Meet the Cardinals… A team looking like more of a Dan McDonnell classic
Who’s the Pack playing?
Opponent: Louisville
Mascot: State Bird of NC | School Location: Horses and Bourbon, KY | Conference: ACC
2025 Record: 25-7 (8-4, T-3rd) | 2025 RPI Rank: 26
2024 Record: 32-24 (16-14, 4th Atlantic) | 2024 RPI Rank: 61
2023 Record: 31-24 (10-20, 6th Atlantic) | 2023 RPI Rank: 44
When? Where? How do I watch?
Location: Doak Field at Dail Park (Raleigh, NC)
Game Time(s): Fri, Apr 11 @ 6:00pm | Sat, Apr 12 @ 3:00pm | Sun, Apr 13 @ 1:00pm
TV: Friday (ACCNX), Saturday (ACCNX), Sunday (ACCNX)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast (Friday | Saturday | Sunday)
Tell me about this team
I promise I won’t wax poetic about Dan McDonnell the way I did Virginia’s Brian O’Connor last week, but a bit of context here wouldn’t hurt either, because there’s a lot of similarities between the two and a level of appreciation for the work done by McDonnell that is owed.
Much as O’Connor is Virginia baseball, McDonnell is Louisville baseball. Prior to McDonnell’s arrival for the 2007 season, the Cardinals baseball program had all of one NCAA Regional appearance in its history. Louisville has only missed four NCAA Regionals in McDonnell’s 17 full seasons at the helm. In that time they’ve made nine Super Regionals (hosted six of those) and five College World Series.
There’s the rub, though. Three of those four postseason absences have come in the last four years, including each of the last two seasons. For a program that had become accustomed to winning – and winning big – that was a tough pill to swallow. It was fair to wonder if McDonnell had lost the edge.
Spoiler alert: he hasn’t.
This year’s Louisville team is right back to looking like a classic McDonnell-led squad. They’re 25-7 overall and currently riding a six-game winning streak. Prior to the current streak, they had a rough 2-4 stretch that included blowout losses to Virginia Tech and Cincinnati. That’s it, though. That’s the entirety of their not-looking-like-a-super-team part of the season to date.
It’s easy to see why they’re having such success. The lineup is deep and talented, featuring a bevy of players who are tough to strikeout, as well as a handful with some great baserunner skills. As a group, the Cards are hitting .326/.427/.517, 68 2B, 39 HR, 11.4 BB%, 14.4 K%, 75-84 SB. CF Lucas Moore and SS Alex Alicea give the team a pair of leadoff hitters to mix at the top two spots in the order, and they’re followed by power-hitting corner outfielders Zion Rose and Toledo transfer Garrett Pike. Pike only has 3 HR on the year, but he leads the team in doubles (12) and hit 36 HR over his last two years at Toledo, so the dude can mash.
And it’s a relatively young group, too. Of their 11 batters with more than 25 plate appearances on the year, only one is a senior (Pike). Granted, they’re likely to lose 3B Jake Munroe and C Matt Klein in the draft (both are juniors), but this is a solid core for 2026, assuming the transfer portal doesn’t also take it’s toll.
The pitching staff has a collective 4.96 ERA over 274.0 IP with a 12.2 BB% and 24.5 K%. The group is definitely up there with State’s last two ACC opponents, Duke and Virginia, in terms of quality and depth.
On the same plane as the lineup, the pitching staff is likewise a young group. Of the 22 players to toe the rubber for the Cards this year, only two are seniors, and only one of those two has seen double-digit innings on the year. Eleven of the 22 arms are freshman. Outside of the two seniors, staff ace RHP Patrick Forbes is a potential 1st rounder in this year’s draft, so he’ll be gone. JR RHP Tucker Biven also entered the season with some buzz after playing with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last year, but he’s struggled a bit this year (2-0, 2 SV, 7.15 ERA, 11.1 IP, 8.6 BB%, 19.0 K%), although he’s turned it around a bit of late. All that to say, with the potential returnees from both the lineup and pitching staff, Louisville is potentially set up well for the next couple years.
If you want to find a weakness with this team – and this is grasping at straws – it’s that this Cardinals team isn’t the sharpest in the field with a .972 fielding percentage that ranks 11th in the conference for the season (although 8th in league play). They’ve done an excellent job at helping themselves out after those errors by controlling the running game with a 35.6% caught stealing rate which ranks 3rd in the conference, although that number drops to 18.2% in ACC play. Behind the dish, Klein’s been fine (rhyme!), but it’s been more of a team effort with the pitching staff and their slew of lefties controlling the running game.
This is a talented, deep, and tough as nails team that’s currently projected as a Regional host by Baseball America. The Pack has their work cut out for them this weekend in Raleigh.
Pitching Matchups
Friday: LHP Dominic Fritton (JR) — RHP Patrick Forbes (JR)
Saturday: RHP Heath Andrews (SO) — LHP Ethan Eberle (FR)
Sunday: LHP Ryan Marohn (SO) — RHP Peter Michael (JR)
Key Players:
Offense
3B Jake Munroe (JR) – .393/.493/.615, 6 2B, 5 HR, 15.3 BB%, 14.0 K%, 0-1 SB. JUCO transfer who was a machine at that level with 35 HR in two seasons, he’s flying up draft boards and is having an All-America type season. Big 6’2, 230 lbs righty’s floor right now is probably the 2nd round of this year’s draft.
CF Lucas Moore (SO) – .374/.497/.480, 5 2B, 2 HR, 14.4 BB%, 5.2 K%, 25-25 SB. As good as he’s been all year, he’s been even better in ACC play, hitting .479/.576/.688 with 11 SB. He flashed potential last year in limited time (.318/.434/.409, 6 2B, 0 HR, 9.1 BB%, 20.9 K%, 17-21 SB), but this year has been a coming out party. As a lefty bat with good size, he’s becoming a fast riser for the 2026 Draft.
1B Tague Davis (FR) – .306/.436/.704, 3 2B, 12 HR, 14.5 BB%, 23.4 K%, 0-0 SB. Big kid (6’4, 225) was a bit time recruit from Philly’s Malvern Prep. He’s a two-way player, also serving as a LHP ( 0-0, 18.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 26.7 BB%, 13.3 K%), although he’s yet to make much impact there. Tied for 4th in the ACC in HR. Expected to be a high pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.
LF/DH Zion Rose (SO) – .344/.396/.550, 10 2B, 5 HR, 7.3 BB%, 11.9 K%, 14-15 SB. Broke onto the scene last year (.380/.455/.584, 9 2B, 5 HR, 9.9 BB%, 9.3 K%, 10-13 SB) as an ACC All-Freshman selection and 2nd Team Freshman All-American, ultimately earning him a gig with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Shaping up to be a high draft pick for 2026 although defensive fit (C, CF, or corner OF) will be the question that needs to be answered. That versatility works in his favor in this case, but the lack of collegiate experience behind the plate puts a lot on the projections.
SS/2B Alex Alicea (SO) – .319/.473/.460, 7 2B, 1 HR, 17.6 BB%, 11.5 K%, 17-21 SB. A hero for all the undersized, checking in at 5’8 and 155 lbs, he’s a high-contact, high-energy, high-impact player at a premium position.
Pitching
RHP Patrick Forbes (JR) – 2-1, 4.24 ERA, 40.1 IP, 8.0 BB%, 39.4 K%. Easy 1st round pick with a big time four-seam fastball that sits in the mid-90s. Also has a low-to-mid 90’s sinker which with tough arm side run. The slider is his best pitch, though, and it’s the one he’ll use to grab outs when needed. Also mixes in a cutter and changeup just to complete the profile. Excellent command. Played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last summer.
LHP Ethan Eberle (FR) – 3-0, 4.50 ERA, 16.0 IP, 8.6 BB%, 21.4 K%. Tall and lanky 6’5, 210 lbs freshman from Illinois. He exceeded expectations this year in a relief role and has recently moved into the starting rotation, trying to fill the void left by the injury to Parker Detmers. In his first start last week against Boston College, went 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
RHP Peter Michael (JR) – 4-1, 3.96 ERA, 36.1 IP, 11.5 BB%, 23.7 K%. As solid of a Catholic name as you’ll find heading into Holy Week, he’s a transfer who spent last year at Northwestern in a relief role. The fastball isn’t overpowering, but the breaking ball is solid. Nobody saw him having this type of year after his first two collegiate seasons, but he did have a breakout summer last year in the Northwoods League that indicated he may have turned a corner.
RHP Jack Brown (FR) – 4-3, 5.11 ERA, 24.2 IP, 14.5 BB%, 14.5 K%. Has been living a little on the extremes, which isn’t uncommon for freshman, with four multi-run outings and seven scoreless outings among his 12 total appearances. Mostly a two-pitch guy with a low-90s heater and a high-70s curve.
RHP Brennyn Cutts (SR) – 2-0, 4.82 ERA, 18.2 IP, 10.2 BB%, 25.0 K%. Transfer from Indiana State where he started 30 games over three years. Huge 6’3, 240 lbs build, he was the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and seemed a logical choice for a weekend gig for Louisville – especially after the Detmers injury – but has remained in a relief role (for now). Not an overpowering fastball, but his offspeed stuff is tough, especially the slider.
LHP T.J. Schlageter (rFR) – 2-0, 2.35 ERA, 15.1 IP, 10.0 BB%, 20.0 K%. Lives and dies by the impressive offspeed offerings, but he’s struggled of late with control (6 BB, 3 WP in his last 5.2 IP).
LHP Justin West (rJR) – 1-1, 9.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 10.8 BB%, 35.1 K%. Strikeout machine with an impressive curveball.
LHP Wyatt Danilowicz (rSO) – 0-0, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA, 13.0 IP, 21.4 BB%, 39.3 K%. Missed all of 2024 with an injury and he’s had a limited pitch count this year as a result, eclipsing 24 pitches in an outing just once among 13 appearances.
Quick! Fun Facts!
NC State JR LHP Eli Pillsbury was teammates with Louisville 3B Jake Munroe in 2023 and 2024 at John A. Logan College.
NC State SS Justin DeCriscio was teammates in 2023 at San Diego with Louisville RHP Peter Michael.
Louisville leads the all-time series between the two programs by a football-esque 21-7 record.
The Cardinals have the most conference wins of any Power Four school since 2015 with 179, which is the year the school joined the ACC.
Louisville’s lineup is 7th in D1 in batting average, 23rd in OBP, 7th in strikeout rate, and 25th in stolen bases.
The Key To A Series Win For State
Facing as potent of a lineup as Louisville’s, NC State has to limit the freebies (BB, HBP, E). The Pack have hurt themselves this year on compounding mistakes or making errors when trying to do too much. If they can play within themselves and limit the mistakes, they’ll have a chance to take the series.
Prediction
This is a very good Louisville squad, and until proven otherwise, it’s hard to go against them.
Outcome: The Cards take two of three.