University of Louisville
18-13, 4-7
Duke
21-12, 7-7
Cards Comes Up Short in Back-and-Forth Affair at Duke
April 03, 2026 | Baseball
The game featured five lead changes, including four over the final four innings. Louisville (18-13, 4-7 ACC) took leads in the sixth and seventh innings but was unable to stay in front.
It was a fairly calm start to the night with the Cardinals trailing 2-1 through five innings. However, the two sides were just getting started.
Tague Davis led off the sixth with a ringing single and Bayram Hot gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night with an opposite-field two-run homer, his sixth of the season. The Cards then tacked on another run later in the frame on a swinging bunt from Griffin Crain that scored Kade Elam.
Duke (21-12, 7-7) quickly answered in the bottom of the inning.
Wyatt Danilowicz exited the game with two outs and the bases loaded with the Cardinals still in front by a pair. However, a wild pitch and two-run single immediately put the Blue Devils in front. Duke then got a two-out double that made it a 6-4 game after six.
The Cardinals responded back in the seventh. Zion Rose launched a solo homer leading off the inning for his third of the season. Davis walked and Hot singled to put a pair on before being bunted to second and third.
Elam then unloaded on the first pitch he saw, crushing a pitch deep into the trees behind the left field wall to put the Cardinals back on top.
Duke cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer and then grabbed the lead for good with a three-run shot in the eighth.
Danilowicz took a no-decision on the night, finishing with five runs allowed over 5.2 innings.
Elam ended the night 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Hot was also 3-for-5, driving in two and scoring three times. Crain, Rose and Davis added two hits apiece.
Louisville and Duke wrap up the weekend series on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for noon ET.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ben Dean (5-0)
L: Michael, Peter (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Rose, Zion 1 ; Hot, Bayram 1 ; Elam, Kade 1
RBI: Crain, Griffin 1 ; Rose, Zion 1 ; Hot, Bayram 2 ; Elam, Kade 4
SH: Slanker, Ben 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rose, Zion 1 ; Davis, Tague 2 ; Hot, Bayram 3 ; Elam, Kade 2
SB: Crain, Griffin 1 ; Rose, Zion 1 ; Hot, Bayram 1 ; Elam, Kade 1 ; Davis, Zach 1
Batting:
2B: Matthew Strand 1
HR: Kaden Smith 2 ; Collin Anderson 1
RBI: Kaden Smith 6 ; Matthew Strand 1 ; Jake Lambdin 1 ; Collin Anderson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tyler Albright 1 ; RJ Hamilton 2 ; Kaden Smith 4 ; Collin Anderson 1 ; Coltin Quagliano 1 ; Michael DiMartini 1
CS: Jake Lambdin 1
HBP: RJ Hamilton 1 ; Jake Lambdin 1
PO: Jake Lambdin 1
