Jim-Patterson

The college baseball season opens in seven days.

The fourth-ranked University of Louisville baseball team will conduct three open scrimmages starting this weekend — at noon Saturday, at noon on Sunday, and at 2:45 on Monday.

Due to the final stages of the expansion at Jim Patterson Stadium, there will be no access to the primary seating areas in the ballpark.

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Louisville will open the 2013 season in Florida with the Big East/Big Ten Challenge,  facing Indiana Feb. 15 at Dunedin, South Florida, Feb. 16 at Clearwater, and Purdue, Feb. 17 at St. Petersburg. UofL 8-1 all-time in the event, which is hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Sports Commission.

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Senior first baseman Zak Wasserman, junior outfielder Adam Engel and junior outfielder Jeff Gardner have been selected as the 2013 Louisville baseball team captains. The selections were voted on by the players and coaches.

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Teddy Mitrosilis’ weekly notebook on ESPN.com revealed that Coach Dan McDonnell’s use of literature to help motivate his team.

Dan McDonnell has always been a voracious reader and believer in words. He played at The Citadel in the late 1980s and early ’90s, and coach Chal Port would read his club short stories or passages after practices. “I enjoyed that as a player,” says McDonnell, who is in his seventh season as Louisville’s head coach.

He often buys books for players, and they can always come into his office and grab something from the shelves. Each season, he designates two books — one for the fall and one for the spring.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.