No. 4 Baseball Hosts USC for Midweek Pair
March 18, 2013 | Baseball
March 18, 2013
GAME DAY INFORMATION: #4 Louisville Baseball vs. USC
Date: March 19-20, 2013
Times: 5 p.m. | 3 p.m.
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
| Tuesday, 5 p.m. ET | CardsTV Listen / Watch | Gametracker |
| Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET | CardsTV Listen / Watch | Gametracker |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 4 Louisville baseball team will welcome Pac-12 foe USC for a two-game midweek series at Jim Patterson Stadium on Tuesday at 5 p.m., ET and Wednesday at 3 p.m. Admission is free for both games against the 12-time NCAA champion Trojans.
Fans should note that Tuesday's game time is one hour earlier than previously announced. Live play-by-play can be heard on News/Talk 1570 AM, while live video and audio will be available to subscribers of CardsTV at GoCards.com. Live scoring will be provided through the Gametracker feature at GoCards.com.
PROMOTIONS
Tuesday
- Trading Cards Giveaway: First ten baseball trading cards released to first 150 fans.
- Cardinal Cup Game: UofL Student-athletes will sign-in at marketing table to receive Cardinal Cup points for their team
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Tuesday
UofL: Jr. RHP Dace Kime (2-0, 3.06 ERA)
USC: TBA
Wednesday
UofL: Fr. RHP Kyle Funkhouser (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
USC: TBA
SERIES OVERVIEW
- Louisville and USC have met five times previously with the Trojans holding a 5-0 advantange all-time.
- This week's games will be the first between the Cardinals and Trojans outside of Los Angeles.
- Most recently, USC won a pair of midweek games (4-3, 9-4) against Louisville at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles on March 15-16, 2011.
- The Cards also travled to USC for games in 2001 (L 11-4 & L 19-4) and a single game in 2004 (L 7-0).
ABOUT USC
USC enters the week at 8-11 overall after salvaging the final game in a weekend series loss at No. 12 Oregon. After dropping 5-2 and 8-4 decisions to open the series, the Trojans earned a 5-3 in Sunday's finale in Eugene. This week's games at Jim Patterson Stadium will be USC's first games outside of the state of California this season. Last season, USC was 23-32 overall and finished 11th in the Pac-12 with an 8-22 conference record.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS TO TRACK
- The Cardinals enter week six of the regular season ranked among the nation's best in ERA at 1.77.
- With 66 stolen bases in 83 attempts as a team, junior outfielder Adam Engel leads the way with 22 steals in his 23 attempts.
- Louisville has allowed only 11 stolen bases in 18 attempts through the first 18 games this season.
- The Cardinals' 16-2 start is their second best 18-game record under the direction of seventh year head coach Dan McDonnell trailing only the 17-1 start by the 2010 team, which went on to a school record 50 wins.
- UofL is 9-1 against righty starters and 7-1 against lefties this season.
- The Cards are 9-0 when scoring in the first inning and have a 23-3 scoring edge in the first this season.
- Louisville has finished with 10 or more hits in 12 games this season, including three straight and 8 of the last 11.
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 14 of 18 games so far in 2013.
- The UofL bullpen has allowed only 12 earned runs (1.60 ERA) and has 90 strikeouts in 67.2 innings.
LAST OUTING FOR THE CARDINALS
Sophomore outfielder Mike White belted his first career home run, a two-run missile to right field in the eighth inning of a tie game, to lift Louisville to an 8-6 win over Xavier on Saturday evening and complete a weekend sweep at Jim Patterson Stadium. The win capped a doubleheader sweep for the Cardinals (7-0 win in Saturday's first game).
CARDINALS AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASES EARLY IN 2013
Entering the week, Louisville is among the nation's best in stolen bases per game at 3.66 and overall stolen bases with 66 in 83 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 among the nation's best with 22 steals, Adam Engel leads three Cardinals with 10 or more in stolen bases.
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 five weekends. With a 3-1 record overall, Green has allowed only four earned runs in 31.0 innings for a strong 1.16 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 FIVE STRAIGHT WINS
Junior Jeff Thompson has been among the nation's best pitchers early in 2013 winning each of his first five starts while allowing only two earned runs in 32.2 innings. Along with the impressive 0.55 ERA, Thompson has 33 strikeouts and just nine walks while opposing batters are hitting just .164 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. With back-to-back shutout performances, Thompson is currently riding a career best scoreless streak of 15.0 innings.
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 .424 average, Whiting has hit safely in 15 of 18 games and leads UofL in RBI (16) 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 22 bases in 23 attempts through the first 18 games. Engel matched a school record with four stolen bases in the Cardinals' win over Akron on Feb. 24. Having reached base safely in 17 of 18 games, including hits in 15 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 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. 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 seven scoreless outings this season, Burdi has 19 strikeouts in nine innings pitched to go with three saves.
FUNKHOUSER PUSHES CAREER-OPENING SHUTOUT STREAK TO 12.1 INNINGS
Freshman right-hander Kyle Funkhouser has started his collegiate career in highly impressive fashion with six scoreless appearances and a shutout streak of 12.1 innings overall. Earning a win in his most recent relief appearance on March 16 with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, Funkhouser has 14 strikeouts and just three walks while allowing only eight hits to open his career as a Cardinal.
KIDSTON EARNS THREE WINS AND A SAVE TO OPEN COLLEGE CAREER
Freshman righty Anthony Kidston has been impressive and successful early in his UofL career earning wins in each of his first two appearances on the mound, picking up a save in his third outing and another win in his first ever start on March 13. Overall, Kidston is 3-0 with a save, a 1.62 ERA, 28 strikeouts and just seven walks while allowing only six hits in 16.2 innings of work.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
