Louisville–Vanderbilt baseball rivalry
| First meeting | March 18, 1971 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | May 31, 2025 Louisville , Vanderbilt |
| Next meeting | 2026 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 44 |
| All-time series | Vanderbilt leads, 29–14[1] (.690) |
| Trophy series | Louisville leads, 7-6 (.538) |
| Current win streak | Louisville, 2 (May 6, 2025–present) |
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The Louisville–Vanderbilt baseball rivalry, or the Battle of the Barrel, is an American college baseball rivalry between the University of Louisville Cardinals and Vanderbilt University Commodores.
The two nonconference foes represent the ACC and the SEC. The schools are separated by only 175 miles. The Louisville and Vanderbilt baseball teams first met in 1971 and have played a total of 44 times. Since the 2008 season, the two teams have played an annual single game midweek series. On May 8, 2012, the Battle of the Barrel trophy was introduced to the rivalry, giving the series its name.[2][3][4]
Battle of the Barrel Trophy
[edit]The inaugural Battle of the Barrel occurred on May 8, 2012. An oak barrel was introduced as the traveling trophy for the series to represent the significance of Tennessee whiskey and Kentucky bourbon in the two states. The trophy is not exchanged for postseason meetings.[3]
History
[edit]Early history (1971–2002)
[edit]The Cardinals and Commodores first met in 1971 when Vanderbilt pitched two no-hitters in a double-header to beat Louisville 3–0 and 2–0. The two teams would met 15 times from 1971 to 2002, with Vanderbilt winning the first 12 games. In 2002, a three games series was played in Louisville where the Cards would win the series 2–1, securing their first two wins in 17 games.[5][6]
Corbin-McDonnell years (2008–present)
[edit]In 2003, Tim Corbin was hired to coach the Commodores and a few years later in 2007, Dan McDonnell was hired to coach the Cardinals. Both coaches would immediately take programs with little success and turn them into national powers. The two progams hace been amongst the best in college baseball since these coaches arrived. Under Corbin, Vanderbilt has made the NCAA baseball tournament a total of 20 times including five College World Series appearances, four national championship appearances, two national championships, four conference championships, and four regular season championships. Under Coach McDonnell, Louisivlle has made the tournament 14 times including five College World Series appearances, two conference tournament championships, and four regular season championships. [7]
The rivalry between the two programs and coaches began in 2008 when the two teams agreed to meet every season in a midweek game. The first postseason meeting came in 2009 when Louisville hosted the Louisville Regional; its first regional host in program history. Vanderbilt was placed there as a three seed but fell to the losers bracket after losing to Middle Tennessee. Vanderbilt then won their next two games and ran into Louisville. After dropping the first game against Vanderbilt, Louisville would win 5–3 in game 2 to advance to the Fullerton Super Regional.[8][9]
In 2012, the rivalry was given a name and a bourbon barrel trophy was introduced. The trophy series has been played 13 times and Louisville leads 7–6.[3]
Since the annual series began the teams have met in the postseason six times, in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2019, and 2025, for a total of 11 games. The two programs met in the College World Series in 2014 and 2019 Vanderbilt in 3–0 in these games.
Game results
[edit]| Louisville victories | Vanderbilt victories | Tie games |
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References
[edit]- ^ "2025 UofL Baseball Book HR" (PDF). Go Cards. University of Louisville. pp. 133–138. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "No. 22 Baseball Falters Late in 3-2 Loss at Vanderbilt". Go Cards. University of Louisville. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "What is the Battle of the Barrel between Vanderbilt and Louisville?". The Tennessean. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ McGavic, Matthew (6 May 2025). "Louisville Holds Off Vanderbilt to Win Battle of the Barrel". Louisville Cardinals On SI. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ "Numerous no-hitters defined Vanderbilt baseball in 1971". VU Commodores. Vanderbilt University. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ "Cards Crush Commodores 12-3". Go Cards. University of Louisville. 23 February 2002. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ Xu, Vincent (7 May 2024). "Baseball: Battle of the what, now?". Vanderbilt Hustler. Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "2009 NCAA baseball tourney schedule". ESPN. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ D'Andrea, Christian (5 June 2013). "How Vanderbilt/Louisville Developed Into One of College Baseball's Best Rivalries". Anchor of Gold. SB Nation. Retrieved 1 June 2025.