6/5 Dominguez Drafted & More Baseball Notes
Louisville redshirt-sophomore 3rd baseman Chris Dominguez was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 5th round with the 167th pick on Thursday. The co-Big East player of the year has until August 15th to decide whether to sign with the Rockies or come back to Louisville for his senior year. His name when then re-enter the draft pool next year. Dominguez has a tough decision to make in the next couple months. The Rockies' current 3rd baseman is the talented Garrett Atkins, who has been a mainstay on the hot-corner for the last few years. Depending on what Dominguez is looking for, playing time or otherwise, Colorado could be a good fit. Something good for Chris, yet bad for Cards fans. The 6-4 240lb Dominguez batted .375 this year with 21 homers and 75 RBI for the Cards. If he were to return, it would be hard not to consider him a candidate for national player of the year.
Also, prized-recruit Jay Odorizzi was drafted early in the second round (#32) by Milwaukee. Odorizzi had an absolutely amazing senior season for Highland HS in Illinois. He posted a ridiculous .431 average with a school-record 15 home runs and 41 RBI to go with 28 steals in 38 games at the plate. On the mound, Jay had a 13-0 record and a 0.09 ERA. His stock is about as high is it's going to get, so I would be very surprised to see him in a Cardinal uniform next season.

In a side note, Stewart Ijames was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American after completing a successful season batting .351 with 40 RBI. With questions surrounding Dominguez and Odorizzi, it's good to know Ijames will be back for at least two more years.

Rob Jones (robjones.lyes@gmail.com)

5/29 Watch the Cards in Athens and Beyond
Fans will now have several ways to follow the BIG EAST champion Louisville Cardinals baseball team at this weekend's NCAA Regional. If you couldn't make the trip to Athens , Georgia to cheer on the Cards, don't worry, their match up with Georgia Tech will be broadcast in Louisville by Insight Cable on ICN Channel 2. Cards fans can also follow the game on by listening on WAVG 1450 AM and free of charge online through UofL All-Access at www.UofLSports.com.

5/29 Dominguez Named All-American
Chris Dominguez can add another award to what is becoming a very long list of accolades, being named Third Team All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball.
 
Dominguez was the only consensus selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team and was also named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year after batting .369 with 67 runs, 13 doubles, 20 home runs and 74 RBI. He was nothing short of spectacular in the Big Eat Tournament, help leading the Cardinals to their first league title in school history, earning the Jack Kaiser Award, which is given annually to the MVP of the BIG EAST Championship.
 
The sophomore third baseman was also named one of 50 semifinalists for the 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, presented to the nation's premier amateur baseball player. The list of 50 players is narrowed to five finalists on Tuesday, June 3, en route to the announcement of this year's winner on Wednesday, July 16.
 
Dominguez is the sixth Cardinal to be named an All-American, joining former Cards, Logan Johnson (2007 third team), Boomer Whiting (2007 third team), Mark Jurich (2004 and 2005 third team), and Dan Kopriva (1992 first team).

5/26 Louisville headed to Georgia

The Cards baseball team found out their destination today, and it will be Athens, Georgia. Louisville (41-19) will be the 3rd seed and will face the 2nd seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (39-19) on Friday at 7:00pm ET. Top seeded and host Georgia Bulldogs (35-21-1) will play the 4th seeded Lipscomb Bisons (33-24).

 

The Athens bracket will feature two games each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and if the championship is not decided on Sunday, the if-necessary title game will be played on Monday, June 2. 

 

Tournament books as well as single game ticket prices are the following: A Reserved tournament book will be $60; a General Admission tournament book will be $50. Single game ticket prices are $12 for Reserved, $10 for General Admission. Tournament books can be purchased on-line via UGA's web site at www.georgiadogs.com. Also, tickets can be purchased at the UGA ticket office, located on the third floor of the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall Building. Fans purchasing tournament books on-line can pick those tickets up at the Butts-Mehre Building through Friday at noon, and then all tournament books and tickets will be available at the will call window at Foley Field beginning at 1 p.m.

 

Last season the Cardinals were victorious as a three-seed in the Columbia Regional and advanced to the 2007 CWS after defeating Oklahoma State in the Louisville Super Regional. This marks the third time UofL has advanced to the regionals. The 2002 Cardinals were the first team to advance to a regional, playing in Atlanta and falling to Georgia 7-1 and Coastal Carolina 9-1.

 

All postseason games will be carried live in Louisville on Sportsradio 1450 AM WAVG.

*2008 NCAA Baseball Athens Regional Tentative Schedule
Friday, May 30
Game 1: Lipscomb vs. GEORGIA, 3 p.m. ET
Game 2: Georgia Tech vs. Louisville, 7 p.m.  ET


Saturday, May 31
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 3 p.m. ET
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 7 p.m. ET


Sunday, June 1
Game 5:  Loser of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 3, 2 p.m. ET
Game 6:  Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 6 p.m. ET


*Monday, June 2 (*If Necessary)
Game 7: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6, 7 p.m. ET
*Will know later in the week if any games will be televised

                                                           Trevor Kelsey (trevorkelsey.lyes@gmail.com)

5/24Cards Are Big East Champs

The Louisville Cardinals rallied from 2 runs down to claim their first Big East Championship in school history, beating Cincinnati, 6-3. Dan McDonnell would put the ball in the glove of Freshman Bob Revesz and he wouldn't disappoint. While the Bearcats sent their ace, Junior Dan Osterbrock, who entered the game 9-1 on the season. Both teams struggled to get on base through the first 3 innings, with both teams combining for just 3 hits.

In the bottom of the 4th, the Bearcats opened the inning off with a single by Josh Harrison (Co-Offensive POY with Chris Dominguez) and that's when third basemen Mike Spina drilled his 20th home run of the year far past the left field wall to give the Bearcats the lead. Louisville would answer back with some small ball in the top of the 6th inning. Phil Wunderlich started the inning striking out but the catcher couldn't handle the pitch, which allowed Wunderlich to advance to first giving the Cards a break. Freshman Drew Haynes singled, giving Louisville two on with no outs. John Dao's ground ball would advance the runner and then Josh Richmond would get a sacrifice RBI with a ground ball to the shortstop. Justin McClanahan struck out to end the rally and the inning, leaving the score 2-1 after 5 1/2 innings.

Cards went to the bullpen to open the 6th, ending the day on Revesz. He finished with 5 IP, allowing just 5 hits and 2 runs. Both of which came off his only bad pitch of the day. Gabrial Shaw came in and got the first two outs with ease but then Spina came to the plate. He must have fealt the last ball he hit was lonely, because he blasted another ball over the left field wall. Giving him 4 home runs in the Big East Tournament. His four home runs equaled the BIG EAST Tournament record set by Isaiah Howes of Louisville in 2004. Putting the Bearcats up on the Cards 3-1. Shaw ended the inning one batter later but the damage had been done.

Osterbrock had only given up 3 hits to the Cards through 6 innings but finally in the 7th, Dominguez led off the innings with a single. Stewart Ijames followed that with a single. And again the Cards had two on with no outs. Jeff Arnold got on base with a fielders choice. Andrew Clark then doubled down the right field line, scoring both Ijames and Arnold.  Clark would steal third but back to back strike outs by Haynes and Derrick Alfonso ended the inning, all tied up at 3 a piece.

McDonnell knowing all that was on the line went with ace Justin Marks, on just two days rest, in the 7th. Marks faced three batters and sat them all down, striking two of the three batters out.

Cincinnati tried to answer McDonnell's strategy by going to pitcher Michael Hill (6-4) also on two days rest in the 8th. Hill is no Justin Marks though. Doa would ground out to start the inning but Richmod then singled, advancing to second on a McClanahan sacrifice. Dominguez stepped to the plate, 2 of 3 on the day, and the Bearcats wanted no part of him. Allowing him to take first base on an intentional walk, deciding to face Ijames instead. It would back fire, Ijames drilled the second pitch he saw down the right field line, scoring Richmond and Dominguez. Arnold kept the inning going with a single, followed by a Clark single to score Ijames and putting the Cards up 6-3. Just six outs away from a Big East Title.

Marks returned in the 8th. Striking out the lead off batter and getting the next batter to ground out but he would then walk Jamel Scott. McDonnell didn't hesitate to go on and bring in B. J. Rosenberg. He got Harrison to fly out and end the inning. Rosenberg faced the heart of the Bearcats order in the 9th and put them down 1-2-3. Clinching the Cards first Conference Tournament Title in school History.

Dominguez, Ijames, Clark and Haynes each has two hits for the Cardinals, who out-hit UC 12-6. Dominguez finished the tournament 8 for 18(.444) with seven runs, a double, two home runs and nine RBIs, collecting two hits in each of the four tournament games. Good enough to name him the winner of the Jack Kaiser Award, given annually to the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. Marks, McClanahan, Richmond and Dominguez each made the All-Tournament Team.

The NCAA Regional sites and host schools will be announced Sunday at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and the field of 64 will be announced live on ESPN on Monday at 12:30 p.m. NCAA Regionals are scheduled to begin on Friday, May 30.

                                                          Trevor Kelsey (trevorkelsey.lyes@gmail.com)

5/22 Cards Advance in Big East Championship
Louisville ace Justin Marks shut Villanova down and the Cardinals bats were on fire, rolling to a 14-3 victory over the Wildcats. The game would be called after 7 innings due to the ten run rule. Sophomore Justin Marks looked untouchable as usual, going 6 innings with seven strike outs. Meanwhile, the Louisville offense has been hitting on all cylinders, collecting 16 team hits for the second straight game, with eight different Cards getting on base with a hit. Louisville jumped on the Wildcats early and often, scoring 2 runs in the 2nd and 4 more in the 3rd. Senior Justin McClanahan would record three hits on the day (triple and 2 doubles) and knock in three RBIs, while Chris Dominguez (19) and Stewart Ijames (7) would go deep. The game was really busted wide open in the 5th, when the inning was started by a Stewart Ijames double, then a stolen base, followed by scoring on a error by the Villanova catcher. Three more Cardinals would double in that frame (McClanahan, John Dao, and Josh Richmond) for a 5-spot. Louisville will now sit and wait for the winner of a Seton Hall and Villanova match up tomorrow. The winner of that game will play the Cards on Friday (5/23) at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Trevor Kelsey (trevorkelsey.lyes@gmail.com)

5/20 Cards Steamroll Seton Hall

The Cards had to wait 2 plus hours due to the rain in Clearwater, Florida, but it didn't matter, as they dominated Seton Hall, 12-3. Louisville came out of the gates swinging, scoring 6 runs in the first 2 innings and finishing the day with 16 hits for a team. Eight different Cards tallied an RBI, led by recent Big East Co-Offensive POY Chris Dominguez, who collected 3 RBIs on the day. Shortstop John Dao led all Cardinals with 4 hits, scoring 3 runs and hitting his third home run on the season while being just a triple shy of the cycle. Matt Lea got the start and looked impressive. Going 5.2 innings, allowing just 5 hits and 1 run. Lea is now 5-0 on the season.

Louisville will play 8th seeded Villanova, who upset top seeded St. John's today 12-0, tomorrow at 5:00pm ET. Cardinals are now 3-0 in the opening game of the BIG EAST Championships with the win. They have won each of their first two trips to the second round in both 2006 and 2007.

                                              

Trevor Kelsey(trevorkelsey.lyes@gmail.com)

5/19 Seven Cards Honored By Big East

5/18 Louisville gets four seed and Seton Hall

Louisville men's baseball team finished the season strong (21-6 last 27 games) and will head down to Clearwater, Florida with a 37-19 record and a four seed. They will play on Tuesday, May 21st at 10:00 a.m. ET and will face the 5th seeded Seton Hall Pirates. The Pirates and Cards did not play each other this season but the Cards did sweep them in a three game series last season. Also in the Cards bracket will be 8th seeded Villanova against Big East regular season Champion St. Johns.

Louisville entered this tournament in almost the exact same way last season. Going 2-2 in the tournament and receiving an at-large post season bid. A starter for the Cards has yet to be announced but I can only assume it will be Sophomore Justin Marks. Marks has been just short of dominate, going 5-1 in conference with a 2.44 ERA. In Marks only meeting against the Hall last season, he would go six innings, facing one batter over the minimum through five, leaving the game with a no-hitter and a three strike out performance for the win.

 

                                                                                           Trevor Kelsey (trevorkelsey.lyes@gmail.com)

5/14 Dominguez, Cards Smash Ball St., 9-3
Three Cardinals combined to hit four home runs as Louisville rolled to a 9-3 victory over Ball State. Third baseman Chris Dominguez accounted for two of the deep balls, hitting his team and Big East leading 17th and 18th. He would also drive in 6 RBIs on the day. Josh Richmond (5) and Jeff Arnold (2) also got in on the fun, each going yard. Matt Lea started for Louisville on the mound and would not get the win leaving in the 5th inning trailing 2-0. Lea would only give up 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5 on the day. Freshman reliever Gabriel Shaw, who is coming around after a slow start, recorded the win (4-3). Arnol lead the Cards with 3 hits, while 3 other Cards finished with a multi-hit game. Louisville improved their record to 35-18 on the year with one last three game series left in the regular season. Rutgers will be in town Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The third game will be Senior day at Jim Patterson Field for a Senior class that helped lead this Cardinal team to last season's CWS run and hopefully another this year. All fans need to fill the stadium Saturday and pay much deserved honor to the Seniors. As always, attendance will be free and there will be plenty of festivities.

5/12 Weekend Wrap-Up: West Virginia
Game One...
Louisville extended their season high win streak to 10 games and Justin Marks looked as dominate an usual, beating West Virginia in game one, 6-2. Marks would go 6.1 innings and give up 2 runs while striking out 7 Mountaineers. He improved his record to 6-1 on the season. The Card offense stayed hot as Chris Dominguez would hit his 15th and 16th home runs on the season, contiuing to show his clout at the plate. John Dao contributed 4 of the Cardinals 13 team hits. Thomas Royse set up the 9th for B.J. Rosenberg to collect his 6th save of the year.
 
Game Two...
You can blame it on being a double header, but either way the Cards saw their 10 game winning streak come to an end. Zack Pitts(5-5) continued to struggle, as West Virginia rocked him for 4 runs in 3 innings on their way to beating the Cards, 5-2. The Mountaineers got to Pitts in the 2nd (collecting 4 hits and 3 runs) and again in the 3rd with a lead off triple. Louisville would scatter only 7 hits, the same as West Virginia, but the Cards could never string anything together and get the necessary runs. Three Louisville relievers combined for 5 innings of work only allowing one hit and one run. Matt Yurish would go all 9 innings for the 'neers, striking out 9 and walking only one. Justin McClanhan led the Cards with two hits and a scored run.
 
Game Three...
Louisville would jump on the Mountaineers first, but despite a usually secure 4-2 9th inning Cards lead, West Virginia got to Louisville closer B.J. Rosenberg for 4 hits and 3 runs to beat Louisville 5-4 in 10 innings. The Cardinals went up 3-0 in the 3rd off 3 hits and would add another run in the 6th, which presumably would be enough considering the way the bullpen has pitched lately. Bob Revesz got the start for Dan McDonnell, going 5 strong innings, allowing only 4 hits and no runs. Rosenberg, who has been as good a closer as anyone in the country of late was solid, but was asked to go almost 4 innings(3.2) and as the 9th inning wore down, so did Rosenberg. He would strike out 2 of the first three batters in the 9th before the WV rally began. Giving up all 4 of his and 3 runs in the 9th and 10th innings, Rosenberg blew the save and the game. Andrew Clark led all Cards with 4 hits. Josh Richmond and John Dao each contributed 2 RBIs as well.
 
Series Recap...
Louisville could have easily swept this series, but sometimes things don't go the way you want them too. Dominguez, who destroyed the Mountaineers pitching staff in game one (2-3, 2 HRs, 2 RBIs), would go cold in games two and three, going a combined 1-7. John Dao continued his hot streak, finishing the series 6-12 from the plate with 2 RBIs. The Cards would out hit West Virginia in the end, 31-29, yet they could never put one and one together. Louisville falls to 34-18 and despite the back-to-back losses, their first since March 28-29 at PITT, have still gone 18-5 over the last 23 games.
 
On Deck...
Louisville will finish their 2008 regular season at home with Ball State coming to town on Tuesday (6pm first pitch) and Rutgers coming in for the weekend. Remember all home games are free to attend and these are all four big games. So get up and get to the ball park to cheer on the Cards. It could possibly be your last chance of the season. 





5/10 McDonnell's Cards On Fire Heading Into Home Stretch
Louisville fans have never been known for their love of baseball. I am as guilty as the rest of you. This city will always love its college basketball above all rest. And while football is a not so far out 2nd place. There is nothing in the rear view for 3rd, where baseball mostly sits. But that must change and change quickly. 
The Louisville Cardinals captured our hearts and attention with last season's miracle run to Omaha. While this season started slow, mostly due to an enormous amount of starters lost from that CWS team, Coach Dan McDonnell has got this young group of kids to start believing they too can reach Omaha. 
Since a University of Kentucky-record crowd saw Louisville fall in a classic college baseball game 7-6 in 12 innings to a walk off home run, the Cards have won 17 of 20 games, including 9 in a row. A nine game streak that has seen the Louisville pitching staff just plain shutdown the opposition. Holding them to .221 BA, a team ERA of 2.87, all while going 81.0 innings with 91 strike outs and only 13 walks.  
A tribute to the great job McDonnell has done in only his second season at the helm. Louisville only uses two Seniors in the field to go with only two Juniors. Most young teams would have folded, but not the Cards. Louisville has been given huge contributions from several Freshman, such as Stewart Ijames, a Freshman from Owensboro. Ijames has batted .469 in Big East play to go along with four home runs, fifteen RBIs and a 816% slugging percentage playing in 17 of 21 conference games. 
Third baseman Chris Dominguez has been the consistent leader throughout this season. Leading the Cards in all triple crown statistics (.363 BA, 14 HR, and 52 RBIs). He has been as impressive against the Big East. Hitting .357 with 5 home runs and 19 RBIs (all team leading).  
Two players who made the trip from Starksville with coach McDonnell have also been large contributors. First baseman Andrew Clark and pitcher Matt Lea. Clark is third on the team in RBIs (41) and is batting .315 , while leading the team with 26 walks. Lea has come on strong of late, appearing in 14 games (2 starts) and has a 4-0 record with a 2.81 ERA. He is holding opponents to a .228 batting average while striking out 26 batters in only 25.2 innings of work. 
As good as the bats have been, the pitching has been just as good. Led by Sophomore Justin Marks. Marks is 5-1 (3-1 in conference) overall, holding opponents to a .217 BA and a 2.26 ERA. Zack Pitts who was pre-season all-everything, has pitched well (5-4 overall and 4.35 ERA) but has severely struggled in Big East play (2-3 record and 5.82 ERA).   
Louisville is currently 33-16 overall and 13-8 in conference (4th place). They have a huge 3 game series coming up on the road at West Virginia. That will be followed a season ending home stand of four straight games. Cards fans come out an support this team. Much like every other sport, Jurich has put his fingerprints on our baseball team and it is on the rise. 
Cards fans I plead to you to WAKE UP!! This is one good team. Show your support and come to the ball park. It's free to attend, so don't give me any excuses.


5/8 Dao Leads Cards to Season-Sweep of Butler
Louisville continued to play good baseball all-around as they finished off a two game sweep of Butler on the season, winning 8-1. Shortstop John Dao nailed his second home run on the season and Matt Lea got the start and, combined with four other relievers, held the Bulldogs to just 5 hits and only 1 1st inning run. Eight different Cardinals recorded a hit in the victory. Dao, who has been on fire of late, went 2 of 4 from the plate. Scored 3 runs and stole bases to go along with his 4th inning shot over the left field wall.



5/7 Cards Extend Streak to Eight
Louisville scored 8 runs after the 5th inning and had a season best 7 steals on only 7 attempts on their way to a 13-6 victory over Indiana, their 16th win in 19 games. Gabriel Shaw got the start fro the Cards, but only lasted 3 innings, giving up 5 hits and 6 runs, giving up three home runs. He would exit with the Hoosiers ahead 6-5. Then the Louisville bullpen snuffed out the IU bats, holding them to 2 hits and zero runs. Gavin Logsdon would get his first win (1-3) of the season and his solid outing was joined by Zack Pitts and Thomas Royse out of the bullpen. The Cards racked up 16 team hits on the day, led by Andrew Clark (4) who was one of four Cards with multiple hits. Josh Richmond (4) and Stewart Ijames (5) both hit home runs to help charge the Louisville offensive barrage. The eight straight wins is the longest at Louisville under Dan McDonnell and the most since 2006 (12 wins straight).
 
Louisville will host Butler at Jim Patterson Field Wednesday, May 7th at 4pm. All games are free to the public and can also be heard live on 1450AM with the "voice of the Cards"...Sean Moth.


5/5 Weekend Wrap-Up: Georgetown Hoyas
Game One...
Justin Marks would get the Friday start for the Cards against Georgetown and sure made the most of it as the Cards would take game one, 4-3. Marks (5-1) would go 8 great innings, holding the Hoyas to just 6 hits and 3 runs while striking out a career-best 10 batters.  B.J. Rosenberg entered in the 9th to record his 5th save of the season. Louisville jumped out to a 2-o lead in the 1st behind Justin McClanahan and Andrew Clark RBIs, but the Hoyas wouldn't go away quietly, taking the lead 3-2 after 3 innings. Louisville rallied in the 7th with a Stewart Ijames 2-run RBI double with two outs to give the Cards the lead back and for good.
 
Game Two...
Jeff Arnold and Phil Wunderlich RBIs in the 9th would give the Cards the lead and B.J. Rosenberg shut down the bottom of the inning to give Louisville their second win in the series, 5-3. Zack Pitts would get the start and pitched well for the Cards, tossing 7 innings of scoreless baseball. Pitts would only allow 4 base hits in that span, however the Hoyas would get to reliever Thomas Royse in the 8th for 3 runs to even the score, 3-3. That set up the 9th inning drama by Wunderlich and Arnold. Stewart Ijames led all Cards with 4 hits.
 
Game Three...
Louisville Freshman Bob Revesz would contribute yet another good start in game three, shutting the Hoyas down as Louisville rolled to a 9-2 victory, extending their winning strek to 7 games. Revesz (1-0) would go 7 innings, allowing only 2 hits and 2 runs on the day. Meanwhile, the Cards bats stayed hot all day, putting up 7 runs between the 3rd and 5th innings. Louisville would add 2 more runs in the 7th to seal the deal, giving the Cards a series sweep.
 
Series Recap...
Louisville finally got the sweep that has been avoiding them all season in Big East play. It couldn't have come at a better time. Justin McClanahan (8) and Andrew Clark (4) would both go yard for the Cardinals in the series. B.J Rosenberg was also named Big East Pitcher of the Week for his contributions to a 5-0 week for the Cards. Rosenberg posted a 1-0 record, while notching 2 saves, striking out 9 batters in 3.1 innings of work, allowing just 5 singles and not walking a single batter in his award winning week. UofL has won a season-high seven straight and are 15-3 in their last 18 to improve their overall record to 31-16 on the season.




4/31 Cards shutout Morehead State
A single by Jeff Arnold, followed by Tyler Mickits' first home run of the season, gave Louisville all they needed, as they went on to defeat in state opponent Morehead State, 2-0.  Matt Lea (3-0) got his first start of the season and made the most of it, only giving up 1 hit in 5 innings of work and striking out 8 batters. Neil Holland and Zack Pitts would finish the victory out of the bullpen, embarrassing Eagles batters by surrendering a combined 2 hits. While Morehead could only muster up 3 hits in the game, Louisville could only get 6 themselves. All they needed was one monster shot in the 5th by Mickits to improve their record to 27-16 on the season.
 
 
Cards rally to get revenge on WKU
Louisville gave payback to Kentucky last week and did the same to Western Kentucky this week, fighting back from down 5-0 to win 8-7. The Hilltoppers beat Louisville earlier this season in Bowling Green 10-5 and when they came to our house, the Cards would get their revenge. WKU jumped all over the Cards in the first 3 innings, but Louisville finally answered with a run in the bottom of the 3rd and again 3 more in the 4th to cut the deficit to 5-4. They would finally tie the game up at 5 on a Josh Richmond RBI in the 6th. But Western punched right back with 2 runs in the 8th to move ahead. Louisville would not die and in the bottom of the inning, the Cards put up 3 more to take the lead 8-7 and record their 9th win in the last 11 games. Bob Revesz got the start, only lasting 2 innings. Freshman Jon Clarence only had to get a single out to record his first win of the season. John Dao (left) led all Cards with 4 hits and knocked in 2 RBIs, continuing to rake like a pro. Jeff Arnold got his only hit, a single, to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. The longest by any Cardinal this season. Starter turned closer, B.J. Rosenberg, would get his 4th save of the season.



4/28 Weekend Wrap-Up: Cincinnati Bearcats

Game One...
Senior Zack Pitts had another rough start, this time against local and conference opponent Cincinnati Bearcats. The Bearcats jumped all over the Cards pitcher for four runs in the first and never looked back, as Louisville dropped game one, 11-2. Pitts would only last 3 innings, maybe 3 too long, giving up eight hits and nine runs. Louisville would give up all eleven runs to Cincinnati in the first four innings. The Cards would finally put a run on the board in the fourth inning behind a Chris Dominguez RBI and again in the seventh off a Josh Richmond RBI single. Pitts would fall to 5-4 on the season. The only bright spot of the day for the Cards was Jeff Arnold extending his career-long hitting streak to eleven games.
 
Game Two...
Game two started the same way as game one, with the Bearcats striking first putting up the first three runs of the game on Louisville starter Justin Marks. Yet the Cards never said die and fought back for a big, 13-4 victory. Marks would go 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs on 4 hits, but struck out 7 hitters in a no-decision. Louisville started what would be a big day in the third inning, with a John Dao RBI triple. Once the gates were open, the flood began. The Cards scored 12 runs between the 5th and 8th innings. Dao led all Cards with 3 hits and seven other Cards recorded a hit. Thomas Royse would get the win and improve his record to 3-0. Chris Dominguez (14) and Josh Richmond (4) both went yard for the Cards.
 
Game Three...
The Cards had to fight back from early defecits in games one and two and game three wasn't any different. After Cincinnati jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st, Louisville came back guns (or bats) blazing. UL answered with 3 runs of their own in the 1st and 2nd innings. After adding 6 more runs, the Cards took two out of three against the Bearcats with a 9-3 win. Bob Revesz would get the start for the Cards, but couldn't stay in long enough to get the win. Gabriel Shaw (3-3) took the win. Revesz went only 2.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits. Shaw would go 2.1 innings and was followed by 3 other Cardinal relievers. Six Cards finished the day with a multi hit day. John Dao with 3 hits continued his hot weekend and Jeff Arnold extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
 
Series Recap...
Louisville just cant get the sweep against a Big East opponent this season, but taking two out of three isn't bad. John Dao has been on fire of late, recording 6 hits and 4 RBIs in this series. Chris Dominguez also continued to show why he will be playing in the majors some day soon, finishing this series with 5 hits and 4 RBIs, while also hitting his team leading 14th home run. Louisville finished the weekend with an ever-improving 25-17 overall record, 12-6 in the Big East






4/24 Cards Down Cats on Dominguez Hit in 9th
Tie game, bases loaded, 2 outs, bottom of the ninth. As a Louisville fan, who would you want at the plate? The
choice is obvious, the man that has delivered for the Cards time and time again in his 2 seasons. Chris Dominguez stepped up to the plate with over 3,600 fans knowing in their right-minds what was going to happen. A base hit over the head of the UK second basemen Ryan Wilkes gave the Cards revenge for their earlier loss to arch-rival Kentucky and continued the sparkling legacy that Dominguez is leaving at Louisville. Cards win 6-5 and possibly knock the Cats out of the top 25 (wishful thinking). Is it sweeter when a GW hit comes against UK?

"Definitely" says Dominguez, pictured left moments after the hit, "They are a very good team; beating your arch-rival always feels good.. It felt great. I knew I hit it well."

"I was 100% sure that I was going to score and we were going to win" said Josh Richmond who was standing on third, ready to go on any contact.

The game winning base knock was just the end to a great game for the All-America candidate. Dominguez had tied the game in the 8th with a blast to left field to lead-off the inning which erupted the biggest regular season crowd in Jim Patterson Stadium history into a frenzy. Put it this way, vendors were running out of cups to serve beer because it was so crowded. The Cards staved off a one man wrecking machine in UK DH Brian Rose, who coming into the game had 1 HR and 12 RBI. He decided to inflate those numbers a little by going 3-4 with 2 HR, 1 2B and 4 RBI. The Cardinal pitching staff bent, but didn't break as 3 pitchers combined for 12 hits and 5 ER. Matt Lea came in for the 8th and 9th and didn't give up a run highlighted by a huge strike out of UK All-American and SEC Player of the Week, Collin Cowgill to set up the dramatic finish in the 9th. Lea got the win and freshman Andrew Albers took the loss for the Cats.

John Doa has been a bright spot for the Cards since his return to the lineup. He had 2 RBI and extended his hitting streak to a career best 11 games. Doa glove also gobbled up a few balls in the hole that could have been hits. His skill with the leather is much needed and the defense of the team is improving steadily. DH Phil Wunderlich and C Jeff Arnold each recorded two hits for the Cards.
The Cards hope to build off this victory during a 9 game home stand which brings another rival, Cincinnati, to town for a three game set over the weekend. First pitch will be at 6 on Friday night with Cards hurler Zach Pitts taking the mound.




4/21 Weekend Wrap-Up: Villanova Wildcats

Game One...
Josh Richmond hit his 3rd home run of the season in the 1st and Zack Pitts went 6 strong innings, as the Cards take game one, 12-5 over Villanova. The Cards jumped on the Wildcats early behind Richmond's homer, while adding a couple more runs to take a 3-0 lead into the 6th. Villanova rallied in the top of the inning to tie it up, but Louisville answered right back with 6 runs in the bottom of the sixth frame, to push their lead to 9-3. Pitts looked good despite recent struggles, finishing his day, going 6.1 innings, allowing only 7 hits and 3 runs. He would get the win to improve his record to 5-3 on the season.
 
Game Two...
Hot Cardinal bats and Justin Marks on the mound couldn't have made Villanova feel good about their chances. Rightfully so, as Marks would go 8 innings, while making the Wildcats look like little league players instead of a Big East baseball team. The Cards rolled over Villanova 12-1. Marks would strike out 9 batters and only surrender 1 run on 4 measly hits. The Cards bats stayed on fire, finishing the day with 16 team hits. Chris Dominguez would lead the baseball birds with 3 hits and he was one of six Cards to have a multi-hit day. Marks improved to 4-1 on the year.
 
Game Three...
The Cards haven't been able to finish off a sweep this season, so why should this Big East series been any different. Bob Revesz pitched a great game and held the Wildcats down, but Villanova would get to the Louisville bullpen in the 8th and 9th , to avoid a sweep and beat the Cards, 3-1. Revesz would go 6.2 innings and not allow a run, while scattering only 6 hits. The Cards would strike first in the 2nd on a Stewart Ijames solo home run (3). Louisville's hot bats went cold on this day overall. They would only manage 7 hits on the day, a far cry from their 30 combined hits in the first two games. Stewart collected 3 hits on the day to lead the Cards.
 
Series Review...
Louisville would have loved to get a sweep of a conference opponent like Villanova, but to finish the week with a 4-1 record was huge for this teams chances of returning to Omaha. Cardinal pitching staff looked as impressive as it has all year this weekend, despite the game three loss. Louisville out hit the Wildcats 37 to 26, while out scoring them 27-9. The Cards are now 23-15 on the year, 8-7 in Big East play.
 
On Deck for the Cards...
It never gets any easier for the Cards and Coach McDonnell, as they will get their shot at revenge against the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday (4-22) at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch is scheduled to go at 6pm. No word yet who McDonnell will put on the mound.







4/19 Heroics against the Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers jumped on the Cards first, but Louisville fought back and pulled out the 5-4 victory on a Tyler Christensen pinch hit single in the bottom of the 9th. Bob Revesz struggled at the start, yet it didn't take him long to put it all together and finish his second straight Tuesday start (UK) with 8 solid innings. Indiana jumped on Revesz early, scoring 3 runs in the first and second innings.

"The first two innings, I was leaving the ball up, but after that I settled in there and starter to hit my spots low, moving the ball in and out," Revesz said.

Finding his spots he did, going on to retire 11 straight batters between the 3rd and 5th innings, while finishing the day with 6 strike outs.

"That was the best start of the year, and we needed it," said Head Coach Dan McDonnell.

Louisville would rally in the bottom of the 7th and would move ahead of the Hoosiers heading in the 9th. B.J. Rosenberg surrendered two hits and a wild pitch to allow the game to get all knotted up at 4. Lucky for Rosenberg, Tyler Christensen was feeling like a hero. Pinch hitting for Wondra, Tyler hit a two out single to left to score Del George and give the Cars the win. 
 
"He gave me a second fastball away and I just went with it," Christensen said.
 
 
Three Cards homer, beat Buckeyes
Louisville went into their second straight Big Ten battle, this time with Ohio State. When the dust finally cleared, the scoreboard looked more like your typical Big Ten football score as opposed to a baseball game, with the Cards getting their fifth win in eight games, 13-12.
 
Louisville Senior James Berlander got the start, but if you showed up late you would have never know. He got treated like a pitching machine and was only able to record one out before McDonnell had to go to the bullpen. John Dao opened the game off with his first home run as a Cardinal and Andrew Clark's RBI single put the Cards up 2-0. That's when Berlander's nightmare began. 6 Buckeye hits and 5 runs later the 1st inning was over.
 
Louisville would answer quickly and often, scoring 11 runs between the 3rd and 7th innings. Gabriel Shaw would record the win (2-3) while being the first of 5 pitchers used out of the bullpen. Ohio State kept the game close throughout despite the Cards explosive offense. Even scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to cut their deficit to1, but B.J. Rosenberg struck out back to back Buckeyes, leaving 1 base runner on and giving him his third save of the season.
 
Dao and Clark each had 4 hits to lead the Cards, who as team connected for 19 hits. Justin McClanahan (7) and Chris Dominguez (12) also went yard along with Dao.



4/14 Cardinal Bullpen Opens
The L Yes! Report now has a page dedicated to the Louisville Baseball team. Updates, scores, stats and news will all be featured. When new articles are posted a link will appear on this main page. Louisville took 2 of 3 from former Coach Lelo Prado and South Florida. Go to the Cardinal Bullpen to read more...


4/12 Grand Slam in 9th Propels Cards over Fmr. Coach
Sophomore 1B Andrew Clark served up a plate of Grand Salami to former UofL coach Lelo Prado and his South Florida Bulls last night, propelling the Cards to a 10-7 victory in Tampa. The seesaw battle saw both teams holding and losing leads. Cardinal starter Zach Pitts was hit for 4 runs on 8 hits in five innings, Bob Revesz improved his record to 2-0 and BJ Rosenburg came in the bottom of the ninth to notch save #2 on the season. The heart of the Cards order, Justin McClanahan, Chris Dominguez, and Clark combined for 8 RBI and 8-14 from the plate with homers from Dominguez (10) and of course the GW blast off the bat of Clark. We will wrap-up the series against the coach that helped build the Cardinal program, Prado, on Sunday night.



4/14 Weekend Wrap-Up: South Florida

Game One
As soon as you are old enough to pick up a bat, every kid dreams of finishing off a game with a home run like Joe Carter leaping around the bases or Bobby Thompson's "shot heard round the world", Freshman Andrew Clark can throw his name in there. Maybe not as many people will remember his top of the 9th grand slam on Friday that would give the Cards a 10-7 lead, and ultimately the win, but he will never forget it and neither will the Cardinal faithful. Louisville would lead the Bulls 4-0 going into the 5th. The Bulls then got to Cards starter Zack Pitts to
tie it up and then moved ahead 7-6 in the 8th. Dominguez homered earlier, his 10th on the season, but it would fall into the shadows in comparison to Clark's blast. Andrew would finish the day with 2 hits, Dominguez and Justin McClanahan each contributed 3 hits apiece. Reliever Thomas Royse would get the win (3-0) and B.J. Rosenberg shutdown the Bulls in the 9th for his 2nd save on the season.

Game Two
Louisville jumped all over the Bulls in game two, scoring 8 unanswered runs through 8 innings, finishing off the Bulls, 10-2. The Cards' bats stayed hot coming off their game one victory, lighting up South Florida starter Randy Fontanez for 13 hits and 8 runs before he finally got to call it a day after 7 long innings. Justin Marks on the other hand looked like a machine and the Marks from last year that Coach McDonnell has been hoping to return. He would finish his afternoon with 6 innings pitched. Scattering only 5 hits and striking out 4 Bull batters, not giving up any runs. Marks would get the win (3-1). Freshman Gabrial Shaw would record his 5th save on the season. Three different Cards contributed at least 3 RBIs and 5 had multiple hits.

Game Three
The Cards would be going for an important sweep of conference foe South Florida but the Bulls would have their own plan, avoiding the sweep and beating the Louisville 8-4. Louisville scored first, with one run in the 2nd and tied it back up at three, with two more runs in the 3rd. South Florida would score 5 straight runs between the bottom of the 3rd and 7th innings. Forcing Coach McDonnell to use a total of 6 different pitchers throughout the game. Dean Kiekhefer got the start but wasn't there long. He would get pulled after a little over one inning, giving up 3 runs and 2 hits while only facing 7 batters. Derrick Stultz looked as impressive as you can for South Florida, holding the hot Louisville bats to 8 hits through 8 innings for his third win of the season. Chris Dominguez continued his tear on the Big East, hitting his 11th home run of the year. He is batting .383 in 12 games against Big East pitching, hitting 4 of his team high 11 home runs.

Series Recap
In a series that the Cards needed, they showed up big taking two of three. It had to be a slightly bittersweet trip. South Florida is managed by Lelo Prado (left), who was the skipper for the Cards for just over a decade (1995-2006).

"I still have a lot of players on that team," said Prado about the Cardinals. "[Zack] Pitts and [Chris] Dominguez were great players for me. I'm just happy they have had great success. Except for the three games this weekend, I cheer for them all of the time. [Louisville head coach] Dan McDonnell is doing a great job, and with my relationship with Tom Jurich [Louisville A.D.], I always want to see the Cardinals do well, unless it's against the Bulls."

Chris Dominguez, to no suprise, was a beast. Finishing the series 6 of 14 from the plate with 5 RBIs and 2 towering home runs. Louisville improved their overall record to 19-14, 6-6 in the Big East. Impressive South Florida Freshman Ryan Lockwood would bring a 14 game hitting streak into this series and while the Cards did hold him in check, he manged to keep his streak alive, getting a hit in all three games.

Next for the Cards
Louisville will host the Hoosiers of IU on Tuesday (4/15) at Jim Patterson Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00pm. Remember all games are free to attend and you can hear all the action live with Sean Moth on 1450 AM, pregame starting 5 minutes before every first pitch. 
That will followed up by a next day road trip to Ohio State on Wendsday (4/16).
Louisville will then return home for the start of a 9 straight home game stretch, that will begin with another big three game series against Villanova.



4/12 Grand Slam in 9th Propels Cards over Fmr. Coach
Sophomore 1B Andrew Clark served up a plate of Grand Salami to former UofL coach Lelo Prado and his South Florida Bulls last night, propelling the Cards to a 10-7 victory in Tampa. The seesaw battle saw both teams holding and losing leads. Cardinal starter Zach Pitts was hit for 4 runs on 8 hits in five innings, Bob Revesz improved his record to 2-0 and BJ Rosenburg came in the bottom of the ninth to notch save #2 on the season. The heart of the Cards order, Justin McClanahan, Chris Dominguez, and Clark combined for 8 RBI and 8-14 from the plate with homers from Dominguez (10) and of course the GW blast off the bat of Clark. We will wrap-up the series against the coach that helped build the Cardinal program, Prado, on Sunday night.


4/10 No Hangover for Cards vs. Herd
Louisville bounced back quickly from their heart-breaking loss at Kentucky, beating The Thundering Herd of Marshall 12-8 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Cards recorded 18 hits, led by Josh Richmond with 4. Justin McClanahan led the Cards with 4 RBIs, three of them coming off a towering home run in the 5th. Chris Dominguez continued his tear across the country as well, going 3-5 and knocking in 3 runs. James Belanger got the start and win (4-1), going 5 innings. He would strike out five batters. The Louisville bullpen of Matt Lea, Neil Holland, and Gabriel Shaw combined for 4 innings, holding Marshall to 4 hits, while striking out eight batters.
Louisville is now 17-13, while Marshall fell to 14-16-1. The Cards will now travel to Tampa for a three game series against Big East opponent, South Florida.


4/9 Cards Lose Tough One to Cats in 12
Louisville and Kentucky needed more then 9 innings to settle this in state showdown, with Kentucky finally
outlasting the Cards when UK's Keenen Wiley drilled a 1-0 pitch out of the park and into the parking lot to give the Cats a 7-6 victory in 12 innings. Wiley,a Richmond, KY native, was a pain in Dan McDonnell's side all night, as he would go 4 of 6 from the plate, scoring 3 times and knocking in 2 RBIs, to go with his first career home run.

"I was just trying to hit it hard and was looking for a double. I knew it (was gone) off the bat. There is a certain sound where you just know. Everybody lives for this." said Wiley

Forty-two players, including 12 pitchers were used in the four-hour and 14 minute marathon that looked more like a 12 round heavyweight prize fight, both teams combined for 13 runs, 3 home runs and 27 hits (15-Louisville, 12-Kentucky). The record crowd of 4,009 people at Cliff Hagan Stadium shattered the old mark of 3,529 against Ball State in the 2006 NCAA Tournament Regional.
Louisville Freshman Bob Revesz got the starting nod for the Cards and wouldn't disappoint, going 4.1 innings. The lefty looked strong, holding the power full UK offense to only 1 run and 6 scattered hits through 4 innings but would give up a 2-run home run to Brian Spears (only hit of the game) in the 5th before seeing his day come to an end.
The Cards would strike first, in the 2nd inning. Andrew Clark would get on with a single to the right side. What
looked like a walk to the next batter turned into a 2-run error, giving the Cards an early 2-0 lead. Kentucky
starter Clinton Tillford would recover and would look like a real ace throughout the game. He would shut the Cards' bats down, retiring 16 straight Cardinals between the 2nd and 7th innings. He would finish the day after 6.2 innings, striking out 5 Cards and only allowing 4 hits.
With the Cards down 4-2 in the 7th, Clark would get his second of three hits on the day with one out. Phil
Wunderlich would then pinch hit for Derrick Alfonso (he took a pitch straight to the knuckles in the 6th playing
defense-- x-rays scheduled for Wed) sending a 3-2 pitch into right-center field, starting a Cards rally and ending Tillford's career day. A RBI single by Tyler Mickits would cut the UK lead down to 4-3, but pinchrunner Wundra was gunned down by Wiley after a bloop single, ending the Cards attack and leaving UK ahead.
That's when things got fun. Louisville would keep it coming in the 8th, as John Dao would start the inning with a single, followed by a Josh Richmond walk, putting 2 on with Chris Dominguez stepping to the plate. Dominguez  started slow, striking out swinging twice. He was now facing RP Aaron Lovett instead of Tillford. Up 0-2 in the count, the hard-hitting third baseman hit a frozen rope over the left field wall, putting the Cards up 6-4 and only6 outs away from snapping Kentucky's 19 game out of conference home winning streak.
It's never that easy. Coach McDonnell would go to B.J. Rosenberg out of the pen (the Cards 4th of 5 pitchers used) but, he couldn't slow Kentucky down enough. They would score on a fielders choice and then a sacrifice fly to tie the game before Rosenberg would strikeout Louisville native (Cards fans chanted reject at him all game) Troy Frazier to end the inning and the bleeding.
With the game still tied heading into the bottom of the 10th, Kentucky would make Louisville fans sweat and Dan McDonnell so mad he'd lose his hat as well as his privilege to watch the game from the dugout. UK put runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. Rosenberg would go to a full count against UK's Spears, hitting the outside corner followed by a frozen rope throw to third to nail the runner. But the pitch was called a ball, not the call Dan McDonnell agreed with as he would throw his hat in frustration, leading to home plate umpire Matt Hughes to give him the early exit and giving Kentucky the bases loaded with zero outs and Cat fans thinking they were about ready to head home happy. They may have gone home happy but it wasn't going to be this early if Rosenberg had anything to say about it. A dribbler to Dao would give the Cards the force at home but the base's would remain loaded with only one out. They needed a double play ball now more then ever, and they got it. A huge 6-4-3 double play would end the Kentucky rally and maybe knock the wind out their sails. Rosenberg would finish his day with a solid 4 innings, giving up only one hit and getting the Cards out of the 10th inning scare.
Gavin Logsdon came in to pitck for Louisville andKeenen Wiley would lead off the 12th inning for UK, watching a Logsdon pitch for a ball. He then sent everyone, including the ball, to the parking lot and on their way home just shy of 11:00pm with a blast to right field.

"He'll remember that one for a long time," UK coach John Cohen said."I'm really happy for Keenan. He's been through some tough luck recently. He took a great swing. I'm sure he was trying to hit a line drive and it happened to leave the ballpark."

The loss would go to Logsdon (0-2), while Tyler Henry would get the win (2-0) being fortunate enough to be the last of the six pitchers UK would use. Andrew Clark would lead all Cards with 3 hits and Chris Dominguez would have 3 RBIs (all off HR). Kentucky has now won 7 of the last 9 against Louisville, a 2-1 record since McDonnell has joined the Cardinals. Louisville will get another shot at the Cats in a couple weeks, when Kentucky will come to Jim Patterson Stadium on April 22nd.
McDonnell and staff don't have any time to sit back and reflect on a heart breaking loss to a very good team.
Louisville will host Marshall at Jim Patterson Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled at 6:00pm. The Cards can't
afford to let this game bring them down, with the loss, they fall to 16-13 overall.


4/7 Weekend Baseball Wrap-Up
The Cards had a three game set against #22 St. John's this weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium. Here's a recap....

Game One
A two hour and twenty-one minute rain delay wasn't long enough for the Cards in their series opener against # 22 ranked St.John's. The Redstorm would come at Louisville in bunches, taking a commanding 4-0 lead in the top of the second behind 2 Cardinal errors and 2 hits. It would almost be all they would need, as St.Johns ace Scott Barnes would shut the Cards bats down, giving up only 3 hits and 3 runs in 6.1 inning pitched. Louisville's Zack Pitts' recent struggles continued though, going 5.2 innings himself, surrendering 8 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits. Pitts would strike out 9 batters for at least one bright spot, but their weren't to many of those. Jeff Arnold knocked in Clark in the bottom of the 2nd inning to get the Cards to 4-1, but never got closer. Another 4 run inning in the top of the 6th by St. Johns would stretch their lead to 8-1 and end Pitts day. St. Johns added 5 more runs in the last inning to extend their lead to 13-4, which would be the final. Pitts fell to 4-3 on the season, his ERA reaching 4.03 in 7 starts. Louisville would finish game 1 with only 4 hits, 3 errors and 8 left on base.

Game Two
Justin Marks took the mound for game two in this pivotal series and he should have hoped for the rain delay of the day before. Marks would only go 2.0 innings, his shortest outing to my memory, and gave up 5 runs. It started with a 1 run 1st and continued with 3 runs in the 2nd. Justin struck out 4 of the 14 batters he faced. He would look great against one batter, while looking lost against the next. Consistancy has been the Cards main problem all season, so it's all old news. Consistency wasn't a problem for Redstorm pitcher George Brown, who looked like a major league prospect, going 7.1 inning and not even giving up a Louisville hit until one out in the bottom of the 7th, when Chris Dominguez singled to center field for the Cards first hit. Brown would finally look human in the 8th, as Louisville jumped on him quickly A couple of base hits led to Brown's day ending but not before he stuck out 6 batters. Louisville attempted a comeback in the 8th and 9th, scoring 3 runs on a base's clearing double down the left field line by Josh Richmond, cutting the Redstorm lead to 6-3. But the St. John bullpen would strikeout Del George and Dominguez to end the rally and the inning. Jeff Arnold's seeing eye single in the bottom of the 9th with 1 out gave Louisville hope, but Derrick Alfonso would follow him by going down swinging. Stewart Ijames lined out to center field to end the game, leaving the Cards one game away from being swept. The Cards would only manage 5 hits on the day, nobody with more then one, leaving 5 on the base tracks.

Game Three
Louisville rebounded and avoided a second straight weekend series sweep Sunday, beating St.Johns 10-3. The first time in 57 games the Redstorm have given up double digits runs in a game. St. Johns jumped on the Cars early for the third straight game, putting up 2 runs in the 1st, but this time the Cards came back. Scoring a run in the 2nd inning and then another run in the 5th. It was Stewart Ijames first career home run, a 3 run shot over the center field wall, that broke a 3-3 tie in the 6th inning giving the Cards their first lead all series. Louisville would add 4 more runs in the 7th to pad their lead and help secure their victory. Dean Kiekhefer got the start, his 4th start of the season. Despite pitching 4.1 solid inning of work, he did not get the win. That honor went to Freshman and Lexington native Thomas Royse, who made his 12th appearance out of the bullpen and recorded his first career victory. Jeff Arnold was one of four Cards who recorded multiple hits. He also scored 3 times and six other Cards did at least once. Louisville would finish the day with 10 hits, finally cashing in on base-runners. They had only 9 hits in the previous two games in the series.

Series Recap
The St. Johns Redstorm showed this weekend why they are ranked 22nd in the Nation and have now only lost 6 games this season. Their pitching staff came into this series regarded as one of the best in the country and they proved it over the last three days against an although inconsistent at time, potent Louisville offense. Only Jeff Arnold recorded a hit in all three games ( 4-11 for series ) and Louisville was out hit 30 to 19.

Upcoming...
Louisville will have only one day before they head down to Lexington to play arch rival Kentucky at Cliff Hagan
Stadium on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm and will be televised on Fox Sports South. The Cats are 22-6 and ranked 24th by rivals.com. Kentucky beat the Cards on 4/25 last season 9-5 in Lexington.
The Cards will host Marshall Thundering Herd on Wednesday at 6:00pm. It is an added game due to the cancelled series against Northwestern. All attendance at Jim Patterson Stadium is free.


4/3 Baseball Splits with Western, Purdue;  Faces #22 St. John's
The Louisville baseball team split their two games this week heading into an important three game series with Big East foe St. John's this weekend. On Tuesday, it was the Cards who were April Fools when their trip to Bowling Green was less than to be desired. Freshman Gabriel Shaw made his first start of his career and I am sure he has had better days. He watched his first pitch fly over the left field wall and things didn't get much better. Shaw would rebound in the second and third innings, giving up only one hit and holding the Hilltoppers scoreless. But in the 4th he would run into trouble, giving up a triple, RBI double, and a hit batter. Shaw's day was over, finishing with 3.1 IP 4 runs - 4 hits. Bob Revesz would come in, but couldn't stop the bleeding. The smoke cleared and the Cards were down 6-3 after 4 innings. A Derrick Alfonso hit in the 5th along with a RBI sacrifice in the top of the 9th by Josh Richmond would be all the Cards could muster up comeback-wise. Western would finish off Louisville 10-5 in the end. Louisville would continue stranding valuable runners, leaving 11 on base. Shaw would get the loss (1-3) for UL and Evan Teague the win (2-0) for WKU.

The Boilermakers of Purdue came to Jim Patterson Stadium on the following day and if they didn't know who Chris Dominguez was, they do now. Dominguez (left) would be the Boilermakers worst nightmare, going 3-3 from the plate. Hitting his 8th home run of the season in the 5th inning, scoring 2 runs, knocking in 2 RBIs and even turning 3 double plays. He was a one man wrecking crew, as is usual for the redshirt sophomore has been all season. James Berlanger got the starting nod for coach McDonnell and wouldn't let him down. He would go 5 strong innings, scattering 4 hits, striking out 4 an allowing 3 runs. The Cards would strike first on the scoreboard in the bottom of the 3rd, when John Dao would score on a throwing error by the Purdue catcher. They would add 3 more runs in the 4th behind RBIs by Jeff Arnold and Derrick Alfonso. The Dominguez homer came in the 5th. Two runs added in the bottom of the 7th on a Josh Richmond RBI put the score at the final, 7-4. Louisville would connect for 11 hits on the day, 2 each from Dao and Richmond to go along with
Dominguez's 3, again leaving 8 on base. Berlanger would get his 3rd win of the season, while the Louisville bullpen  looked strong, never allowing Purdue to get any momentum.

"That was a very clean game. We didn't dominate any one aspect, but we pitched well, had some really good at bats, and played solid defense," said Head Coach Dan McDonnell.

Louisville will host league leading and 22nd ranked St.Johns in their up coming weekend series at Jim Patterson Stadium, where admission is free to attend. Zack Pitts (4-2) will go on Friday against Red Storm ace Scott Barnes (3-1), start time 6:00pm. Saturday at 4:00pm, with Justin Marks (2-0) facing George Brown (5-0) of St.Johns and Sunday at 1:00pm seeing the Cards B.J. Rosenberg (3-2) starting against Jared Yecker (2-0).


4/1 Weekend Baseball Wrap-Up
The Louisville Cardinals did not have a very hospitable road trip to Pittsburgh this weekend dropping the first and second games in the series with the Panthers before winning the third in extra innings. Friday's game saw both teams aces go head-to-head. Zack Pitts took the hill for Louisville, facing Nate Reed of Pittsburgh. Only Reed would show his dominance though, as the Panthers got to Pitts early and often, scoring at least one run in each of the first three innings. Pitts would go 5.2 innings, while allowing 11 hits and 5 earned runs. Reed on the other hand looked smooth throughout, going for his second complete game against the Cardinals in as many tries. He scattered the Cards to 7 hits and only 2 runs, only 1 earned. The Cards wouldn't get on the
scoreboard until the 6th inning when Chris Dominguez singled up the middle and advanced to third on a Jeff Arnold double. Dominguez would then pull one of the most exciting plays in baseball and steal home. A hit from Derrick Alfonso (left) followed, but Greg Del George would send a dribbler to the 1st baseman to end the inning, leaving 2 on base and the Cards down 4-1. This was a deficit they couldn't overcome falling 7-2 in the end. Dominguez would finish 3 of 4 from the plate and scoring both of Louisville's runs.

Louisville came out in the second game with a fire lit under them. Justin McClanahan would start it off for the
Cards with a double and an intentional walk to Dominguez gave them men at first and second. Andrew Clark singled and advanced on a Panther error, scoring McClanahan. Josh Richmond would end the inning with a strike out, leaving two runners in scoring position. Louisville would push their lead to 3-0 in the 3rd when Dominguez and McClanahan would both score, but again the Cards would leave one on base. The Cards added a run in the 4th on a John Dao sacrifice fly (scoring Alfonso), putting the Cards up 4-1 heading into the 5th. Louisville's Justin Marks commanded  the mound and would pitch a solid game. He would hold the Panthers down in the first 5 innings, allowing one run on only 3 hits and fanning 4. Marks would show he was human in the 6th though, as Pitt would score two more runs on 2 hits and a Cardinal error. Marks would see his day end after the 8th, finishing his afternoon with 5 strike outs, 5 walks, 2 earned runs and a 4-3 Louisville lead. The score would stay the same going into the bottom of the ninth and Pittsburgh would rally against freshman relief pitcher Gabriel Shaw early in the inning with a lead-off single followed by yet another Cards error and a sacrifice fly. Pitt would tie the game on a pinch hit single to right field. Gavin Logsdon would replace Shaw with the bases loaded, but the damage was done. Logsdon gave up a single to center, an unearned run, capping off the Panthers comeback. That quick, Louisville had lost the first two against a conference rival. You don't like to use "must win" this early, but it was in the Cards' best interest to take game #3

Dean Kiekhefer would get the starting nod for Louisville in the third game. Just like the second game the Cards would jump om the Panthers early, scoring one run in the 2nd on a RBI single by Jared Wondra, pushing Andrew Clark across the plate. In the third, Justin McClanahan hit his fifth home run of the season over the left field wall to make it 2-0. Pitt would answer right back in the bottom of the inning when Chris Warner showed his power, hitting a two run homer and locking the score at 2-2. Louisville came back quickly scoring on a Dao RBI single in the 5th and a Josh Richmond home run (2) in the 6th. Kiekhefer would finish his day with 6.2 innings pitched, scattering only 5 Panther hits and 2 runs. Manager Dan McDonald may have thought he was having Deja Vu though as the he watched his Cardinals give up another late game lead, allowing the Panthers to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th at 4-4 with a 3-hit 2 run inning, that included a throwing error by Dominguez and passed ball by Alfonso. Louisville would threaten in the 9th having 2 on with 1 out, but come up dry leaving 2 Cards on base. Pitt would put two on with one out in the bottom of the inning themselves, but their rally would be cut short as usual starter B.J. Rosenburg would retire the next two batters with a strike out and fly out to left. With one out in the 10th Derrick Alfonso connected for his second shot of the day, a towering bomb over the left field wall. Stewart Ijames singled as the next batter and advanced to second on a Hayes sacrifice. John Dao then singled down the left field line for his second RBI of the day, scoring Ijames, giving the Cards a 6-4 lead. A card error in the bottom of the 10th left runners on the corners with two outs. Rosenburg left the Panthers with the bat in their hands, striking out the final batter looking and avoiding the sweep.

The Cards gave up 16 runs to the Panthers over the weekend, but 5 of them were unearned. Louisville also left 26 base runners on, two things that must be addressed. With all the talent and leadership the Cards lost from last year's team, fundementals come at a premium. A coach like McDonnell will instill this in due time, he's a tactician and I'm sure it sickens him to see the mistakes and missed opportunities. 15-9 isn't too bad for a young team playing a tough schedule.

Louisville goes on the road, down I-65 south to play Western Kentucky on Tuesday (4/1/08) at 7:00pm. They will then host Purdue on Wednesday at Jim Patterson stadium. First pitch is at 6:00pm.



3/16 Baseball Cards Take First Two, Drop Third
Justin Marks pitched 5 scoreless innings and the Cards scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st to take the first two in a three game series over Kent St, 8-2. The Lefty pitcher (Marks) allowed 3 hits and walked 2 while striking out 6 Kent St. batters. Marks improved to 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA. Justin McClanahan, Jeff Arnold, and Chris Dominguez each contributed an RBI to drive in 3 of their 4 first inning runs. Tyler Mickits would score on error before the inning was over to give the Cards a lead they wouldn't look back on. Andrew Clark scored on a error by Kent St. SS Ryan Tokarz in the 2nd. A McClanahan RBI in the 6th and Josh Richmond Sac Fly in the 7th made it 7-0 before Kent St. finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the 8th with an unearned run, answered by Chris Dominguez's second RBI of the game, knocking in Clark on a groundout in the same inning. The Cards scored on only 6 hits, with Arnold and McClanahan each having 2 each to lead the Cards. Louisville abused anyone the Golden Flash's used at catcher as five different Cardinals stole bases.
Sunday the Cards' luck was a little different. A 6 run seventh inning blew the game open for Kent St and the Cards couldn't recover. The Cards ran into a top class hurler, Golden Flashes ace Cris Carpenter, in front of numerous MLB scouts. Carpenter was drafted out of HS, but an arm injury put him away from the game for nearly 2 years. In fact, his first win as a collegian was against the Cards in the third game of a series in 2006. Carpenter didn't disappoint, hitting the mid 90s with his fastball and pitching 7 shut out innings to get the victory. Questionable defense and inaccurate pitching led to the Cards demise. P Gabriel Shaw, who has had great stuff all year, hit 3 straight batters to load the bases in the seventh. An RBI single by Kent St. 2B Doug Sanders was follwed by a Grand Slam bomb by RF Ben Klafcynski off the batter's eye in center. The pitching of Carpenter made the difference for the Flashes, he'll be in The Show soon. BJ Rosenburg (2-2) pitched well for the Cards, throwing over 100 pitches and giving up only 2 runs on 4 hits with 5 Ks.
The Cards end the weekend series winning 2 of 3 from the Flashes. Coach McDonnell was pleased with the pitching of the starters (Pitts, Marks, and Rosenburg) but said the team needs to mature more and close out sweeps of 3-game weekend series'. His strategy is to jump on teams quickly to loosen up the bats and that worked the first 2 games. The Cards needed to play a near perfect game to beat Carpenter and they didn't with blunders on defense.

"We didn't command the zone, we did not handle the bunt defense and that is very frustrating," said Head Coach Dan McDonnell after Sunday's loss.

The Cards (9-5) are ranked 23rd in the nation and have a big home game against SEC perennial power Tennessee on Wednesday, 3pm at Jim Patterson Stadium. James Belanger will take the hill for the Cards, a spot start to set up the lethal Pitts-Marks-Rosenburg weekend rotation for the start of Big East play on Thursday with UCONN coming to town.



3/11 Cards Split Double-Header
Louisville baseball team started slow then warmed up today playing visiting Xavier Musketeers in a double header. Xavier jumped all over last season’s Big East Pitcher of the year, Zack Pitts. Pitts was rocked for 6 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) in just 1.1 innings before calling it an early day. Justin Marks would relive him and do a good job of settling down the Musketeers, pitching 4.2 innings, while not giving up any runs and only 4 hits, but too much damage may have been done. The Cards got little help with their bats for the first 6 innings, only a 2nd with 3 runs. Louisville made a slight comeback, down 8-4 in the bottom of the 8th with the bases loaded. Alford came to the plate, but would hit a soft dribbler to the mound that would result in an inning ending double play. Xavier pitcher Mike Creevy ( 2-0 ) would get the win in the first game, pitching a pretty 6 innings giving up only 5 hits and 2 runs, while Zack Pitts ( 2-1 ) would suffer his first loss of the young season, as Xavier won 9-4 over the Cards.

The Cards did their best Rick Pitino impression before the second game, switching from their normal home white to their road black and it may have been what they needed to wake up their bats. Big East preseason POY Chris Dominguez was a one man wrecking crew in the second game. Dominguez went 3-5 with 3 RBIs, scoring 2 runs. Louisville would do to Xavier as they did to the Cards - jumping on them early, scoring 3 runs in the 1st and never letting up. Louisville would go on to score in all but 2 innings. Up 8-3 in the 6th , backup catcher Jeff Arnold blasted a towering 3 run home run to all but finish off the Musketeers. B.J. Rosenburg pitched a gem for the Cards, going 4 solid innings giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs. Lefty Bob Revesz would close out the game, pitching 3 innings, allowing only one hit as the Cards would roll over Xavier 13-3.

Louisville will host Wright St. tomorrow ( 3-12-08 ) at Jim Patterson field at 3 pm inning solo shot by Derrick
Alford stopped the zero’s from piling up. Xavier would go on add some padding in the 7.



3/6 Louisville Baseball Starts Long Home Stand
Friday, the Louisville baseball team will open a 12-game streak of home games with the start of a three game series against Northwestern at Jim Patterson Stadium (2pm). The Cards, coming off their most successful season in school history, have started Coach Dan McDonnell's sophomore season with a strong 5-3 record. The visiting Wildcats (3-3) are batting .350 as a team and averaging just over 8 runs a game. Northwestern only has 4 homeruns as a team, despite all the runs. Mike Kalina (IF/OF) leads the Wildcats attack with a .593 batting average and team high 12 RBIs while also helping them upset then #21 Oklahoma St 14-12 in 10 innings last week. The Wildcat pitching staff has seen better days, I'm sure, allowing an average of 10 runs a game and giving up 8 homeruns.
The Cards have been shutting their opponents down this season, with the exception of a 17-6 loss at #5 Vanderbilt, giving up 5 runs a game which is relatively low in college baseball. They are led by starting pitcher Zack Pitts. Pitts, a senior right hander from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, entered this season as a candidate for every pitching award in the Big East and nationally. The Big East preseason PLAYER of the year nominee has lived up to all the hype this year, winning both his starts (Cleveland St., at NCST) and has given up only one earned run and 8 hits in 12 inning pitched. With a 0.73 ERA, 2-0 record and only allowing batters to hit .183 against him, it's safe to say Mr. Pitts has lived up to the billing. Along with Justin Marks (1-0 1.62 ERA) the Cards have a lethal pitching tandem that has been an important reason for their Top 25 ranking.
Chris Dominguez leads a offensive attack with a .333 BA, 3 HR and a team high 10 RBIs while manning the hot corner (3rd base). Senior 2nd baseman Justin McClanahan has started the season on fire as well, leading the Cards with a .438 BA. Justin is tied with Dominguez (left) with team best 3 HRs and has knocked in 9 RBIs , 2nd on the team.
Catcher Derrick Alfonso was named as a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award for the nation’s best catcher. This is the second year in a row Alfonso has been nominated for the award. The success of Louisville’s pitching can be mostly attributed to him. Alfonso is a team leader, calls a great game, and can come up with a big-hit when needed.
Again, the Nothwestern series will start Friday at 2pm, of course weather permitting, and will continue through the weekend with games on Saturday and Sunday, both at 1pm. It’s time for Card fans to get out there and support the team with no excuses now that it’s above freezing.



2/21 Cardinal Baseball Returns Today at 2 PM
Manager Dan McDonnell and his Cardinals will take Jim Patterson Field for the first time since appearing in their first ever College World Series last year. Preseason Big East pitcher of the year Zach Pitts will take the hill for the baseball Cards who return a lot of talent from the school's most successful team ever but the loss of players like Isaiah Howes, Boomer Whiting, Logan Johnson, Jorge Castillo, Daniel Burton and Chris Cates, It might take the Cards a while to get the same flow going they had last year. Last year the long ball helped, however we lost our top 2 HR hitters, so Pitching will be key this year. Chris Dominguez will lead the offense and is preseason Big East POY. The starting lineup should look something like this:


C- Derrick ALFONSO SR
1B- Andrew CLARK SO
2B- Justin McCLANAHAN SR
SS- John DAO JR
3B- Chris DOMINGUEZ SO
OF- Tyler MICKITS JR
OF- Alec LOWERY JR
OF- Chris PELAEZ SO

We'll know about batting order after the first game and Coach McDonnel has already set a pitching rotation of three: Zach Pitts on Friday, Justin Marks on Saturday, and BJ Rosenburg to finish up on Sunday. Coach McDonnell has a blog that he frequently updated during last year's run. COACH MCDONNELL's BLOG

The Cards play a 3 game series with Cleveland State with games being played on Friday at 2pm, Saturday and Sunday at 1pm. Every game is free and none of these guys are going to get summoned by Congress anytime soon, so go check the Cards out.