Boston College Visits No. 8 Louisville for Weekend Set
March 12, 2015 | Baseball
Junior righty Kyle Funkhouser and the Cardinals host their second straight ACC series.
GAME DAY INFO: #8 Louisville (11-6, 2-1 ACC) vs. Boston College (5-9, 0-3 ACC)
Date: March 14-15, 2015
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000)
Live Stats: Gametracker at GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball
Saturday, March 14 | 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN3 (Watch) | Radio: 93.9 The Ville
Web: CardsTV Audio (Listen) | Live Stats: Gametracker
LOU: Jr. RHP Kyle Funkhouser (1-2, 3.38 ERA)
BC: Jr. RHP Jeff Burke (0-3, 7.11 ERA)
Saturday, March 14 | 4:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN3 (Watch) | Radio: 93.9 The Ville
Web: CardsTV Audio (Listen) | Live Stats: Gametracker
LOU: TBA
BC: Sr. RHP John Gorman (1-1, 4.44 ERA)
Sunday, March 15 | 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN3 (Watch) | Radio: 93.9 The Ville
Web: CardsTV Audio (Listen) | Live Stats: Gametracker
LOU: TBA
BC: So. RHP Justin Dunn (2-1, 6.19 ERA)
? Louisville Baseball Game Notes (vs. Boston College) | Media Center
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 8 Louisville baseball team returns to ACC action with a weekend series at home against Boston College. With Friday's postponement, the Cardinals and Eagles will open the series with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m., before concluding the weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission is free for all three games at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Television coverage of the Louisville-Boston College series will be provided by ESPN3 at WatchESPN.com. Additionally, all three games will also be aired live on 93.9 The Ville, while CardsTV subscribers can listen online at GoCards.com.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Louisville made its Atlantic Coast Conference debut with a series victory against then-No. 10 Miami last weekend at Patterson Stadium, highlighted by a 5-4 walk-off win in Sunday's deciding third game. The Cardinals followed that by splitting a midweek series against Ole Miss in Louisville, where they won 5-3 on Tuesday before falling 8-3 on Wednesday.
The Cardinals returned 19 letterwinners from their 2014 squad, which was 50-17 overall, won the program's fifth regular season conference championship in six seasons and hosted NCAA postseason games for the second straight year. The Cardinals defeated Kennesaw State in the Louisville Super Regional to clinch their third College World Series berth in eight seasons.
BACK HOME AGAIN AT PATTERSON STADIUM
After opening the season with six straight games away from home, Louisville has enjoyed the opportunity to play in the friendly confines of Jim Patterson Stadium by winning eight of its first 11 at the corner of Central Ave and Third Street. The Cardinals are in the midst of a 15-game homestand from Feb. 24-March 17. Since opening the gates at Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won more than 75 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 256-85 record overall.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Boston College enters the weekend at 5-9 overall and 0-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference action after being swept on the road at Florida State last weekend. The Eagles have played each of their first 14 games away from home, including eight true road games. Last season, BC was 22-33 overall and finished sixth in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 10-20 league record.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville and Boston College have no previous meetings on the baseball diamond.
LOUISVILLE CONNECTIONS TO THE BAY STATE
The Cardinals have one player, Ryan Summers, who hails from the state of Massachusetts and calls Westfield home, while director of operations Brian Mundorf is also a native of Westfield.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
? Through the first 17 games of the season, the Louisville bullpen has an ERA of 2.02 with a 8-0 record, 93 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched and opposing batters are hitting just .178.
? Louisville was 43-0 last season when leading after the eighth inning and has won 108 straight games overall when entering the ninth with a lead dating back to May 2012.
? The Cardinals are 9-1 this season when out-hitting their opponents, 0-4 when out-hit and 2-1 when hits are tied. Last season, Louisville was 38-3 when out-hitting its opponents.
? Louisville was 32-8 last season against righty starters and 18-9 against lefties. This season, they are 6-4 versus righties and 5-2 against lefties.
? The Cardinals allowed two or fewer earned runs in 40 of 67 games last season, something they did in 36 of 65 in 2013. So far in 2015, they have allowed two or fewer earned runs in nine of 17 games overall.
? Louisville closed the 2014 season ranked second in the nation in stolen bases with 133 and fifth in stolen bases per game at 1.99.
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
? Sutton Whiting has hit safely in 13 of the first 17 games this season. He has reached base safely in 16 of the 17 games this season.
? Sophomore lefty Drew Harrington has allowed only one earned run in seven appearances on the mound this season. In 18.2 innings of work in 2015, Harrington has a 0.48 ERA with 27 strikeouts to just two walks while opposing hitters are batting just .108 against him.
? Freshman Devin Hairston leads the team with 15 RBI this season and he has driven in at least one run in eight of his 11 starts in 2015.
? Brendan McKay had an outstanding week from Feb. 24-March 1 starting four games (two at 1B, two at DH) and going 6-for-12 with a double, four RBI, four runs scored and five walks. On the mound, he earned three saves and had eight strikeouts in three shutout innings of relief.
? For the season, McKay is 2-0 with four saves and has 21 strikeouts without allowing a run in 12.0 innings pitched (seven appearances.). At the plate, he is hitting .400 with 10 walks and six RBI in 10 starts as either a first baseman or a designated hitter.
LOUISVILLE PITCHERS LEAD NATION IN STRIKEOUTS SINCE 2012
Since 2012, Louisville's pitchers lead the nation in strikeouts with 1,828 overall (entering the week). The Cardinals, who have 161 strikeouts through the first 15 games of 2015, finished with 563 strikeouts last season, had an NCAA best 629 in 2013 and finished with 474 in 2012. Mississippi State ranks second since 2012 with 1,791 strikeouts, while Vanderbilt (1772), NC State (1768) and North Carolina (1742) round out the top five.
NINE CARDINALS MAKE COLLEGIATE DEBUTS IN 2015
A total of nine Cardinals made their collegiate debuts thus far in the 2015 season. During the Opening Weekend Challenge in Florida, Devin Hairston, Colby Fitch, Lincoln Henzman, Kade McClure, Brendan McKay and Blake Tiberi took the field for Louisville, while Butch Baird and Sean Leland saw their first chances for the Cardinals in the series against Arkansas State. On Feb. 24, Chandler Dale became the ninth player to see action with a relief appearance against Butler.
FUNKHOUSER EARNS ACC, NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS FEB. 16
Junior righthander Kyle Funkhouser was chosen as the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 16 while also being named as a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. He matched a career-high with 12 strikeouts and allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings to lead the seventh-ranked Cardinals to a 5-1 season-opening win over Alabama State on Feb. 13 at the Opening Weekend Challenge. Funkhouser retired the final 20 batters he faced and equaled his strikeout total at Temple last May and improved to 19-4 in his collegiate career with the performance.
CARDINALS ENTERED THIRD STRAIGHT SEASON WITH TOP 10 RANKING
Receiving its second highest preseason ranking in school history, Louisville entered 2015 ranked as highly as No. 7 in the USA Today preseason coaches poll. The ranking, which marked the third straight season the Cardinals are positioned in the top 10 in a preseason poll, was second to only the No. 4 ranking by Baseball America in 2013. Louisville was ranked in the top 12 in each of the five preseason national polls in 2015. The Cardinals were also at No. 9 in the Perfect Game preseason Top 25, No. 11 in the D1Baseball Top 25 and No. 12 in both the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls. Louisville was ranked in the preseason for the eighth straight season and the Cardinals have remained in the national polls every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings.
LOUISVILLE PICKED SECOND IN ACC ATLANTIC DIVISION
The Louisville baseball team was named as the second choice in the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division race by the league's head coaches. Entering their inaugural season in the ACC, the Cardinals received four first-place votes and 84 total points to trail only Florida State, winners of eight straight Atlantic titles and the top choice again in 2015 after garnering seven first-place votes and 91 points overall. Clemson was third with three first-place votes and 77 points and was followed by NC State (53 points), Wake Forest (39 points), Notre Dame (25 points) and Boston College (23 points).
Virginia, which reached the College World Series Finals last season, was named by 13 coaches as the top team in the Coastal Division (97 points) and was the preseason choice as overall champion by the coaches. Defending Coastal champion Miami received one vote for first place. The Cavaliers totaled 97 points in the voting and were followed by North Carolina (78 points), Miami (75 points and one first-place vote), reigning ACC Tournament champion Georgia Tech (54 points), Duke (43 points), Virginia Tech (24 points) and Pittsburgh (21 points).
STRONG WORK IN THE CLASSROOM CONTINUES FOR LOUISVILLE BASEBALL
The 2014 fall semester proved to be another good one for the Louisville baseball team in the classroom as the Cardinals earned a cumulative team GPA of 3.251 marking the seventh straight semester the team has finished above a 3.0 as a group. A total of 29 Louisville players finished the fall semester with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
FUNKHOUSER RECEIVES MULTIPLE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Junior righty Kyle Funkhouser was tabbed as a preseason First Team All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball newspaper, the NCBWA and Perfect Game while D1Baseball.com named him as a second team choice entering 2015. A native of Oak Forest, Ill., Funkhouser earned multiple All-American honors in 2014 finishing 13-3 overall with a 1.94 ERA and 122 strikeouts (third most at Louisville) in 120.1 innings pitched (second most at Louisville) as the Cardinals' ace. He was named First Team All-America by ABCA, a Second Team Louisville Slugger All-American by Collegiate Baseball newspaper, Second Team All-America by NCBWA and was Third Team All-American by both Baseball America and Perfect Game.
During his first two collegiate seasons in Louisville, Funkhouser was 18-4 on the mound with a 2.01 ERA and 177 strikeouts in 175.0 innings and 24 total starts. Last summer, he was 1-2 with a 1.27 ERA (four earned runs in 28.1 innings) and a team-high 36 strikeouts in six appearances and five starts for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
LUCAS, WHITING AND KIDSTON NAMED LOUISVILLE CAPTAINS IN 2015
Senior infielders Zach Lucas and Sutton Whiting and junior righthanded pitcher Anthony Kidston were chosen by Louisville players and coaches as team captains in 2015. A Third Team All-American Conference selection and a team captain in 2014, Lucas hit .270 with five home runs, 44 RBI and 13 doubles in 65 starts as a junior. In his first three collegiate seasons, the Louisville native had 120 career starts and played in 142 games.
A team captain last season, Whiting finished in the top five nationally with 37 stolen bases while hitting .216 with a .369 on-base percentage and 51 runs scored in 2014. Named to the 2014 NCAA Louisville Regional All-Tournament Team, Whiting had 123 career starts and played in 145 games overall during his first three seasons. As a sophomore, he earned Second Team All-BIG EAST accolades hitting .308 with 30 RBI, 41 runs scored and 24 stolen bases in 63 starts.
In two collegiate seasons, Kidston compiled a 14-1 record with a 2.60 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 124.2 innings pitched. Last season, he was 9-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 14 starts. In 2013, Kidston was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American finishing 5-0 with a 1.31 ERA.
FUNKHOUSER NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior righthander Kyle Funkhouser was named to the 50-player preseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list on released on Feb. 10. The preseason watch list features 50 of the nation's top amateur players, and will be a "rolling" list until May 22 -- when the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists are announced -- ensuring that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the collegiate and high school seasons. On April 9, USA Baseball will release its 60-man midseason watch list, shaped by the Golden Spikes Award committee. On May 22, USA Baseball will announce the semifinalists for the 2015 Golden Spikes Award. The semifinalists list will be sent to a voting body consisting of past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that follow the amateur game closely, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the 37 previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2015. Friday, May 22, marks the day when amateur baseball fans across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list. On Tuesday, June 3, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting will once again commence that same day. The 2015 Golden Spikes Award winner will be named on Tuesday, June 23, at a presentation in Los Angeles. The finalists and their families will be honored at the Rod Dedeaux Foundation Dinner that evening at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.
ACC BASEBALL TV SCHEDULE INCLUDES 23 LOUISVILLE GAMES
The Louisville baseball team has 23 regular season games slated for national and regional television coverage in 2015 as part of the Atlantic Coast Conference TV schedule. The Cardinals will make two appearances on ESPNU for "ACC Monday" matchups at Virginia on April 6 and at Clemson on May 4. Louisville will have 19 regular season games televised on ESPN3, including 16 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Additionally, the Cardinals will have two road games televised by the Regional Sports Network - May 2 at Clemson and May 16 at NC State. Additionally, each of the first 14 games of the ACC Championship on May 19-23 in Durham, N.C., will be televised by the Regional Sports Network, while the ACC Championship title game on May 24 at 1 p.m., ET will be carried by ESPN2. All of Louisville's remaining 17 home games not selected for national/regional television will be available for viewing through CardsTV at GoCards.com.
93.9 THE VILLE NEW RADIO HOME FOR LOUISVILLE IN 2015
Radio coverage will be provided for 53 regular season games and all postseason games for the Cardinals in 2015 with most of those airing on 93.9 The Ville. Selected games within that slate of 53 will be broadcast on 1450 WXVW. The 53 regular season broadcasts are the most ever for Louisville baseball and its radio partners.
With Sean Moth calling the action again this season, the radio schedule includes all 33 home games, three games each at ACC foes Virginia, Duke, Clemson and NC State, midweek games at Indiana, Ohio State, Cincinnati and Kentucky and all of the Cardinals' ACC Championship and NCAA Championship games. Additionally, all Louisville baseball radio broadcasts as well as streaming audio for the Cardinals' three games at the Clearwater Tournament during the opening weekend will be available to subscribers of CardsTV at GoCards.com.
ESPN Louisville, the group behind local stations ESPN 680 and 105.7 FM, announced on Jan. 26, 2015 the launch of 93.9 The Ville, Powered by ESPN. The station, which went live on Jan. 29 at 93.9 FM, provides coverage of the Cardinals through an official partnership with Louisville Sports Properties, which represents U of L athletics.
SIX CARDINALS NAMED TO PERFECT GAME TOP 100 LISTS
Louisville had six players named to the Perfect Game Top 100 class-by-class rankings released in January. Leading the way for the Cardinals was righthanded pitcher Kyle Funkhouser, who was slotted as the No. 2 junior in the nation by Perfect Game. 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. 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, lefthanded pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay was placed at No. 60 overall.
LOUISVILLE OVERCOMES DEPARTURES TO RETURN TO OMAHA IN 2014
As the only program to advance to the 2013 College World Series and then return to Omaha in 2014, Louisville did so despite numerous roster departures due to graduation and the MLB Draft. The Cardinals lost three seniors and seven juniors (all seven signed with MLB teams) from the record-setting, 51-win team in 2013, including five everyday position starters, three starting pitchers and one impact reliever. Statistically, Louisville lost 43 of its 65 starts on the mound (66 percent), 31 of its 51 wins (60 percent) and more than 54 percent of its innings pitched (323.1 of 589.2) from the 2013 team. Offensively, the Cardinals' departures accounted for 67 percent of the stolen bases (101 of 150), 55 percent of the team's RBI (200 of 361) and 51 percent of the extra-base hits (79 of 153).
CARDINALS IN SELECT COMPANY WITH ANOTHER 50-WIN SEASON IN 2014
Following the 2014 College World Series, Louisville was one of only three programs to have three or more 50-win seasons over the last five years. Louisville (2010, 2013, 2014), Virginia (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014) and Vanderbilt (2011, 2013, 2014) are the three schools with three or more 50-win seasons since 2010. Only five schools, including Louisville, have more than one 50-win season over that span -- Louisville (3), Virginia (4), Vanderbilt (3), North Carolina (2), South Carolina (2).
LOUISVILLE IN A GROUP OF 16 SCHOOLS WITH FOUR OR MORE NCAA SUPER REGIONAL APPEARANCES IN LAST EIGHT SEASONS
Louisville is one of 16 Division I schools with four or more NCAA Super Regional appearances in the last eight seasons (since 2007). Joining the Cardinals on this impressive list is Florida State (7), Arizona State (5), Cal State Fullerton (5), North Carolina (5), South Carolina (5), Virginia (5), Florida (4), LSU (4), Rice (4), Stanford (4), Texas (4), TCU (4), UC Irvine (4) UCLA (4) and Vanderbilt (4).
CARDINALS AMONG 11 SCHOOLS TO HOST FOUR OR MORE NCAA REGIONALS IN LAST SIX YEARS
Louisville is one of just 11 Division I schools to have hosted four or more NCAA Regionals over the last six seasons (since 2009). That list includes seven schools serving as hosts for 2014 Regionals -- Florida (5), Florida State (5), Louisville (4), LSU (4), Rice (4), South Carolina (5), TCU (4) and Virginia (5). Also joining that group are Cal State Fullerton (4), North Carolina (4) and UCLA (4).
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.
