Final Prep Complete for NCAA Super Regional at Patterson Stadium

Friday, June 9

LOUISVILLE, KY

Noon

University of Louisville

KENTUCKY

LOUISVILLE BASEBALL | SUPER REGIONAL PRACTICE | DAN MCDONNELL, HUDDLE

Coach Dan McDonnell and members of the Cardinals during Thursday's practice at Patterson Stadium.

Final Prep Complete for NCAA Super Regional at Patterson Stadium

June 08, 2017 | Baseball

Video: Full News Conference NCAA Super Regional Photo Gallery Parking/Will Call Information NCAA Championship Bracket Video: Tuesday Media Session Recap NCAA Super Regional Info Page

No. 7 Louisville hosts UK in best-of-three series starting Friday at noon ET

By: Garett Wall

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hosting an NCAA Super Regional for the fourth straight season, the No. 7 national seed Louisville baseball team will also extend the nation's longest active streak with its fifth straight Super Regional appearance overall as the Cardinals host Kentucky in the best-of-three series at Jim Patterson Stadium starting Friday at noon ET. The first game of the weekend will be televised on ESPN2, while game two of the series is set for Saturday at noon on ESPN. If necessary, the deciding third game is scheduled for Sunday at noon on either ESPN or ESPN2. The victorious team at the Louisville Super Regional will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Radio coverage for all Louisville baseball games in the postseason will be provided by 93.9 The Ville.

PRACTICE DAY AT THE LOUISVILLE SUPER REGIONAL
Louisville conducted its final practice prior to the 2017 NCAA Super Regional with a 90-minute session on Thursday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell and juniors Colby Fitch and Lincoln Henzman met with reporters during a 20-minute news conference in the Omaha Room. Prior to Thursday's practice, seniors Colin Lyman, Jake Sparger and Logan Taylor talked with ESPN broadcasters Tom Hart, Kyle Peterson, Chris Burke and Laura Rutledge to assist in their preparation for the this weekend's television coverage.

ABOUT THE LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

2017 NCAA SUPER REGIONAL
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000)
Twitter Updates: @UofLBaseball
Game Notes: Louisville | Media Center

Game 1: Friday, June 9 – Noon (ESPN2)
Game 2: Saturday, June 10 – Noon (ESPN)
Game 3: Sunday, June 11 – Noon (ESPN or ESPN2)

The Cardinals enter the NCAA Super Regional at 50-10 overall after sweeping through last weekend's NCAA Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville, which set a record for the best start to a season in school history with 19 straight wins, won 12 of its 13 weekend series this season, while eight of the 12 series wins were sweeps.

Brendan McKay, the 2017 National Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year, leads the way for the Cardinals ranking 15th in the nation in slugging percentage and 19th in on-base percentage while also landing seventh in strikeouts and 24th in WHIP as a pitcher. The six-time ACC Pitcher of the Week (four this season) has a 9-3 record with a 2.31 ERA and 131 strikeouts on the mound while hitting .356 with 17 home runs and 56 RBIs at the plate. McKay has a 30-10 career record with a 2.13 ERA and 376 strikeouts (tied for first all-time at UofL) to go with a .333 career batting average.

Drew Ellis, a First Team All-American and All-ACC First Team selection, enters the week ranked 11th in the NCAA in slugging percentage (.695) and 28th in home runs (17) to go with a .362 batting average and 18 doubles while splitting time between first base and third base. Shortstop Devin Hairston was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and has just three errors and a .987 fielding percentage while also hitting .303 with a 51 RBIs.

Lincoln Henzman, a Stopper of the Year finalist, First Team All-American and an All-ACC First Team honoree, leads the NCAA with 16 saves to go with a 3-0 record, 1.30 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Sam Bordner has also been strong out of the pen with a 0.50 ERA, 2-0 record, two saves and 32 strikeouts in 36.1 innings.

NATIONAL SEED FOR THIRD STRAIGHT SEASON, FOURTH TIME OVERALL
Louisville was selected as a national seed for the third straight season and the fourth time in school history. The Cardinals were also a national seed in 2010 (No. 7), 2015 (No. 3) and 2016 (No.2). Louisville is making its 10th NCAA postseason appearance in the last 11 seasons and the program's 11th NCAA appearance overall. Along with the 2017 NCAA Regional, the Cardinals also hosted the regional round of the NCAA Championship in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 while also hosting NCAA Super Regional series in 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Louisville is one of just three schools to host an NCAA Regional in each of the last five years joining Florida State (seven straight) and LSU (six straight).

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK ACC ATLANTIC DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Louisville baseball team continued its impressive run in the Atlantic Coast Conference by winning its third straight Atlantic Division championship in 2017. The Cardinals, who set a single season record for ACC wins in their debut season with a 25-5 mark in 2015, have compiled a 70-19 record in the conference during the last three seasons while only Miami (59 wins) and Virginia (52) have at least 50 wins during that span. Louisville has won 26 of its 30 ACC series and is 28-1 in its series finales during that span, including an 11-1 record in rubber games.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
   • Making their 10th NCAA Championship appearance in the last 11 seasons under head coach Dan McDonnell, the Cardinals are 31-21 overall in NCAA postseason games during that span. Louisville is 31-23 all-time in the NCAA Championship going 0-2 in the NCAA Atlanta Regional in 2002.
   • The Cardinals were among seven ACC teams in the 2017 NCAA Championship, including five NCAA Regional hosts.
   • During his last 13 seasons as a collegiate coach, including his final two seasons as an assistant at Ole Miss in 2005 and 2006, McDonnell has advanced to 12 NCAA Regionals and nine NCAA Super Regionals.
   • The Cardinals are playing in their seventh NCAA Super Regional and entering the weekend with a 7-7 record overall in the previous appearances. Louisville has won three of those six NCAA Super Regional series.
   • Louisville is one of just three schools to host an NCAA Regional in each of the last five seasons (Florida State, LSU).
   • UofL played 10 of the other 63 teams in this year's NCAA Championship field during the regular season going 13-8 against those teams, including a 1-1 mark against Kentucky.
   • Louisville is 41-62-1 all-time against UK and has won six of the last seven in the series. The Cardinals have won four straight at home against the Wildcats.
   • The Cardinals are 25-8 all-time in NCAA postseason games at Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville has won six of the seven NCAA Regionals as Patterson Stadium and has a 20-3 record overall in NCAA Regional games at the ballpark, including 15 straight wins.
   • Louisville is 5-5 all-time in NCAA Super Regional games at Patterson Stadium having won two of the four series at the ballpark.
   • In five career NCAA postseason starts on the mound, Brendan McKay is 2-1 with a 2.07 ERA (8 ER in 34.2 IP), 40 strikeouts and just eight walks.
   • At the plate, McKay is hitting .277 (15-for-54) with three home runs, 11 RBIs and eight runs scored in 14 NCAA postseason starts as a hitter.
   • In 14 career NCAA Championship starts, Devin Hairston is hitting .352 (18-for-51) with seven doubles, six RBIs and 12 runs scored.
   • Entering the 2017 NCAA Super Regional, Logan Taylor is 19-for-45 (.422 average) with two doubles, 12 runs scored and 12 RBI in 19 career NCAA postseason games.

500 CAREER WINS FOR MCDONNELL
With Louisville's series-opening victory at No. 7 Clemson on May 12, 2017, Dan McDonnell earned career win No. 500 as a head coach and all of those came as the leader of the Cardinals. The winningest coach in school history, McDonnell averaged 45.6 wins per season in his first 10 seasons at the helm in Louisville and entered 2017 ranked fifth nationally among active coaches in winning percentage.

TEAM NOTES AND TRENDS
   • Louisville matched the school record for regular season wins with 46 in 2017 equaling the total achieved by the 2010, 2013 and 2016 teams.
   • The Cardinals are third in the nation in ERA, fourth in hits allowed per 9 IP, fourth in WHIP, fifth in shutouts, 11th in strikeouts per 9 IP, 18th in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 19th in stolen bases, 20th in scoring, 22nd in hit-by-pitch and 30th in slugging percentage.
   • Louisville has won 26 of its 30 ACC series since joining the league and is 28-1 in its series finales during that span, including an 11-1 record in rubber games.
   • The Cardinals have won 14 of their 15 ACC series at home since debuting in the conference.
   • The Cardinals have a 47-0 record this season when leading after eight innings.
   • A season after setting a school record for highest fielding percentage (.978), Louisville has maintained a similar pace in 2017 with 55 errors in 60 games for a .975 fielding percentage.
   • The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 31 of 60 games this season after accomplishing the feat in 36 of 64 games last season. They allowed two or fewer earned runs in 36 of 65 games in 2015, 40 of 67 games in 2014 and 36 of 65 games in 2013.
   • Louisville is No. 1 in the ACC in ERA and third in the league in team batting average.
   • The UofL bullpen has a 2.32 ERA and 23-1 record with 229 strikeouts in 241.0 innings pitched while opponents are hitting just .206 overall against the Cardinals relief staff.
   • Louisville is 95-of-117 on stolen base attempts this season (19th in NCAA) after finishing 101-of-126 in 2016 (12th nationally). The Cardinals were fourth nationally with 127 stolen bases in 2015, second in the nation in 2014 with 133 and second in 2013 with 150.
   • While at Louisville, coach Dan McDonnell has guided the Cardinals to three College World Series berths, seven NCAA Super Regional appearances, 10 NCAA Regional bids, seven regular season conference championships and two conference tournament titles with 32 All-Americans.

PLAYER NOTES AND TRENDS
   • Brendan McKay: 2017 National Player of the Year (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper) and ACC Player of the Year... All-ACC First Team as starting pitcher and DH/utility player... Finalist for 2017 John Olerud Award... Semifinalist for 2017 Golden Spikes Award and 2017 Dick Howser Trophy... 15th in NCAA in slugging percentage and 19th in on-base percentage while also ranking seventh in strikeouts and 24th in WHIP as a pitcher... Has eight or more strikeouts 27 times in collegiate career, including career-high 15 strikeouts in March 10 win over Pitt... In 25 pitching starts at Patterson Stadium, McKay is 19-3 with a 2.05 ERA (38 earned runs in 166.1 IP) and 212 strikeouts... In 30 career pitching appearances at home (including 25 starts), McKay is 20-3 with four saves, a 1.97 ERA (38 earned runs in 173.1 IP) and 219 strikeouts.
   • Kade McClure: All-ACC Third Team... Ranks seventh in ACC in strikeouts... Has 20-4 career record... Had season-high 10 strikeouts on April 8... Won 12 of 13 starts last season and was tied for fifth in NCAA in wins... Was also in the top 10 in the nation in WHIP and hits allowed per 9 IP while earning All-America honors last season.
   • Nick Bennett: All-ACC Third Team... Has 5-0 record in 12 collegiate starts... Ranks fifth in the ACC in WHIP and ninth in ERA... Twirled career-best seven scoreless innings in April 23 win over Duke... Allowed one hit and registered seven strikeouts while facing the minimum of 18 batters for first career victory in first ever start against Eastern Michigan on March 3.
   • Lincoln Henzman: Collegiate Baseball Newspaper First Team All-America... NCBWA Stopper of the Year Finalist... All-ACC First Team... Ranks No. 1 in the nation with 16 saves... Opened 2017 with 13.1 consecutive innings of scoreless relief... 19 career saves tied for third all-time at Louisville.
   • Drew Ellis: Collegiate Baseball Newspaper First Team All-America... All-ACC First Team... Semifinalist for 2017 Golden Spikes Award... Named National Player of the Month for April by NCBWA... 11th in NCAA in slugging and 28th in home runs... No. 1 in ACC in slugging, second in average, fourth in home runs and fifth in on-base percentage... Had 32 starts last season... .345 career batting average.
   • Devin Hairston: ACC Defensive Player of the Year... All-ACC Third Team... Finalist for Brooks Wallace Award (nation's top shortstop)... Third on team with 51 RBIs to go with 12 multi-RBI games... Just three errors in 229 chances (.987%) while starting all 60 games at shortstop... Career-best five RBIs in three-hit game vs. Fort Wayne on March 8... Earned All-America and All-ACC honors in 2016... 180 career starts.
   • Logan Taylor: Has hit in the leadoff spot in the lineup in 52 of 53 starts this season... Fourth in ACC in stolen bases... Has reached base safely in 48 of 53 starts... Played in 233 career games with 134 starts... One of three team captains in 2017.
   • Colby Fitch: All-ACC Second Team... Selected as ACC Player of the Week on May 15 after hitting .500 with three home runs and five RBIs from May 9-14... Has 15 multi-hit games this season... Has started 44 of 60 games at catcher while starting another 13 games at designated hitter... Hit four of five home runs, 22 of 25 RBIs in his 27 starts last season.
   • Devin Mann: Matched career-high with three hits versus Miami (Ohio) on May 2... Has reached base safely in 28 of last 31 games and 49 of 59 starts this season... Hit .307 with eight doubles, 16 RBIs and 13 runs in 19 starts last season.
   • Josh Stowers: Ranks third in ACC in stolen bases... Delivered career-best four hits in May 25 win over Notre Dame... Had career highs with two home runs, four RBIs in April 28 win over Toledo... Delivered career-best three hits against No. 17 Wake Forest on April 8... Had two-hit outing and one RBI in first start on Feb. 18 against No. 22 Maryland.
   • Colin Lyman: Had career highs with four hits and five RBIs in April 30 win over Toledo... Hit first career home run and had career-best three hits on March 1 against Morehead State... Had 47 starts and 60 games played last season... 217 career appearances.

LOUISVILLE IN NATIONAL POLLS EVERY WEEK SINCE BEGINNING OF 2012
Louisville, which surpassed its previous high national ranking of No. 2 (in 2016) with the No. 1 ranking on March 13 and March 20, has enjoyed a historic run by remaining ranked in at least one major national poll every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such span in school history. Ranked in the top 12 in all six major preseason polls for 2017, the Cardinals have received a preseason top 10 ranking in five straight seasons (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) and have earned a preseason national ranking in 10 straight seasons (2008-2017) overall. Louisville held down the No. 2 ranking for eight weeks from March 27 to May 15.

FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won 78 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 344-97 record (.780 winning percentage), including a impressive 31-4 mark during the 2017 season at the corner of Third and Central. Louisville has won 67 of its last 74 games at Jim Patterson Stadium.

MCKAY EARNS TWO NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS; ELLIS, HENZMAN EARN FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Brendan McKay was named as the 2017 National Player of the Year by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper, while junior infielder Drew Ellis and junior righthander Lincoln Henzman were tabbed as First Team All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. McKay is the first Louisville baseball player to earn a national player of the year award. The Darlington, Pennsylvania native was also a First Team All-American selection as a utility player. The All-America honors are the first both Ellis and Henzman, who were also second team selections by Baseball America.

ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD GOES TO MCKAY, HAIRSTON TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER, MCDONNELL EARNS THIRD STRAIGHT COACH OF THE YEAR
Junior two-way standout Brendan McKay was named 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, junior shortstop Devin Hairston received the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year honor and Dan McDonnell earned his third straight Coach of the Year award. The announcement marked the third straight season the Cardinals have received at least two of the ACC's major individual honors and it is the ninth time in the last 11 seasons Louisville has claimed a conference Player or Pitcher of the Year award.

McKay adds the prestigious Player of the Year honor to his 2015 Freshman of the Year award while also being tabbed as an All-ACC First Team selection as both a starting pitcher and designated hitter/utility player. McDonnell becomes the first skipper in ACC history to receive three consecutive Coach of the Year honors.

Along with the three major award winners, Louisville had four All-ACC First Team honorees as junior third baseman Drew Ellis and junior righthanded reliever Lincoln Henzman accompanied McKay's two selections. Junior catcher Colby Fitch was named All-ACC Second Team, while freshman lefthanded starter Nick Bennett, Hairston and junior righty starter Kade McClure were All-ACC Third Team members. Bennett was also named to the All-Freshman Team.

HENZMAN NAMED FINALIST FOR STOPPER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Junior righthander Lincoln Henzman was named June 7 as a finalist for the 13th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award. Henzman was among five finalists for the award joining Florida's Michael Byrne, Josh Hiatt of North Carolina, Colton Hock of Stanford and Oregon's Kenyon Yovan. The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced Saturday morning, June 17, at a news conference at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha at 10 a.m. CT. Previous winners of the award include former Cardinals standout and 2014 recipient Nick Burdi.

BENNETT EARNS FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN HONOR FROM COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER
Lefthanded pitcher Nick Bennett was selected as a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Bennett accumulated a 5-0 record with a 2.70 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 63.1 innings and 14 total appearances, including 12 starts. A native of Cincinnati, Bennett was an All-ACC Third Team selection and was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team while serving as the No. 3 starter in the weekend rotation for the ACC Atlantic Division champions. Bennett enters this week's NCAA Super Regional ranking fifth in the ACC in WHIP and ninth in ERA.

ELLIS, MCKAY NAMED GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD SEMIFINALISTS
Juniors Drew Ellis and Brendan McKay were named May 31 among 25 semifinalists for the 40th USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. The Golden Spikes Award is given to the top amateur baseball player in the United States and is presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation.

McKay was chosen as a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist for the third time in as many collegiate seasons, while Ellis is a first-time semifinalist for the prestigious honor. Louisville, Oregon State and Virginia are the only schools with multiple Golden Spikes Award semifinalists in 2017 with two each. The Atlantic Coast Conference leads 10 different NCAA conferences represented on the list with six semifinalists.

USA Baseball officials will announce the finalists for the 2017 Golden Spikes Award on Wednesday, June 14. To select the finalists, the list of semifinalists is sent to a voting body consisting of past Golden Spikes Award winners, past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that closely follow the amateur game, select professional baseball personnel, and select current USA Baseball staff, representing a group of more than 200 voters in total. As part of the selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. Voting will be open until Friday, June 9.

HAIRSTON SELECTED AS FINALIST FOR BROOKS WALLACE AWARD
Devin Hairston was named among five finalists for the 2017 Brooks Wallace Award by the College Baseball Foundation. The award honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented this summer by the College Baseball Foundation. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. Hairston, a finalist for the second consecutive season, is joined by Jeremy Eierman from Missouri State, Orlando Garcia from Texas Tech, Zach Rutherford from Old Dominion and Logan Warmoth from North Carolina.

MCKAY NAMED FINALIST FOR JOHN OLERUD AWARD
Brendan McKay was named on May 31 among five finalists for the 2017 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award by the College Baseball Foundation. McKay, a two-time winner of the prestigious award, is joined as a finalist by Adam Haseley from Virginia, Alex Troop from Michigan State, Jake Meyers from Nebraska and Braden Zarbnisky from West Virginia. The award is named for the former Washington State University standout who achieved success both as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s and who was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

ELLIS, MCKAY NAMED DICK HOWSER TROPHY SEMIFINALISTS
Junior tandem Drew Ellis and Brendan McKay were named May 18 among 25 semifinalists for the 2017 Dick Howser Trophy, awarded annually to the top player in collegiate baseball. This is the 31st year of the Dick Howser Trophy. The finalists will be announced on Friday, June 9 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The 2017 award will be presented at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, the home of the College World Series for the seventh year. The winner will be unveiled on MLB Network on Friday, June 16 and then a press conference with the winner will be held on Saturday, June 17 at 10 a.m. (CDT), the opening day of the 2017 CWS.

LOUISVILLE REACHES 50 WINS FOUR TIMES IN FIVE SEASONS; SIX CONSECUTIVE 40-WIN SEASONS FOR THE CARDINALS
Louisville has reached the 50-win plateau for the fourth time in the last five seasons and the Cardinals have won 40 or more games in 10 of head coach Dan McDonnell's 11 seasons, including each of the last six. Prior to McDonnell's arrival in Louisville, the Cardinals had never reached 40 wins in a season while the single season school record for victories was 39 in 2002. Louisville's current school record for single season wins is 51 in 2013.

SIX STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLES IN THREE DIFFERENT LEAGUES
On May 13, 2017, Louisville clinched its third consecutive ACC Atlantic Division championship marking the program's sixth straight regular season conference title across three different leagues. Last season, Louisville won the ACC Atlantic with a 22-8 record, while in 2015, the Cardinals set an ACC record for regular season wins finishing 25-5 to win the Atlantic in their debut season in the conference. After finishing with an 18-9 record and sharing the 2012 Big East title with St. John's, the Cardinals stood alone as champions in their final season in the league in 2013. In the program's only season in the American Athletic Conference in 2014, Louisville finished with a 19-5 league record for sole ownership of the inaugural conference title. Overall, the Cardinals have won eight regular season conference titles in 11 seasons under Dan McDonnell.

FITCH EARNS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR ON MAY 15
Colby Fitch was named on May 15 as ACC Co-Player of the Week, the first career honor for the Cardinals catcher. Fitch, who shared the award with Wake Forest's Bruce Steel, paced the way offensively during a 4-0 week for No. 2 Louisville hitting .500 (7-for-14) with three home runs, five RBIs, five runs scored, 1.214 slugging percentage and .529 on-base percentage. Fitch hit safely and drove in at least one run in each of Louisville's four wins against top 25 foes. After singling and driving in a run in a midweek win over No. 25 Vanderbilt, Fitch opened series sweep at No. 7 Clemson with a home run and two runs scored in 4-2 series-opening victory. The Rocheport, Missouri, native followed that with two home runs and a double while going 4-for-5 at the plate in the 6-4 win in game two, which clinched a third straight ACC Atlantic Championship for the Cardinals, before closing the week with a single and run scored in the victorious finale.

MCKAY NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK FOUR TIMES IN 2017
Brendan McKay earned his fourth ACC Pitcher of the Week honor on May 8 after previously receiving the award on March 13, March 20 and April 17. With his May 8 accolade, McKay set the all-time ACC career record for weekly recognition with his seventh honor.

The ACC weekly honors are determined by a vote of a select media panel. The seven career weekly awards for McKay (six Pitcher of the Week honors and one Player of the Week award) surpassed the previous record of six held by Clemson's Kris Benson, Florida State's J.D. Drew, and Paul Wilson, and NC State's Terry Harvey. Wake Forest's Gavin Sheets earned this week's ACC Player of the Week honor.

The most recent honor for McKay came after he threw eight scoreless innings allowing only an infield single with eight strikeouts to lead the Cardinals to a 2-0 series-opening victory at Notre Dame on May 5. The lefthander from Darlington, Pennsylvania, improved to 7-3 on the season and 28-10 in his collegiate career while leading Louisville to its ninth shutout of the season.

McKay's third Pitcher of the Week selection came after he allowed just one hit in eight dominant innings on the mound to lead Louisville to a 3-0 victory over Georgia Tech in the series-opening win at Russ Chandler Stadium on April 13. McKay finished with eight strikeouts while surrendering only a fourth inning single to go with two walks.

The second Pitcher of the Week honor came after McKay finished with 12 strikeouts and scattered five singles with one walk in seven shutout innings to move to 4-0 on the season in a win over Boston College on March 17. The first of the three honors came after McKay had a career-high 15 strikeouts while allowing only two hits in seven shutout innings against Pitt on March 10. The 15 strikeouts were two better than McKay's previous high of 13.

ELLIS NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR APRIL
Drew Ellis was named on May 8 as the National Player of the Month for April by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. It is the first such honor for Ellis and the second this season for the Cardinals as Brendan McKay earned the award for February. Ellis, a native of Jeffersonville, Ind., had a prolific April at the plate for the high-octane Cardinals. The junior hit .455 (30-for-66) in 19 games with five doubles, one triple and eight homers, driving in 22 runs and sporting a .532 on-base percentage.

MCKAY EQUALS SCHOOL RECORD WITH FOUR HOME RUNS AT EKU
Brendan McKay matched a school record with four home runs and finished with a career-best nine RBIs in Louisville's 14-4 win at EKU on April 25. The four home runs equaled the total achieved by Jim LaFountain against Western Kentucky on April 24, 1976. The performance by McKay marked the most home runs by an NCAA Division I player this season. McKay's 4-for-5 day included a two-run homer in the first inning, a two-run bomb in the second, a three-run homer in the fourth and another two-run shot in the ninth. The nine RBIs for McKay were the most for a UofL player since Chris Dominguez had nine in a win over Milwaukee on May 6, 2009.

SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM CONTINUES FOR LOUISVILLE
As the Louisville baseball team was working towards a third straight ACC Atlantic Division championship, the Cardinals also maintained their impressive work in the classroom registering a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better for the 12th consecutive semester. The notable stretch of academic success has covered six years overall since starting with fall semester in 2011. The span of 12 straight semesters with a team GPA of 3.0 or better includes the 2013 and 2014 seasons, which culminated with back-to-back appearances at the College World Series. In each of those trips to Omaha, the Cardinals received the CWS Academic Award for having the highest team GPA of the eight programs advancing to the pinnacle of collegiate baseball.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS CLAIMED BY MCKAY, ELLIS ON MAY 1
Brendan McKay was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on May 1. Additionally, both McKay and Drew Ellis were named as National Players of the Week by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. McKay and Ellis were among the nine players selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper as national standouts for the week. Louisville was the only school with multiple players on the list.

McKay hit .429 with six home runs, 12 RBIs and a 1.286 slugging percentage as the Cardinals went 5-0 overall during the week. On April 25, he matched a school record with four home runs to go with a career-best nine RBIs in the 14-4 win at Eastern Kentucky. While hitting safely in all five games for the Cardinals, he capped the week with another multi-home run performance, connecting for two homers and three RBIs in the 17-2 win against Toledo. On the mound, the lefty had 12 strikeouts in eight innings to earn the victory in the series-opening win against Toledo.

Ellis was outstanding during the week of April 25-30 hitting .611 (11-for-18) with four home runs, two doubles, one triple, seven RBIs, .636 on-base percentage and 1.500 slugging percentage for Louisville. The infielder finished with at least two hits in each of the five games, including connecting for a pair of home runs in the 6-4 win over Northern Kentucky on April 26. The Jeffersonville, Indiana native had an extra-base hit in four of the five games and drove in at least one run in four of the games.

NCBWA NAMES MCKAY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY
Brendan McKay was named National Player of the Month for February by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. McKay had a prolific month, both at the plate and on the mound. In seven games, McKay hit .619 (13-for-21) with a double, three homers and 11 RBIs. He had six walks, was hit by two pitches and struck out just once. In two Friday starts, McKay posted wins and a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings. He allowed only six hits and four walks, striking out 14.

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.