Friday, March 25
LOUISVILLE, KY
6:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
VIRGINIA
Louisville and Virginia Clash in Top 10 Showdown at Patterson Stadium
March 24, 2016 | Baseball
No.7 Cardinals & No.9 Cavaliers set for Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.) & Sunday (1 p.m.)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the second straight weekend, the No. 7 Louisville baseball team will face a top 10 opponent as No. 9 Virginia visits Jim Patterson Stadium for a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m., ET. The Cardinals and Cavaliers are also slated for Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games of the series will be televised by ESPN3 while 93.9 The Ville will provide radio coverage throughout the weekend. Live stats for all Louisville baseball games are available at GoCards.com.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Ranked as high as No. 7 in this week's Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, Louisville is playing a weekend series against a top 25 opponent for the third time in six weeks after visiting No. 5 Miami last week and No. 21 Ole Miss on Feb. 26-28. Through two weeks of ACC action, the Cardinals are one game out of first place in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 4-2 record. On the mound, Louisville has four shutouts while allowing two or fewer earned runs in 13 of its 21 outings. The pitching staff is ranked third in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings pitched at 5.77 and seventh with a 2.31 team ERA. Offensively, the Cardinals are ranked 11th nationally with a .326 team batting average and 18th in on-base percentage at .413.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
Virginia enters the weekend at 16-6 overall after earning a 15-6 win over James Madison on Tuesday and 4-2 in the ACC behind series wins over Duke and Wake Forest. Under the guidance of Brian O'Connor, who is in his 13th season as head coach, the Cavaliers were 44-24 last season en route to winning the program's first NCAA title. After finishing 15-15 in the ACC and narrowly making the NCAA Championship, Virginia was 10-2 in NCAA postseason games, including a pair of wins over Vanderbilt in the College World Series Finals.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville holds a 3-0 lead in the all-time series with Virginia earning a three-game sweep of the Cavaliers in Charlottesville last season. The Cardinals won 8-1, 11-4 and 4-0 handing Virginia its first home sweep since 2012.
YEAR TWO IN THE ACC FOR LOUISVILLE
A year after setting the single season record for conference wins in its debut season with a 25-5 ACC mark, Louisville kicked off its second season in the league with a trio of wins against Notre Dame on March 11-12 before suffering its first series loss at Miami on March 18-20. The Cardinals have complied a 29-7 record in the ACC during its first two seasons, including a 16-2 mark at home.
FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won more than 76 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 291-90 record (.763 winning percentage), including a 14-0 mark this season at the corner of Third and Central.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• Collectively, the Cardinals are hitting .326 (11th nationally) with five players hitting .330 or better while starting at least 14 games.
• Louisville has won 155 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 47-of-56 on stolen bases this season (fourth nationally) 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.
• Conversely, Louisville's opponents are just 8-for-20 on stolen bases this season as Will Smith has allowed just four of 11 attempts.
• Louisville has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 of 21 game this season, a feat achieved in 36 of 65 games last season. In 2014, they did it in 40 of 67 games, while in 2013, they accomplished the task in 36 of 65 games.
• The Cardinals are third in the nation in hits allowed per 9 IP surrendering just 5.77, No. 4 nationally in WHIP (1.01), No. 7 in ERA at 2.31, 11th in batting average at .326, No. 14 in fielding percentage at 0.980, No. 17 in slugging percentage (.489), 18th in on-base percentage (.413) and 18th in strikeouts per 9 IP (9.4).
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
Nick Solak: Solak has reached base safely in all 21 games this season and has a streak of 33 straight games reaching base safely dating back to last season.
• Solak ranks fifth nationally in on-base percentage (.570), eighth with 28 runs scored and ninth in hitting with a .461 average.
• Solak set a school record with five walks in Louisville's 12-0 win over SIUE on Feb. 20.
• In four games from March 8-12, Solak hit .471 with four RBI, five runs scored, four stolen bases and a game-winning walk-off home run in the 11th inning against Notre Dame on March 11.
Corey Ray: Ray leads the nation with 23 stolen bases (on 26 attempts) this season and ranks 29th nationally with his six home runs.
• 10 of Ray's 17 career home runs have either tied the score or given Louisville a lead.
Blake Tiberi: Tiberi leads the Cardinals with 12 multiple-hit games and is second on the team with five multiple-RBI games this season.
• Tiberi connected for two home runs in last week's series at Miami and has eight career home runs in 166 collegiate at-bats.
Devin Hairston: Hairston ranks third on the team with nine multiple-hit games and second in multiple-RBI games with five.
Colby Fitch: Fitch has hit safely in all eight games he has started this season and has a .520 average with four doubles, one home run, five RBI and eight runs scored in those eight starts.
Kyle Funkhouser: Funkhouser continues his climb up Louisville's career pitching charts ranking first in strikeouts (308) and innings pitched (316.0), second in wins (28) and third in starts (46). He also holds the school record for single season wins with 13 in 2014.
Brendan McKay: McKay has recorded eight or more strikeouts in four of his five starts this season and has finished with eight or more strikeouts 11 times in his career. On March 11, he had a career-best 13 strikeouts against Notre Dame, the most for a Louisville pitchers since 2003.
• McKay is 16th in the nation with 42 strikeouts and 18th in hits allowed per 9 IP at 4.36.
• In 15 career appearances on the mound at home (including 10 starts), McKay is 10-0 with four saves, a 1.00 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched.
Drew Harrington: Harrington has won three straight starts and ranks 41st in the nation in strikeouts-to-walk ratio at 8.25 (33 strikeouts, four walks).
Kade McClure: McClure has won all five midweek starts this season and ranks sixth in the nation in WHIP at 0.67 and 13th in hits allowed per 9 IP (4.00).
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 was 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 equaled the best overall ranking in history.
TRIPLE DIGITS ON THE RADAR GUN FOR BURDI
Junior righty closer Zack Burdi has reached 100 mph on the Jim Patterson Stadium radar gun on two different occasions this season, including once on a swing-and-miss strike three in the 11th inning of Louisville's March 11 win over Notre Dame. Last season, Burdi touched 101 mph on the scoreboard at Clemson's Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
MCKAY NAMED NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Sophomore lefty Brendan McKay was selected as the National Pitcher of the Month for February by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. One of the top two-way players in the nation, McKay has been nearly untouchable to start 2016. The Darlington, Pennsylvania, native boasts a perfect 0.00 ERA in 14 innings across two starts, including a three-hit shutout at No. 21 Ole Miss on Feb. 27. McKay was named ACC Pitcher of the Week for that performance, where he struck out eight Rebels and didn't issue a walk.
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.
FUNKHOUSER CHOSEN AS CANDIDATE FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Kyle Funkhouser was selected on March 14 as a candidate for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate baseball. Funkhouser was among 30 baseball student-athletes, who excel both on and off the diamond, chosen to receive consideration for the prestigious award. Funkhouser becomes the second Louisville player in the last three seasons to be selected as a candidate for the award joining former Cardinals outfielder Jeff Gardner, who was chosen as one of 10 finalists for the honor in 2014. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 College World Series in June. For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
CARDINALS ON THE NATIONAL WATCH LISTS
The Louisville baseball program is well represented on the early season watch lists for multiple national awards. Here is the current list of Cardinals on those watch lists:
• GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST: Kyle Funkhouser, Brendan McKay & Corey Ray
Kyle Funkhouser, Corey Ray and Brendan McKay were named to the 50-player preseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list released Feb. 16. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 39th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 30 in Los Angeles to the top amateur baseball player in the country. The preseason watch list features 50 of the nation's top amateur players, from high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the season. Louisville and Florida lead all schools in representation with three players each on the list. Funkhouser is among four players named to the preseason watch list for the second consecutive year, while McKay is one of just two players on the watch list who were also named as semifinalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award in 2015.
• STOPPER OF THE YEAR AWARD WATCH LIST: Zack Burdi
Zack Burdi was named on Feb. 15 to the initial watch list for the 12th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. The 2016 Stopper of the Year Watch List will be updated with a midseason release on Wednesday, April 27, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 8, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional competition. The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced at the 2016 College World Series. Previous winners of the award include former Louisville standout and 2014 recipient Nick Burdi, older brother of Zack.
• JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST: Will Smith
Will Smith was named March 9 to the official watch list for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award as announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. The award is given annually to the top NCAA Division I catcher. The watch list will be narrowed to the semifinalists on May 18, 2016. Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 6, 2016. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 19th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 30, 2016.
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.
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).
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 (Promotions) #7 Louisville vs. #9 Virginia Location: Louisville, Ky. Venue: Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000) Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball Series History: Louisville leads 3-0 all-time Game Notes: Louisville | Virginia Friday, March 25 | 6:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ESPN3 (Watch) | Radio: 93.9 The Ville (Listen) LOU: Sr. RHP Kyle Funkhouser (2-1, 4.40 ERA) UVA: Jr. RHP Connor Jones (4-0, 1.56 ERA) Saturday, March 26 | 1:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ESPN3 (Watch) | Radio: 93.9 The Ville (Listen) LOU: So. LHP Brendan McKay (4-1, 1.09 ERA) UVA: Fr. LHP Daniel Lynch (1-1, 5.06 ERA) Sunday, March 27 | 1:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: ESPN3 (Watch) | Radio: 93.9 The Ville (Listen) LOU: Jr. LHP Drew Harrington (4-1, 1.74 ERA) UVA: So. RHP Tommy Doyle (1-2, 4.65 ERA) |
Ranked as high as No. 7 in this week's Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, Louisville is playing a weekend series against a top 25 opponent for the third time in six weeks after visiting No. 5 Miami last week and No. 21 Ole Miss on Feb. 26-28. Through two weeks of ACC action, the Cardinals are one game out of first place in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 4-2 record. On the mound, Louisville has four shutouts while allowing two or fewer earned runs in 13 of its 21 outings. The pitching staff is ranked third in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings pitched at 5.77 and seventh with a 2.31 team ERA. Offensively, the Cardinals are ranked 11th nationally with a .326 team batting average and 18th in on-base percentage at .413.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
Virginia enters the weekend at 16-6 overall after earning a 15-6 win over James Madison on Tuesday and 4-2 in the ACC behind series wins over Duke and Wake Forest. Under the guidance of Brian O'Connor, who is in his 13th season as head coach, the Cavaliers were 44-24 last season en route to winning the program's first NCAA title. After finishing 15-15 in the ACC and narrowly making the NCAA Championship, Virginia was 10-2 in NCAA postseason games, including a pair of wins over Vanderbilt in the College World Series Finals.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisville holds a 3-0 lead in the all-time series with Virginia earning a three-game sweep of the Cavaliers in Charlottesville last season. The Cardinals won 8-1, 11-4 and 4-0 handing Virginia its first home sweep since 2012.
YEAR TWO IN THE ACC FOR LOUISVILLE
A year after setting the single season record for conference wins in its debut season with a 25-5 ACC mark, Louisville kicked off its second season in the league with a trio of wins against Notre Dame on March 11-12 before suffering its first series loss at Miami on March 18-20. The Cardinals have complied a 29-7 record in the ACC during its first two seasons, including a 16-2 mark at home.
FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won more than 76 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 291-90 record (.763 winning percentage), including a 14-0 mark this season at the corner of Third and Central.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• Collectively, the Cardinals are hitting .326 (11th nationally) with five players hitting .330 or better while starting at least 14 games.
• Louisville has won 155 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 47-of-56 on stolen bases this season (fourth nationally) 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.
• Conversely, Louisville's opponents are just 8-for-20 on stolen bases this season as Will Smith has allowed just four of 11 attempts.
• Louisville has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 13 of 21 game this season, a feat achieved in 36 of 65 games last season. In 2014, they did it in 40 of 67 games, while in 2013, they accomplished the task in 36 of 65 games.
• The Cardinals are third in the nation in hits allowed per 9 IP surrendering just 5.77, No. 4 nationally in WHIP (1.01), No. 7 in ERA at 2.31, 11th in batting average at .326, No. 14 in fielding percentage at 0.980, No. 17 in slugging percentage (.489), 18th in on-base percentage (.413) and 18th in strikeouts per 9 IP (9.4).
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
Nick Solak: Solak has reached base safely in all 21 games this season and has a streak of 33 straight games reaching base safely dating back to last season.
• Solak ranks fifth nationally in on-base percentage (.570), eighth with 28 runs scored and ninth in hitting with a .461 average.
• Solak set a school record with five walks in Louisville's 12-0 win over SIUE on Feb. 20.
• In four games from March 8-12, Solak hit .471 with four RBI, five runs scored, four stolen bases and a game-winning walk-off home run in the 11th inning against Notre Dame on March 11.
Corey Ray: Ray leads the nation with 23 stolen bases (on 26 attempts) this season and ranks 29th nationally with his six home runs.
• 10 of Ray's 17 career home runs have either tied the score or given Louisville a lead.
Blake Tiberi: Tiberi leads the Cardinals with 12 multiple-hit games and is second on the team with five multiple-RBI games this season.
• Tiberi connected for two home runs in last week's series at Miami and has eight career home runs in 166 collegiate at-bats.
Devin Hairston: Hairston ranks third on the team with nine multiple-hit games and second in multiple-RBI games with five.
Colby Fitch: Fitch has hit safely in all eight games he has started this season and has a .520 average with four doubles, one home run, five RBI and eight runs scored in those eight starts.
Kyle Funkhouser: Funkhouser continues his climb up Louisville's career pitching charts ranking first in strikeouts (308) and innings pitched (316.0), second in wins (28) and third in starts (46). He also holds the school record for single season wins with 13 in 2014.
Brendan McKay: McKay has recorded eight or more strikeouts in four of his five starts this season and has finished with eight or more strikeouts 11 times in his career. On March 11, he had a career-best 13 strikeouts against Notre Dame, the most for a Louisville pitchers since 2003.
• McKay is 16th in the nation with 42 strikeouts and 18th in hits allowed per 9 IP at 4.36.
• In 15 career appearances on the mound at home (including 10 starts), McKay is 10-0 with four saves, a 1.00 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched.
Drew Harrington: Harrington has won three straight starts and ranks 41st in the nation in strikeouts-to-walk ratio at 8.25 (33 strikeouts, four walks).
Kade McClure: McClure has won all five midweek starts this season and ranks sixth in the nation in WHIP at 0.67 and 13th in hits allowed per 9 IP (4.00).
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 was 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 equaled the best overall ranking in history.
TRIPLE DIGITS ON THE RADAR GUN FOR BURDI
Junior righty closer Zack Burdi has reached 100 mph on the Jim Patterson Stadium radar gun on two different occasions this season, including once on a swing-and-miss strike three in the 11th inning of Louisville's March 11 win over Notre Dame. Last season, Burdi touched 101 mph on the scoreboard at Clemson's Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
MCKAY NAMED NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Sophomore lefty Brendan McKay was selected as the National Pitcher of the Month for February by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. One of the top two-way players in the nation, McKay has been nearly untouchable to start 2016. The Darlington, Pennsylvania, native boasts a perfect 0.00 ERA in 14 innings across two starts, including a three-hit shutout at No. 21 Ole Miss on Feb. 27. McKay was named ACC Pitcher of the Week for that performance, where he struck out eight Rebels and didn't issue a walk.
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.
FUNKHOUSER CHOSEN AS CANDIDATE FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Kyle Funkhouser was selected on March 14 as a candidate for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate baseball. Funkhouser was among 30 baseball student-athletes, who excel both on and off the diamond, chosen to receive consideration for the prestigious award. Funkhouser becomes the second Louisville player in the last three seasons to be selected as a candidate for the award joining former Cardinals outfielder Jeff Gardner, who was chosen as one of 10 finalists for the honor in 2014. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 College World Series in June. For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
CARDINALS ON THE NATIONAL WATCH LISTS
The Louisville baseball program is well represented on the early season watch lists for multiple national awards. Here is the current list of Cardinals on those watch lists:
• GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST: Kyle Funkhouser, Brendan McKay & Corey Ray
Kyle Funkhouser, Corey Ray and Brendan McKay were named to the 50-player preseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list released Feb. 16. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 39th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 30 in Los Angeles to the top amateur baseball player in the country. The preseason watch list features 50 of the nation's top amateur players, from high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the season. Louisville and Florida lead all schools in representation with three players each on the list. Funkhouser is among four players named to the preseason watch list for the second consecutive year, while McKay is one of just two players on the watch list who were also named as semifinalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award in 2015.
• STOPPER OF THE YEAR AWARD WATCH LIST: Zack Burdi
Zack Burdi was named on Feb. 15 to the initial watch list for the 12th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. The 2016 Stopper of the Year Watch List will be updated with a midseason release on Wednesday, April 27, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 8, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional competition. The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced at the 2016 College World Series. Previous winners of the award include former Louisville standout and 2014 recipient Nick Burdi, older brother of Zack.
• JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST: Will Smith
Will Smith was named March 9 to the official watch list for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award as announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. The award is given annually to the top NCAA Division I catcher. The watch list will be narrowed to the semifinalists on May 18, 2016. Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 6, 2016. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 19th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 30, 2016.
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.
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).
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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