Indiana baseball looks to bounce back against the University of Louisville on Tuesday after being swept by Iowa at home over the weekend.
The Cardinals enter the contest on a five-game winning streak, holding a 26-18 record and 10-11 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. They are 21-8 at home this season, while Indiana is 19-25 and 6-15 in the Big Ten.
Last year, the Cardinals reached the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, for the sixth time in program history and their first time since 2019. However, they went 2-2 and were eliminated by then-No. 8 Coastal Carolina University after an 11-3 loss. Ultimately, Louisville finished No. 6 in the final rankings last year.
The last time both programs played each was on April 1, 2025, where Louisville beat Indiana 6-4. The Cardinals hold a 17-12 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 2007.
Louisville was ranked No. 8 in the Preseason Top 25 released Jan. 12. Currently, Louisville holds the No. 89 spot in the Rating Percentage Index while Indiana is No. 108 as of April 25.
The Cardinals average 8.40 runs per game in 44 contests. Six players on Louisville’s offense have an OPS of 1.000 or better this season.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman Tague Davis leads Louisville in home runs with 26 — junior outfielder Ben Slanker is next with nine — and RBIs with 77. Davis is batting .387 with an .896 slugging percentage and 1.382 OPS in 173 at-bats.
Senior infielder Bayram Hot is hitting .366 with a 1.076 OPS in 161 at-bats. Thirty-eight of his 59 hits have been singles. The Queens, New York, native has slugged eight home runs as well.
Sophomore outfielder Griffin Crain holds a .362 batting average through 127 at-bats, yet he’s recorded two home runs this season. The 5-foot-10 lefty is sporting a .500 on-base percentage, which leads the Cardinals.
Junior outfielder Lucas Moore leads the Cardinals in stolen bases. He’s swiped 30 steals in 34 attempts. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native is batting .267 in 44 games played.
Louisville’s pitching is led by left-handed arms. Senior Wyatt Danilowicz, junior Ty Starke and sophomore Ethan Eberle round out the pitching staff. However, Danilowicz and Eberle both started games against Clemson University over the weekend, so they will likely be unavailable for Tuesday’s tilt.
Danilowicz pitched five innings against Clemson on April 24 and allowed four earned runs. He is 4-2 with a 4.94 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 58.1 innings pitched.
Against Clemson on April 25, Erbele started Louisville’s contest. He threw six innings and surrendered three earned runs. The Bloomington, Illinois, native is 3-3 with a 5.50 ERA in 12 appearances.
Starke has made the second most appearances out of the bullpen for the Cardinals this year with 15. He is 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.22 WHIP through 16.1 innings.
For Indiana, graduate student right-handed pitcher Gavin Seebold threw 97 pitches and five innings Sunday against Iowa, in relief, and struck out six hitters. His season ERA went down from 3.55 to 3.08 over 38 innings pitched this year.
Sophomore catcher/outfielder Hogan Denny went 2 for 5 at the plate Sunday. It was his 17th multi-hit game of the season, tied for the team lead with sophomore infielder Jake Hanley. Denny is batting .348 with a 1.112 OPS in 41 games played.
Freshman catcher Owen ten Oever had his first career three-hit game in four at-bats Sunday. He earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors April 27 after batting 8 for 15 (.533) over the last four games, including hitting a grand slam against Ball State in a 20-10 win on April 21.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Conner Linn will start for the Hoosiers. In his last appearance April 19, the southpaw pitched 0.1 innings and allowed an earned run against Abilene Christian University. The opening pitcher for Louisville is to be determined.
First pitch is at 5 p.m. at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. The game being streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana baseball season.
