No. 8 Cardinals Open BIG EAST Championship on Wednesday
May 21, 2013 | Baseball
May 21, 2013
GAME DAY INFO: #8 Louisville (46-10) at 2013 BIG EAST Championship
Date: May 22-26, 2013
Location: Clearwater, Fla.
Venue: Bright House Field (8,500)
Radio: News/Talk 1570 AM (WNDA)
TV: ESPN3 / ESPNU
Internet: CardsTV (Audio) at GoCards.com
Live Stats: Gametracker at GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball
Louisville Baseball Game Notes (at 2013 BIG EAST Championship)
2013 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Central | 2013 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Bracket
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Riding the nation's longest active winning streak, the eighth-ranked Louisville baseball team enters this week's BIG EAST Conference Championship as the No. 1 seed after clinching the program's fourth BIG EAST regular season title in five seasons. Winners of 16 straight games, the Cardinals will open the double-elimination tournament at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., against No. 8 Connecticut, while No. 4 USF and No. 5 Rutgers are also in Louisville's side of the bracket.
Live play-by-play of all of Louisville's games in Clearwater 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. The double-elimination round games of the BIG EAST Championship will be carried live on ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com, while Sunday's final will be televised at noon ET on ESPNU.
2013 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 22 (ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)
Game 1 - No. 6 St. John's (23-33) vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh (40-15), 10 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 7 Notre Dame (31-23) vs. No. 2 Seton Hall (36-17), 1 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 8 Connecticut (30-25) vs. No. 1 Louisville (46-10), 5 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 5 Rutgers (26-28) vs. No. 4 USF (35-20), 8 p.m.
Thursday, May 23 (ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)
Game 5 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 6 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 1 p.m.
Game 7 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 8 p.m.
Friday, May 24 (ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)
Game 9 - Loser of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 5, 4 p.m.
Game 10 - Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 7, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 25 (ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)
Game 11 - Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9, 10 a.m.
Game 12 - Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10, 1 p.m.
Game 13 - Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11, 5 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 14 - Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12, 6:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.
(if necessary; Game 14 would be at 6:30 if Game 13 is not necessary, 8 p.m. otherwise)
Sunday, May 26 - Championship game (ESPNU)
Game 15 - Winner of Group 1 vs. Winner of Group 2, Noon
All times Eastern
LOUISVILLE BY THE NUMBERS AT THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
- Appearances: 8th
- All-Time Record: 19-10 (.655)
- Titles: 2 (2008, 2009)
- All-time at Bright House: 19-8
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS TO TRACK
- The Cardinals' 46-10 mark equals the best regular season record in school history matching the same mark for the 2010 team.
- Louisville has won 16 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation and the second longest winning streak in school history (record is 20 in 1950's).
- Among the nation's best pitching staffs entering the week, Louisville was third in the NCAA in ERA at 2.43 and first in strikeouts per nine innings with 9.8.
- The Cardinals were third in the nation in stolen bases with 140. Adam Engel paces UofL with 39 steals (third nationally) in 50 attempts.
- Louisville has allowed only 34 stolen bases in 56 attempts so far this season.
- UofL is 32-4 against righty starters and 14-6 against lefties this season.
- The Cards are 37-5 when scoring first, including 21-2 when scoring in the first inning.
- Louisville has scored first in 14 of the 16 games in the current winning streak.
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 33 of 56 games this season.
- Louisville is 41-0 this season when leading after the eighth inning.
- The team-leader with nine home runs, Jeff Gardner has saved his best for the final five weeks hitting .386 with eight home runs and 26 RBI in the last 21 games.
- Nick Ratajczak is the toughest player in the nation to strike out doing so just once every 27.1 at-bats.
- Louisville ranked fourth nationally in hit-by-pitch starting the week with 111. Coco Johnson (18 HBPs, 23rd in NCAA) and Nick Ratajczak (18 HBPs, 23rd in NCAA) lead the way for the Cardinals.
LOUISVILLE MAINTAINS TOP 10 RANKING FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK
The Cardinals enter the postseason ranked as highly as No. 8 and no lower than 10th 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 eighth in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, ninth in the NCBWA poll and 10th in the Perfect Game poss, Baseball America Top 25 and USA Today/ESPN coaches' polls. 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 16-GAME WINNING STREAK
Riding the second longest winning streak in school history, Louisville has found success through strong pitching and consistent defense while winning 16 straight overall. During that span, the Cardinals have an ERA of just 2.00 (32 earned runs in 16 games) with 170 strikeouts and just 50 walks in 144.0 innings pitched. Opposing batters are hitting just .189 against the Cardinals in that stretch. Behind that great pitching has been some stellar defense as Louisville has committed only eight errors for a .987 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. Entering the week, 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.
THOMPSON NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior righty 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 10-1 overall, including four straight wins, with a 2.09 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 90.1 innings pitched this season. Seven of his 14 starts have been scoreless outings and opposing batters are hitting just .174 against him. For his career, Thompson is 21-6 on the mound as a Cardinal with a 2.94 ERA and 213 strikeouts in 208.1 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 with 14 saves to go with a 0.64 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 24 relief appearances and 28.1innings pitched this season. Opposing batters are hitting just .196 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 a 9-2 record overall, including four straight wins, Green has a 1.63 ERA and 63 strikeouts to only 17 walks in 88.1 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 3.28 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 57.2 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. With 56 games in the books, he closed the regular season as the Cardinals' leading hitter with a .372 average while also leading the team in RBI (55), doubles (13), triples (seven), runs scored (49) and on-base percentage (.456). A Third Team All-BIG EAST selection last season, Young has started all 56 games in 2013 with 54 of those at third base.
LOUISVILLE STAYS AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASES IN 2013
Louisville has surpassed last season's stolen bases total while remaining among the nation's best in that category ranking third with 140 in 181 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 third nationally with 39 steals in 50 attempts, Adam Engel leads six Cardinals with nine or more stolen bases this season.
THREE BAGS AND A CLOUD OF DUST FOR THE CARDINALS
With their 24th triple of the season on May 18, the Cardinals (who rank seventh in the NCAA in triples) have already surpassed last season's total of 18 three-baggers. Six players have at least two triples this season with Ty Young leading the way with seven, which places him sixth 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.
GARDNER, BURDI SWEEP WEEKLY BIG EAST BASEBALL HONORS ON MAY 20
Jeff Gardner was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on May 20, while righty Nick Burdi was chosen as the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week as the Cardinals swept the conference's weekly honors for the first time in school history. Gardner hit .333 with three home runs, a triple and seven RBI to lead the Cardinals to a 4-0 week. Gardner, who earned the weekly honor for the second time this season, was very good in the series sweep of No. 16 Pittsburgh connecting for all four extra-base hits and all seven RBI in the Cardinals' final series of the season. His best performance came in the game two win when he had two home runs and four RBI for Louisville, which has won 16 straight games overall.
Burdi earned three saves during the week, including two in the series sweep of Pittsburgh. After 1.1 innings of shutout relief in the Cardinals' win at Ohio State on May 14, the hard-throwing righty had another 1.1 of scoreless work in Louisville's series-opener against the Panthers. Burdi closed his stretch of three saves in five days with a scoreless ninth inning, including three strikeouts, in the Cards' closing victory against Pitt. In the three outings, Burdi had seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings of shutout relief.
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.
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. He followed that performance by winning his second straight start in the Cardinals' 6-3 at Ohio State on May 14 to improve to 4-1. He has a 1.74 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched and 18 appearances this season.
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 .320 average, Whiting has chipped in with 28 RBI and 21 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.
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.
