Baseball Notebook: Cardinals to Host Open Scrimmages Saturday, Sunday
January 28, 2016 | Baseball
Weekend scrimmages at Patterson Stadium set for Saturday at 11 a.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Today's Louisville Cardinals baseball notebook is highlighted this weekend's open scrimmage schedule at Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville, ranked second in five preseason national polls and the favorite to win the ACC title in 2016, officially opens preseason practice on Friday afternoon before hosting scrimmages on Saturday at 11 a.m., ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. Gates at Jim Patterson Stadium will open one hour prior to first pitch each day for pregame batting practice.
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BUSY OPENING DAY OF PRACTICE ON TAP FOR THE CARDINALS
Prior to the weekend scrimmages at Jim Patterson Stadium, the Louisville baseball team will conduct its first official practice for the 2016 season during a busy Friday. Following a mid-afternoon practice session at the ballpark, the Cardinals will arrive at the Louisville Marriott Downtown for the 14th annual Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank. Six-time Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays will be the featured guest for the event, which is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., ET. A recap of the dinner and practice as well as photos and interviews with Bautista Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell will be available at GoCards.com on Friday night.
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LOUISVILLE PLAYERS CONTINUE RECEIVING HIGH MARKS IN PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Louisville baseball team has been featured prominently on preseason player rankings in recent days. Six Cardinals landed in the D1Baseball.com 2016 Top 300 Prospects list -- junior outfielder Corey Ray (6), senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser (12), junior pitcher Zack Burdi (29), junior pitcher Drew Harrington (82), junior infielder Nick Solak (95) and redshirt sophomore infielder Blake Tiberi (167). Louisville also had a trio of players on the D1Baseball.com 2017 Top 100 Prospects list – sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay (4), sophomore pitcher Kade McClure (48) and sophomore pitcher Lincoln Henzman (52).
The Cardinals were also well represented on the Perfect Game class rankings with 12 players included across the four lists. Funkhouser led the way as the No. 1 senior nation, while Ray (4), Burdi (21) and Solak (93) were ranked in the junior class. The sophomore rankings featured McKay (6), Tiberi (80), pitcher Sean Leland (86) and Henzman (92), while the freshmen class was represented by pitchers Bryan Hoeing (64), Riley Thompson (88), Adam Wolf (93) and Sam Bordner (96).
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CARDINALS TO FEATURE 16 UNIFORM COMBINATIONS FOR 2016
Last Thursday, the off-the-field preseason preparations for the Cardinals continued with a photo session inside the team complex at Jim Patterson Stadium. During the one-hour session, Louisville players donned each of the team's 16 regular season uniform combinations for the 2016 campaign. Each game day throughout the season, Louisville's official adidas uniform for that day will be unveiled through the UofL baseball Twitter account, @UofLBaseball. For their 56-game regular season slate in 2016, the uniform options for the Cardinals will include six different caps, 12 jerseys and nine pants. The photo session also included studio shots to be used on the numerous ESPN telecasts slated for Louisville this season. The 2016 TV schedule for the Cardinals is expected to be released in early February.
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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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BUSY OPENING DAY OF PRACTICE ON TAP FOR THE CARDINALS
Prior to the weekend scrimmages at Jim Patterson Stadium, the Louisville baseball team will conduct its first official practice for the 2016 season during a busy Friday. Following a mid-afternoon practice session at the ballpark, the Cardinals will arrive at the Louisville Marriott Downtown for the 14th annual Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank. Six-time Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays will be the featured guest for the event, which is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., ET. A recap of the dinner and practice as well as photos and interviews with Bautista Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell will be available at GoCards.com on Friday night.
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LOUISVILLE PLAYERS CONTINUE RECEIVING HIGH MARKS IN PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Louisville baseball team has been featured prominently on preseason player rankings in recent days. Six Cardinals landed in the D1Baseball.com 2016 Top 300 Prospects list -- junior outfielder Corey Ray (6), senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser (12), junior pitcher Zack Burdi (29), junior pitcher Drew Harrington (82), junior infielder Nick Solak (95) and redshirt sophomore infielder Blake Tiberi (167). Louisville also had a trio of players on the D1Baseball.com 2017 Top 100 Prospects list – sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay (4), sophomore pitcher Kade McClure (48) and sophomore pitcher Lincoln Henzman (52).
The Cardinals were also well represented on the Perfect Game class rankings with 12 players included across the four lists. Funkhouser led the way as the No. 1 senior nation, while Ray (4), Burdi (21) and Solak (93) were ranked in the junior class. The sophomore rankings featured McKay (6), Tiberi (80), pitcher Sean Leland (86) and Henzman (92), while the freshmen class was represented by pitchers Bryan Hoeing (64), Riley Thompson (88), Adam Wolf (93) and Sam Bordner (96).
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Last Thursday, the off-the-field preseason preparations for the Cardinals continued with a photo session inside the team complex at Jim Patterson Stadium. During the one-hour session, Louisville players donned each of the team's 16 regular season uniform combinations for the 2016 campaign. Each game day throughout the season, Louisville's official adidas uniform for that day will be unveiled through the UofL baseball Twitter account, @UofLBaseball. For their 56-game regular season slate in 2016, the uniform options for the Cardinals will include six different caps, 12 jerseys and nine pants. The photo session also included studio shots to be used on the numerous ESPN telecasts slated for Louisville this season. The 2016 TV schedule for the Cardinals is expected to be released in early February.
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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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