Vrable’s Vikings Take Pizza Bowl Opener, 5-0
October 13, 2016 | Baseball
Hoeing pitches five scoreless innings in the win; Taylor and Lyman combine for five hits, two RBI and two runs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Redshirt freshman righthander Bryan Hoeing pitched five shutout innings and senior outfielders Colin Lyman and Logan Taylor combined for five hits as Vrable's Vikings opened the University of Louisville baseball team's 11th annual Pizza Bowl series with a 5-0 win over Strader's Raiders in Game 1 on Thursday at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Hoeing finished with four strikeouts and allowed just two hits and two walks without surrendering a run to earn the victory for the Vikings. Junior lefty Rabon Martin followed Hoeing with a scoreless inning of relief, freshman righty Austin Dickey added two shutout innings and junior righty Lincoln Henzman worked a scoreless ninth to close the shutout for the Vikings.
Taylor paced the way at the plate finishing 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored, while Lyman was 2-of-4 with a two-run double. Freshman infielder Tyler Fitzgerald added two hits and scored once and junior catcher Colby Fitch chipped in with a RBI single, one walk and two runs scored. Sophomore infielder Drew Ellis was the lone bright spot offensively for the Raiders finishing 2-for-4 with a double in the loss.
Strader's Raiders will attempt to even the series in Game 2 on Friday at 2:30 p.m., ET as junior lefthander Brendan McKay gets the start against junior righty Kade McClure. Batting practice will begin at 1:15 p.m., and admission is free.
PIZZA BOWL ROSTERS
The two teams in this year's Pizza Bowl series are guided by assistant coach Adam Vrable and former Louisville pitcher Robert Strader, a student assistant this fall and a pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles organization. The roster for Strader's Raiders includes Michael Bollmer, Sam Bordner, Noah Burkholder, Chandler Dale, Drew Ellis, Daniel Fischer, Shane Hummel, Justin Lavey, Daniel Little, Michael McAvene, Matt McCarty, Brendan McKay, J.D. Mundt, Zeke Pinkham, Pat Rumoro, Phillip Sanderson, Josh Stowers, Ethan Stringer, Ryan Summers, Riley Thompson and Adam Wolf. The Vrable's Vikings roster features Nick Bennett, Austin Clemons, Austin Dickey, Adam Elliott, Colby Fitch, Tyler Fitzgerald, Lincoln Henzman, Bryan Hoeing, Colin Lyman, Devin Mann, Rabon Martin, Kade McClure, Danny Oriente, Shay Smiddy, Ryan Smith, Jake Sparger, Hunter Sullivan, Logan Taylor, Mac Welsh and Logan Wyatt.
ABOUT THE PIZZA BOWL
Upon his hiring as Louisville head coach in the summer of 2006, Dan McDonnell immediately created an atmosphere of competition throughout the University of Louisville baseball program. Whether it's through conditioning in the Omaha Challenge, or in preseason scrimmages, McDonnell believes in creating competitive situations to give his players numerous opportunities to prepare for what they will see during conference and postseason games.
One of the most effective ways McDonnell and his coaching staff can provide the Louisville players with those competitive, game-like situations is through the annual Pizza Bowl series. Following approximately six weeks of fall practice sessions, the Cardinals take to the field for what started as a one-game scrimmage in the fall of 2006 and has become an ultra-competitive three-game or five-game intra-squad series. The winning team is rewarded by being served as much pizza as it would like by the losing squad, which in turn shares what is left. The Pizza Bowl series has become an exciting and highly anticipated ending to the fall for Louisville coaches, players and fans.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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