Archive for May, 2008

Taking It To The NCAA … Again

Crown the University of Louisville baseball team winner of the 2008 Big East Baseball Tournament, earning the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, with a 6-3 win over Cincinnati.

Only questions now are who, where and when the Cards will play. Find out Monday, 12:30 p.m., ESPNU.

  Give freshman Stewart Ijames the game T-shirt with the No. 41 for his clutch double in the eighth inning, producing two runs and giving U of L the lead for the first time. Maybe the next pitcher will think twice before intentionally walking Chris Dominguez to get to Ijames.

  Recognize Chris Dominguez for intimidating opposing coaches and pitchers. He’s also getting the hang of the hot corner.

  Give freshman Bob Revesz invaluable experience under extreme pressure. The 6-4 lefthander never flinching, starting the conference title game. Completing five innings, allowing only two runs. Championship game + freshman + success = promising future.

  Award Most Valuable Player honors in the Big East Tournament to Justin McClanahan for his unbelievable 5-for-6 hitting and two home runs in the previous game.

  Admit that Cincinnati’s Mike Spina is a great hitter, with two home runs in the second and sixth innings, trusting he realizes his dream of getting drafted by a major league team during the off season.

  Praise the excellent relief pitching of Gabriel Shaw, Justin Marks and B. J. Rosenberg. They retired 15 of the final 17 Bearcats they faced, most notably Rosenberg shutting down the Spina home run barrage in the ninth.

  Recognize the other hitting threats in the Cards’ lineup: John Dao, Josh Richmond, Andrew Clark, Jeff Arnold, Phil Wunderlich, Drew Haynes. Nobody ever surprised when they reach base.

  Salute Dan McDonnell for another impressive coaching job. So many freshmen, so far to go, but here they are — back in the NCAA as Big East Champs.

Chalk Up No. 40, Advance To Championship

Justin McClanahan is feeling no pain. The thumb is just fine now, thank you.  The back? no problem.

McClanahan appears to have fully recovered from the thumb injury that sidelined him for the first nine games this season. as well as an aching back that bothered him in recent weeks.

The proof came Friday as the University of Louisville baseball team mowed down Villanova 13-6 to move into the championship game of the Big East Tournament, McClanahan leading the way, U of L improving its record to 40-19.

Check this out: Two home runs, including a grand slam. Five hits in six at bats. Seven runs batted in. Eleven total bases. Three runs scored.

The pride of amateur baseball in Annapolis, Md., has raised his batting average to .379, with 93 hits in 247 at-bats. He has 10 homers and 56 runs batted in.

   Thomas Royse, the freshman righthander from Lexington, picked up his fourth win without a loss in relief, scattering four hits, striking out three, and allowing three runs over six innings.

  Righthander Zack Pitts (6-5), once considered the ace, is not as effective as he once was, lasting only two innings, giving up three runs in the second. Somewhat of a concern in post season play.

  Chris Dominguez smashed his 20th home run this season, along with a single, pushing three runs across the plate.

  Championship game against Cincinnati Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be telecast on ESPN-U. Get the yard work done early.

Caracter: Out Of Second Chances

Time for fans hoping for his return to the University of Louisville basketball team to face reality: Derrick Caracter has no alternative but to move on now.

While seeking Coach Rick Pitino’s permission to return next season, Caracter was making it impossible for Pitino to help him again. Caracter was not meeting even the minimum requirements to make it possible. He is academically ineligible to play next season.

Despite all the problems surrounding him, informal polls among U of L fans reflected overwhelmingly strong sentiment for his return. This despite the young man’s propensity for getting into trouble, negatively influencing other players, diluting team chemistry.  Fans being fans, they could not accept the fact that a player with so much potential could be so bad or unfixable.

Caracter could return to the classroom, improve his grades, and play basketball his senior season. Don’t count on it happening at U of L. Rick Pitino appears to have finally used up his inexhaustible supply of second chances.

Moving Forward

Take the day off, Cards. Soak in the whirlpool, absorb the lineament, be ready to go again Friday morning.

Mercy rule prevails after seventh inning, Louisville slicing Villanova 14-3 in a cacophony of 16 hits, almost half of them for extra bases. One of them an opposite-field 19th home run of the season for Chris Dominguez.

Top-seeded St. John’s is gone from the Big East Baseball Tournament, hammered again, this time by Seton Hall, 12-6. Domers out, too, courtesy of West Virginia, 13-6.

The Cards will meet the winner of Thursday’s Villanova-Seton Hall game on TGIF day at 10 a.m. and then again at 5 p.m., win or lose.

Championship is Saturday at 1 p.m.

Win And Advance

Good news for the University of Louisville baseball team on two fronts after a convincing 12-3 win over Seton Hall in the first round of the Big East Tournament in Clearwater:

They don’t have to face St. John’s, the league champion, in the second game. The Redmen dominated the Big East with a 20-7 won-lost record in regular season league play and an overall record of 41-12.

They play Villanova but won’t have to face pitcher Brian Streilein who earlier this season limited U of L to one hit and no runs in seven innings in a 3-1 loss. Streilein won’t be around Wednesday, having pitched seven innings today in a 12-0 win over St. John’s.

Matt Lea, the big 6-foot-5 right-handed sophomore who transferred to Louisville from Mississippi State, earned his fifth win without a loss this season in UofL’s win over Seton Hall, allowing one hit and one run in 5 2/3 innings.

John Dao had four hits, including his third home run, scoring four runs, raising his batting average to a hefty .357.

Justin McClanahan may getting healthy again after back problems, and just in time, collecting three hits, including two doubles that raised his season total to 23, tying a team record for two-base hits. Batting 356.

Chris Dominguez had two hits, driving in three runs. Batting .366.

Coach Dan McDonnell’s team has won 14 of its last 18 games; won-lost record is 38-19.

The Cards are 3-0 in the opening games of the Big East Tournament after three seasons.

The U of L-Villanova matchup is scheduled 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.