Cardinals Select Wasserman, Engel and Gardner as 2013 Captains
December 12, 2012 | Baseball
Dec. 12, 2012
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Senior first baseman Zak Wasserman, junior outfielder Adam Engel and junior outfielder Jeff Gardner have been selected as the 2013 Louisville baseball team captains. The selections were voted on by the Cardinal players and coaches.
Wasserman (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore HS) hit .297 with six home runs, 27 RBI and 22 runs scored while playing in 60 games and making 45 starts last season. In his three seasons in Louisville, Wasserman has a .277 career average at the plate in 86 starts and 147 games played overall.
Engel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Loveland HS) earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors as a sophomore while hitting .308 with 37 stolen bases in 39 attempts, one home run, 43 runs scored and 18 RBI in 51 appearances and 50 starts. The 37 stolen bases ranked fifth nationally and were the second highest single season total in school history. Overall, Engel has 53 career stolen bases, which ranks fifth all-time at Louisville.
Gardner (Louisville, Ky./Whitefield Academy) was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection at designated hitter last season while hitting .299 with two home runs, 34 RBI, 35 runs scored, nine doubles and two triples in 58 appearances and 47 starts. As a freshman in 2011, Gardner hit.333 with three home runs, 13 RBI and nine doubles in 35 games and was named to the BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament team.
Louisville will open the 2013 season on Friday, Feb. 15 against Indiana (7:30 p.m., ET) in Dunedin, Fla., at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. The Cardinals' 36-game home slate at the newly expanded Jim Patterson Stadium is set to open on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m., ET against Eastern Kentucky.
About Louisville Baseball in 2013
Louisville, which won its third BIG EAST regular season title in the last four seasons in 2012, is led in 2013 by the return of seven of its school record 10 All-BIG EAST performers from last season, including second team outfielders Adam Engel and Cole Sturgeon. Most of the Cardinals' pitching staff returns for 2013, led by BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and Freshman All-American right-hander Jared Ruxer.
Overall, Louisville returns 21 letterwinners from the 2012 team, which finished 41-22 and advanced to an NCAA Regional for the fifth time in six seasons.
Head coach Dan McDonnell enters his seventh season leading the Louisville baseball program. In his six previous seasons, McDonnell is 258-122 with three BIG EAST regular-season titles, two BIG EAST Tournament titles, five NCAA Regional berths, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and one College World Series berth.
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