Alfonso, Pitts and Rosenberg Will Captain 2008 Cardinals
December 07, 2007 | Baseball
Dec. 7, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Seniors Derrick Alfonso, Zack Pitts and B.J. Rosenberg have been selected as team captains for the University of Louisville baseball team when they embark upon the 2008 season. The selection was voted on by the players and coaches.
Alfonso, a second team All-BIG EAST selection, played in 70 of the 71 games last season at catcher for the Cardinals, posting a .274 batting average with nine doubles, five home runs and 31 RBI in 66 starts. The Bowling Green, Kentucky native was 4 for 6 on steals and was third on the team with 10 sac bunts.
He threw out 29 of 60 baserunners, adding four pickoffs. Opponents were just 12-26 in BIG EAST games.
Alfonso also handled a pitching staff that set a school record for strikeouts (514) and finished the season with the 5th best ERA in the nation.
Pitts, the 2007 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and a first team All-BIG EAST selection posted a school record-tying 10 wins, adding a 2.52 ERA while tossing a record 121.2 innings. He ranks third in U of L history with a 3.58 ERA entering the 2008 season.
The Elizabethtown (Ky.) High School graduate was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 30th round of the 2007 MLB Draft.
Rosenberg, who sat out the 2007 season following arm surgery, was in the Cardinals weekend rotation for the three previous seasons, making 42 starts for the Cardinals - a total that is just two off of the school record. As a sophomore and junior he was a combined 11-9 in 29 starts. Rosenberg, from Vine Grove, Kentucky, has worked at least 77 innings in each of his three seasons with the Cards.
In the final fall scrimmage this season, Rosenberg worked a dominant three innings, allowing only a bloop single behind the first base bag and striking out five.
The Cardinals set a school record with 47 wins last season under first-year Head Coach Dan McDonnell on their way to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time in school history. Seniors Chris Cates and Logan Johnson captained last seasons' Cardinal Nine.
U of L opens the 2008 baseball season on February 22 against Cleveland State at Jim Patterson Stadium.
