All Entries Tagged With: "Josh Richmond"

Louisville Is Your Big East Baseball Champion

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• Freshman righthander Justin Amlung with six shutout innings, allowing only four hits.

• Adam Duvall with three hits, including two home runs.

• Drew Haynes, yes Drew Haynes, with three hits.

• Josh Richmond, Andrew Clark, Stewart Ijames and Ryan Wright with two each.

• Jeff Arnold throwing the foolish out at second.

• No need for ninth inning heroics.

• Now that’s what fans have come to expect from University of Louisville baseball.

• A 13-3 win over Notre Dame, sweeping the doubleheader and the series.

• That and a second consecutive Big East Conference regular season baseball championship with a 21-6 conference record, and a record-setting 46-10 won-lost record overall.

• Living up to Dan McDonnell’s expectations.

Big East Tournament pairings are here.

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Richmond Definitely Back, Louisville Rolls 14-3

So many hits, so many runs in the University of Louisville baseball team’s win over Eastern Kentucky in the last regular season game at Jim Patterson Stadium. U of L with 15 hits in a 14-3 win over EKU.

Josh Richmond with the L sign.

The most memorable hit, however, was a towering blast by Josh Richmond over the fence in left centerfield, driving in three runs during an eight-run first inning. It was his first home run this season in 12 games.

Richmond, you will recall, missed more than two months of action while recovering from an injury to his non-throwing hand. Not that he was sitting around. He was still among the most active players during warm ups and in the dugout.

He returned to the lineup last Friday against St. John’s. Anyone who doubted Richmond was ready to play became a believer after he threw a runner out at home with his throw from deep center field.

Richmond’s return has provided a boost in morale and confidence. Have no doubt about that.

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A wild and woolly spectacle after the game with spectators throwing tennis balls over the fence toward a glass rectangle on a table at second base, hoping to win a free three-year lease on a Cadillac. No way the observer could get one halfway there, not with the wind blowing.

Brainstorm. Give the 10 balls to U of L’s Neil Holland and let him do the throwing, actually hitting the bowl once. That would be as close as anyone would get. Thanks anyway, Neil.

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Josh Richmond May Rejoin Louisville Baseball Team

Word from a member of the University of Louisville baseball team during the Cardinal Caravan is that outfielder Josh Richmond, who injured his non-throwing hand in early March, may work out with the team Friday and could possibly see some action in the weekend series with St. John’s. The series opens at 6 p.m. Friday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

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Richmond Wants Back In Louisville Lineup

Before Wednesday’s baseball game, Josh Richmond was out in the outfield throwing and catching with his teammates. Not fly balls, mind you, but he was active enough that an observer was prompted to ask him if he were going to play that day.

Richmond squinted, showing his disappointment.

“No sir,” he said. “I’m going to get a CT scan Monday, and that should tell us something.”

The University of Louisville outfielder injured his non-throwing hand when he dived into the right field wall while attempting to make a catch. The early diagnosis was that it would take three to four weeks to heal. But that was March 4, almost two months ago. Dan McDonnell said last week that he hoped to take Richmond to Morgantown for the West Virginia series but X-rays indicated he was not ready.

“He’s just been slow to heal,” said McDonnell. “It has been frustrating for him because he has boundless energy and really wants to get back out there.”

With his blond hair,  All-American looks and enthusiasm, Richmond is a natural leader. Wearing the protection on his left hand, Richmond is usually perched on the top steps of the dugout, the first one out on the field when something good happens, and is always encouraging his teammates.

Richmond was the lead-off hitter before getting injured in the eighth game, batting .333 at the time. He has been sorely missed in the lineup while McDonnell has had to make do with other batters in his spot.

One can only hope that the upcoming scan reveals some improvement. If not, U of L may be forced to consider a medical red shirt. That would be a blow for Josh Richmond. He wants to play baseball now.

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Louisville Opts For Low Profile On West Virginia Trip

The University of Louisville baseball team will be traveling practically incognito when it travels to West Virginia this week for a three-game series against the Mountaineers, starting Friday.

Dan McDonnell

The team usually travels to away games on the big black and red University bus, with the big L-O-U-I-S-V-I-L-L-E on the sides and team members decked out in U of L gear. On this and future trips to WV, the baseball team will be on a private coach and team logos will be held to a minimum.

Dan McDonnell says his team was subject to some questionable treatment two years ago on the way to Morgantown. One restaurant locked the front door when the proprietor saw the University of Louisville bus pull up. And while visiting a Subway franchise, they were turned away because the employees told McDonnell they had run out of bread. These and a couple of other uncouths prompted the decision.

“Let’s just say we weren’t received very warmly in a number of instances,” said the coach during a luncheon Tuesday at U of L’s University Club. “We just think it’s best to take a low profile.”

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Josh Richmond’s recovery from a hand injury has taken much longer than expected but there’s a possibility the U of L outfielder could make the trip to West Virginia, maybe even see limited action.

“Josh has been slow to heal,”  said McDonnell. “He’s having the hand X-rayed again this week,” said McDonnell. “If there is significant improvement, we will make a decision on whether he makes the trip.”

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Good thing Adam Duvall hit a home run in the ninth inning of U of L’s 9-7 win over Pittsburgh. McDonnell said Duvall was hurting from a pulled hamstring so badly there was no way he could have run the bases.

“I told him he could hit but couldn’t run,” said McDonnell. “I had a runner ready if he got on. But I also told Adam if he hit the ball over the fence, he could just jog around the bases.”

Duvall responded, “I know, coach, I know.”

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Louisville Survives Middle Tennessee Dropoff, 3-2

If one figured because Middle Tennessee State had thrown its best pitcher in the opening game of the NCAA Regional there would be a big dropoff in talent, one would be wrong. MTSU recruits good athletes.

The Bryce Brentz on the mound against Louisville was as good as any pitcher the Cardinals have faced all season, handcuffing most U of L batters through 7.2 innings. The exception was Josh Richmond, who tagged him for a home run in the eighth to tie the game at 2-2.

Josh Richmond gets warm welcome at home.

In fact, Richmond, the leadoff hitter, had three hits in four at bats against Brentz while scoring two of U of L’s runs.

• U of L’s John Dao has hit into more than his share of double plays this season, as he did in the fifth inning in this game. Dao made fans forget about those shortcomings when he rolled a bunt down the first base line moving Jeff Arnold to third base in the ninth inning.

• Arnold could and should have been caught dancing off third base. But an errant throw by MTSU catcher Drew Robertson bounced off the bag, sending a relieved Arnold home with what would be the winning run.

• Starting U of L pitcher Dean Kiekhefer, a sophomore southpaw, settled down after allowing an MTSU run in the first inning, striking out eight batters, spacing eight hits and one more run before departing in the seventh inning. He also denied Brentz, who plays center field when he’s not pitching, any opportunity to fatten his hefty .482 batting average, holding him hitless in three at  bats.

• Freshman reliever Derek Self was perfect in relief, shutting down all nine batters he faced in three innings to earn WP honors.

• The Louisville bats have been too quiet lately. Somebody’s going to be sorry soon.

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