Sophomore infielder Blake Tiberi hit .419 during the Cardinals' fall workouts.
News, Notes Following Louisville’s Fall Ball Finale
October 28, 2015 | Baseball
Tiberi, Ellis lead the offense in the fall; Hummel, McClure emerge with strong performances on the mound
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball program completed its busy fall on the field with Monday afternoon's Pizza Bowl finale at Jim Patterson Stadium. Now, the Cardinals turn their focus to sports performance training as well as the final stretch of the fall semester in the classroom.
"It was a great fall for us and we were able to get a lot accomplished. The highlight was the Dominican Republic trip in the middle and the Pizza Bowl at the end is always exciting, but we're ready to move on to the next phase, which is getting off the field and spending time in the weight room," explained head coach Dan McDonnell, who is in his 10th season leading the program. "Let's get stronger and let's get faster and let's finish the semester in the classroom well. It's been very productive to this point, but we're ready for the next challenge."
The Cardinals opened the fall with their first full squad practice on Sept. 8 and less than four weeks later, they were on the ground in the Dominican Republic for their five-day community service and baseball trip. While in the Dominican Republic, Louisville split four games against professional players, including a pair of two-run losses to Estrellas Orientales and Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League. After returning home on Oct. 6, Louisville resumed its typical fall schedule on Oct. 8 at Patterson Stadium. The Cardinals closed the fall with the 10th annual Pizza Bowl, a five-game intra-squad series from Oct. 17-26.
"We have great leadership and we've got some talented older players. We also saw some good things out of the new guys," McDonnell said. "Pitchers Shane Hummel and Adam Wolf showed that they're going to be able to help us in the spring and get some outs and there are still some opportunities for other guys as they get healthy. The four freshmen position players (infielders Daniel Little and Devin Mann and outfielders Chris Botsoe and Josh Stowers) really competed. Devin showed us that he can hit (three home runs, 13 RBI in the fall) and that he has a chance to be a special hitter. Josh, Chris and Daniel all showed that their versatile and athletic and they should really add to our depth going into the spring."
TIBERI, ELLIS SHINE OFFENSIVELY IN THE FALL
In one of the most competitive fall schedules ever at Louisville, sophomore infielder Blake Tiberi and redshirt freshman infielder Drew Ellis were among the offensive standouts for the Cardinals. In more than 60 at-bats, Tiberi hit .419 overall, while Ellis hit .354 with two home runs and 12 RBI in nearly 50 at-bats. Freshman Josh Stowers finished the fall with a .314 average and eight RBI in a little more than 50 at-bats.
HUMMEL, MCCLURE EMERGE ON THE MOUND
On the mound, newcomer Shane Hummel and returner Kade McClure led the strong performances for the Louisville pitching staff. Hummel, a junior righty transfer from Neosho County Community College, finished with a 1.31 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 20.2 innings of work this fall. McClure, a sophomore righty, was equally impressive with a 1.33 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 27.0 innings pitched. Another strong fall was turned in by junior lefty Drew Harrington, who had 26 strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA in 25.0 innings.
NEXT UP FOR THE CARDINALS
As mentioned by McDonnell, much of the remaining time in the fall semester for Louisville will be used to focus on strength and conditioning. On the field, the Cardinals will practice two hours per week as the semester winds to an end while sports performance coach Zach Farrel will lead the conditioning work. The final days of the fall semester will be highlighted by the grueling Omaha Challenge, an intense test of physical and mental stamina.
LOUISVILLE OVERVIEW ENTERING 2016
The Cardinals return an experienced, talented and deep roster of players from last year's record-setting club, which won the ACC Atlantic Division title with the most league wins in conference history (25-5 record) and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional for the third straight season. Louisville returns more than 75 percent of its pitching starts from 2015, anchored by the 1-2 All-American punch of senior righty Kyle Funkhouser and sophomore lefty Brendan McKay. The pitching staff also returns 83 percent of its relief innings, including All-American junior closer Zack Burdi, talented junior lefty Drew Harrington and Freshman All-Americans Lincoln Henzman and Sean Leland.
Offensively, the Cardinals return seven players who started 30 or more games last season, including the top three hitters in junior outfielder and All-American Corey Ray, junior infielder Nick Solak and McKay, the reigning John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year. Collectively, Louisville returns 78 percent of its runs driven in, 73 percent of its extra-base hits, 72 percent of its total hits and 70 percent of its runs scored from the 2015 team.
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.
"It was a great fall for us and we were able to get a lot accomplished. The highlight was the Dominican Republic trip in the middle and the Pizza Bowl at the end is always exciting, but we're ready to move on to the next phase, which is getting off the field and spending time in the weight room," explained head coach Dan McDonnell, who is in his 10th season leading the program. "Let's get stronger and let's get faster and let's finish the semester in the classroom well. It's been very productive to this point, but we're ready for the next challenge."
The Cardinals opened the fall with their first full squad practice on Sept. 8 and less than four weeks later, they were on the ground in the Dominican Republic for their five-day community service and baseball trip. While in the Dominican Republic, Louisville split four games against professional players, including a pair of two-run losses to Estrellas Orientales and Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League. After returning home on Oct. 6, Louisville resumed its typical fall schedule on Oct. 8 at Patterson Stadium. The Cardinals closed the fall with the 10th annual Pizza Bowl, a five-game intra-squad series from Oct. 17-26.
"We have great leadership and we've got some talented older players. We also saw some good things out of the new guys," McDonnell said. "Pitchers Shane Hummel and Adam Wolf showed that they're going to be able to help us in the spring and get some outs and there are still some opportunities for other guys as they get healthy. The four freshmen position players (infielders Daniel Little and Devin Mann and outfielders Chris Botsoe and Josh Stowers) really competed. Devin showed us that he can hit (three home runs, 13 RBI in the fall) and that he has a chance to be a special hitter. Josh, Chris and Daniel all showed that their versatile and athletic and they should really add to our depth going into the spring."
TIBERI, ELLIS SHINE OFFENSIVELY IN THE FALL
In one of the most competitive fall schedules ever at Louisville, sophomore infielder Blake Tiberi and redshirt freshman infielder Drew Ellis were among the offensive standouts for the Cardinals. In more than 60 at-bats, Tiberi hit .419 overall, while Ellis hit .354 with two home runs and 12 RBI in nearly 50 at-bats. Freshman Josh Stowers finished the fall with a .314 average and eight RBI in a little more than 50 at-bats.
HUMMEL, MCCLURE EMERGE ON THE MOUND
On the mound, newcomer Shane Hummel and returner Kade McClure led the strong performances for the Louisville pitching staff. Hummel, a junior righty transfer from Neosho County Community College, finished with a 1.31 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 20.2 innings of work this fall. McClure, a sophomore righty, was equally impressive with a 1.33 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 27.0 innings pitched. Another strong fall was turned in by junior lefty Drew Harrington, who had 26 strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA in 25.0 innings.
NEXT UP FOR THE CARDINALS
As mentioned by McDonnell, much of the remaining time in the fall semester for Louisville will be used to focus on strength and conditioning. On the field, the Cardinals will practice two hours per week as the semester winds to an end while sports performance coach Zach Farrel will lead the conditioning work. The final days of the fall semester will be highlighted by the grueling Omaha Challenge, an intense test of physical and mental stamina.
LOUISVILLE OVERVIEW ENTERING 2016
The Cardinals return an experienced, talented and deep roster of players from last year's record-setting club, which won the ACC Atlantic Division title with the most league wins in conference history (25-5 record) and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional for the third straight season. Louisville returns more than 75 percent of its pitching starts from 2015, anchored by the 1-2 All-American punch of senior righty Kyle Funkhouser and sophomore lefty Brendan McKay. The pitching staff also returns 83 percent of its relief innings, including All-American junior closer Zack Burdi, talented junior lefty Drew Harrington and Freshman All-Americans Lincoln Henzman and Sean Leland.
Offensively, the Cardinals return seven players who started 30 or more games last season, including the top three hitters in junior outfielder and All-American Corey Ray, junior infielder Nick Solak and McKay, the reigning John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year. Collectively, Louisville returns 78 percent of its runs driven in, 73 percent of its extra-base hits, 72 percent of its total hits and 70 percent of its runs scored from the 2015 team.
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.
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