Dan McDonnell

The University of Kentucky baseball team was conducting practice at Jim Patterson Stadium but Louisville Coach Dan McDonnell says he hasn’t given much thought to a possible matchup with UK in the NCAA’s Louisville Region this weekend.

“The most important game we have is against Kent State,” he said during a press conference. “It’s the game of the moment. There is no other game.

“We’ve getting a lot of questions about possible match ups but there’s no guarantee we’re playing one of other two teams on the other side (of the bracket). And there’s a good chance we won’t. In just about every regional we host, there’s one team we don’t play.  Right now Kent State’s the team. They went to Omaha a few years ago.

“As coaches and players, we have to focus on Kent State. I don’t see a bigger game than that. We hope to be in the winners bracket but I can’t hope, predict or want to play another team.  Both of those teams (UK and Kansas) are really good. One of them is our rival, the other we haven’t played.”

McDonnell added that Kansas is really excited about playing in the Regional and reminds him a lot of his first UofL team that went to the College World Series in 2007. “Kansas is super excited about being here and you’ve got to be careful with teams like that. You can’t overlook any team in the NCAA.”

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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.