Wednesday, March 2
LOUISVILLE, KY
3:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
MOREHEAD STATE
Lincoln Henzman has three scoreless relief appearances to lead the Louisville bullpen.
Louisville-Morehead State Postponed Until Wednesday
February 29, 2016 | Baseball
First pitch for Cardinals and Eagles set for Wednesday at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Due to expected inclement weather, the fourth-ranked Louisville baseball team's midweek home game against Morehead State set for Tuesday afternoon has been postponed and rescheduled for Wednesday at 3 p.m., ET. The game will kick off a 10-game homestand for the Cardinals at Jim Patterson Stadium. Television coverage of the game will be available through CardsTV at GoCards.com, while 1450 WXVW will have the radio broadcast. Live stats for all Louisville baseball games are available at GoCards.com.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Down two spots to No. 4 in this week's Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls, Louisville suffered its first road series loss since 2014 last weekend dropping two of three at then-No. 21 Ole Miss. The loss also halted Louisville's streak of nine straight regular season series wins against ranked opponents. The Cardinals enter the third week of the season at 5-2 overall as junior outfielder Corey Ray paces the offense carrying a .536 average with four home runs, 11 RBI, 14 runs scored and six stolen bases through seven games.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Morehead State enters the week at 6-2 after winning three of our games last weekend at the College Spring Swing in Emerson, Ga. Led by fourth year head coach Mike McGuire, the Eagles were 38-22 last season and finished second in the OVC with a 20-10 conference mark. MSU won the OVC Tournament to earn a berth in the NCAA Championship, where they went 0-2 at the NCAA Louisville Regional falling to the Cardinals and Bradley.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville holds a 45-35 lead in the all-time series with Morehead State, which dates back to 1936. The Cardinals have won 15 straight against the Eagles, including a 7-2 victory in last year's NCAA Regional contest.
MCKAY NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore lefthander Brendan McKay was chosen Monday as the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week. McKay registered his first collegiate complete game to lead the Cardinals to a 4-0 road win over Ole Miss on Feb. 27. He had eight strikeouts and allowed just three hits with no walks to improve to 2-0 on the season and 11-3 in his collegiate career. The outing marked the ninth time McKay has struck out eight or more in his career. In his two starts this season, he has 16 strikeouts with just four walks and has surrendered only six hits and no runs in 14.0 innings. McKay, whose shutout streak has reached 19.0 consecutive innings dating back to last season, has a 1.55 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 110.2 career innings.
FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won more than 75 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 281-90 record (.757 winning percentage), including a 4-0 mark this season at the corner of Third and Central.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• Through seven games, Louisville's bullpen has a 2.05 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 22.0 innings.
• Collectively, the Cardinals are hitting .340 with four players hitting .417 or better while starting all seven games.
• Louisville has won 144 straight games when entering the ninth inning with a lead dating back to May 2012. The Cardinals were 43-0 last season and 46-0 in 2013 when leading after the eighth.
• The Cardinals are 13-for-14 on stolen bases during the first two weeks of the season continuing the aggressive approach from head coach Dan McDonnell. Louisville was fourth nationally with 127 stolen bases last season, second in the nation in 2014 with 133 and second in 2013 with 150.
• Through the 65-game season in 2015, the Louisville bullpen had a 1.82 ERA with a 22-2 record, 229 strikeouts to just 97 walks in 222.0 innings and opposing batters hit only .175.
• In 30 ACC games last season, the Cardinals had a staff ERA of 2.66 with 258 strikeouts in 277.0 innings.
• The Cardinals allowed two or fewer earned runs in 36 of 65 games last season. In 2014, they did it in 40 of 67 games, while in 2013, they accomplished the feat in 36 of 65 games.
• From March 21 to April 10 of last season, the Cardinals played 83 consecutive innings against ACC opponents without trailing.
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
• Corey Ray was named ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 22 after hitting .667 (6-for-9) with two home runs, seven RBI, nine runs scored and was 6-for-6 on stolen bases in three games against SIU Edwardsville.
• Hitting in the leadoff spot, Ray is 5-for-7 in the first inning this season with two home runs, one double and five runs scored.
• Nine of Ray's 15 career home runs have either tied the score or given Louisville a lead.
• Both Ray and Blake Tiberi have hit safely in all seven games this season. Devin Hairston, Danny Rosenbaum and Nick Solak have reached base safely in all seven games this season.
• Kyle Funkhouser continues his climb up Louisville's career pitching charts ranking second in wins (27), second in strikeouts (290), fourth in starts (43) and fifth in innings pitched (296.0). He also holds the school record for single season wins with 13 in 2014.
• As the first player in Dan McDonnell's tenure as head coach to start on the mound and play virtually every day as a position player/hitter, Brendan McKay was 9-3 with four saves, a 1.77 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 96.2 innings pitched. At the plate, he hit .308 with four home runs, 34 RBI, 32 runs scored and 38 walks in 58 starts as a hitter.
• McKay has recorded eight strikeouts in each of his first two starts this season and finished with eight or more strikeouts nine times in his young career.
• Nick Solak set a school record for walks in a single game earning five free passes in Louisville's 12-0 win over SIUE on Feb. 20.
• Highlighted by a career-best 20-game hitting streak last season, Solak was one of the team's best offensive players hitting .324 average with a team-high 15 doubles, three home runs, 40 RBI, 47 runs scored and 18 stolen bases.
LOUISVILLE IN NATIONAL POLLS EVERY WEEK SINCE BEGINNING OF 2012
The Louisville baseball program has enjoyed a historic run by remaining in at least one of the major national polls every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such span in school history. The unanimous choice as the No. 2 team in the nation in the six national preseason polls, the Cardinals have received a preseason top 10 ranking in four straight seasons (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) and have earned a preseason national ranking in nine straight seasons (2008-2016) overall. The No. 2 ranking is the highest preseason ranking in program history for Louisville, two spots better than their previous preseason high of No. 4 by Baseball America during the 2013 College World Series season. The No. 2 ranking also equals the best overall ranking in history.
CARDINALS OPENED AT HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2010
The three-game sweep of SIU Edwardsville on Feb. 19-21 marked the first time Louisville has opened a season at home since earning a weekend sweep against Bowling Green State in 2010. The Cardinals have opened each of the last seven seasons by winning at least two of their three games during the opening weekend.
LOUISVILLE TABBED AS ACC FAVORITE BY CONFERENCE HEAD COACHES
Louisville was selected as the 2016 ACC preseason favorite in a vote of the conference's 14 head coaches. The Cardinals were a unanimous selection as the team to beat in both the Atlantic Division and in the conference. Louisville, which set an ACC record for conference wins with a 25-5 mark last season, tallied 98 points while Florida State was the second choice in the division with 74 points. NC State was third (72) and was followed by Notre Dame (50), Clemson (46), Wake Forest (35) and Boston College (17). Miami, which reached the College World Series last year, was named by 13 coaches as the favorite in the Coastal Division. Defending national champion Virginia received one vote for first place in the division and was second with 80 points, followed by North Carolina (71), Georgia Tech (58), Duke (38), Virginia Tech (30), and Pitt (18).
FIVE CARDINALS RECEIVE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITION
Senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser, junior pitcher Zack Burdi, junior infielder Nick Solak, junior outfielder Corey Ray and sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay earned preseason All-America accolades from various organizations for 2016. Burdi, Funkhouser, McKay and Ray were named preseason All-Americans by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball newspaper, D1Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game. Additionally, Solak was named as a preseason All-American by D1Baseball and Perfect Game.
BURDI, SMITH AND SOLAK NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2016
Junior righthanded pitcher Zack Burdi, junior catcher Will Smith and junior infielder Nick Solak were chosen by Louisville players and coaches as team captains for the Cardinals baseball team in 2016. Burdi was a Third Team Louisville Slugger All-American and All-ACC First Team selection last season while earning a 6-1 record with nine saves and a 0.92 ERA in 20 relief appearances. Smith started 47 games behind the plate in 2015 hitting .242 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Solak emerged as one of Louisville's top offensive players in 2015 hitting .324 with three home runs, 40 RBI, 15 doubles and 18 stolen bases while starting all 65 games.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
| GAME DAY INFORMATION #4 Louisville vs. Morehead State Location: Louisville, Ky. Venue: Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000) Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball Series History: No previous meetings Game Notes: Louisville | Morehead State Wednesday, March 2 | 3:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: CardsTV | Radio: 1450 WXVW (Listen) LOU: So. RHP Kade McClure (1-0, 0.00 ERA) MSU: Sr. RHP Patrick McGuff (0-1, 10.50 ERA) |
Down two spots to No. 4 in this week's Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls, Louisville suffered its first road series loss since 2014 last weekend dropping two of three at then-No. 21 Ole Miss. The loss also halted Louisville's streak of nine straight regular season series wins against ranked opponents. The Cardinals enter the third week of the season at 5-2 overall as junior outfielder Corey Ray paces the offense carrying a .536 average with four home runs, 11 RBI, 14 runs scored and six stolen bases through seven games.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Morehead State enters the week at 6-2 after winning three of our games last weekend at the College Spring Swing in Emerson, Ga. Led by fourth year head coach Mike McGuire, the Eagles were 38-22 last season and finished second in the OVC with a 20-10 conference mark. MSU won the OVC Tournament to earn a berth in the NCAA Championship, where they went 0-2 at the NCAA Louisville Regional falling to the Cardinals and Bradley.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville holds a 45-35 lead in the all-time series with Morehead State, which dates back to 1936. The Cardinals have won 15 straight against the Eagles, including a 7-2 victory in last year's NCAA Regional contest.
MCKAY NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore lefthander Brendan McKay was chosen Monday as the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week. McKay registered his first collegiate complete game to lead the Cardinals to a 4-0 road win over Ole Miss on Feb. 27. He had eight strikeouts and allowed just three hits with no walks to improve to 2-0 on the season and 11-3 in his collegiate career. The outing marked the ninth time McKay has struck out eight or more in his career. In his two starts this season, he has 16 strikeouts with just four walks and has surrendered only six hits and no runs in 14.0 innings. McKay, whose shutout streak has reached 19.0 consecutive innings dating back to last season, has a 1.55 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 110.2 career innings.
FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won more than 75 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 281-90 record (.757 winning percentage), including a 4-0 mark this season at the corner of Third and Central.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• Through seven games, Louisville's bullpen has a 2.05 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 22.0 innings.
• Collectively, the Cardinals are hitting .340 with four players hitting .417 or better while starting all seven games.
• Louisville has won 144 straight games when entering the ninth inning with a lead dating back to May 2012. The Cardinals were 43-0 last season and 46-0 in 2013 when leading after the eighth.
• The Cardinals are 13-for-14 on stolen bases during the first two weeks of the season continuing the aggressive approach from head coach Dan McDonnell. Louisville was fourth nationally with 127 stolen bases last season, second in the nation in 2014 with 133 and second in 2013 with 150.
• Through the 65-game season in 2015, the Louisville bullpen had a 1.82 ERA with a 22-2 record, 229 strikeouts to just 97 walks in 222.0 innings and opposing batters hit only .175.
• In 30 ACC games last season, the Cardinals had a staff ERA of 2.66 with 258 strikeouts in 277.0 innings.
• The Cardinals allowed two or fewer earned runs in 36 of 65 games last season. In 2014, they did it in 40 of 67 games, while in 2013, they accomplished the feat in 36 of 65 games.
• From March 21 to April 10 of last season, the Cardinals played 83 consecutive innings against ACC opponents without trailing.
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
• Corey Ray was named ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 22 after hitting .667 (6-for-9) with two home runs, seven RBI, nine runs scored and was 6-for-6 on stolen bases in three games against SIU Edwardsville.
• Hitting in the leadoff spot, Ray is 5-for-7 in the first inning this season with two home runs, one double and five runs scored.
• Nine of Ray's 15 career home runs have either tied the score or given Louisville a lead.
• Both Ray and Blake Tiberi have hit safely in all seven games this season. Devin Hairston, Danny Rosenbaum and Nick Solak have reached base safely in all seven games this season.
• Kyle Funkhouser continues his climb up Louisville's career pitching charts ranking second in wins (27), second in strikeouts (290), fourth in starts (43) and fifth in innings pitched (296.0). He also holds the school record for single season wins with 13 in 2014.
• As the first player in Dan McDonnell's tenure as head coach to start on the mound and play virtually every day as a position player/hitter, Brendan McKay was 9-3 with four saves, a 1.77 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 96.2 innings pitched. At the plate, he hit .308 with four home runs, 34 RBI, 32 runs scored and 38 walks in 58 starts as a hitter.
• McKay has recorded eight strikeouts in each of his first two starts this season and finished with eight or more strikeouts nine times in his young career.
• Nick Solak set a school record for walks in a single game earning five free passes in Louisville's 12-0 win over SIUE on Feb. 20.
• Highlighted by a career-best 20-game hitting streak last season, Solak was one of the team's best offensive players hitting .324 average with a team-high 15 doubles, three home runs, 40 RBI, 47 runs scored and 18 stolen bases.
LOUISVILLE IN NATIONAL POLLS EVERY WEEK SINCE BEGINNING OF 2012
The Louisville baseball program has enjoyed a historic run by remaining in at least one of the major national polls every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such span in school history. The unanimous choice as the No. 2 team in the nation in the six national preseason polls, the Cardinals have received a preseason top 10 ranking in four straight seasons (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) and have earned a preseason national ranking in nine straight seasons (2008-2016) overall. The No. 2 ranking is the highest preseason ranking in program history for Louisville, two spots better than their previous preseason high of No. 4 by Baseball America during the 2013 College World Series season. The No. 2 ranking also equals the best overall ranking in history.
CARDINALS OPENED AT HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2010
The three-game sweep of SIU Edwardsville on Feb. 19-21 marked the first time Louisville has opened a season at home since earning a weekend sweep against Bowling Green State in 2010. The Cardinals have opened each of the last seven seasons by winning at least two of their three games during the opening weekend.
LOUISVILLE TABBED AS ACC FAVORITE BY CONFERENCE HEAD COACHES
Louisville was selected as the 2016 ACC preseason favorite in a vote of the conference's 14 head coaches. The Cardinals were a unanimous selection as the team to beat in both the Atlantic Division and in the conference. Louisville, which set an ACC record for conference wins with a 25-5 mark last season, tallied 98 points while Florida State was the second choice in the division with 74 points. NC State was third (72) and was followed by Notre Dame (50), Clemson (46), Wake Forest (35) and Boston College (17). Miami, which reached the College World Series last year, was named by 13 coaches as the favorite in the Coastal Division. Defending national champion Virginia received one vote for first place in the division and was second with 80 points, followed by North Carolina (71), Georgia Tech (58), Duke (38), Virginia Tech (30), and Pitt (18).
FIVE CARDINALS RECEIVE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITION
Senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser, junior pitcher Zack Burdi, junior infielder Nick Solak, junior outfielder Corey Ray and sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay earned preseason All-America accolades from various organizations for 2016. Burdi, Funkhouser, McKay and Ray were named preseason All-Americans by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball newspaper, D1Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game. Additionally, Solak was named as a preseason All-American by D1Baseball and Perfect Game.
BURDI, SMITH AND SOLAK NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2016
Junior righthanded pitcher Zack Burdi, junior catcher Will Smith and junior infielder Nick Solak were chosen by Louisville players and coaches as team captains for the Cardinals baseball team in 2016. Burdi was a Third Team Louisville Slugger All-American and All-ACC First Team selection last season while earning a 6-1 record with nine saves and a 0.92 ERA in 20 relief appearances. Smith started 47 games behind the plate in 2015 hitting .242 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Solak emerged as one of Louisville's top offensive players in 2015 hitting .324 with three home runs, 40 RBI, 15 doubles and 18 stolen bases while starting all 65 games.
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