The Cards Head to Arlington, Texas for a Round-Robin Showcase
The rise of the early-season…showcases? tournaments? in major league ballparks had a chance to fall flat, but largely they’ve been really entertaining and give an Omaha feel very early on as big-time teams get a chance to square off against one another and get a measure of evaluation that they’d not normally get by scheduling mid-major series. The second weekend edition of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Classic, played in Arlington at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers, is no different and features some of the biggest names in College Baseball, including ACC mate Florida State (although the Cardinals do not play the Seminoles until they meet in Conference play). Louisville’s draw includes a Friday matchup at 3:00pm with Nebraska, making that two early-season Big Ten opponents for Louisville, the early game on Saturday at 11:00am against yet another Big Ten member and a program Louisville has become very familiar with (not yet ready to call it a ‘rivalry’) in Michigan, and then capping off the weekend on Sunday at 10:30am against current-number 9-ranked Auburn, who got blasted 8-0 by Cincinnati in their midweek game this week. Needless to say, these three games are a big test and will really show us where Louisville is in 2026 and what still needs to be ironed out for the Cards before the grind of conference play.
The Friday Tilt with Nebraska
I would assume since the weekend is three games, much in the same fashion as a regular weekend series, that there will be the same three-man rotation and preparation as there would be if this were a trio of games against the same opponent. Louisville is very likely to throw Ethan Eberle against Nebraska, barring Dan McDonnell and Roger Williams finding something in the scouting report that would dictate otherwise.
Photo by Jared Anderson
Nebraska (3-1) is coming off of a four-game series in Arizona that spanned two sites, kicking off their season with a 12-2 win over UConn, followed by a 7-4 victory over Northeastern, beating Grand Canyon 9-1, and then falling to Stanford 11-6. Although it’s been just four games, The Cornhuskers are batting .370, with only four guys who have seen game action batting under .300. They are lead on the season by backup Outfielder Mac Moyer, who has five hits in his seven at-bats (.714 average), but even the player with most at-bats on the team, Shortstop Dylan Carey, is still batting .450. This lineup can punish a pitcher who struggles to elevate or lower the fastball, or who hangs breaking pitches over the plate. Sound familiar? The answer is yes – Louisville is going to have to hit spots against this lineup, or it will be Michigan State Saturday all over again. That’s going to be the theme this weekend, because while Nebraska only has three home runs on the season, they have 15 doubles, a triple, and can base-hit a team to death. Third Baseman Josh Overbeek (7), Carey (6), and DH Cole Kitchens (6) lead the team in RBI, so those will be guys that will be focal points for the pitching staff. Making them uncomfortable, and getting ahead early will be crucial, especially with men on base. This is all without mentioning First Baseman Case Sanderson, who has started all four games and has a hit in half of his at-bats. That .500 average comes with a pair of doubles, and he’s drawn five walks. If you don’t pitch to him, he’s got a great eye, and if you do, he’s adept at making you pay. Solving him, along with Overbeek and Second Baseman Jett Buck, is going to be a tall task for not only Eberle, but middle relief as well.
Pitching-wise, Louisville’s electric batting order, which flexed its muscle against Xavier, is going to face Ty Horn, who, in his start against UConn, went 4.2 innings surrendering three hits, striking out six, but issuing four walks. If Louisville hitters are patient, and pick good pitches to hit, they should be able to reach base and get to Horn early. The field for the Amegy Bank Classic avoid’s Nebraska’s NCBWA preseason All-American Cooper Katskeee, who was scheduled to start the game against Stanford, but came down with an illness.
A Familiar Foe in the Wolverines
Saturday morning in Arlington, The Cards take on the Michigan Wolverines (3-1), to whom they are no stranger. Louisville is 9-2 against Michigan since 2010, scoring 94 runs against the Wolverines in those 11 games. The last time the two met was the 2023 Shriner’s Children’s College Classic, which saw Louisville blank Michigan 10-0 in a seven-inning mercy rule complete-game shutout by Carson Liggett. Prior to that, it was an unforgettable effort by Danny Rosenbaum in 2015 to come back through the Loser’s Bracket in the Cardinals’ home Regional to beat Michigan and force a Louisville Regional Final matchup that ended with hometown kid Josh Rogers twirling a gem on the mound, and a cast of Cardinals led by Nick Solak blasting the Wolverines 13-4 and winning the Regional in spectacular fashion.
The 2022 season saw the teams meet six times, a three-game series taken by the Cards at Jim Patterson Stadium, and then another absolutely electrifying Regional that saw Louisville lose to Michigan in the second game, fight back through the loser’s bracket yet again, and force the Regional Final game by BOATRACING the Maize and Blue 20-1, and then…who could forget…Cam Masterman in that climactic final game to secure the Regional Championship.
I was resigned to watching at home, and I remember the pitch, the swing, the sound, and then the stare and the point to the dugout. That moment is without a doubt one of the best in recent memory. The 2020 season was taken from us by a worldwide pandemic, 2021 did not go as planned, and 2022 could have ended early in the Regional despite Louisville hosting. When Masterman dropped the bat and stared that ball down as it eclipsed the berm in Left Field, arms outstretched, I took off and ran around the block (seriously).
Photo by Taris Smith – University of Louisville Athletics
I’m waxing poetic, but why wouldn’t I? Let’s come back to 2026.
2026 Michigan is TOUGH. They always are as we’ve discussed, but this Wolverines team is led by five guys batting over .300 (ten or more plate appearances), and a starting rotation that has made it into the fifth inning in each game they’ve pitched.
Louisville’s pitching will have to watch out for Left Fielder Brenden Stressler (.500) and Right Fielder Evan Haeger (.400), who are hit machines. Stressler has UM’s only home run, and one of only three UM doubles, but Michigan’s offense is ‘death by 1,000 base hits’. Haeger has six singles in his 15 plate appearances, and those have translated into five RBIs. Designated Hitter Cade Ladehoff (.333) is another guy that will test Louisville’s pitchers, as he leads the team with two doubles and the team’s only triple, which came in the game vs. Stanford. Louisville pitchers again are going to have to hit spots, and if it’s Jake Bean getting the nod again…him getting the State of Louisville Bean Counter off of zero is going to be crucial.
Pitching-wise for Michigan, Louisville is likely to see Cade Montgomery, who went 6.1 innings against the same Stanford team which beat Nebraska, striking out five while walking only one and surrendering only five hits and one unearned run. Patience and timely hitting will be key again for the Cardinals, especially if they can get a boost by having Zion Rose (ankle, day-to-day) back in the lineup for the weekend. Michigan doesn’t steal a lot of bases, so the Cards not only getting guys on, but getting them over and in scoring position, could be a key factor if they face Montgomery who has had incredible stuff early in the season.
The First SEC Showdown of the Season
If the first two games of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series weren’t daunting enough for Louisville, Sunday brings its first challenger from the SEC and current-number nine-ranked Auburn Tigers (3-1). Auburn started the year by sweeping Youngstown State, and then getting blanked 8-0 in a midweek game at Cincinnati. Auburn has talent up and down the roster, led by Chris Rembert. The Tigers’ Second Baseman and usual leadoff man is on every preseason watch list including the Golden Spikes Award, and the Baseball America preseason Player of the Year list. The NCBWA has him a third-team preseason All-American, and every other publication has him on their first team. To cap that off, he’s first-team All-SEC as well, which, considering the talent in the league, is an accomplishment. Simply put, Rembert is the guy for the Tigers. His teammates in versatile outfielder Bub Terrell and Catcher Chase Fralick round out the trio of Tigers who landed on the preseason All-SEC team.
Photo by Jared Anderson
Fralick (.533) and Terrell (.412) help lead the charge offensively in this young season for the Tigers, which bats .291 as a team. Those two each have a home run, which add up to the Tigers’ total on the year thus far. Terrell is second on the team with 2 doubles, behind Eric Guevara who has three, amounting to half of his total of six hits on the season. Rembert (.333) has had a slower start than his all-league teammates, but there is no circumstance where Louisville Pitchers can relax when he’s at the plate. Since these four for the Tigers make up the top spots in the lineup, getting into the back half of the batting order while limiting damage is going to be a test for the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week Wyatt Danilowicz. If the Cards get the same type of performance from Danilowicz that we saw against Michigan State, it’s going to be a great battle between him and the dangerous top of Auburn’s lineup.
Louisville’s offense will likely face Alex Petrovic, who got the Sunday win against Youngstown State when Auburn decimated the Penguins 17-2 in a game that lasted only seven innings. Of those seven, Petrovic tossed five complete shutout innings, allowing only one hit and striking out nine. Louisville hitters will face some daunting pitching this weekend in each game they play. With Auburn, if you can get into the bullpen, runs can be scored at a faster clip than against their weekend starters. I say weekend starters, because in the last outing against Cincinnati, everyone who took the mound for Auburn surrendered an earned run except for Justice de Jong, who recorded the final out for Auburn’s staff, seeing 0.1 innings of work.
What to Watch For This Weekend
These are important games, despite being early in the season and out-of-conference. Each of these three teams can see Regional action at the end of the year, and being able to compete and put away teams of this caliber is going to be paramount when building an Omaha-worthy resume. What I’ll be watching for in each contest:
- Consistency from Louisville Pitching. Consistency amounts to moving a batter’s eyes away from the middle of the zone, and hitting spots. Jimmy Nugent and George Baker will need to bring their A-games as well to make sure the right mixes of pitches and velocities are in play.
- Louisville hitters working counts. Swing at the first pitch if it’s ‘right down Bardstown Road’ as Sean Moth would say. If the first pitch is the best one you might see, put it in play. Allowing solid staffs to get ahead and putting the Cardinal batters on their heels will stifle the offense that came alive in the last two games.
- Get ’em on, get ’em over, get ’em in. Louisville Baseball is FUN when guys get on base and then steal second, and the guys behind them do their jobs. Small ball and consistently making pitchers throw from the stretch and check runners can wreck solid outing for a guy, and that’s also something that makes for fun baseball.
Photo by Jared Anderson
I’m looking forward to this weekend as a measuring stick that the Cards can take into the rest of the non-conference and ACC play.
Follow The State of Louisville on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for more baseball coverage
