No. 10 Louisville Visits Ohio State Tuesday Night
May 14, 2013 | Baseball
May 13, 2013
GAME DAY INFO: #10 Louisville (42-10) at Ohio State (33-18)
Date: May 14, 2013
Times: 6:35 p.m. ET
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Venue: Bill Davis Stadium (4,450)
Radio: News/Talk 1570 AM (WNDA)
TV: Big Ten Network
Internet: CardsTV (Audio) at GoCards.com
Live Stats: Gametracker at GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball
| Tuesday, 6:35 p.m. ET | CardsTV Listen | Gametracker |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 10th-ranked Louisville baseball team begins the final week of the regular season with a midweek visit to Ohio State on Tuesday night.
First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., ET at Bill Davis Stadium for the nationally televised game on the Big Ten Network. Live play-by-play of the game can be heard on News/Talk 1570 AM and will also be available to subscribers of CardsTV at GoCards.com. Live scoring will be available through the Gametracker feature on the baseball schedule page at GoCards.com.
PITCHING MATCHUP
UofL: Fr. RHP Kyle Funkhouser (3-1, 1.59 ERA)
OSU: Jr. RHP Tyler Giannonatti (0-2, 4.25 ERA)
SERIES OVERVIEW
- Louisville holds an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series with Ohio State, which dates back to 1988.
- The Cardinals have won seven straight in the series, including all three previous visits to Columbus.
- In the last meeting between the two programs, Louisville earned a 20-0 victory at Jim Patterson Stadium on March 20, 2012.
- In the Cardinals' last visit to Bill Davis Stadium, they swept a two-game midweek series on May 4-5, 2010 earnings wins of 6-0 and 10-8.
- Dan McDonnell is 7-0 against Ohio State as the Louisville head coach.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
Ohio State enters the week at 33-18 overall after being swept at home in a non-conference series with No. 6 Oregon. The Buckeyes are one game out of first in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 14-7 league mark. Last season, Ohio State was 33-27 overall and finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten with an 11-13 record. OSU did not advance to an NCAA Regional.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS TO TRACK
- Louisville is one game out of first in the BIG EAST Conference race with its 17-4 mark with only one week left in the regular season. Pittsburgh is atop the league standings at 18-3, while Seton Hall is one game behind the Cardinals in third with a 16-5 record.
- The Cardinals' 42-10 mark matches the best record through 52 games in school history equaling the effort of the 2010 team, which set school records for regular season wins (46) and total wins (50).
- Among the nation's best pitching staffs entering the week, Louisville is fourth in the NCAA in ERA at 2.40 and first in strikeouts per nine innings with 9.7.
- The Cardinals are third in the nation in stolen bases with 134. Adam Engel paces the UofL running attack with 38 steals (fourth nationally) in 48 attempts.
- Louisville has allowed only 33 stolen bases in 52 attempts so far this season.
- UofL is 28-4 against righty starters and 14-6 against lefties this season.
- The Cards are 35-5 when scoring first, including 20-2 when scoring in the first inning.
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 31 of 52 games this season.
- Louisville is 37-0 this season when leading after the eighth inning.
- Nick Ratajczak is the second toughest player in the nation to strike out doing so once for every 25.3 at-bats.
- Coco Johnson has reached base safely in 27 straight games overall, the longest such streak of the season for a Louisville player.
- Louisville ranks fourth nationally in hit-by-pitch with 101 as Coco Johnson (18 HBPs, 17th in NCAA) and Nick Ratajczak (17 HBPs, 23rd in NCAA) lead the way.
LOUISVILLE MAINTAINS TOP 10 RANKING FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK
The Cardinals the final week of the regular season ranked as highly as No. 10 and no lower than 12th in the five major national polls. UofL, ranked in at least one national poll for 28 straight weeks in the regular season dating back to the 2012 preseason, is 10th in the Perfect Game, the NCBWA and the Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls, 11th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll and 12th in the Baseball America Top 25. Following two weeks outside the top 10, Louisville returned to a position it held for the first 10 weeks of the 2013 season on May 6.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY IN 12-GAME WINNING STREAK
Riding the third longest winning streak in school history, Louisville has found success through strong pitching and consistent defense while winning 12 straight overall. During that span, the Cardinals have an ERA of just 1.75 (21 earned runs in 12 games) with 127 strikeouts and just 28 walks in 108.0 innings pitched. Opposing batters are hitting just .165 against the Cardinals in that stretch. Behind that great pitching has been some stellar defense as Louisville has committed only five errors for a .989 fielding percentage.
LOUISVILLE AMONG SELECT COMPANY WITH ANOTHER 40-WIN SEASON
With the series-opening win at Connecticut on May 11, the Cardinals clinched their sixth 40-win season in Dan McDonnell's seven years as head coach. Through May 12, Louisville was one of only seven programs in the nation to accomplish the feat of six or more 40-win campaigns in the last seven seasons. Joining the Cardinals on that list are Coastal Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina, Rice, South Carolina and TCU.
MCDONNELL GETS 300TH WIN AS LOUISVILLE'S HEAD COACH
With Louisville's victory at Connecticut on May 12, head coach Dan McDonnell won his 300th career game with all of those coming with the Cardinals. McDonnell, in his seventh season leading the Louisville program, has guided the Cardinals to five 40-win seasons while putting this year's team in position to earn the program's sixth NCAA Regional berth in that span. McDonnell became the third coach in Louisville history to reach the 300-win plateau joining Lelo Prado and Dr. John Heldman Jr., and McDonnell is the fastest of the trio to reach that mark.
THOMPSON NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
Louisville junior righthander Jeff Thompson was among the 60 players named to the midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list released on May 2 by USA Baseball. Thompson is now 9-1 overall with a 1.94 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 83.1 innings pitched this season. Seven of his 13 starts have been scoreless outings and opposing batters are hitting just .178 against him. For his career, Thompson is 20-6 on the mound as a Cardinal with a 2.91 ERA and 206 strikeouts in 201.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 12 batters in two outings this season -- Feb. 16 against USF and May 4 at Villanova. During the course of four straight starts, Thompson had a career best stretch of 28.0 shutout innings from March 9 to March 29.
BURDI INVITED TO USA BASEBALL COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM
Sophomore righty Nick Burdi has been selected for the 2013 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team as announced on April 24. A native of Downers Grove, Ill., Burdi leads the Cardinals' in saves with 11 to go with a 0.73 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 20 relief appearances and 24.1 innings pitched this season. Opposing batters are hitting just .191 against the hard-throwing Burdi, who has a 3-2 record overall on the mound. Burdi is the sixth UofL player to earn an invitation to the USA Collegiate National Team. Previous Cardinals to participate in the selection process for Team USA include Ryan Wright (2010), Phil Wunderlich (2009), Tony Zych (2009), Justin Marks (2008) and Mark Jurich (2002). Training for the team is set for June 21-July 2 in Cary, N.C., at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Team USA will travel to Japan from July 6-11 and is also scheduled to play Cuba from July 18-23 in the U.S.
GREEN SUCCESSFUL AND CONSISTENT AS CARDINALS' FRIDAY STARTER
Having never made a regular season weekend start when the 2013 season opened, junior righthander Chad Green has handled the role as the Cardinals' Friday starter impressively throughout the regular season. With an 8-2 record overall, including three straight wins, Green has a 1.73 ERA and 58 strikeouts to only 15 walks in 83.1 innings pitched. On Feb. 22, he allowed only one hit and issued just one walk with three strikeouts in seven shutout innings against Akron, while on May 3, he struck out a career best nine in 7.1 shutout innings at Villanova. On May 11, he pitched eight shutout innings with six strikeouts in a win at UConn.
KIME WINS THREE STRAIGHT STARTS OVER 13 DAYS
Making a trio of starts for the Cardinals from April 30-May 12, junior righty Dace Kime went 3-0 with 25 strikeouts while allowing just two runs in 18.2 dominant innings (0.96 ERA) in wins over Western Kentucky, Villanova and Connecticut. In the April 30 midweek victory over the Hilltoppers, Kime struck out six in five scoreless innings giving up just four hits, while five days later, he had a career-best 10 strikeouts allowing only one run on just three hits in a career-long seven innings against Villanova to earn his second win of the week. On May 12, he struck out nine more and allowed only one run in 6.2 innings to finish the Cardinals' sweep of UConn. Overall, Kime is 5-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 53.0 innings pitched this season.
YOUNG LEADS THE WAY FOR THE CARDINALS' OFFENSE
The Cardinals' top hitter in 2012, junior infielder Ty Young is among the leaders in numerous hitting categories for Louisville in 2013. He ranks first in hitting (.374), RBI (52), triples (7) and on-base percentage (.455) while ranking second in stolen bases (25-of-30), doubles (10), slugging (.572) and runs (46). A Third Team All-BIG EAST selection last season, Young has started all 52 games in 2013 with 50 of those at third base.
LOUISVILLE STAYS AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASES IN 2013
Louisville has already surpassed last season's stolen bases total while remaining among the nation's best in that category ranking third with 134 in 173 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 fifth nationally with 38 steals in 48 attempts, Adam Engel leads six Cardinals with nine or more stolen bases this season.
LOUISVILLE CONTINUES ADDING TO SCHOOL SHUTOUT RECORD
After surpassing the previous school record for shutouts in a season with their eighth in a 4-0 win at EKU on May 7, the Cardinals added to that total with back-to-back shutouts in a doubleheader sweep at Connecticut on May 11. It marked the first time in school history Louisville had shut out an opponent in both games of nine-inning doubleheader. The Cardinals' only previous shutout sweeps of doubleheaders came in seven-inning games in 1981 against Cincinnati and in 1958 against Transylvania.
The 2007 College World Series team set the previous UofL shutouts record earning seven en route to advancing to Omaha. Overall, Louisville has 34 shutout wins under the direction of coach Dan McDonnell -- 10 in 2013, four in 2012, six in 2011, five in 2010, one each in 2009 and 2008 and seven in 2007. During that span, the Cards have been shutout just 10 times.
THREE BAGS AND A CLOUD OF DUST FOR THE CARDINALS
With their 23rd triple of the season on May 11, the Cardinals (who rank sixth in the NCAA in triples) have already surpassed last season's total of 18 three-baggers. Five players have at least two triples this season with Ty Young leading the way with seven, which places him fifth in the nation overall. Louisville's previous highest triple total in any of Dan McDonnell's first six seasons as head coach was 19 in 2009, while the lowest total was just nine in 2010. The school record for triples is 34 set in the 1980 and 1992 seasons.
FUNKHOUSER DELIVERS LOUISVILLE'S FIRST COMPLETE GAME SINCE 2010
After opening his career in impressive fashion allowing no earned runs in his first 21.1 innings, freshman righthander Kyle Funkhouser delivered one of the best starts of the season for the nationally ranked Cardinals on May 7 striking out a career best eight in a four-hit complete game shutout at Eastern Kentucky. Funkhouser did not issue a walk while scattering four singles to deliver the first complete game shutout for a Louisville player since Dean Kiekhefer's five-hit, 7-0 win over Villanova on April 2, 2010. With the win in his fourth start of the season and his first since April 2, Funkhouser improved to 3-1 while lowering his ERA to 1.59.
WHITING HELPS PACE OFFENSE IN FIRST SEASON AS A STARTER
Entering 2013, sophomore infielder Sutton Whiting had never made a start while only playing 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 outstanding since. As one of the Cards' top hitters with a .325 average, Whiting has chipped in with 28 RBI and 20 stolen bases while hitting in the No. 9 spot in the lineup.
BURDI BRINGS HEAT TO JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Penciled in as the closer entering the 2013 season, sophomore righty Nick Burdi was impressive in his first ever save situation. With the Cards 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. His 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.
KIDSTON EARNS FIVE 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 adding three more wins in his first four starts. Overall, Kidston is 5-0 with a save, a 1.31 ERA and 58 strikeouts while allowing only 25 hits in 48.0 innings of work. His best start of the season came on April 14 when he matched a career high with seven strikeouts while working a career best eight shutout innings to earn the win against visiting Elon.
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.
