Louisville Baseball Notebook - Jan. 30
January 30, 2013 | Baseball
Jan. 30, 2013
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 4 Louisville baseball team will enter its second week of preseason practice by hosting a trio of open scrimmages at Jim Patterson Stadium on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The Cardinals will begin the weekend schedule with a noon ET first pitch on Saturday. Following a noon start on Sunday, UofL will conclude the tripleheader weekend on Monday at 2 p.m.
Fans are reminded that due to ongoing expansion construction at Jim Patterson Stadium, there will be no access to the primary seating areas in the ballpark this weekend.
Opening Weekend Scrimmage Highlights
After kicking off full-squad practice for the 2013 season last Friday afternoon, the Cardinals followed the opening day with a pair of scrimmages on Saturday (final score of 6-1) and Sunday (4-2) at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Saturday's scrimmage was highlighted by pitching, which is expected to be a key strength for Louisville this season. The scrimmage featured good outings from junior right-handed starters Chad Green and Jeff Thompson, while junior righty Dace Kime, redshirt freshman lefty Adam Schemenauer, sophomore righty Joe Ceja and freshman right-hander Anthony Kidston pitched effectively out of the bullpen. Along with very good defense, the scrimmage also included multi-hit performances from junior outfielder Adam Engel and junior infielder Ty Young.
On Sunday, sophomore righty Jared Ruxer was dominant while many of the other Louisville pitchers had to fight through some difficult innings despite not allowing many runs. Defensively, sophomore outfielder Mike White made a highlight reel catch against the wall in centerfield on a deep fly ball off the bat of junior outfielder Coco Johnson.
Cardinals 19th in NCBWA Preseason Poll, Ranked in All Five Major Polls
The final major preseason poll was released earlier this week with the Cardinals landing at No. 19 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.
Louisville will enter the season-opening BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge ranked in all five preseason polls, including a school record best No. 4 ranking by Baseball America. The Cardinals are also ranked 15th by Perfect Game, 22nd by Collegiate Baseball newspaper and 25th in the USA Today coaches' poll. UofL is the only BIG EAST Conference team ranked in any of the five major polls and will be the only ranked team competing in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge.
Projected Weekend Rotation Returns 22 Wins from 2012, Second Most in the Nation
In its detailed scouting report of the fourth-ranked Cardinals, Baseball America projected the weekend starting rotation to include Green, Thompson and Ruxer in no particular order. That trio combined to win 22 games last season, which gives Louisville the second highest returning win total in a weekend rotation in the nation for 2013.
Despite losing All-American righty and BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Justin Amlung, who won nine games last season, the Cardinals trail only Florida State's 25 returning wins while being matched by North Carolina, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in two preseason polls, in the second spot with 22 wins each.
How to Track the Cardinals on Social Media
A reminder that fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
