Cardinal Nine Releases 2008 Schedule
November 14, 2007 | Baseball
Nov. 14, 2007
2008 Louisville Baseball Schedule 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Coming off of the first trip to the College World Series in school history, the University of Louisville baseball team will host 34 games at Jim Patterson Stadium during the 2008 schedule, as National Coach of the Year Dan McDonnell will begin his second season at the helm of the Cardinals.
The 2008 season will mark the third season in the BIG EAST, and the slate features five teams that advanced to NCAA Regionals in 2007, including a match-up with last season's top seed heading into the regionals, Vanderbilt.
Louisville will open the season at home in Jim Patterson Stadium on a first-ever nationwide opening day February 22 at 2:00 p.m. when they host Cleveland State for a three-game set.
The second weekend of the season the Cardinals will embark on a trip to McDonnell and assistant coach Chris Lemonis's alma mater, The Citadel, for their annual tournament where the Cards will take the field with three opponents that they have never faced in their 99-year history of baseball. The tournament will open with a match up against North Carolina State on February 29, with the Cards playing host The Citadel on March 1 and North Carolina A & T March 2.
Eleven of the next twelve will be at home, including weekend series with Northwestern and Kent State. The lone road exception is a trip to face Vandy on March 28 in Nashville.
The BIG EAST slate opens two days later in the Ville when Connecticut visits for the weekend of March 20.
In addition to the Huskies, the Cardinal Nine will host defending BIG EAST Champion St. John's, Villanova, rival Cincinnati and defending tournament champion Rutgers to close out the regular season May 15-17.
Conference road trips will include visits to Pittsburgh, USF, Georgetown and West Virginia.
U of L will visit Kentucky on April 8 at 6:30 p.m. and host the Cats April 22 at 6:00 p.m. in the annual home and home battle of the bluegrass nines.
Louisville finished with a school record 47 wins last season, posting a 47-24 record, and a 19-8 mark in the BIG EAST, placing third. The Cards eliminated nationally ranked Miami, Missouri and Oklahoma State on their way to Omaha, where the Cardinals ended Mississippi State's season before they were eliminated by #2 North Carolina, 3-1. Louisville finished the season ranked in the top ten in all major polls, and have already ben ranked in the top 25 by a pair of publications based on the fall season.
The Cards bring back 17 players from last season, including BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Zack Pitts and Freshman of the Year Justin Marks, as well as Columbia Regional MVP Chris Dominguez and All-BIG EAST Second Team catcher Derrick Alfonso.
During the summer McDonnell and his assistants signed contract extensions, as he will again be joined in the dugout by Lemonis, an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, pitching coach Roger Williams, assistant coach Xan Barksdale, and director of operations Brian Mundorf.
Admission to all regular season home games at Patterson Stadium is free. The schedule dates and times are all subject to change and games may be added.
