Dan McDonnell and the #10 ranked (as high as #6 in some national collegiate polls) will welcome #cardnation and in-state foe, Eastern Kentucky back to Jim Patterson Stadium Wednesday afternoon.  Fans who cannot attend may find other ways to follow the Cards; televised on ACC Network Extra, radio coverage is set for 1450 WXVW or you can follow from the palm on twitter @UofLbaseball.

The Cards are off to an 3-0 start through Opening Weekend in Clearwater, Florida.

From Louisville SID, Garett Wall on gocards.com

Pacing the way for the Cardinals during the opening weekend was junior Brendan McKay, who was named as one of Collegiate Baseball newspaper’s national players of the week on Monday. The two-time John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year was 4-for-8 at the plate with two home runs, five RBI and four walks in the first three games while also twirling six shutout innings with nine strikeouts in a victorious start on the mound in Friday’s season-opener. McKay has a 22-7 career record with a 1.99 ERA and 254 strikeouts on the mound to go along with a .324 career batting average in 122 starts as a hitter.

ABOUT THE EKU COLONELS
Eastern Kentucky enters Wednesday’s game at 0-4 following a season-opening weekend series at No. 7 Arizona. The Colonels were 24-31 last season and finished eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 13-17 record. EKU returned 18 letterwinners, including six starters, from last year’s squad.

SERIES HISTORY
Louisville holds a 65-48-1 record all-time against Eastern Kentucky and having won eight straight and 16 of the last 17 against the Colonels. The series against EKU, which dates back to 1927, is second on the list of most-played series in school history for Louisville (114 games) behind only the Western Kentucky series (128 games).

FEELING AT HOME INSIDE JIM PATTERSON STADIUM
Since opening the gates at Jim Patterson Stadium in 2005, the Cardinals have won 77 percent of their games in the ballpark posting a 313-93 record (.770 winning percentage), including an impressive 36-3 mark during the 2016 season at the corner of Third and Central. Louisville has won five straight home-openers and are 9-1 overall in home-openers under McDonnell.

From Baseballamerica.com 

Strike One: ACC Aces Show Best Stuff In Openers

One of the central questions leading up to this year’s draft revolves around Louisville two-way star Brendan McKay: Is he a pitcher at the next level or a hitter? On Opening Day, McKay did evaluators no favors.

Not only did McKay deliver on the mound—nine strikeouts, no walks and just four hits allowed in six scoreless innings for his 22nd career win—but the junior showed his muscle at the plate as well, hitting a home run and going 2-for-3 with two RBIs to help his own cause.

Behind the lefthander and first baseman, who ranks No. 4 on the College Top 100, No. 7 Louisville defeated Alabama State, 7-0, in Clearwater, Fla.

“It was solid work for me and a good start to the season for our team,” McKay told gocards.com. “Early on, I was locating my fastball in and out pretty well and I was throwing the curveball for strikes. All in all, it was a balanced performance for us on the mound, at the plate and defensively.”
Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/friday-college-roundup-brendan-mckay-j-b-bukauskas-sterling-opening-day/#F56w0ZkE018AdAxi.99

 

#cardnation can follow me @darylfoust4

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Daryl Foust

Lifelong fan of the Louisville Cardinals, been covering the teams since 2012, graduated from c/o 2015, Writer/Contributor for TCZ for Men's Soccer, Women's Basketball & Softball since 2016.

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