No. 4 Baseball Hosts Purdue on Elementary School Day
March 12, 2013 | Baseball
March 12, 2013
GAME DAY INFORMATION: #4 Louisville Baseball vs. Purdue
Date: March 13, 2013
Times: Noon ET
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000)
Radio: News/Talk 1570 AM (WNDA)
TV: None
Internet: CardsTV (Audio/Video) at GoCards.com
Live Stats: Gametracker at GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball
| Wednesday, 12 p.m. ET | CardsTV Listen / Watch | Gametracker |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 4 Louisville baseball team plays host to Big Ten member Purdue for Elementary School Day at Jim Patterson Stadium on Wednesday at noon ET and admission is free.
Live play-by-play of Wednesday's game can be heard on News/Talk 1570 AM, while live video and audio for will be available to subscribers of CardsTV at GoCards.com. Live scoring will be available through the Gametracker feature at GoCards.com.
GAME PROMOTIONS
- Elementary School Day: Hosting its fourth annual event, Louisville is excited to welcome more than 30 area schools for Elementary School Day. Combining the best of baseball and education, the day will highlight the importance of healthy eating habits and physical fitness while teaching good sportsmanship behavior. The kids will enjoy lots of activities and see the Cardinals battle the Purdue Boilermakers.
PITCHING MATCHUP
UofL: Fr. RHP Anthony Kidston (2-0, 0.00 ERA)
Purdue: Fr. RHP Mike Lutz (0-1, 6.00 ERA)
SERIES OVERVIEW
- Louisville and Purdue have met 12 times previously with the series even at 6-6 overall.
- Wednesday's game marks the second meeting this season between the two teams after the Cardinals earned a 9-4 win over the Boilermakers on Feb. 17 in St. Petersburg, Fla., during the final day of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge.
- Last season, Louisville dropped a 2-1 decision in 10 innings to the Purdue in the first ever game between the teams in West Lafayette, Ind.
- In the last meeting in Louisville, the Boilermakers earned a 6-4 win over the Cardinals on March 8, 2011.
- In games in Louisville, the series is tied at 5-5.
ABOUT PURDUE
Purdue enters Wednesday's game at 5-9 overall after earning a 7-4 win at Cincinnati on Tuesday afternoon. Last weekend, the Boilermakers split a pair of games at Illinois-Chicago. Purdue dropped a 9-2 decision in the opener last Friday before winning 17-10 on Saturday. Sunday's finale was cancelled.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS TO TRACK
- The Cardinals' pitching staff ranks third in the nation in ERA at 1.70 and third nationally in strikeouts per nine innings pitched at 9.8.
- Louisville leads the NCAA in stolen bases per game at 4.21 per contest and ranks second in total stolen bases with 59 (in 73 attempts).
- The Cardinals' running attack is paced by junior OF Adam Engel, who ranks 2nd nationally with 18.
- Junior OF Coco Johnson and junior INF Ty Young are 16th nationally in stolen bases with 10 each.
- Louisville has allowed only nine stolen bases in 14 attempts through the first 14 games this season.
- The Cardinals' 12-2 start is their second best 14-game record under the direction of seventh year head coach Dan McDonnell trailing only the 13-1 start by the 2010 team which went on to a school record 50 wins.
- UofL is 7-1 against righty starters and 5-1 against lefties this season.
- The Cards are 7-0 when scoring in the first inning and have a 21-3 scoring edge in the first this season.
- UofL has finished with 10 or more hits in nine games this season, including five of the last seven.
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of 14 games so far in 2013.
LAST OUTING FOR THE CARDINALS
Ty Young belted a game-winning RBI single to right center to plate Sutton Whiting in the 10th inning and lift Louisville to an 8-7 win over visiting Alabama and complete the sweep of the three-game series on Sunday in front of 3,240 fans at Jim Patterson Stadium.
CARDINALS AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASES EARLY IN 2013
Through 14 games, Louisville leads the nation in stolen bases per game at 4.21 while ranking second in overall stolen bases with 59 in 73 attempts. Last season, the Cardinals had 96 stolen bases in 63 games, while the school record is 153 stolen bases in 71 games during the 2007 College World Series season. Ranking second in the nation with 18 steals, Adam Engel leads four Cardinals ranked in the top 30 nationally in stolen bases (C. Johnson, 16th with 10; T. Young, 16th with 10; S. Whiting, 29th with eight).
GREEN CONSISTENT EARLY AS CARDINALS' FRIDAY STARTER
Having never made a regular season weekend start when the 2013 season opened, junior right-hander Chad Green has handled the role as the Cardinals' Friday starter impressively through the first four weekends. With a 2-1 record overall, Green has allowed only three earned runs in 24.0 innings for a strong 1.12 ERA. His best start of the early season came on Feb. 22 when he allowed only one hit and issued just one walk with three strikeouts in seven shutout innings against Akron.
THOMPSON FAST OUT OF THE GATE WITH FOUR STRAIGHT WINS
Junior Jeff Thompson has been among the nation's best pitchers early in 2013 winning each of his first four starts while allowing only two earned runs in 24.2 innings. Along with that impressive 0.73 ERA, Thompson has 29 strikeouts and just eight walks while opposing batters are hitting just .155 against the 6-6 righty. He set the tone in his first start of the season striking out a career best 12 in five shutout innings against USF. Most recently, he allowed only two hits in seven shutout innings against Alabama.
RUXER LOOKS FOR FIRST DECISION DESPITE SOLID OPENING STRETCH
Reigning BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and Freshman All-America righty Jared Ruxer was impressive in 2012. Despite putting up very similar numbers through his first four starts this season, Ruxer has been saddled with four no-decisions in 2013. Ruxer has not allowed more than two earned runs in any start so far and has 16 strikeouts in his 18.1 innings of work to go with a 2.95 ERA.
WHITING LEADS OFFENSE IN FIRST SEASON AS A STARTER
Entering 2013, sophomore infielder Sutton Whiting had never made a start and had only played in 20 games total. While being used as a pinch runner for most of his appearances as a freshman, Whiting was hitless in his only five at-bats. However, after a strong fall and even better preseason, Whiting earned the opening day start at shortstop and has been terrific ever since. As the Cards' second leading hitter with a .455 average, Whiting has hit safely in 12 of 14 games and leads UofL in RBI (14) and walks (9).
ENGEL SETS THE TABLE, PRESSURES DEFENSE FOR CARDINALS
After ranking among the top five nationally in stolen bases in 2012 with 37 in 39 attempts, junior outfielder and leadoff hitter Adam Engel has picked up where he left off early this season successfully swiping 18 bases in 19 attempts through the first 14 games. Entering the week ranked second in the nation overall, Engel matched a school record with four stolen bases in the Cardinals' win over Akron on Feb. 24. And having reached base safely in all 14 games, including hits in 13 of those, Engel is giving the Louisville offense the table-setter it needs so far in 2013.
BURDI BRINGS THE HEAT TO JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Penciled in as the UofL closer entering the 2013 season, sophomore righty Nick Burdi was impressive in his first ever save situation. With the Cardinals holding a slim one-run lead over Akron on Feb. 24, Burdi entered from the Patterson Stadium bullpen and promptly delivered 11 straight strikes to earn his first career save. A native of Downers Grove, Ill., Burdi's first three pitches registered at 100 mph on the stadium radar gun making him the first pitcher in the history of the ballpark to reach triple digits. In five scoreless outings this season, Burdi has 16 strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
KIDSTON WINS TWICE, EARNS SAVE IN FIRST THREE CAREER OUTINGS
Freshman right-handed Anthony Kidston has been impressive and successful early in his Louisville career earning wins in each of his first two appearances on the mound and picking up a save in his third outing. Those were followed by a fourth scoreless appearance in the March 8 win over Alabama. Overall, Kidston is 2-0 with a save, 20 strikeouts and only three walks while allowing only two hits and no runs in 10.2 innings of relief.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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