Tuesday, March 8
LOUISVILLE, KY
4:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
LONGWOOD
Blake Tiberi has eight multi-hit games this season and leads the Cardinals with a .500 average.
Cardinals Host Longwood for Midweek Matchup
March 07, 2016 | Baseball
First pitch set for 4 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium; Admission is free
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The fourth-ranked Louisville baseball team plays the fifth game of a 10-game homestand on Tuesday at 4 p.m., ET when Big South Conference foe Longwood University visits at Jim Patterson Stadium. The game time is one hour later than previously announced and admission is free. Television coverage of the game will be available through CardsTV at GoCards.com, while radio coverage will be provided by 1450 WXVW. Live stats for all Louisville baseball games are available at GoCards.com.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Ranked No. 4 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls for the second consecutive week, Louisville is on a four-game winning streak for the second time this season. Offensively, the Cardinals have finished with nine or more hits in all 11 games this season, including eight games with at least 10 hits, and are hitting .339 overall. On the mound, Louisville has three shutouts while allowing two or fewer earned runs in seven its 11 outings. The pitching staff has an overall ERA of 2.32 and opposing teams are hitting just .171 overall.
ABOUT THE LANCERS
Longwood enters the week riding a five-game winning streak and 7-4 overall following a three-game weekend sweep at home of Fairleigh Dickinson. Under the guidance of second year head coach Ryan Mau, the Lancers also have a series win against Wagner and was swept by East Carolina to open the season. Last year, Longwood was 22-34 overall and finished eighth in the Big South Conference with a 9-15 record.
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday's game will mark the first meeting for Louisville and Longwood on the baseball diamond. The Cardinals are 4-7 all-time against current Big South Conference members -- 3-1 versus UNC Asheville and 1-6 against Coastal Carolina.
TIBERI FAST OUT OF THE GATE TO OPEN 2016
Sophomore Blake Tiberi continued his hot start to the season hitting .600 (9-for-15) with a home run, two doubles and seven RBI in four wins on March 2-6. Tiberi had at least two hits in each of the four games while driving in at least one run in each outing. He has hit safely in all 11 games this season, including a team-leading eight multi-hit performances, and is hitting .500 with two home runs and 13 RBI overall.
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 285-90 record (.760 winning percentage), including an 8-0 mark this season at the corner of Third and Central.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• Collectively, the Cardinals are hitting .339 with six players hitting .333 or better while starting at least 10 games.
• Louisville has won 148 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 23-of-25 on stolen bases this 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.
• Louisville has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of 11 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.
• 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.
• From March 21 to April 10 of last season, the Cardinals played 83 consecutive innings against ACC opponents without trailing.
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
• Hitting in the leadoff spot, Corey Ray is 5-for-11 in the first inning this season with two home runs, one double and five runs scored.
• Nine of Ray's 16 career home runs have either tied the score or given Louisville a lead.
• 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.
• Blake Tiberi has hit safely in all 11 games this season, including eight multi-hit performances. Devin Hairston, Corey Ray, Danny Rosenbaum and Nick Solak have reached base safely in all 11 games this season.
• Kyle Funkhouser continues his climb up Louisville's career pitching charts ranking second in wins (28), second in strikeouts (302), third in starts (44) and fourth in innings pitched (303.0). He also holds the school record for single season wins with 13 in 2014.
• Brendan McKay has recorded eight strikeouts in each of his first three starts this season and finished with eight or more strikeouts 10 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. This season, Solak has 14 walks and a team-leading .577 on-base percentage.
• Solak has hit safely in nine straight games and has reached base safely in 23 straight games dating back to last season.
• Lincoln Henzman led the Louisville pitchers in appearances last season (28) and that trend has continued in 2016 with four scoreless relief outings. The righty has one save with six strikeouts, no walks and just two hits in 5.2 innings this season.
• Nine players have made their Louisville debuts this season, including freshman lefty Adam Wolf who worked two innings of shutout relief in his first outing March 2 against Morehead State.
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.
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.
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 (Promotions) #4 Louisville vs. Longwood Location: Louisville, Ky. Venue: Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000) Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball Series History: No previous meetings Game Notes: Louisville | Longwood Tuesday, March 8 | 4:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats TV: CardsTV | Radio: 1450 WXVW LOU: So. RHP Kade McClure (2-0, 0.00 ERA) LU: So. RHP Zach Potojecki (0-2, 6.55 ERA) |
Ranked No. 4 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls for the second consecutive week, Louisville is on a four-game winning streak for the second time this season. Offensively, the Cardinals have finished with nine or more hits in all 11 games this season, including eight games with at least 10 hits, and are hitting .339 overall. On the mound, Louisville has three shutouts while allowing two or fewer earned runs in seven its 11 outings. The pitching staff has an overall ERA of 2.32 and opposing teams are hitting just .171 overall.
ABOUT THE LANCERS
Longwood enters the week riding a five-game winning streak and 7-4 overall following a three-game weekend sweep at home of Fairleigh Dickinson. Under the guidance of second year head coach Ryan Mau, the Lancers also have a series win against Wagner and was swept by East Carolina to open the season. Last year, Longwood was 22-34 overall and finished eighth in the Big South Conference with a 9-15 record.
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday's game will mark the first meeting for Louisville and Longwood on the baseball diamond. The Cardinals are 4-7 all-time against current Big South Conference members -- 3-1 versus UNC Asheville and 1-6 against Coastal Carolina.
TIBERI FAST OUT OF THE GATE TO OPEN 2016
Sophomore Blake Tiberi continued his hot start to the season hitting .600 (9-for-15) with a home run, two doubles and seven RBI in four wins on March 2-6. Tiberi had at least two hits in each of the four games while driving in at least one run in each outing. He has hit safely in all 11 games this season, including a team-leading eight multi-hit performances, and is hitting .500 with two home runs and 13 RBI overall.
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 285-90 record (.760 winning percentage), including an 8-0 mark this season at the corner of Third and Central.
TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
• Collectively, the Cardinals are hitting .339 with six players hitting .333 or better while starting at least 10 games.
• Louisville has won 148 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 23-of-25 on stolen bases this 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.
• Louisville has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of 11 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.
• 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.
• From March 21 to April 10 of last season, the Cardinals played 83 consecutive innings against ACC opponents without trailing.
PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
• Hitting in the leadoff spot, Corey Ray is 5-for-11 in the first inning this season with two home runs, one double and five runs scored.
• Nine of Ray's 16 career home runs have either tied the score or given Louisville a lead.
• 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.
• Blake Tiberi has hit safely in all 11 games this season, including eight multi-hit performances. Devin Hairston, Corey Ray, Danny Rosenbaum and Nick Solak have reached base safely in all 11 games this season.
• Kyle Funkhouser continues his climb up Louisville's career pitching charts ranking second in wins (28), second in strikeouts (302), third in starts (44) and fourth in innings pitched (303.0). He also holds the school record for single season wins with 13 in 2014.
• Brendan McKay has recorded eight strikeouts in each of his first three starts this season and finished with eight or more strikeouts 10 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. This season, Solak has 14 walks and a team-leading .577 on-base percentage.
• Solak has hit safely in nine straight games and has reached base safely in 23 straight games dating back to last season.
• Lincoln Henzman led the Louisville pitchers in appearances last season (28) and that trend has continued in 2016 with four scoreless relief outings. The righty has one save with six strikeouts, no walks and just two hits in 5.2 innings this season.
• Nine players have made their Louisville debuts this season, including freshman lefty Adam Wolf who worked two innings of shutout relief in his first outing March 2 against Morehead State.
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.
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.
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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