SB Nation User Blog: hulstheman5

Lou Baseball Ranked 17th By Rivals.com

hulstheman5 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:33:19 -0000

By Kendall Rogers, Rivals.com

It didn’t seem possible a few years ago, but Louisville finally has established consistency in the winning department.

The Cardinals caught the nation by surprise two seasons ago when they made it to Omaha. They also impressed some with another 40-win campaign last season. But now the Cards want much more. They want to win a national title.

Reaching that goal still may seem like a pipe dream to some observers, but the Cardinals welcome back eight offensive starters this season and also have a deep pitching staff with junior left-hander Justin Marks leading the way.

Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said his team’s strengths include a seasoned lineup with eight returning starters, a strong pitching staff with a wealth of depth and a talented class of newcomers.

McDonnell listed position player depth as a concern entering the season.

The Cardinals still have much to prove this spring, but with a seasoned lineup and a deep pitching staff, they must win the Big East title. Getting back to Omaha also is a possible scenario.

Louisville once again is making waves.

#17 LOUISVILLE AT-A-GLANCE Junior pitcher Justin Marks is primed to have a strong campaign for the Cardinals. LAST SEASON Record: 41-21, 16-11 in Big East
In a nutshell: Even after advancing to the College World Series two seasons ago and losing several key players from that team, the Cardinals entered last season with high hopes and Omaha aspirations. The Cards were unable to get back to Omaha, but once again left their imprint on the Big East. After finishing the ’08 regular season in fourth in conference with a 16-11 record, the Cards won the Big East tournament and advanced to the Athens regional. UL once again won 40-plus games and set the stage for a great ’09 campaign.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Dao C Jeff Arnold (Jr.)
1B Andrew Clark (Jr.)
2B Adam Duvall (Jr. Transfer)
SS John Dao (Sr.)
3B Chris Dominguez (Jr.)
OF Stewart Ijames (So.)
OF Drew Haynes (So.)
OF Josh Richmond (So.)
DH Phil Wunderlich (So.)
SP Justin Marks (Jr.)
SP Keith Landers (Fr.)
SP Matt Lea (Jr.)/Bob Revesz (So.)
CP Tony Zych (Fr.)/Thomas Royse (So.)
Head coach: Dan McDonnell 2009 OUTLOOK After getting to Omaha two seasons ago, the Cardinals entered last season with one of the nation’s youngest lineups. Still, they put together an impressive campaign and notched another NCAA regional berth. A year older and wiser, the Cardinals enter the ’09 campaign with high hopes. The Cards welcome back eight offensive starters, including likely All-American third baseman Chris Dominguez. Additionally, UL welcomes back a deep pitching staff with junior left-hander Justin Marks leading the charge. The UL offense should be very productive this season, while the pitching staff also is in good shape. The Cards definitely have the potential to return to Omaha this spring. Offense

Barring a huge surprise, Louisville will have a productive offense this spring.

The Cardinals, even with a young team last season, finished the year with a .314 team batting average.

They welcome back eight contributors from last year’s lineup.

The Cards obviously are led at the plate by junior third baseman Chris Dominguez. Dominguez had an opportunity to sign a pro contract last summer, but decided to return to college for his junior campaign. As a sophomore last season, Dominguez batted .365 with 21 homers and 75 RBIs. He also recorded 13 doubles, two triples and 171 total bases. Additionally, he had a .687 slugging percentage and a .427 on-base percentage.

UL also welcomes back key hitters John Dao, Stewart Ijames, Jeff Arnold, Andrew Clark, Josh Richmond, Drew Haynes and Phil Wunderlich.

Dao finished last season hitting .356 with three homers and 31 RBIs. He also recorded 13 doubles, three triples and 97 total bases. Additionally, he had a .500 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .392.

Ijames batted .351 with eight homers and 39 RBIs last season. He also recorded 11 doubles, two triples and 98 total bases. Additionally, he slugged .583 and had a .401 on-base percentage.

Arnold batted .333 with a pair of homers and 32 RBIs last season, while Clark wasn’t far behind with a .323 batting average, five homers and 44 RBIs.

Richmond and Haynes, who each impressed the coaches during fall workouts, batted .284 and .282, respectively, last season. Wunderlich, meanwhile, had an impressive summer and hopes to improve on last season’s .265 average.

Production should be plentiful with this unit.

Starting pitching

Louisville’s coaching staff is very excited about the starting rotation.

The Cardinals welcome back ace pitcher Justin Marks, but also are very excited about freshman left-handed pitcher Keith Landers, who dazzled coaches and players alike during fall workouts.

Marks, though, is the key to the rotation’s success. The lefty is coming off a solid sophomore campaign, where he started 14 games and made 18 appearances and had a 2.37 ERA in 91 innings of work. Marks also struck out 89 and walked 39, while opponents hit him at a.220 clip.

Landers will follow Marks in the rotation, while junior right-hander Matt Lea and sophomore left-hander Bob Revesz are fighting for the No. 3 spot.

Lea made 16 appearances and just four starts last season and had a 2.72 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work. He also struck out 33 and walked 11, while opponents hit him at a .237 clip.

Revesz had an impressive freshman campaign. The talented lefty made 10 starts and registered 22 appearances. He also had a 3.90 ERA in 64 2/3 innings of work, while striking out 41 and walking 15. Opponents hit him at a .294 clip.

Overall, Marks is the proven ace of this staff, while Landers still have something to prove considering he is a true freshman. Matt Lea and Bob Revesz, meanwhile, give the Cardinals a pair of viable options on Sunday.

Bullpen

The Cardinals still have some roles to decide between now and Opening Day, but the bullpen appears to be in good shape.

The closer role is a tight race between freshman Tony Zych and sophomore Thomas Royse. Zych impressed the coaching staff during fall workouts, while Royse appeared in 26 games last season and had a 4.80 ERA in 50 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out 51 and walked 11, while opponents hit .285 off him.

Other relievers to watch include Tyler Mathis, Dean Kiekhefer, Gavin Logsdon and Gabriel Shaw.

Mathis missed last season because of Tommy John surgery, but was a key contributor in ’07, where he had a 3.60 ERA in 35 innings of work. Mathis currently is 100 percent healthy.

Kiekhefer, meanwhile, is in a similar situation. As a freshman last season, he had a 4.88 ERA in 27 2/3 innings of work. A fractured vertebra, however, kept him from being a consistent contributor throughout the season. He, too, is 100 percent healthy entering the spring.

Logsdon is a veteran and had a 3.90 ERA in 32 1/3 innings last season, while Shaw, a sophomore, had a 5.87 ERA in 46 innings of work.

The bullpen should be very solid this spring.

Shoes to Fill

The Cardinals are ecstatic this section almost is empty.

With eight offensive starters and several pitchers back in the fold this spring, the Cardinals obviously don’t have too many holes to fill. They will, however, miss leading hitter Justin McClanahan and weekend starter Zack Pitts.

McClanahan statistically was the team’s best hitter last season. He batted .372 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs. He also recorded 26 doubles, two triples and 163 total bases, while slugging .625 with an on-base percentage of .424.

Pitts didn’t have a great year on the mound, but his veteran qualities will be missed. Pitts started 14 games and made 18 appearances last season. He also had a 4.90 ERA in 75 1/3 innings of work, while opponents hit him at a .291 clip.

Replacing McClanahan would be tough for most teams, but the Cards still are in great shape at the plate. The same scenario should apply to losing Pitts.

Must Step Up

I strongly believe the offense is going to be very productive this season, so I’ll say some pitchers must step up for the Cards to be an Omaha contender.

The Cards should feel great about Marks spearheading the weekend rotation. However, I certainly wouldn’t feel – at least yet – with Landers on the bump in tight situations. That’s not to say Landers can’t be a dominant pitcher this season, but anytime you have a freshman as your No. 2 starter there’s potential for disaster at times throughout the season.

Other pitchers that must step up include potential weekend starters Matt Lea and Bob Revesz and closer candidates Tony Zych and Thomas Royse. The Cardinals are in tremendous shape if the bullpen meets expectations.

Impact Newcomer

Louisville won’t have to utilize too many newcomers this spring, but Landers and second baseman Adam Duvall are expected to be immediate contributors.

Landers was selected in Round 18 last summer by the Baltimore Orioles, but chose to attend college. The left-hander is tall and lanky and topped out in the low 90s during fall workouts. UL’s coaching staff really likes him and scouts believe he could become a high-round pick in a couple seasons.

Duvall played at Chipola JC last season and had a productive offensive campaign. He batted .318 with nine homers and 37 RBIs. He also recorded seven doubles and 82 total bases, while having a .543 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .444.

Keep an eye on Landers and Duvall this spring.

Cards Baseball Ranked 8th in College Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll

hulstheman5 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:17:20 -0000

Kind of surprising to see the Cards this high this early hopefully, they can live up to the billing. Coach McDonnell has got this program rolling. Here is the press release from UofLsports.com

Dec. 22, 2008

TUCSON, Ariz. - The University of Louisville baseball team earned its highest preseason ranking ever and the second highest ranking in school history on Monday as the Cards debuted at No. 8 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper 2009 Preseason Poll.

The Cardinals earned 476 total points in the poll, while LSU led the way at No. 1 with 495 points. The No. 8 ranking is second only to the Cards' final 2007 national ranking of No. 6 (Collegiate Baseball, ESPN/USA Today) following their College World Series appearance that season, and is 14 spots better than last year's previous school record best preseason ranking of No. 22 by Rivals.com. It's also the second 2009 preseason poll to feature Louisville as Ping!Baseball ranked the Cards No. 20 in its preseason rankings released last week.

Louisville, the highest ranked BIG EAST team in the preseason poll, returns eight of nine position starters for 2009, including All-American third baseman Chris Dominguez. Third-year head coach Dan McDonnell's squad also returns a deep stable of talented pitchers, led by All-American lefty starter Justin Marks.

Last season, Louisville earned its second straight NCAA Championship bid after winning the program's first ever BIG EAST Tournament title. The Cards finished 41-21 overall in 2008 after being eliminated from the Athens Regional by eventual College World Series runner-up Georgia.

Dominguez (Miami, Fla.), who elected to return to Louisville for his junior season despite being drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies, was named to five All-America teams in 2008 and earned BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year honors after hitting .365 with a team-leading 21 home runs and 75 RBI. Marks (Owensboro, Ky.) was named to a pair of All-America teams and earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors last season with a 9-2 record, a 2.37 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 91 innings of work.

Both Dominguez and Marks were named to last week's NCBWA Preseason All-America team and both were named to the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Award Watch List earlier this month.

Also representing the BIG EAST Conference in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll is Notre Dame at No. 27, while season-opening foe Florida is ranked No. 25 overall. The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll dating back to the 1957 season.

Louisville will open the 2009 season with a three-game series against the Gators on Feb. 20-22 in Gainesville, while the Cards' 2009 home-opener is set for Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. ET, against Eastern Kentucky.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's
NCAA Div. I Pre-Season Poll
(As of Dec. 22, 2008)

Rank School ('08 Final Record) Points
1. LSU (49-19-1)   495
2. North Carolina (54-14)  494
3. Rice (47-15)   489
4. Georgia (45-25-1)  486
5. Stanford (41-24-2)  484
6. Arizona St. (49-13)  482
7. Florida St. (54-14)  479
8. Louisville (41-21)  476
9. Texas A&M (46-19)  473
10. Texas (39-22)   470
11. Mississippi (39-25)  467
12. Georgia Tech. (41-21)  465
13. Cal. St. Fullerton (41-22)  462
14. Oklahoma St. (44-18)  459
15. Baylor (32-26)   457
16. Fresno St. (47-31)  456
17. San Diego (44-17)  453
18. Miami, Fla. (53-11)  451
19. Kentucky (44-19) 448
20. U.C. Irvine (42-18)  445
21. UCLA (33-27)   443
22. Missouri (39-21)   440
23. Pepperdine (38-21)  439
24. Southern California (28-28) 436
25. Florida (34-24)   435
26. Clemson (31-27-1)  432
27. Notre Dame (33-21-1)  430
28. Coastal Carolina (50-14) 428
29. Michigan (46-14)  425
30. U.C. Santa Barbara (35-21) 423
31. East Carolina (42-21)  422
32. Missouri St. (40-17)  420
33. Southern Mississippi (42-22) 417
34. Tulane (39-22-1)  415
35. Arizona (42-19)   414
36. Wichita St. (48-17)  410
37. Texas Christian (44-19)  409
38. Oregon St. (28-24)  406
39. California (33-21-2)  402
40. Alabama (35-28)  398

OTHER TEAMS RECEIVING VOTES: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Arkansas, Auburn, Long Beach St., Oregon, Virginia, North Carolina St., Houston, Kent St., Santa Clara, U.C. Riverside, Oral Roberts, Nebraska, Kennesaw St., Ohio St., Oklahoma, San Diego St., Tennessee, Mississippi St., New Mexico, Jacksonville St., Elon, Western Kentucky, Dallas Baptist, N.C. Charlotte, South Florida, St. John's, Winthrop, Purdue, James Madison, Marshall, Central Florida, Washington, Washington St., Georgia Southern, Northwestern St., Lamar, Texas-San Antonio, Southern, Louisiana-Monroe, New Orleans, Hawaii, San Jose St., San Francisco.

Cards Baseball Ranked 20th in Ping! Baseball Poll

hulstheman5 — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:43:05 -0000

Well its that time of year. In the next two months the preseason polls for college baseball will come out and the cards are looking to find themselves in the top 25 in all of those polls. Being in the top 25 and staying in it all year and then winning the BE and the BET will hopefully be enough for the Cards to host a regional at Jim Patterson Stadium in June. Yes there is a lot of work to be done to get to that point but this is the first step. Here is the press release from Uoflsports.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville baseball team earned a No. 20 ranking in the Ping!Baseball 2009 Preseason Top 30 released on Thursday.

The Cardinals - the highest ranked BIG EAST team in the preseason poll - return eight of nine position starters for 2009, including All-American third baseman Chris Dominguez. Third-year head coach Dan McDonnell's squad also returns a deep stable of talented pitchers, led by All-American lefty starter Justin Marks.

Last season, Louisville earned its second consecutive NCAA Championship bid after winning the program's first ever BIG EAST Tournament title. The Cards finished 41-21 overall in 2008 after being eliminated from the Athens Regional by eventual College World Series runner-up Georgia.

Dominguez (Miami, Fla.), who elected to return to Louisville for his junior season despite being drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies, was named to five All-America teams in 2008 and earned BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year honors after hitting .365 with a team-leading 21 home runs and 75 RBI. Marks (Owensboro, Ky.) was named to a pair of All-America teams and earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors last season with a 9-2 record, a 2.37 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 91 innings of work.

Also representing the BIG EAST Conference in the Ping!Baseball Preseason Poll is Notre Dame at No. 29, while North Carolina checks in at No. 1 overall.

Louisville will open the 2009 season with a three-game series at Southeastern Conference foe Florida, which checked in at No. 24 in the Ping!Baseball Preseason Top 30, on Feb. 20-22 in Gainesville. The Cards' 2009 home-opener is set for Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. ET, against Eastern Kentucky.

Dan McDonnell named assistant coach for Team USA

hulstheman5 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:42:59 -0000

From UofLsports.com

Also check out this interview with Coach from The College Baseball Blog. http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2008/12/12/cbb-interview-with-dan-mcdonnell-louisville/

DURHAM, N.C. - University of Louisville baseball head coach Dan McDonnell has been selected by USA Baseball as an assistant coach for the 2009 National Team. McDonnell joins USA Baseball head coach Rick Jones (Tulane head coach) and assistant coaches Rob Cooper (Wright State head coach) and Mike Kennedy (Elon head coach).

"Dan has always been a great asset to us in terms of a wealth of information," said Eric Campbell, General Manager of the USA Baseball National Team. "Certainly being at Louisville and taking his team to Omaha is exciting for him and his program, but it is also exciting for us. We're very happy to have Dan on our staff."

McDonnell is entering his third season in Louisville after leading the Cards to the 2008 BIG EAST Tournament title, the program's second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a 41-21 record overall. In his first season in Louisville in 2007, McDonnell took the Cards to the College World Series for the first time in school history, while also winning a school record 47 games en route to being named Rivals.com National Coach of the Year.

Coming off of an unbeaten summer (24-0), and a gold medal at the FISU World University Baseball Championships, the National Team will participate in the annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate Championship Series in Japan and then compete in the World Baseball Challenge in Prince George, British Columbia (Canada).

USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the United States Olympic Baseball Team (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball National Team (collegiate); the USA Baseball 18U, 16U and 14U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women's National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. More information can be found online at USABaseball.com.

UL Baseball Lands 2010 Catching Stud

hulstheman5 — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:11:15 -0000

Here is a link from http://www.bnd.com/sports/story/576000.html

the line of great Louisville catchers just keeps getting longer.

Granite catcher commits to Louisville

He's considered one of the top juniors in the country

BY NORM SANDERS - News-Democrat

Granite City High junior Jake DePew, one of the top-rated catchers in the Midwest, has given a verbal commitment to play baseball at the University of Louisville.

DePew still has plenty of time before his first chance to sign a letter of intent next November. But he doesn't expect to be changing his mind.

Also in the recruiting mix were Mississippi, Missouri State, Illinois, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Western Kentucky, Stanford and Michigan, among others.

He took unofficial recruiting visits to Illinois, Ole Miss and Louisville.

"I just felt like it was time to make a decision before things got too crazy," he said. "I liked everything about all the colleges I went to, but the coaching staff at Louisville really helped with my decision.

"They're College World Series contenders every year and that's something I'd like to be part of."

DePew (6-foot, 200 pounds) got a lot of exposure last summer with the St. Louis Pirates travel team.

"We actually played a tournament at Louisville and that's where they got to see me," he said.

Many college coaches and scouts are already rating DePew as one of the top prep catching prospects in the country.

"There's been some people that have told him that he's the best catcher in the 2010 class in the country, so that's a nice thing to hear," said his father, Granite City High baseball coach Daren DePew said. "I think he is, definitely. We've done a lot of traveling this summer and he's one of the best we've seen in the country."

Jake DePew was more of pitcher and shortstop growing up. But with his father having played catcher well into his 30s in college, pro ball and later the Mon-Clair League, his son had no trouble climbing behind the plate.

"It definitely made it easier for me because I always had someone there to teach me," Jake DePew said. "It's made me a better player, definitely. I enjoy catching and I always did it a little bit, but I think I like it more than playing the infield and pitching.

"You're into each and every pitch and you're a leader on the field."

Jake DePew hit .405 last spring with 12 doubles, three triples, two homers and 28 RBIs. He was a second-team pick on the News-Democrat Large-School All-Area team.

As a freshman, DePew hit .337 with seven doubles and 20 RBIs.

Daren DePew was a catcher at Illinois and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville who spent one season in the minor leagues. He also was recruited as a kicker and punter for the Illinois football team, playing there as a linebacker and on special teams.

The younger DePew had been a three-sport varsity starter before giving up football and basketball to concentrate on baseball.

"I put him behind the plate when he got to high school because I thought that was where he was going to end up," he said. "He swings the bat well, he's a good receiver and has solid catching mechanics and a very good arm."

But what makes his son special?

"The one thing in my opinion that sets him apart is his knowledge of the game," Daren DePew said. "He's able to call games and handle situations and people notice that. He plays the same way every day no matter what the situation is."

Contact reporter Norm Sanders at nsanders@bnd.com or 239-2454.

Joe Girardi Will Be Guest Speaker at UL Baseball Leadoff Dinner

hulstheman5 — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:02:42 -0000

The event is Jan 30th at the South Wing of KFEC. More info at Uoflsports.com including the sign up form for the event if you want to go. Come out and help support the baseball team. This years team returns 8 starters including Chris Dominguez, John Dao, Jeff Arnold, Drew Haynes, Stewart Ijames, Josh Richmond, and Andrew Clark. The team also has some big time arms. Justin Marks, 6'7 Fr. LHP Keith Landers, Fr RHP Mike Nastold, Bob Revesz, Matt Lea, Dean Kiekhefer, Tony Zych, Thomas Royse, Gabe Shaw and so on.