Louisville baseball looks for back-to-back ACC series wins.

I won’t spend a lot of time going through what ‘needs’ to happen this weekend as the Cards head to Chapel Hill to take on the 15-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. We all know the formula for this team to win, and we saw it in the last two games.

On the mound against Northern Kentucky, Colton Hartman got a strikeout to start the game against Northern Kentucky after an eight-pitch at-bat that was refreshing to see not be a leadoff walk.

In the bottom of the first, Louisville did what it does: Lucas Moore bunted for a single, advanced to third on a failed pickoff, and then was singled home by Zion Rose. Rose stole second, and then Tague Davis ran up a full count before just casting the bat at an off-speed pitch and sending it to the right center alley for a double and his nation-leading 46th RBI of the season. Before anyone could blink, it was 2-0 Cards and the rest was history. That’s Louisville Baseball, and Louisville Baseball is fun. It’s more fun when it compliments solid pitching.

Then, again, in the bottom of the fifth, Davis crushed one 429 feet at 108 mph for his 12th home run of the season, running that RBI total to 48. His pace is blistering, and it would not be surprising at all to see him crack triple-digit RBIs this season.

Photo by Jared Anderson

Also, watching Alex Alicea chase Ben Slanker and Kade Elam around the bases after NKU’s Mark Nowak dove for a ball – turning a bloop single into an inside-the-park little league home run for Alex in the second inning was really fun. It’s great when things are working on both sides on the dish.

The offense continues to hum. Hartman has been reliable in the midweek games thus far. Retiring the first six batters of a game while working ahead in counts and mixing hitters up goes a long way. Who knew? Regardless, this was the ideal midweek outcome ahead of the uphill climb this weekend.

We also saw the return of Eli Hoyt, who pitched an inning of work in relief of Hartman. He did load the bases, but got a crucial strikeout and was able to get out of the jam. Freshman Anthony Karbowski, and Peter Michael closed out the seven-inning run-rule with an inning of work each, combining for five strikeouts.

The three relievers allowed zero runs. For a midweek game against an overmatched opponent, it was everything both fans and the team needed in advance of this weekend – it just needs to be replicated.

The Diamond Heels Do It All

North Carolina is a perennial powerhouse. One thing about the Tar Heels / Diamond Heels (their own baseball nickname – imagine if we called the Louisville Baseball team the ‘Baseball Cards’) is that they are always fundamentally-sound, hit the ball well, and the pitching staff will challenge hitters. Year-in and year-out, UNC puts together a dangerous squad.

North Carolina Tar Heels

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

Head Coach: Scott Forbes

Record (18-3-1) (4-2 ACC) (Streak: W6)

UofL Series History: 6-0 (5-0 at home) / Streak: W6 (Last: W 12-8, 2008)

Last Series: Won 3-0 at California

2025 Result: 46-15 overall / 18-11 ACC

2025 Postseason: 1-2 (Chapel Hill Super Regional, Lost to Arizona)

Last NCAA Tournament (2025 Super Regional Host)

College World Series Appearances: (12: runner-up in 2006 & 2007)

Schedule-wise, The Heels have had a tough road, opening with a sweep of Indiana, that for all intents and purposes should not have been. In case you missed it, here’s how Indiana lost game three:

WOOF. But, that’s baseball and led to the sweep. The Diamond Heels have a series win vs. a really good East Carolina team that is coached by one of my favorite non-Dan McDonnell coaches in the country in Cliff Godwin. They dropped their opening ACC series at home to Virginia two games to one, avoiding being swept in an extra-innings game three.

Most recently, they swept California on the west coast in Berkley, and they looked excellent in doing so, recording 10 extra-base hits and drawing 20 walks in the series, while recording zero errors in the field. It’s safe to say, they’re very deserving of their ranking. They got the best of UNC Greensboro in a midweek contest this week, beating the Spartans 8-2.

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Tar Heels to Watch For

Names to be very aware of this weekend include Owen Hull (.342), who collected a six-hit weekend at Cal, recording 5 RBIs over the series. Tying Hull in runs batted in last weekend, Macon Winslow (.324) also had himself a series on the west coast, and Heels First Baseman Erik Paulsen is swinging a rake as well, going 6-for-12 at Cal with a double, home run and three RBIs while leading the team with a .356 average.

Rounding out the guys on the Heels’ roster batting over .300 – leadoff man and Shortstop Jake Schaffner (.342) is second on the team lead with five doubles, has four triples and three home runs, and Catcher Colin Hynek (.306) leads the team with six doubles of his own, a pair of triples, and three home runs.

Third-Baseman Cooper Nicholson, despite batting just .180, is also tied for the team lead in doubles with five, and is seventh on the team in RBIs with 15. It’s important to keep him below the Mendoza Line. Second Baseman Gavin Gallaher (.276) is also a guy that Louisville pitchers don’t want to allow to heat up either, as he occupies that second spot in the lineup and can set the table for Paulsen and the heart of the order.

On the mound, the Heels are very, very good. The standout performance at Cal came from righty Ryan Lynch (2-1, 3.86 ERA / 1.14 WHIP) who twirled a career-high eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts on Saturday. Lynch has gone at least five innings in four of his last five outings. It’s likely he stays in that Saturday role, which means the Cards have the task of solving fellow right-hander Jason Decaro (4-1, 1.67 ERA / 1.33 WHIP) on Friday night, fresh off of six innings of five-hit ball at Cal, and lefty Folger Boaz (2-0, 4.09 ERA / 1.36 WHIP) on Sunday, who went 4.1 innings against Cal with four hits, an earned run, three strikeouts and a pair of walks.

The UNC bullpen is formidable as well. Six relievers saw work in the weekend series at Cal, and four of those were on Sunday. RIghty Caden Glauber (1-0, 1.74 ERA / 1.11 WHIP) relieved Decaro on Friday and pitched the final three scoreless innings. Another righty, Walker McDuffie (4-1, 3.12 ERA / 1.38 WHIP), relieved Lynch on Saturday and threw an inning of shutout work, and then saw another 1.2 innings of work on Sunday.

North Carolina starters are getting deep into games, and their relievers are getting the job done shutting the door. Frustrating the starters is going to be key, and then continuing to pressure guys like McDuffie in order to get deeper into their pen.

How do the Stats Compare?

This is a very clear matchup of offense vs. elite pitching and defense. Louisville has to hit it, and hit it where they aren’t. It’s rare for the Cards to face a defense that boasts better stats, but both of these squads are in ‘elite’ territory.

The Cardinals need to replicate the Northern Kentucky game, albeit against far better competition. Work ahead in counts. Make UNC batters guess and not be comfortable knowing that the next pitch coming is likely a ball.

Final Thoughts on the Series

This would be massive. If Louisville can put everything together, get off on the right foot from the mound in each game, and the offense can continue to hum, there is the very high likelihood that the Cards can claim their second ACC series in a row and start the conference slate 2-0 in series victories. A sweep would be phenomenal, but it’s difficult to see UNC being swept on their home field this season. For Louisville, the formula is very simple – it has to come close to matching UNC’s intensity and ability from the mound.

Photo by Jared Anderson

No leadoff walks and 3-0 counts.

No two-out RBIs – Get off the field.

Consistent offense and ‘Louisville Baseball:’ get ’em on, get ’em over, and get ’em in. Annoy the heck out of Tar Heels pitchers and get to the bullpen as quickly as possible.

Notching a win at a sure-fire regional host and team that looks to pressure for a top-eight national seed would do wonders for this Louisville team. Confidence and momentum are contagious, and this program thrives on both.

First pitch from Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium is Friday, March 20th at 8:00pm. The Friday night game will be nationally-televised on the Flagship ACC Network channel.

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