2012 Louisville Baseball Season Review
August 22, 2012 | Baseball
Aug. 22, 2012
2012 Louisville Baseball: A Season in Photos
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2012 baseball season was another successful one for the University of Louisville as the Cardinals won their third BIG EAST Conference regular season championship in four years and advanced to their fifth NCAA Regional in six years.
Overall, Louisville finished with a 41-22 record to match the fourth highest win total in head coach Dan McDonnell's six seasons at the helm. The NCAA Regional appearance was the fifth under the direction of McDonnell and the sixth overall in program history. The Cardinals also advanced to the championship round of an NCAA Regional for the fourth time in six years before falling to eventual national champion Arizona. Along with the BIG EAST title, a school record 10 Louisville players earned All-BIG EAST honors led by BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Justin Amlung.
LOUISVILLE ADVANCES TO FIFTH NCAA REGIONAL IN SIX YEARS
The Cardinals advanced to their fifth NCAA Regional in six years and sixth overall continuing a trend of post-season appearances under the guidance of coach Dan McDonnell. Playing in the Tucson Regional, Louisville earned wins over New Mexico State and Missouri while suffering a pair of losses to red-hot Arizona to end the season. The Cardinals also advanced to the championship round of an NCAA Regional for the fourth time in the last six years (2007, 2009, 2010).
RATAJCZAK, GIBSON NAMED TO NCAA REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Second baseman Nick Ratajczak and catcher Kyle Gibson were each named to the Tucson Regional All-Tournament team following the event. Ratajczak hit .529 with six runs scored and three HBPs in four games, while Gibson hit .417 with two doubles in his four games.
AMLUNG NAMED LOUISVILLE SLUGGER ALL-AMERICAN
Right-hander Justin Amlung completed his career as a Cardinal by being selected Third Team Louisville Slugger All-America by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. The 2012 BIG EAST Conference Pitcher of the Year, Amlung was 9-4 with a 2.31 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 109.0 innings pitched.
Amlung finished with a 24-8 career record on the mound in three collegiate seasons with a 2.77 ERA and 240 strikeouts in 279.1 innings pitched. He departs the program ranked second in career wins and ERA, third in strikeouts, tied for fourth in starts (41) and sixth in innings pitched.
Amlung became the 13th All-American selection for the Louisville baseball program during head coach Dan McDonnell's six seasons at the helm.
RUXER TABBED AS FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN BY COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER AND NCBWA
Right-handed pitcher Jared Ruxer closed his first college season in impressive fashion as he was selected as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America and was named Second Team Freshman All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Ruxer was 8-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 77.1 innings pitched and 14 starts overall for the Cardinals. The 2012 BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Year as well as a Third Team All-BIG EAST selections, Ruxer was 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in five BIG EAST starts and had wins over four NCAA Regional qualifiers, including St. John's, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Purdue.
Ruxer became just the second Louisville pitcher to earn Freshman All-America, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and All-BIG EAST accolades in the same season joining Justin Marks, who accomplished the feat in 2007.
LOUISVILLE ENDS SEASON IN RANKED IN MULTIPLE NATIONAL POLLS
Following the program's fifth NCAA Regional appearance in six seasons, the Louisville baseball team closed 2012 ranked in a pair of the final national polls. The Cardinals were ranked 28th by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and 30th by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
CARDINALS WIN THIRD BIG EAST CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP IN FOUR YEARS
The Louisville baseball program won its third BIG EAST regular season title in four seasons in 2012 adding to its impressive resume as a league member. Along with league titles in 2009 and 2010, the Cardinals have the highest regular season winning percentage in conference games of any league member at .659 (124-64).
AMLUNG, RUXER LEAD SCHOOL RECORD 10 CARDINALS TO EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS IN 2012
Louisville junior right-hander Justin Amlung was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, righty Jared Ruxer was selected as the Rookie of the Year and a school record 10 Cardinals earned All-BIG EAST honors during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 BIG EAST Championship.
Amlung was 8-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 96.0 innings pitched as the Cardinals' Friday night ace throughout the regular season. U of L's only First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2012, he was twice selected as the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week this season and finished with eight or more strikeouts in six of his 14 regular season starts. He was the fourth Louisville player to be named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in the last six seasons joining Thomas Royse (2010), Justin Marks (2009) and Zack Pitts (2007).
Ruxer finished his first collegiate regular season with an 8-1 record and a 2.61 ERA in 69.0 innings pitched and 12 starts. He became the second Louisville player to earn the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year award joining Marks in 2007. A Third Team All-BIG EAST selection, Ruxer was 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in five BIG EAST starts.
Louisville had five players named Second Team All-BIG EAST on Tuesday - senior first baseman Stewart Ijames, sophomore outfielder Adam Engel, sophomore designated hitter Jeff Gardner, sophomore outfielder Cole Sturgeon and sophomore right-hander Jeff Thompson. Joining Ruxer as a Third Team All-BIG EAST selection was senior righty reliever Derek Self, junior second baseman Nick Ratajczak and sophomore third baseman Ty Young.
COACH MAC SETS THE STANDARD WITH LOUISVILLE BASEBALL
During his six seasons as head coach, Dan McDonnell has firmly established the Louisville baseball program as one of the nation's elite. During his tenure, the Cardinals have earned five NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional berths, one College World Series appearance, three BIG EAST Conference regular season titles and two BIG EAST Tournament titles. Louisville's 258 wins during the last six seasons rank 11th nationally.
During the last six seasons, Louisville has produced 13 All-Americans, 44 All-BIG EAST selections, four BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year winners, two BIG EAST Player of the Year winners and two BIG EAST Rookie of the Year selections. Professional baseball has also noticed the success with 33 U of L players selected in the MLB Draft.
LOUISVILLE WINS 40 GAMES FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN SIX SEASONS
The 2012 season produced the program's fifth 40-win campaign in the last six years, all under the direction of coach Dan McDonnell. Along with the 41 wins in 2012, Louisville won a school record 50 in 2010, 47 in 2007 and 2009 and 41 in 2008.
CARDINALS FLY HIGH AT JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Playing a 33-game home slate in 2012, Louisville was 25-8 overall at Jim Patterson Stadium, the fifth time in six seasons the Cardinals have won at least 25 games in the ballpark. Overall, U of L is 180-70 (.720 winning percentage) in the stadium, which opened in April 2005. Already, one of the top facilities in the nation, Jim Patterson Stadium will become even better in 2013 following the completion of the ongoing expansion project, which will increase the seating capacity to more than 4,000.
LOUISVILLE IN THE FINAL NCAA STAT RANKINGS
The Cardinals closed the 2012 season ranked in the top 25 in six different team statistical categories while several Louisville players were among the top players in the nation statistically. As a team, U of L was ranked second nationally in hit by pitch (115), 12th in runs (427), 17th in stolen bases (96), 20th in scoring (6.8 runs per game), 22nd in double plays (0.389 per game) and 24th in hits (632).
Individually, second baseman Nick Ratajczak was fifth in HBPs (28), 12th in HBPs per game (0.44), 18th in runs scored (64) and was the third toughest player in the nation strikeout at one per 27.2 at-bats. Outfielder Adam Engel was fourth in the nation in stolen bases per game (0.73) and fifth in overall stolen bases (37), while outfielder/first baseman Stewart Ijames was 18th in RBI (65). Infielder Ty Young finished the season ranked 19th in HBPs (21).
CARDINALS KNOCK OFF NO. 1 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2005
With their dominating 12-0 victory against long-time rival and No. 1 Kentucky on April 10 in Lexington, the Cardinals clinched their first win over a top-ranked team since winning two of three in a series victory against No. 1 Tulane on March 25-26, 2005 in Louisville. In the win over the Wildcats, freshman righty Jared Ruxer was the star allowing just three hits with a career-best six strikeouts in six impressive innings as the Cardinals became the first team to shutout the Wildcats this season.
U of L backed up its first win by defeating No. 1 UK for a second time with a 10-2 triumph on April 24 in front of a crowd of 3,862 at Patterson Stadium. Louisville put the game away in a six-run third inning that saw eight straight Cardinals reach base before the Wildcats recorded an out. That outburst boosted Louisville's lead to 8-1. The Cards racked up 11 hits and their pitcher-by-committee approach resulted in only five UK hits.
U OF L SAYS GOODBYE TO SENIOR CLASS
Prior to Louisville's regular season home finale against Morehead State on May 15, the Cardinals honored the 2012 senior class of Justin Amlung, Stewart Ijames, Derek Self and Travis Tingle. Each of the quartet of players were presented with framed game jerseys by head coach Dan McDonnell during a pregame ceremony.
CARDINALS IN THE 2012 MLB DRAFT
The Louisville baseball program had a trio of right-handed pitchers in Matt Koch, Derek Self and Justin Amlung selected during the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Koch was selected 107th overall by the New York Mets in the third round of the 40-round, three-day draft. He was followed by Self, who was taken 294th overall in the ninth round by the Washington Nationals, and Amlung, who was selected 374th overall in the 12th round by the Chicago Cubs.
With the three selections in this year's draft, the Louisville baseball program, under the direction of head coach Dan McDonnell, has produced 33 Major League Baseball draft selections during the last six seasons. In 2010, the Cardinals set a school record with 10 players selected in the draft.
