LOUISVILLE AT THE 2013 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Saturday, June 15 | 7 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Game 2: Louisville vs. Indiana
Monday, June 17 | 2 p.m./7 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
Game 5/6: Louisville vs. Oregon State/Mississippi State
Wednesday, June 19 | 7 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Friday, June 21 | 2 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 6
Saturday, June 22 | Time TBA (ESPN2/ESPN)
Game 13: Necessary if Game 9 Winner also wins Game 11
2013 College World Series Finals (Best of 3 series)
June 24-26 | 7 p.m. CT 1st pitch each day | ESPN
LOUISVILLE BY THE NUMBERS...
- NCAA Appearances: 7th (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
- CWS Appearances: 2nd (2007, 2013)
- Overall NCAA Record: 19-15
- Overall CWS Record: 1-2
NCAA REGIONAL MATCHUPS OVERVIEW
In their only previous appearance at the CWS, the Cardinals went 1-2 in 2007 dropping a 15-10 decision to Rice in the opener, winning 12-4 over Mississippi State in an elimination game and falling 3-1 to North Carolina to end their magical run to Rosenblatt Stadium. Half of the eight teams in Omaha in 2013 were also there in 2007 as Louisville, UNC and MSU are joined by Oregon State for return visits this season.
Overall, the Cardinals have a 23-26 record all-time against the seven other programs competing in the 2013 CWS with most of those games coming against Omaha newcomer and long-time regional rival Indiana (21-21 record).
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS TO TRACK
- The Cardinals are ranked No. 4 in the latest Collegiate Baseball newspaper Top 30.
- With their NCAA Super Regional clinching win at Vanderbilt on June 9, the Cardinals surpassed the previous school record for wins (50 in 2010) earning victory No. 51 in 2013.
- Ranking among the nation's best pitching staffs entering the CWS, Louisville is fifth in the NCAA in ERA at 2.50 and first in strikeouts per nine innings at 9.5.
- The Cardinals are second in the nation in stolen bases with 150, just three shy of matching the school record of 153 set during the 2007 CWS season.
- Adam Engel paces UofL on the bases with 41 steals (third nationally) in 54 attempts.
- Through the Cards' first five NCAA postseason games, Coco Johnson leads the offense hitting .438 with two HR, six RBI, .813 slugging and .550 on-base.
- In those five NCAA tournament games, 16 of the Cardinals' 31 RBI have come with two outs.
- UofL is 34-6 against righty starters and 17-6 against lefties this season.
- The Cards are 39-5 when scoring first, including 21-3 when scoring in the first inning.
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 35 of 63 games this season.
- UofL is 46-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
- Louisville leads the nation in hit-by-pitch with 128 and Coco Johnson (23 HBPs, seventh in NCAA) leads the way for the Cardinals.
- With an 11-1 record overall, righty Jeff Thompson has won five of his last six starts. During that stretch, he has 46 strikeouts, a 2.36 ERA in 42 innings pitched.
- Louisville has already played IU three times this season dropping two to the Hoosiers.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER - NASHVILLE SUPER REGIONAL
Louisville 2, Vanderbilt 1: In a matchup of two of the nation's best pitching squads, eighth-ranked Louisville outdueled No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt 2-1 on June 9 at Hawkins Field to win the Nashville Super Regional and advance to the College World Series for the second time in school history. With both teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation in ERA, it was Louisville that got the better of it as righthander Coco Johnson had a pair of singles and was hit twice in the win.
Louisville 5, Vanderbilt 3: Senior pinch hitter Sutton Whiting. For Helms, it was just his fourth and fifth RBIs of the season and the first since March 1 against Kent State.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER - LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
Louisville 12, Oklahoma State 3: Louisville clinched its third NCAA Super Regional berth in seven seasons after the top-seeded and eighth-ranked Cardinals closed out the 2013 Louisville Regional with a 12-3 victory over third-seeded Oklahoma State on June 2 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Leading the way for the Cardinals in Sunday's clincher was Joe Filomeno had his best outing as a Cardinal working a career best 3.1 innings of shutout relief while striking out four to earn his first collegiate win and move to 1-0 overall.
Louisville 6, Miami 4: Propelled by a six-run seventh inning, Louisville advanced to the championship round of the Louisville Regional with a 6-4 victory over Miami (Fla.) on June 1 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Saturday's game turned in Louisville's favor in the seventh inning when the Cardinals flipped a one-run deficit into a five-run advantage after finally breaking through against Miami starter Bryan Radziewski. At the plate, five different Louisville players had one hit each while Jeff Thompson took a no-decision despite a terrific outing in his 15th start of the season allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts in 6.0+ innings.
Louisville 8, Bowling Green 3: Chad Green became just the seventh pitcher in school history to reach double figures in wins in a single season improving to 10-3 overall after allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts in 7.0+ innings.
JOHNSON NAMED MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER OF LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
Junior outfielder Coco Johnson was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 Louisville Regional and led four Cardinals earning NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team honors after UofL swept through the weekend at Patterson Stadium. In the three NCAA Regional games, Johnson hit .455 (5-for-11) with two home runs, six RBI and a stolen base to become the first Louisville player to earn MOP honors since Justin Marks in 2009.
Joining Johnson on the Louisville Regional All-Tournament Team were senior second baseman Jeff Thompson. Gardner hit .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles, a triple, three RBI and three runs scored in the trio of games, while Ratajczak hit .364 with two doubles and six RBI for the weekend. Despite earning a no-decision in the Cardinals' winner's bracket victory over Miami, Thompson pitched well allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts in 6.0+ innings as Louisville rallied late for the win.
SEVEN CARDINALS TAKEN IN 2013 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DRAFT
The Louisville baseball program was well represented during the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as seven members of the 2013 Cardinals and two high school signees were selected during the three-day event. Junior righthander Ty Young, who was taken 218th overall in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Junior outfielder Adam Engel was selected in the 19th Round (573rd overall) by the Chicago White Sox.
In addition, prep shortstop and Louisville signee Tucker Neuhaus was the highest player with UofL connections selected going 72nd overall in competitive round B of the second round to the Milwaukee Brewers, while another signee, Corey Ray, was taken in the 33rd Round (987th overall) by the Seattle Mariners.
LOUISVILLE UNVEILS NEWLY DESIGNED UNIFORMS FOR POSTSEASON
During last week's Nashville Super Regional, the Louisville baseball team unveiled new adidas CLIMALITE Sweet Spot uniforms and the Cardinals put them in the national spotlight as they clinched a berth in the College World Series in the 2-1 win at Vanderbilt in front of a national television audience on ESPN. A retro-inspired uniform similar to a design worn by Louisville in the 1970's, the 2013 design features the latest adidas uniform technologies to make the Cardinals faster, lighter and cooler on the diamond. The jersey and pants include CLIMALITE material coupled with dye-sub technology, creating a superior lightweight uniform system with unrivaled moisture transport and durability.
LOUISVILLE AMONG 23 SCHOOLS WITH AT LEAST THREE SUPER REGIONALS IN THE LAST SEVEN SEASONS
With the NCAA Regional triumph at Jim Patterson Stadium earlier this month, Louisville clinched its third NCAA Super Regional berth in the last seven seasons becoming one of just 23 schools to accomplish the feat. The list of schools with at least three Super Regional appearances in the last seven season includes Florida State with six, Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, North Carolina and South Carolina with five each, Florida, LSU, North Carolina State, Rice, UCLA and Virginia with four each and Arkansas, Clemson, Louisville, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, UC Irvine and Vanderbilt with three each.
LOUISVILLE AMONG SELECT COMPANY WITH ANOTHER 40-WIN SEASON
With the series-opening win at Connecticut on May 11, the Cardinals clinched their sixth 40-win season in Dan McDonnell's seven years as head coach. Entering the week, Louisville was one of only seven programs in the nation to accomplish the feat of six or more 40-win campaigns in the last seven seasons. Joining the Cardinals on that list are Florida State (7), Rice (7), South Carolina (7), Coastal Carolina (6), North Carolina (6) and TCU (6).
THOMPSON NAMED LOUISVILLE SLUGGER SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICA, GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD SEMIFINALIST
On May 28, junior righty Jeff Thompson was among 30 players selected as semifinalists for the 2013 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, while on May 30, he was named Louisville Slugger Second Team All-America by College Baseball newspaper. Entering the CWS, Thompson is 11-1 overall with a 2.00 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 103.1 innings pitched this season. Seven of his 16 starts have been scoreless outings and opposing batters are hitting just .169 against him. For his career, Thompson is 22-6 on the mound with a 2.85 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 221.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 12 batters in two outings this season -- Feb. 16 against USF and May 4 at Villanova. During the course of four straight starts, Thompson had a career best stretch of 28.0 shutout innings from March 9 to March 29.
BURDI INVITED TO USA BASEBALL COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM
Sophomore righty Nick Burdi has been selected for the 2013 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team as announced on April 24. A native of Downers Grove, Ill., Burdi leads the Cardinals with 16 saves to go with a 0.78 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 28 relief appearances and 34.2 innings pitched this season. Opposing batters are hitting just .197 against the hard-throwing Burdi, who has a 3-3 record overall on the mound. Burdi is the sixth UofL player to earn an invitation to the USA Collegiate National Team. Previous Cardinals to participate in the selection process for Team USA include Ryan Wright (2010), Phil Wunderlich (2009), Tony Zych (2009), Justin Marks (2008) and Mark Jurich (2002). Training for the team is set for June 21-July 2 in Cary, N.C., at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Team USA will travel to Japan from July 6-11 and is also scheduled to play Cuba from July 18-23 in the U.S.
FUNKHOUSER, KIDSTON LOUISVILLE SLUGGER FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICANS
Righthanded pitchers Anthony Kidston were named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans on June 5 by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Funkhouser enters the CWS at 5-1 with a 2.24 ERA in 21 appearances on the mound, including six starts. He has 51 strikeouts in 52.1 innings pitched and opposing batters are hitting just .214 against him. Earlier this season, Funkhouser delivered the Cardinals' first complete game shutout since 2009 when he struck out a career best eight and allowed only four hits in a win at Eastern Kentucky on May 7. The talented righty kicked off his collegiate career with 18.0 straight scoreless innings for Louisville.
Kidston is 5-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 13 appearances as a pitcher, including six starts. He has 58 strikeouts in 48.0 innings pitched and opposing batters are hitting just .152 against him. A two-way talent who also plays first base, Kidston opened his career by earning wins in each of his first two appearances on the mound, followed by a save in his third outing and three more wins in his first four starts. His best start of the season came on April 14 when he matched a career high with seven strikeouts while working a career best eight shutout innings to earn the win against visiting Elon.
CARDINALS WIN FOURTH BIG EAST REGULAR SEASON TITLE IN FIVE YEARS
With the most impressive finish to a regular season in school history, Louisville clinched sole possession of the 2013 BIG EAST Conference regular season championship and won its 16th straight game overall with a 7-4 triumph over Pittsburgh on May 18. Matching the school record for regular season wins first set in 2010, the Cardinals improved to 46-10 overall and finished at 20-4 in conference. The 16-game winning streak was the second longest in school history. While winning four BIG EAST regular season titles in five seasons, the Cardinals earned season-ending series sweeps in three of those.
THOMPSON NAMED BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR; 10 CARDINALS EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS
Junior righthander Cole Sturgeon.
LOUISVILLE CARRIED TOP 10 RANKING INTO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Cardinals entered the NCAA Championship ranked as highly as No. 8 and no lower than 16th in the five major national polls. UofL, ranked in at least one national poll for 28 straight weeks in the regular season dating back to the 2012 preseason, was eighth in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, 12th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, 13th in the NCBWA Top 30, 15th in the Baseball America Top 25 and 16th in the Perfect Game Top 25. Following two weeks outside the top 10, Louisville returned to a position it held for the first 10 weeks of the 2013 season on May 6.
GREEN SUCCESSFUL AND CONSISTENT AS CARDINALS' FRIDAY STARTER
Having never made a regular season weekend start when the 2013 season opened, junior righty Chad Green has handled the role as the Cards' Friday starter impressively throughout the season. With a 10-3 record overall, Green has a 2.29 ERA and 70 strikeouts to only 23 walks in 102.1 innings pitched. On Feb. 22, he allowed only one hit and issued just one walk with three strikeouts in seven shutout innings against Akron, while on May 3, he struck out a career best nine at Villanova. On May 11, he pitched eight shutout innings in a win at UConn.
YOUNG LEADS THE WAY FOR THE CARDINALS' OFFENSE
The Cardinals' top hitter last season, junior Ty Young is among the team leaders in numerous hitting categories for Louisville in 2013. With 63 games in the books, he enters the College World Series as the Cardinals' leading hitter with a .339 average while also leading the team in RBI (57), triples (seven) and runs scored (54). A two-time All-BIG EAST selection, Young has started all 63 games in 2013 with 61 of those at third base.
LOUISVILLE PLAYS AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASES IN 2013
Louisville has surpassed last season's stolen bases total while remaining among the nation's best in that category ranking second with 150 in 195 attempts. Last season, the Cardinals had 96 stolen bases in 63 games, while the school record is within range at 153 stolen bases in 71 games during the 2007 College World Series season. Ranking third nationally with 41 steals in 54 attempts, Adam Engelleads six Cardinals with nine or more stolen bases this season.
THREE BAGS AND A CLOUD OF DUST FOR THE CARDINALS
With their 26th triple of the season on June 2, the Cardinals (who rank sixth in the NCAA in triples) have already surpassed last season's total of 18 three-baggers. Seven players have at least two triples this season with Dan McDonnell's first six seasons as head coach was 19 in 2009, while the lowest total was just nine in 2010. The school record for triples is 34 set in the 1980 and 1992 seasons.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE LED THE WAY IN 16-GAME WINNING STREAK
Closing the regular season with the second longest winning streak in school history, Louisville found success through strong pitching and consistent defense while winning 16 straight overall. During that span, the Cardinals had an ERA of just 2.00 (32 earned runs in 16 games) with 170 strikeouts and just 50 walks in 144.0 innings pitched. Opposing batters hit just .189 against the Cardinals in that stretch. Behind that great pitching was some stellar defense as Louisville committed only eight errors for a .987 fielding percentage.
LOUISVILLE CONTINUES ADDING TO SCHOOL SHUTOUT RECORD
After surpassing the previous school record for shutouts in a season with their eighth in a 4-0 win at EKU on May 7, the Cardinals added to that total with back-to-back shutouts in a doubleheader sweep at Connecticut on May 11. It marked the first time in school history Louisville had shut out an opponent in both games of nine-inning doubleheader. The Cardinals' only previous shutout sweeps of doubleheaders came in seven-inning games in 1981 against Cincinnati and in 1958 against Transylvania.
The 2007 College World Series team set the previous UofL shutouts record earning seven en route to advancing to Omaha. Overall, Louisville has 34 shutout wins under the direction of coach Dan McDonnell -- 10 in 2013, four in 2012, six in 2011, five in 2010, one each in 2009 and 2008 and seven in 2007. During that span, the Cards have been shutout just 10 times.
KIME WINS THREE STRAIGHT STARTS OVER 13 DAYS
Making a trio of starts from April 30-May 12, junior Dace Kime went 3-0 with 25 strikeouts while allowing just two runs in 18.2 dominant innings (0.96 ERA) in wins over WKU, Villanova and UConn. In the April 30 victory over WKU, Kime struck out six in five scoreless innings giving up just four hits, while five days later, he had a career-best 10 strikeouts allowing only one run on just three hits in a career-long seven innings against Villanova. On May 12, he struck out nine more and allowed only one run in 6.2 innings to finish the Cardinals' sweep of UConn. Overall, Kime is 6-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched this season.
WHITING HELPS PACE OFFENSE IN FIRST SEASON AS A STARTER
Entering 2013, sophomore infielder Sutton Whiting had never made a start while only playing in 20 games total. While being used as a pinch runner for most of his appearances as a freshman, Whiting was hitless in his only five at-bats. However, after a strong fall and even better preseason, Whiting earned the opening day start at shortstop and has been outstanding since. As one of the Cards' most consistent hitters with a .315 average, Whiting has chipped in with 30 RBI , 41 runs scored and 24 stolen bases while hitting in the No. 9 spot in the lineup.
BURDI BRINGS HEAT TO JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Penciled in as the closer entering the 2013 season, sophomore righty Nick Burdi was impressive in his first ever save situation. With the Cards holding a one-run lead over Akron on Feb. 24, Burdi entered from the Patterson Stadium bullpen and promptly delivered 11 straight strikes to earn his first career save. His first three pitches registered at 100 mph on the stadium radar gun making him the first pitcher in the history of the ballpark to reach triple digits.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
Saturday, June 15 | 7 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Game 2: Louisville vs. Indiana
Monday, June 17 | 2 p.m./7 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
Game 5/6: Louisville vs. Oregon State/Mississippi State
Wednesday, June 19 | 7 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Friday, June 21 | 2 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 6
Saturday, June 22 | Time TBA (ESPN2/ESPN)
Game 13: Necessary if Game 9 Winner also wins Game 11
2013 College World Series Finals (Best of 3 series)
June 24-26 | 7 p.m. CT 1st pitch each day | ESPN
LOUISVILLE BY THE NUMBERS...
- NCAA Appearances: 7th (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
- CWS Appearances: 2nd (2007, 2013)
- Overall NCAA Record: 19-15
- Overall CWS Record: 1-2
NCAA REGIONAL MATCHUPS OVERVIEW
In their only previous appearance at the CWS, the Cardinals went 1-2 in 2007 dropping a 15-10 decision to Rice in the opener, winning 12-4 over Mississippi State in an elimination game and falling 3-1 to North Carolina to end their magical run to Rosenblatt Stadium. Half of the eight teams in Omaha in 2013 were also there in 2007 as Louisville, UNC and MSU are joined by Oregon State for return visits this season.
Overall, the Cardinals have a 23-26 record all-time against the seven other programs competing in the 2013 CWS with most of those games coming against Omaha newcomer and long-time regional rival Indiana (21-21 record).
LOUISVILLE NOTES AND TRENDS TO TRACK
- The Cardinals are ranked No. 4 in the latest Collegiate Baseball newspaper Top 30.
- With their NCAA Super Regional clinching win at Vanderbilt on June 9, the Cardinals surpassed the previous school record for wins (50 in 2010) earning victory No. 51 in 2013.
- Ranking among the nation's best pitching staffs entering the CWS, Louisville is fifth in the NCAA in ERA at 2.50 and first in strikeouts per nine innings at 9.5.
- The Cardinals are second in the nation in stolen bases with 150, just three shy of matching the school record of 153 set during the 2007 CWS season.
- Adam Engel paces UofL on the bases with 41 steals (third nationally) in 54 attempts.
- Through the Cards' first five NCAA postseason games, Coco Johnson leads the offense hitting .438 with two HR, six RBI, .813 slugging and .550 on-base.
- In those five NCAA tournament games, 16 of the Cardinals' 31 RBI have come with two outs.
- UofL is 34-6 against righty starters and 17-6 against lefties this season.
- The Cards are 39-5 when scoring first, including 21-3 when scoring in the first inning.
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 35 of 63 games this season.
- UofL is 46-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
- Louisville leads the nation in hit-by-pitch with 128 and Coco Johnson (23 HBPs, seventh in NCAA) leads the way for the Cardinals.
- With an 11-1 record overall, righty Jeff Thompson has won five of his last six starts. During that stretch, he has 46 strikeouts, a 2.36 ERA in 42 innings pitched.
- Louisville has already played IU three times this season dropping two to the Hoosiers.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER - NASHVILLE SUPER REGIONAL
Louisville 2, Vanderbilt 1: In a matchup of two of the nation's best pitching squads, eighth-ranked Louisville outdueled No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt 2-1 on June 9 at Hawkins Field to win the Nashville Super Regional and advance to the College World Series for the second time in school history. With both teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation in ERA, it was Louisville that got the better of it as righthander Coco Johnson had a pair of singles and was hit twice in the win.
Louisville 5, Vanderbilt 3: Senior pinch hitter Sutton Whiting. For Helms, it was just his fourth and fifth RBIs of the season and the first since March 1 against Kent State.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TRACKER - LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
Louisville 12, Oklahoma State 3: Louisville clinched its third NCAA Super Regional berth in seven seasons after the top-seeded and eighth-ranked Cardinals closed out the 2013 Louisville Regional with a 12-3 victory over third-seeded Oklahoma State on June 2 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Leading the way for the Cardinals in Sunday's clincher was Joe Filomeno had his best outing as a Cardinal working a career best 3.1 innings of shutout relief while striking out four to earn his first collegiate win and move to 1-0 overall.
Louisville 6, Miami 4: Propelled by a six-run seventh inning, Louisville advanced to the championship round of the Louisville Regional with a 6-4 victory over Miami (Fla.) on June 1 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Saturday's game turned in Louisville's favor in the seventh inning when the Cardinals flipped a one-run deficit into a five-run advantage after finally breaking through against Miami starter Bryan Radziewski. At the plate, five different Louisville players had one hit each while Jeff Thompson took a no-decision despite a terrific outing in his 15th start of the season allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts in 6.0+ innings.
Louisville 8, Bowling Green 3: Chad Green became just the seventh pitcher in school history to reach double figures in wins in a single season improving to 10-3 overall after allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts in 7.0+ innings.
JOHNSON NAMED MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER OF LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
Junior outfielder Coco Johnson was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 Louisville Regional and led four Cardinals earning NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team honors after UofL swept through the weekend at Patterson Stadium. In the three NCAA Regional games, Johnson hit .455 (5-for-11) with two home runs, six RBI and a stolen base to become the first Louisville player to earn MOP honors since Justin Marks in 2009.
Joining Johnson on the Louisville Regional All-Tournament Team were senior second baseman Jeff Thompson. Gardner hit .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles, a triple, three RBI and three runs scored in the trio of games, while Ratajczak hit .364 with two doubles and six RBI for the weekend. Despite earning a no-decision in the Cardinals' winner's bracket victory over Miami, Thompson pitched well allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts in 6.0+ innings as Louisville rallied late for the win.
SEVEN CARDINALS TAKEN IN 2013 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DRAFT
The Louisville baseball program was well represented during the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as seven members of the 2013 Cardinals and two high school signees were selected during the three-day event. Junior righthander Ty Young, who was taken 218th overall in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Junior outfielder Adam Engel was selected in the 19th Round (573rd overall) by the Chicago White Sox.
In addition, prep shortstop and Louisville signee Tucker Neuhaus was the highest player with UofL connections selected going 72nd overall in competitive round B of the second round to the Milwaukee Brewers, while another signee, Corey Ray, was taken in the 33rd Round (987th overall) by the Seattle Mariners.
LOUISVILLE UNVEILS NEWLY DESIGNED UNIFORMS FOR POSTSEASON
During last week's Nashville Super Regional, the Louisville baseball team unveiled new adidas CLIMALITE Sweet Spot uniforms and the Cardinals put them in the national spotlight as they clinched a berth in the College World Series in the 2-1 win at Vanderbilt in front of a national television audience on ESPN. A retro-inspired uniform similar to a design worn by Louisville in the 1970's, the 2013 design features the latest adidas uniform technologies to make the Cardinals faster, lighter and cooler on the diamond. The jersey and pants include CLIMALITE material coupled with dye-sub technology, creating a superior lightweight uniform system with unrivaled moisture transport and durability.
LOUISVILLE AMONG 23 SCHOOLS WITH AT LEAST THREE SUPER REGIONALS IN THE LAST SEVEN SEASONS
With the NCAA Regional triumph at Jim Patterson Stadium earlier this month, Louisville clinched its third NCAA Super Regional berth in the last seven seasons becoming one of just 23 schools to accomplish the feat. The list of schools with at least three Super Regional appearances in the last seven season includes Florida State with six, Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, North Carolina and South Carolina with five each, Florida, LSU, North Carolina State, Rice, UCLA and Virginia with four each and Arkansas, Clemson, Louisville, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, UC Irvine and Vanderbilt with three each.
LOUISVILLE AMONG SELECT COMPANY WITH ANOTHER 40-WIN SEASON
With the series-opening win at Connecticut on May 11, the Cardinals clinched their sixth 40-win season in Dan McDonnell's seven years as head coach. Entering the week, Louisville was one of only seven programs in the nation to accomplish the feat of six or more 40-win campaigns in the last seven seasons. Joining the Cardinals on that list are Florida State (7), Rice (7), South Carolina (7), Coastal Carolina (6), North Carolina (6) and TCU (6).
THOMPSON NAMED LOUISVILLE SLUGGER SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICA, GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD SEMIFINALIST
On May 28, junior righty Jeff Thompson was among 30 players selected as semifinalists for the 2013 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, while on May 30, he was named Louisville Slugger Second Team All-America by College Baseball newspaper. Entering the CWS, Thompson is 11-1 overall with a 2.00 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 103.1 innings pitched this season. Seven of his 16 starts have been scoreless outings and opposing batters are hitting just .169 against him. For his career, Thompson is 22-6 on the mound with a 2.85 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 221.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 12 batters in two outings this season -- Feb. 16 against USF and May 4 at Villanova. During the course of four straight starts, Thompson had a career best stretch of 28.0 shutout innings from March 9 to March 29.
BURDI INVITED TO USA BASEBALL COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM
Sophomore righty Nick Burdi has been selected for the 2013 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team as announced on April 24. A native of Downers Grove, Ill., Burdi leads the Cardinals with 16 saves to go with a 0.78 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 28 relief appearances and 34.2 innings pitched this season. Opposing batters are hitting just .197 against the hard-throwing Burdi, who has a 3-3 record overall on the mound. Burdi is the sixth UofL player to earn an invitation to the USA Collegiate National Team. Previous Cardinals to participate in the selection process for Team USA include Ryan Wright (2010), Phil Wunderlich (2009), Tony Zych (2009), Justin Marks (2008) and Mark Jurich (2002). Training for the team is set for June 21-July 2 in Cary, N.C., at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Team USA will travel to Japan from July 6-11 and is also scheduled to play Cuba from July 18-23 in the U.S.
FUNKHOUSER, KIDSTON LOUISVILLE SLUGGER FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICANS
Righthanded pitchers Anthony Kidston were named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans on June 5 by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Funkhouser enters the CWS at 5-1 with a 2.24 ERA in 21 appearances on the mound, including six starts. He has 51 strikeouts in 52.1 innings pitched and opposing batters are hitting just .214 against him. Earlier this season, Funkhouser delivered the Cardinals' first complete game shutout since 2009 when he struck out a career best eight and allowed only four hits in a win at Eastern Kentucky on May 7. The talented righty kicked off his collegiate career with 18.0 straight scoreless innings for Louisville.
Kidston is 5-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 13 appearances as a pitcher, including six starts. He has 58 strikeouts in 48.0 innings pitched and opposing batters are hitting just .152 against him. A two-way talent who also plays first base, Kidston opened his career by earning wins in each of his first two appearances on the mound, followed by a save in his third outing and three more wins in his first four starts. His best start of the season came on April 14 when he matched a career high with seven strikeouts while working a career best eight shutout innings to earn the win against visiting Elon.
CARDINALS WIN FOURTH BIG EAST REGULAR SEASON TITLE IN FIVE YEARS
With the most impressive finish to a regular season in school history, Louisville clinched sole possession of the 2013 BIG EAST Conference regular season championship and won its 16th straight game overall with a 7-4 triumph over Pittsburgh on May 18. Matching the school record for regular season wins first set in 2010, the Cardinals improved to 46-10 overall and finished at 20-4 in conference. The 16-game winning streak was the second longest in school history. While winning four BIG EAST regular season titles in five seasons, the Cardinals earned season-ending series sweeps in three of those.
THOMPSON NAMED BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR; 10 CARDINALS EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS
Junior righthander Cole Sturgeon.
LOUISVILLE CARRIED TOP 10 RANKING INTO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Cardinals entered the NCAA Championship ranked as highly as No. 8 and no lower than 16th in the five major national polls. UofL, ranked in at least one national poll for 28 straight weeks in the regular season dating back to the 2012 preseason, was eighth in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, 12th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, 13th in the NCBWA Top 30, 15th in the Baseball America Top 25 and 16th in the Perfect Game Top 25. Following two weeks outside the top 10, Louisville returned to a position it held for the first 10 weeks of the 2013 season on May 6.
GREEN SUCCESSFUL AND CONSISTENT AS CARDINALS' FRIDAY STARTER
Having never made a regular season weekend start when the 2013 season opened, junior righty Chad Green has handled the role as the Cards' Friday starter impressively throughout the season. With a 10-3 record overall, Green has a 2.29 ERA and 70 strikeouts to only 23 walks in 102.1 innings pitched. On Feb. 22, he allowed only one hit and issued just one walk with three strikeouts in seven shutout innings against Akron, while on May 3, he struck out a career best nine at Villanova. On May 11, he pitched eight shutout innings in a win at UConn.
YOUNG LEADS THE WAY FOR THE CARDINALS' OFFENSE
The Cardinals' top hitter last season, junior Ty Young is among the team leaders in numerous hitting categories for Louisville in 2013. With 63 games in the books, he enters the College World Series as the Cardinals' leading hitter with a .339 average while also leading the team in RBI (57), triples (seven) and runs scored (54). A two-time All-BIG EAST selection, Young has started all 63 games in 2013 with 61 of those at third base.
LOUISVILLE PLAYS AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASES IN 2013
Louisville has surpassed last season's stolen bases total while remaining among the nation's best in that category ranking second with 150 in 195 attempts. Last season, the Cardinals had 96 stolen bases in 63 games, while the school record is within range at 153 stolen bases in 71 games during the 2007 College World Series season. Ranking third nationally with 41 steals in 54 attempts, Adam Engelleads six Cardinals with nine or more stolen bases this season.
THREE BAGS AND A CLOUD OF DUST FOR THE CARDINALS
With their 26th triple of the season on June 2, the Cardinals (who rank sixth in the NCAA in triples) have already surpassed last season's total of 18 three-baggers. Seven players have at least two triples this season with Dan McDonnell's first six seasons as head coach was 19 in 2009, while the lowest total was just nine in 2010. The school record for triples is 34 set in the 1980 and 1992 seasons.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE LED THE WAY IN 16-GAME WINNING STREAK
Closing the regular season with the second longest winning streak in school history, Louisville found success through strong pitching and consistent defense while winning 16 straight overall. During that span, the Cardinals had an ERA of just 2.00 (32 earned runs in 16 games) with 170 strikeouts and just 50 walks in 144.0 innings pitched. Opposing batters hit just .189 against the Cardinals in that stretch. Behind that great pitching was some stellar defense as Louisville committed only eight errors for a .987 fielding percentage.
LOUISVILLE CONTINUES ADDING TO SCHOOL SHUTOUT RECORD
After surpassing the previous school record for shutouts in a season with their eighth in a 4-0 win at EKU on May 7, the Cardinals added to that total with back-to-back shutouts in a doubleheader sweep at Connecticut on May 11. It marked the first time in school history Louisville had shut out an opponent in both games of nine-inning doubleheader. The Cardinals' only previous shutout sweeps of doubleheaders came in seven-inning games in 1981 against Cincinnati and in 1958 against Transylvania.
The 2007 College World Series team set the previous UofL shutouts record earning seven en route to advancing to Omaha. Overall, Louisville has 34 shutout wins under the direction of coach Dan McDonnell -- 10 in 2013, four in 2012, six in 2011, five in 2010, one each in 2009 and 2008 and seven in 2007. During that span, the Cards have been shutout just 10 times.
KIME WINS THREE STRAIGHT STARTS OVER 13 DAYS
Making a trio of starts from April 30-May 12, junior Dace Kime went 3-0 with 25 strikeouts while allowing just two runs in 18.2 dominant innings (0.96 ERA) in wins over WKU, Villanova and UConn. In the April 30 victory over WKU, Kime struck out six in five scoreless innings giving up just four hits, while five days later, he had a career-best 10 strikeouts allowing only one run on just three hits in a career-long seven innings against Villanova. On May 12, he struck out nine more and allowed only one run in 6.2 innings to finish the Cardinals' sweep of UConn. Overall, Kime is 6-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched this season.
WHITING HELPS PACE OFFENSE IN FIRST SEASON AS A STARTER
Entering 2013, sophomore infielder Sutton Whiting had never made a start while only playing in 20 games total. While being used as a pinch runner for most of his appearances as a freshman, Whiting was hitless in his only five at-bats. However, after a strong fall and even better preseason, Whiting earned the opening day start at shortstop and has been outstanding since. As one of the Cards' most consistent hitters with a .315 average, Whiting has chipped in with 30 RBI , 41 runs scored and 24 stolen bases while hitting in the No. 9 spot in the lineup.
BURDI BRINGS HEAT TO JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Penciled in as the closer entering the 2013 season, sophomore righty Nick Burdi was impressive in his first ever save situation. With the Cards holding a one-run lead over Akron on Feb. 24, Burdi entered from the Patterson Stadium bullpen and promptly delivered 11 straight strikes to earn his first career save. His first three pitches registered at 100 mph on the stadium radar gun making him the first pitcher in the history of the ballpark to reach triple digits.
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