slanker. Slanker was a guy who had a great all-around weekend, and was certainly the bright spot in an otherwise bleak Saturday game. There isn’t much to talk about for Game 2, as it was just a good old-fashioned humbling woodshedding. I will, however, call out Kyle Campbell for his 12-pitch at-bat that ended in a fly out. He made State’s pitcher work for the out – something the remainder of the order struggled to do as they were eager to continue swinging at pitches that didn’t translate to moving runners and scoring runs. Jimmy Nugent also got his first hit in a Louisville uniform.
Photo by Jared Anderson
Sunday, things changed. The Cards showed a disciplined approach at the plate, working counts and getting base hits. The Cards struck again for 13 hits, matching the Saturday total, but this time there were base runners, timely hitting to move them, and plenty of opportunities to score that translated into nine runs which proved to be more than enough to stem the tide and grab the victory. Griffin Crain and Kade Elam recorded their first RBIs as Cardinals, Lucas Moore had a multi-RBI day, and Alex Alicea got into the mix recording the final two RBIs of the game to end his early-season slump. It was refreshing to see guys stealing bases and up and down the lineup each guy doing his job to manufacture runs.
Pitching Started and Ended Well
Louisville started Sophomore Ethan Eberle on Friday who, despite some third inning quirks, pitched a very solid 4.1 innings of work with 77 pitches and six strikeouts while giving up only 1 run (earned). Eberle did plunk three batters, giving unnecessary free passes and allowing the leadoff man aboard in 3 of the first five innings. In all, it was a solid outing for the Sophomore. Jack Brown took over for Eberle in the fifth and it started to get dicey when Brown had trouble with location, and hit two more MSU batters with pitches. Still, Brown gave the Cards enough to keep the game close before being replaced by Casen Murphy.
That is where things took a turn in game one. Murphy started the seventh inning facing the Michigan State catcher, Adam Broski (more on this guy in a second). The first pitch Broski saw from Murphy must have looked like a beach ball, because it found the left field berm quickly and gave Michigan State a 3-1 lead and three unanswered runs. In the top of the eighth, Murphy was again on the mound to face State’s First Baseman Randy Seymour. Seymour saw the second pitch look like a beach ball and basically just flicked his wrist at it like he was fly fishing in Montana and it, again, landed on the berm. That home run came after Louisville got Ben Slanker to launch one of his own, and then some luck on an RBI single from Moore that scored Bayram Hot to tie the game at 3. The Seymour home run made it 4-3 State, stripped away ever shred of momentum for Louisville, and the scout on Casen Murphy carrying over from his struggles last season is now “you can hit bombs off this guy.” Jake Schweitzer entered in the ninth and pitched a perfect inning, but Louisville’s offense, as mentioned before, couldn’t complete the walk-off victory.
The same ‘hitting bombs’ mentality for MSU was evident on Saturday, when starter Jake Bean worked 3.2 innings giving up seven hits and five runs – all of them earned. On a day we started ‘Beans for Bean,’ where we’re pledging to donate a can of beans for every batter that Jake strikes out, Bean didn’t tally a K before turning the ball over to TJ Schlageter.
Coach Mac and the team had a lot of positives to say about Schlageter in the preseason. The potential is still there, but the song remained the same for him as the relievers before him on Friday. Schlageter lasted 1.1 innings but gave up a mammoth 6 runs, all of them earned, the biggest ones being on the Grand Slam from MSU’s Parker Picot. Jake Gregor pitched an inning and gave up one earned run, Coen Evrard pitched an inning and gave up two runs (one earned), but the young duo of Joe Olson and Zane Stahl each recorded an inning of work in the blowout but did not allow State to add to their total. The way the first two games played out, the middle relief simply cannot rely on the early fastball to get ahead in the count, and if they do need to rely on the early fastball, it can’t be belt-high and ready to be crushed. If location is a problem, and the middle of the plate is the only place to put a pitch, Roger Williams has to have guys ready who can put a fastball on the corner of the plate or work a batter’s eyes vertically. Louisville pitchers gave up three doubles and three home runs on Saturday, but two of the home runs were the Grand Slam and a three-run shot, both by Picot.
Photo By Jared Anderson
Sunday, just like with the offense, the pitching brought its best stuff, starting with Wyatt Danilowicz. In his first career start, despite being named to the Stopper of the Year watch list, Danilowicz twirled six complete innings of two-hit ball, while only walking one Spartan batter and giving up zero runs while striking out the side twice and finishing with nine Ks total. It was an incredible first start for Wyatt, and set the tone for the entire game. Highly-touted freshman Brandon Shannon followed Danilowicz and pitched a solid seventh inning, allowing one walk and a strike out while getting an ever-exciting ‘strike em out, throw em out’ double play. State did get on the board in the eighth, when Kian Vorster lasted only 0.1 innings while giving up a hit, an earned run, and two walks. Aaron England entered the game in the eighth and got out of a bases loaded jam, finishing the eighth and ninth innings to cap off the game while allowing only one hit and one walk and striking out one.
Looking Ahead
The home stand continues Tuesday, Feb 17th with a 3:00pm tilt against Xavier. The Big East squad from Cincinnati has once again scheduled themselves a meat grinder of a season, and this opening weekend took the series 2-1 against a really solid East Carolina team out of the American Athletic Conference who is a popular sleeper pick to not only play in the Supers but get to Omaha. Louisville (1-2) and Xavier (2-1) have had a bit of an interesting recent past, with the game last season canceled due to weather, and the 2024 game being a blowout by Xavier over the Cards at Jim Patterson Stadium. Prior to that game, Xavier also took the 2019 game in Louisville 5-4 in 10 innings. outside of that, the series has been all Louisville, with the Cards winning 13 out of the last 15 matchups. We’ll find out who the first midweek starter is soon enough, along with whether or not Zion Rose’s ankle will keep him from making his 2026 debut for a longer period of time.
Louisville pitching must make some adjustments in the middle innings, and the offense has to be the Sunday squad that showed up if the first midweek game of the year is going to go the Cards’ way. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00pm
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