2013 Louisville Baseball Season Review
July 31, 2013 | Baseball
July 31, 2013
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Six years after making its College World Series debut, the Louisville baseball program returned to Omaha in 2013 closing a record-setting season for the Cardinals. Along with the return to the pinnacle of college baseball, UofL won a school record 51 games and clinched its fourth BIG EAST Conference regular season championship in the last five seasons.
The Cardinals' march to Omaha started at Jim Patterson Stadium where they swept through the NCAA Regional in Louisville with wins over Bowling Green, Miami (Fla.) and Oklahoma State. From there, Louisville traveled to Nashville, Tenn., for an NCAA Super Regional showdown with No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt. In the latest chapter of a highly competitive rivalry, the Cardinals became the first team in 2013 to take a series from the Commodores winning back-to-back days at Hawkins Field to advance to the CWS.
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS
- The Cardinals closed the season ranked as highly as No. 8 in the final set of national rankings.
- With their NCAA Super Regional clinching win at Vanderbilt on June 9, Louisville surpassed the previous school record for wins (50 in 2010) earning victory No. 51 in 2013.
- Ranking among the nation's best pitching staffs in 2013, UofL closed the season fifth in the NCAA in ERA at 2.52 and first in strikeouts per nine innings at 9.6.
- The Cardinals were second in the nation in stolen bases with 150, just three shy of matching the school record of 153 set during the 2007 CWS season.
- Adam Engel paced UofL on the bases with 41 steals (third nationally) in 54 attempts.
- In the Cards' seven NCAA postseason games, Jeff Gardner led the offense with a .391 average, including four extra-base hits and three RBI.
- In those seven NCAA tournament games, 17 of the Cardinals' 35 RBI came with two outs.
- UofL was 34-6 against righty starters and 17-8 against lefties this season.
- The Cards were 39-5 when scoring first, including 21-3 when scoring in the first inning.
- The Cardinals allowed two or fewer earned runs in 36 of 65 games this season.
- UofL was 46-0 when leading after the eighth frame.
- Louisville led the nation in hit-by-pitch with 129 and Coco Johnson (23 HBPs, seventh in NCAA) showed the way for the Cardinals.
- Playing some of its baseball at home, UofL won a school record 34 games at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2013 while dropping just five. The Cardinals also hosted NCAA postseason games for the fourth time while advancing to the next round in three of those.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER - COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
No. 3 Oregon State 11, No. 4 Louisville 4: Fourth-ranked Louisville had its record-breaking 2013 season ended on June 17 with an 11-4 loss to No. 3 national seed Oregon State in a College World Series elimination game at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. A two-inning scoring outburst was the difference as OSU plated 10 runs in the third and fourth innings to take command.
No. 8 Indiana 2, No. 4 Louisville 0: In an eerily similar performance to its season-opening loss to the same team, No. 4 Louisville kicked off the 2013 CWS by dropping a 2-0 decision to Indiana on June 15 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Though it was just the second shutout loss of the season for UofL, it was the second time in 2013 they were held scoreless by Indiana.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER - NASHVILLE SUPER REGIONAL
No. 8 Louisville 2, No. 2 Vanderbilt 1: In a matchup of two of the nation's best pitching squads, eighth-ranked Louisville outdueled No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt 2-1 on June 9 at Hawkins Field to win the Nashville Super Regional and advance to the College World Series for the second time in school history. With both teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation in ERA, it was Louisville that got the better of it as righty Jeff Thompson led the way pitching seven dominant innings allowing only one run on three hits with nine strikeouts to match the Cardinals' school record for wins with his 11th victory of the season. At the plate, Zak Wasserman and Sutton Whiting each had a hit and a RBI, while Coco Johnson had a pair of singles and was hit twice in the win.
No. 8 Louisville 5, No. 2 Vanderbilt 3: Senior pinch hitter Matt Helms delivered a two-out, two-run single to cap a three-run seventh inning and lift eighth-ranked Louisville to a 5-3 comeback win over No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt on June 8 in game one of the NCAA Super Regional at Hawkins Field. After the Cardinals had scored once in the seventh to even the score at 2-2, Helms connected on a 1-2 pitch from Vanderbilt closer Brian Miller sending it through the left side of the infield to score pinch runner Mike White and Sutton Whiting. For Helms, it was just his fourth and fifth RBIs of the season and the first since March 1 against Kent State.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER - LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
No. 8 Louisville 12, Oklahoma State 3: Louisville clinched its third NCAA Super Regional berth in seven seasons after the top-seeded and eighth-ranked Cardinals closed out the 2013 Louisville Regional with a 12-3 victory over third-seeded Oklahoma State on June 2 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Leading the way for the Cardinals in Sunday's clincher was Coco Johnson, the Most Outstanding Player of the Louisville Regional, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI. On the mound, Joe Filomeno had his best outing as a Cardinal working a career best 3.1 innings of shutout relief while striking out four to earn his first collegiate win and move to 1-0 overall.
No. 8 Louisville 6, Miami 4: Propelled by a six-run seventh inning, Louisville advanced to the championship round of the Louisville Regional with a 6-4 victory over Miami (Fla.) on June 1 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Saturday's game turned in Louisville's favor in the seventh inning when the Cardinals flipped a one-run deficit into a five-run advantage after finally breaking through against Miami starter Bryan Radziewski. At the plate, five different Louisville players had one hit each while Nick Ratajczak (three RBI) and Cole Sturgeon had the Cardinals' only extra-base hits. On the mound, Jeff Thompson took a no-decision despite a terrific outing in his 15th start of the season allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts in 6.0+ innings.
No. 8 Louisville 8, Bowling Green 3: Coco Johnson connected for a pair of home runs while Jeff Gardner added three hits as the Cardinals opened the 2013 NCAA Baseball Championship with an 8-3 win over Bowling Green on May 31 in the Louisville Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium. Johnson finished 3-for-4 with three RBI while delivering two home runs in a game for the second time this season. Gardner was 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two RBI and a run scored. On the mound, Chad Green became just the seventh pitcher in school history to reach double figures in wins in a single season improving to 10-3 overall after allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts in 7.0+ innings.
CARDINALS, RUXER EARN ACADEMIC HONORS IN OMAHA
The Louisville baseball team was recognized by the NCAA for having the highest cumulative team GPA at the 2013 College World Series as the Cardinals registered an impressive 3.222 GPA overall. Leading the way for UofL was sophomore righthanded pitcher Jared Ruxer, who earned a 4.0 GPA and was honored for having the highest GPA on the team this season.
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.
JOHNSON NAMED MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER OF LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
Junior outfielder Coco Johnson was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 Louisville Regional and led four Cardinals earning NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team honors after UofL swept through the weekend at Patterson Stadium. In the three NCAA Regional games, Johnson hit .455 (5-for-11) with two home runs, six RBI and a stolen base to become the first Louisville player to earn MOP honors since Justin Marks in 2009.
Joining Johnson on the Louisville Regional All-Tournament Team were senior second baseman Nick Ratajczak, junior designated hitter Jeff Gardner and junior pitcher Jeff Thompson. Gardner hit .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles, a triple, three RBI and three runs scored in the trio of games, while Ratajczak hit .364 with two doubles and six RBI for the weekend. Despite earning a no-decision in the Cardinals' winner's bracket victory over Miami, Thompson pitched well allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts in 6.0+ innings as Louisville rallied late for the win.
SEVEN CARDINALS TAKEN IN 2013 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DRAFT
The Louisville baseball program was well represented during the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as seven members of the 2013 Cardinals and two high school signees were selected during the three-day event. Junior righthander Dace Kime was taken 79th overall by the Cleveland Indians in the third round of the 40-round draft. He was followed by junior righty Jeff Thompson, who was selected 94th overall in the third round by the Detroit Tigers, and junior infielder Ty Young, who was taken 218th overall in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Junior outfielder Coco Johnson was taken in the 11th Round (322nd overall) by the Miami Marlins, junior righty Chad Green was selected in the 11th Round (336th overall) by the Detroit Tigers, junior lefty Cody Ege was taken in the 15th Round (460th overall) by the Texas Rangers and junior outfielder Adam Engel was selected in the 19th Round (573rd overall) by the Chicago White Sox.
In addition, prep shortstop and Louisville signee Tucker Neuhaus was the highest player with UofL connections selected going 72nd overall in competitive round B of the second round to the Milwaukee Brewers, while another signee, Corey Ray, was taken in the 33rd Round (987th overall) by the Seattle Mariners. All seven Cardinals drafted as well as Neuhas signed professional contracts prior to the July 12 deadline.
Since the hiring of head coach Dan McDonnell prior to the 2007 season, 33 Louisville players have signed professional contracts after being selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including a school record nine Cardinals in 2010.
LOUISVILLE UNVEILS NEWLY DESIGNED UNIFORMS FOR POSTSEASON
During the Nashville Super Regional, the Louisville baseball team unveiled new adidas CLIMALITE Sweet Spot uniforms and the Cardinals put them in the national spotlight as they clinched a berth in the College World Series in the 2-1 win at Vanderbilt in front of a national television audience on ESPN. A retro-inspired uniform similar to a design worn by Louisville in the 1970's, the 2013 design features the latest adidas uniform technologies to make the Cardinals faster, lighter and cooler on the diamond. The jersey and pants include CLIMALITE material coupled with dye-sub technology, creating a superior lightweight uniform system with unrivaled moisture transport and durability.
LOUISVILLE AMONG 23 SCHOOLS WITH AT LEAST THREE SUPER REGIONALS IN THE LAST SEVEN SEASONS
With the NCAA Regional triumph at Jim Patterson Stadium in June, Louisville clinched its third NCAA Super Regional berth in the last seven seasons becoming one of just 23 schools to accomplish the feat. The list of schools with at least three Super Regional appearances in the last seven season includes Florida State with six, Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, North Carolina and South Carolina with five each, Florida, LSU, North Carolina State, Rice, UCLA and Virginia with four each and Arkansas, Clemson, Louisville, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, UC Irvine and Vanderbilt with three each.
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 Florida State (7), Rice (7), South Carolina (7), Coastal Carolina (6), North Carolina (6) and TCU (6).
BURDI EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS, INVITED TO USA BASEBALL COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM
Righty Nick Burdi capped a terrific season on the mound by earning All-America honors from Perfect Game (First Team) and the NCBWA (Second Team). A native of Downers Grove, Ill., Burdi led the Cardinals with 16 saves to go with a 0.76 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 29 relief appearances in 35.2 innings pitched this season. Opposing batters hit just .192 against the hard-throwing Burdi, who had a 3-3 record overall on the mound.
On April 24, the sophomore was selected for the 2013 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Burdi was 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).
THOMPSON NAMED LOUISVILLE SLUGGER SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICA, GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD SEMIFINALIST
On May 28, junior righty Jeff Thompson was among 30 players selected as semifinalists for the 2013 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. Later in the season, he was named Louisville Slugger Second Team All-America by College Baseball newspaper, Third Team All-America by Perfect Game and Third Team All-America by NCBWA. Thompson finished his final season as a Cardinal at 11-2 overall with a 2.19 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 107.0 innings pitched. Seven of his 17 starts were scoreless outings and opposing batters hit just .179 against him. For his career, Thompson was 22-7 on the mound with a 2.92 ERA and 229 strikeouts in 225.0 innings pitched. He 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.
FUNKHOUSER, KIDSTON LOUISVILLE SLUGGER FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICANS
Righthanded pitchers Kyle Funkhouser and Anthony Kidston were named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans on June 5 by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Funkhouser closed the season at 5-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 22 appearances on the mound, including six starts. He had 55 strikeouts in 54.2 innings pitched and opposing batters hit just .214 against him. Earlier this season, Funkhouser delivered the Cardinals' first complete game shutout since 2009 when he struck out a career best eight and allowed only four hits in a win at Eastern Kentucky on May 7. The talented righty kicked off his collegiate career with 18.0 straight scoreless innings for Louisville.
Kidston was 5-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 13 appearances as a pitcher, including six starts. He had 58 strikeouts in 48.0 innings pitched and opposing batters hit just .152 against him. A two-way talent who also plays first base, Kidston opened his career by earning wins in each of his first two appearances on the mound, followed by a save in his third outing and three more wins in his first four starts. 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.
CARDINALS WIN FOURTH BIG EAST REGULAR SEASON TITLE IN FIVE YEARS
With the most impressive finish to a regular season in school history, Louisville clinched sole possession of the 2013 BIG EAST Conference regular season championship and won its 16th straight game overall with a 7-4 triumph over Pittsburgh on May 18. Matching the school record for regular season wins first set in 2010, the Cardinals improved to 46-10 overall and finished at 20-4 in conference. The 16-game winning streak was the second longest in school history. While winning four BIG EAST regular season titles in five seasons, the Cardinals earned season-ending series sweeps in three of those.
THOMPSON NAMED BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR; 10 CARDINALS EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS
Junior righthander Jeff Thompson was honored as BIG EAST Conference Pitcher of the Year while a school record-tying 10 Cardinals earned All-BIG EAST accolades during the BIG EAST baseball awards ceremony at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort on May 21. Joining Thompson as First Team All-BIG EAST selections were junior designated hitter Jeff Gardner and sophomore righty closer Nick Burdi. The Cardinals, who equaled last year's record-setting 10 All-BIG EAST selections, had four players named Second Team All-BIG EAST on Tuesday -- junior righthanded pitcher Chad Green, junior outfielder Coco Johnson, sophomore shortstop Sutton Whiting and junior third baseman Ty Young. Earning Third Team All-BIG EAST honors from Louisville were senior second baseman Nick Ratajczak and junior outfielders Adam Engel and Cole Sturgeon.
LOUISVILLE CLOSES SEASON WITH TOP 10 NATIONAL RANKING
Following their second second College World Series appearance in school history, the Cardinals were ranked as highly as No. 8 and no lower than No. 9 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, was eighth in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, the NCBWA Top 30 and the Baseball America Top 25 and ninth in the Perfect Game 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.
GREEN SUCCESSFUL AND CONSISTENT AS CARDINALS' FRIDAY STARTER
Having never made a regular season weekend start when the 2013 season opened, junior righty Chad Green handled the role as the Cards' Friday starter impressively throughout the season. With a 10-4 record overall, Green had a 2.42 ERA and 74 strikeouts to only 27 walks in 104.1 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 at Villanova. On May 11, he pitched eight shutout innings in a win at UConn.
STURGEON, GARDNER LEAD BALANCED LOUISVILLE OFFENSE
Leading the way for the Louisville offense in 2013 was the junior tandem of Cole Sturgeon and Jeff Gardner -- the Cardinals top two hitters in average this season. Sturgeon led the Cardinals in hitting with a .339 average to go along with one home run, 33 RBI, nine doubles, 21 walks, 11 HBPs and 13 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Gardner hit .337 last season while leading the team with nine home runs, 15 doubles and a .632 slugging percentage to go with 43 RBI.
LOUISVILLE PLAYS AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASES IN 2013
Louisville surpassed last season's stolen bases total while emerging as one of the nation's best in that category ranking second with 150 in 196 attempts. Last season, the Cardinals had 96 stolen bases in 63 games, while the school record was within range at 153 stolen bases in 71 games during the 2007 College World Series season. Ranking third nationally with 41 steals in 54 attempts, Adam Engel led six Cardinals with nine or more stolen bases this season.
THREE BAGS AND A CLOUD OF DUST FOR THE CARDINALS
With their 26th triple of the season on June 2, the Cardinals (who ranked sixth in the NCAA in triples) surpassed last season's total of 18 three-baggers. Seven players had at least two triples this season with Ty Young leading the way with seven, which placed 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 was 34 set in the 1980 and 1992 seasons.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE LED THE WAY IN 16-GAME WINNING STREAK
Closing the regular season with the second longest winning streak in school history, Louisville found success through strong pitching and consistent defense while winning 16 straight overall. During that span, the Cardinals had 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 hit just .189 against the Cardinals in that stretch. Behind that great pitching was some stellar defense as Louisville committed only eight errors for a .987 fielding percentage.
LOUISVILLE SET NEW 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.
KIME WINS THREE STRAIGHT STARTS OVER 13 DAYS
Making a trio of starts from April 30-May 12, junior Dace Kime went 3-0 with 25 strikeouts while allowing just two runs in 18.2 dominant innings (0.96 ERA) in wins over WKU, Villanova and UConn. In the April 30 victory over WKU, 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. 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 was 6-1 with a 2.99 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 69.1 innings pitched 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' most consistent hitters with a .308 average, Whiting chipped in with 30 RBI, 41 runs scored and 24 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
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