PREVIEW: 'Cats and 'Cards to clash once again in Lexington

For the second time this season, Kentucky and No. 19 Louisville will meet in the Battle for The Bluegrass. This time however, the game will be played at Kentucky Proud Park.

The ‘Cards took down the ‘Cats in walk-off fashion back on April 8, as right-hander Robert Hogan allowed two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Louisville its 14th win in the last 18 meetings between the two teams. This season marks the first since 2021 to feature a home-and-home series, as games in 2022, 2023 and 2024 were canceled due to miscellaneous reasons.

Since that game on April 8, Louisville is 3-4 in its last seven while Kentucky is 4-3 with a series victory over No. 4 Tennessee in Knoxville. Nick Mingione, who is 4-10 against Louisville in his nine seasons at Kentucky, will be looking for his fifth win in the rivalry Tuesday night.

No. 19 Louisville Cardinals (28-11, 10-8)

No. 19 Louisville, which is currently projected as a No. 2 seed in the Nashville Regional in On3’s latest Field of 64 Projections, looks like a lock to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.

The Cardinals held off Kentucky 4-3 just 14 days ago, courtesy of a walk-off single hit by senior DH Eddie King Jr. Head coach Dan McDonnell used eight different arms in the win, which held the Wildcat offense to just three runs on nine hits.

Louisville’s team batting average has slipped a tad since that last meeting, as its .319 team average now ranks No. 13 in the country. Its team earned run average has improved slightly however, as its 5.10 team ERA ranks No. 84 in the country.

Six different offensive players that have played in at least 30 games this season are hitting for a .300 average, led by junior third baseman Jake Munroe (.368 BA, 40 RBI) and sophomore outfielders Lucas Moore (.359 BA, 25 RBI) and Zion Rose (.344 BA, 14 2B). Freshman first baseman Tague Davis has emerged as the Cardinals’ power threat, as his 15 home runs are tied for 15th most in the country (most among freshmen).

Sophomore shortstop Alex Alicea however was the star of the first meeting between the two rivals, as he went 3-5 at the plate with a double and a run scored from the leadoff position.

Sophomore left-hander TJ Schlageter started back on April 8, where he pitched two innings and allowed one earned run on three hits. He will likely get another start for the ‘Cards Tuesday night, but don’t expect a long outing from him.

If Louisville can pull off another win over Kentucky Tuesday night, it will mark the fifth time (2019, 2016, 2015, 2012) since 2000 that the Cardinals pulled off the regular season sweep in the rivalry.

Kentucky Wildcats (22-15, 8-10)

Since its loss to the Cardinals just two weeks ago, Kentucky has earned wins over No. 1 Texas and No. 6 Tennessee (twice). The ‘Cats, which seemingly seemed on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble at one time, looks to firmly be in the field as of now. They are a No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional in On3’s latest Field of 64 Projections.

Kentucky’s pitching has been extremely strong as of late, as the Wildcat staff boasts a 3.57 ERA over its last seven games. Nick Mingione won’t deploy any of his weekend starters Tuesday night, but his relief pitching has been solid as well. The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 4.02 ERA over their last 53 2/3 innings pitched (24 ER).

Senior outfielder Shaun Montoya led the ‘Cats offensively in the prior meeting against the ‘Cards, as he went 3-4 at the plate with an RBI. Six different offensive players notched a hit, but Montoya and outfielder Griffin Cameron were the only batters with multiple base knocks. As a team, Kentucky is now hitting for a .271 average (ranks 186th in the country) with freshman Tyler Bell (.318 AVG) leading the way.

The ‘Cats however will be without sophomore DH/UTIL Ethan Hindle, as it was announced on the Nick Mingione Show Monday night that he will miss the rest of the season due to an injury he sustained in practice. Hindle, who started at third base in the prior game against Louisville, hit for a .224 average in 25 games played this season.

Junior left-hander Ethan Walker will likely get another shot at the Louisville offense Tuesday night, as he allowed just one run on four hits over three innings in the prior meeting. Kentucky used seven different arms in the last game, which combined to allow 13 hits and four runs to the ‘Cards.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Kentucky leads 73-51-1

Probable Starters

Tuesday, April 22, 2025 (Kentucky Proud Park – 6:30 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: LHP Ethan Walker (0-0, 5.04 ERA, 25.0 IP) vs LOU: RHP TJ Schlageter (2-0, 2.33 ERA, 19.1 IP)

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