Baseball Notebook: Six Cardinals on Top 100 Lists
January 16, 2015 | Baseball
Members of Louisville's 2014 CWS club wave to fans during Tuesday's men's basketball game.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball team had six players named to the Perfect Game Top 100 class-by-class rankings released this week.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was righthanded pitcher Kyle Funkhouser, who was slotted as the No. 2 junior in the nation on Wednesday by Perfect Game. On Tuesday, infielder Zach Lucas was ranked at No. 20 on the Top 100 Seniors list while outfielder Mike White landed at No. 68 on that list.
On Thursday, righthander Zack Burdi was tabbed as the 22nd-best sophomore in the nation, while outfielder Corey Ray was ranked at No. 62 on that list. With the release of the Top 100 Freshmen on Friday, lefthanded pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay was placed at No. 60 overall.
LOUISVILLE'S 2014 CWS TEAM HONORED AT TUESDAY'S MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME
The Cardinals' 2014 team, which advanced to the program's second straight College World Series and won 50 games overall, was honored earlier this week at the KFC Yum! Center during the sixth-ranked Louisville men's basketball team's 78-63 victory over Virginia Tech. The baseball team, which also won the program's fifth conference championship in six seasons, received a standing ovation from the 21,684 fans in attendance for Tuesday night's ACC win before leading the crowd in the C-A-R-D-S cheer.
ONE WEEK AWAY FROM FIRST OFFICIAL PRACTICE
The 2015 preseason calendar will reach full speed one week from today as the Cardinals and all NCAA Division I baseball programs officially begin full-squad practices on Jan. 23. Along with its first official practice session next Friday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium, Louisville will also host its annual Leadoff Dinner that evening at the Hyatt Regency in what will serve as an excellent way to kick off the countdown to opening day for 2015.
CARDINALS' 2015 LEADOFF DINNER SOLD OUT
On Tuesday, it was announced the 2015 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank reached sold out status. Scheduled for Jan. 23, the dinner will be headlined by a trio of former Louisville standouts who made their Major League Baseball debuts in 2014 -- Chris Dominguez, Adam Duvall and Justin Marks. The annual dinner is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., ET in the Regency Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Louisville.
FAN EXPERIENCE AT PATTERSON STADIUM REMAINS PRIORITY IN 2015
In case you missed it on Thursday, it was announced free baseball would return to Jim Patterson Stadium in 2015 for 32 of the Cardinals' 33 home games. Free admission has been a long-standing benefit of being a fan of the Louisville baseball program since officially opening Patterson Stadium in 2005. It was also announced that a new video board would be installed at the ballpark for the Cardinals' inaugural ACC season. The University of Louisville is partnering with ANC Sports for the installation of a new LED video board in right-centerfield at Jim Patterson Stadium with the all-digital surface more than quadrupling the size of the current video space. Click here for more details on the fan experience enhancements for 2015.
WINTER CAMPS END THIS WEEKEND
The final weekend of the 2015 Louisville Baseball Winter Camps is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Jim Patterson Stadium and limited spots still remain. The cost for the Louisville Winter Camp is $100 per session and they are open to anyone in grades 1-12. More information on the camps is available by calling (502) 852-5791 or online here.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
