Photo by: Jeff Reinking | Louisville Athletics
Abrupt Ending Emotional for Cardinals
March 27, 2020 | Baseball
Dealing with the cancellation of the 2020 season has been tough for members of the Louisville baseball team.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The momentum seemed to be swinging in their favor.
The University of Louisville baseball team had scored 42 runs in its last three games, compared to just nine for the opposition. Amidst a 13-4 start, the Cardinals were looking forward to their three-game series with Notre Dame at Jim Patterson Stadium.
However, that all changed when the NCAA swiftly suspended, then cancelled the 2020 season due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
"It was tough," senior left-handed pitcher Adam Elliott said. "We were practicing and preparing for Notre Dame and we found out that we were at least going to be suspended. Then I got home and got on Twitter to see that the College World Series had been cancelled.
"I'm not going to lie, I broke down. I cried a lot."
Elliott was the team's leader in appearances through 17 games, taking the mound seven times to the tune of a 0.87 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
For Lucas Dunn, the 2020 season had been a different story. The junior utility player suffered a broken hamate bone in the preseason and missed the first nine games. Dunn appeared in eight games but made his first start of the year on March 11 against Chicago State, in what would turn out to be the final game of the season.
"I joked around with some of my teammates that I was just starting to find my swing back. In the last game, I got my last start and barreled a few balls. I was feeling pretty good."
Dunn closed out the shortened campaign 3-for-11 at the plate with three runs scored and four driven in and like Elliott, the emotions around the finality of the season were difficult to deal with.
"It took a while to hit me but as the day went on and I spent time with my teammates, realizing what we might lose and what I might never get back, I definitely broke down and had a tough time."
"Emotional is the right word for it," said junior outfielder Zach Britton, who led all of Division I with 11 doubles during the first four weeks of the season. "Something like this has never happened to any of us, so we didn't know how to react."
But for the Cardinals, the message moving forward is not lingering on what could have been, but keeping the eyes focused on the future and getting better.
"We always talk about controlling what you can control," Elliott said. "This isn't something we can control, so I'm going to keep my head down and keep working and see what happens."
"There's nothing we can really do about it now except get better every day," Britton added. "That's been our main focus.
"Right now, I'm worried about finishing this semester in the classroom and getting better at baseball in different skills that I need to work at."
The University of Louisville baseball team had scored 42 runs in its last three games, compared to just nine for the opposition. Amidst a 13-4 start, the Cardinals were looking forward to their three-game series with Notre Dame at Jim Patterson Stadium.
However, that all changed when the NCAA swiftly suspended, then cancelled the 2020 season due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
"It was tough," senior left-handed pitcher Adam Elliott said. "We were practicing and preparing for Notre Dame and we found out that we were at least going to be suspended. Then I got home and got on Twitter to see that the College World Series had been cancelled.
"I'm not going to lie, I broke down. I cried a lot."
Elliott was the team's leader in appearances through 17 games, taking the mound seven times to the tune of a 0.87 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
For Lucas Dunn, the 2020 season had been a different story. The junior utility player suffered a broken hamate bone in the preseason and missed the first nine games. Dunn appeared in eight games but made his first start of the year on March 11 against Chicago State, in what would turn out to be the final game of the season.
"I joked around with some of my teammates that I was just starting to find my swing back. In the last game, I got my last start and barreled a few balls. I was feeling pretty good."
Dunn closed out the shortened campaign 3-for-11 at the plate with three runs scored and four driven in and like Elliott, the emotions around the finality of the season were difficult to deal with.
"It took a while to hit me but as the day went on and I spent time with my teammates, realizing what we might lose and what I might never get back, I definitely broke down and had a tough time."
"Emotional is the right word for it," said junior outfielder Zach Britton, who led all of Division I with 11 doubles during the first four weeks of the season. "Something like this has never happened to any of us, so we didn't know how to react."
But for the Cardinals, the message moving forward is not lingering on what could have been, but keeping the eyes focused on the future and getting better.
"We always talk about controlling what you can control," Elliott said. "This isn't something we can control, so I'm going to keep my head down and keep working and see what happens."
"There's nothing we can really do about it now except get better every day," Britton added. "That's been our main focus.
"Right now, I'm worried about finishing this semester in the classroom and getting better at baseball in different skills that I need to work at."
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