Cardinal Baseball Fall Notebook - Sept. 17
September 17, 2013 | Baseball
Sept. 17, 2013
Video: Week 1 Fall Ball Scrimmage Highlights
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Playing under clear skies in front of an energetic gathering of fans, the Louisville baseball team completed the first week of fall workouts with a pair of scrimmages last weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Cardinals kicked off the weekend on Friday with the Red and Black squads playing to a 2-2 tie in eight innings before closing the week on Sunday with the Red squad earning a 7-3 victory in eight innings. Overall, it was the first of six weeks of full-squad fall workouts for Louisville.
"Even though we lost seven juniors to the Major League Baseball Draft and three key seniors, we have several returners that have contributed and it's time for them to step up and play bigger roles," said Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell. "I liked the effort throughout the weekend. We just have to get better."
The Cardinals are tentatively scheduled to host weekend scrimmages every week until the conclusion of full-squad workouts in mid-October. Dates and times for those future scrimmages as well as the annual Pizza Bowl series will be announced throughout the fall.
Pitching Highlights
In Friday's scrimmage opener, sophomore righthander Kyle Funkhouser pitched two shutout innings with one strikeout while redshirt freshman lefty Robert Strader had three strikeouts in two scoreless innings for the Red squad. On the other side, junior lefthander Kyle McGrath struck out one in two shutout innings, while junior righty Jared Ruxer had two strikeouts and did not allow an earned run in his two innings of work.
On Sunday, junior righthander Nick Burdi pitched a perfect inning of relief with one strikeout, freshman righty Zack Burdi had two strikeouts in two innings of shutout work and freshman righthander Jake Sparger pitched two scoreless innings for the red team in the win.
Offensive Highlights
At the plate, junior infielder and newcomer Grant Kay led the way going 4-for-7 with two doubles, two runs scored and an HBP, while freshman utility player Will Smith was 4-for-7 with two RBI, three stolen bases and two runs scored in the two scrimmages. Freshman infielder Nick Solak also had two good days at the plate going 3-for-7 with two runs scored.
In Sunday's scrimmage, junior infielder Sutton Whiting was 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, two runs scored and an RBI, while freshman outfielder Colin Lyman was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Sophomore infielder Danny Rosenbaum chipped in with a single, two RBI and a run scored.
Sunday's MVP Award Goes to the Fans
With perfect weather and a happy fan base throughout the city after Saturday's Governor's Cup on the gridiron, the Louisville baseball fanatics arrived in full force on Sunday providing an energetic, game-like atmosphere inside Patterson Stadium for the second scrimmage of the fall.
"Sunday, the MVP award goes to the crowd," McDonnell said. "It was exciting to see so many people at the ballpark for a scrimmage."
About Louisville Baseball
Directed by head coach Dan McDonnell, who is entering his eighth season at the helm, Louisville returns 19 letterwinners from last year's squad, which won a school record 51 games, the program's fourth regular season conference title in five seasons and hosted NCAA postseason games for the fourth time. The Cardinals capped the season by defeating No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt in the Nashville Super Regional to clinch the program's second College World Series berth and a No. 8 national ranking.
Among the top returnees for Louisville for the 2014 season are senior captains and All-Conference standouts Jeff Gardner and Cole Sturgeon, junior righty pitcher and All-American Nick Burdi, All-Conference shortstop Sutton Whiting, senior catching duo Shane Crain and Kyle Gibson and Freshman All-American pitchers Kyle Funkhouser and Anthony Kidston. A strong group of experienced upperclassmen including the likes of infielders Alex Chittenden, Zach Lucas and Danny Rosenbaum, outfielder Mike White and pitchers Jared Ruxer, Kyle McGrath and Joe Filomeno are joined by a deep and talented set of newcomers setting the stage for an entertaining fall and spring on the baseball diamond for the Cardinals.
In his seven seasons guiding the Louisville baseball program, McDonnell has placed the Cardinals among the nation's elite with two College World Series berths, three NCAA Super Regional appearances, six NCAA Regional bids, four conference regular season titles, two conference tournament titles and 309 wins overall.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
