2017 Louisville Cardinals baseball team

The 2017 Louisville Cardinals baseball team represents the University of Louisville during the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals play their home games at Jim Patterson Stadium as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They are led by head coach Dan McDonnell, in his eleventh year at Louisville.

2017 Louisville Cardinals baseball
ACC Regular Season Champions
NCAA Tournament, Louisville Regional NCAA Tournament, Louisville Super Regional College World Series
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
CB	No. 5
2017 record	52–9 (23–6 ACC)
Head coach	Dan McDonnell (11th season)
Assistant coaches	Roger Williams (11th season) Eric Snider (3rd season) Adam Vrable (3rd season)
Captains	Jake Sparger (Senior year) Ryan Summers (Senior year) Logan Taylor (Senior year)
Home stadium	Jim Patterson Stadium

2017 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Atlantic
No. 5 Louisville  ^x‍‍‍^y	23	–	6		.793			53	–	12		.815
No. 12 Wake Forest  ‍‍‍^y	19	–	11		.633			43	–	20		.683
No. 25 Clemson  ‍‍‍^y	17	–	13		.567			42	–	21		.667
No. 30 NC State  ‍‍‍^y	16	–	14		.533			36	–	25		.590
No. 6 Florida State  ‍‍‡‍^y	14	–	14		.500			46	–	23		.667
Boston College  ‍‍‍	11	–	19		.367			25	–	28		.472
Notre Dame  ‍‍‍	10	–	20		.333			26	–	32		.448
Coastal
No. 17 North Carolina  ^x‍‍‍^y	23	–	7		.767			49	–	14		.778
No. 21 Virginia  ‍‍‍^y	18	–	12		.600			43	–	16		.729
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍	16	–	13		.552			31	–	27		.534
Duke  ‍‍‍	12	–	18		.400			30	–	28		.517
Georgia Tech  ‍‍‍	11	–	19		.367			27	–	28		.491
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍	9	–	21		.300			23	–	30		.434
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍	9	–	21		.300			23	–	32		.418
x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Cardinals were selected to host their fifth consecutive NCAA Regional.[1] The Cardinals would win both the Louisville Regional and Louisville Super Regional and receive an invitation to the 2017 College World Series before eventually losing to TCU by a score of 3–4.[2] Five players from the team, including Brendan McKay, were selected in the 2017 MLB Draft.[3]

Previous season

In 2016, the Cardinals finished as champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference with a record of 46–10, 22–8 in conference play, in their second season in the conference. They qualified for the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, where they played in Division B of inter-conference tournament play. The Cardinals would finish 1–2 in the tournament, not advancing to the conference tournament finals.

With the Cardinals finishing the season as regular season champs of the Atlantic Division of the ACC, they would qualify for the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, and were selected as hosts of the Louisville regional and Louisville Super Regional, if they advanced to that round. The Cardinals would wins three straight matches in the Louisville Regional and would advance to the Super Regional (of which they were hosts) by defeating Western Michigan 6–1, Ohio State 15–3, and Wright State 3–1. In the Super Regional, Louisville hosted UC Santa Barbara in a best-of-three matchup. Louisville would lose the first two games to UC Santa Barbara, ending their playoff run.

Roster

2017 Louisville Cardinals roster[4]
	Pitchers 4 – Adam Elliott – Freshman 5 – Shay Smiddy – Freshman 6 – Chandler Dale – Junior 8 – Nick Bennett – Freshman 13 – Sam Bordner – Sophomore 15 – Lincoln Henzman – Junior 19 – Kade McClure – Junior 22 – Noah Burkholder – Sophomore 27 – Bryan Hoeing – Sophomore 30 – Austin Dickey – Freshman 31 – Adam Wolf – Sophomore 32 – Riley Thompson – Sophomore 38 – Brendan McKay – Junior 39 – Shane Hummel – Senior 40 – Rabon Martin – Junior 41 – Michael McAvene – Freshman 44 – Jake Sparger – Senior		Catchers 11 – Zeke Pinkham – Sophomore 18 – Pat Rumoro – Sophomore 42 – Colby Fitch – Junior Infielders 2 – Tyler Fitzgerald – Freshman 7 – Devin Mann – Sophomore 10 – Drew Ellis – Junior 16 – Justin Lavey – Freshman 20 – Jake Snider – Freshman 29 – Devin Hairston – Junior 34 – Michael Bollmer – Sophomore 38 – Brendan McKay – Junior 43 – Logan Wyatt – Freshman		Outfielders 4 – Adam Elliott – Freshman 9 – Danny Oriente – Freshman 17 – Ethan Stringer – Freshman 24 – Logan Taylor – Senior 25 – Josh Stowers – Sophomore 33 – Ryan Summers – Sophomore 35 – Colin Lyman – senior

Schedule

Legend
	Louisville win
	Louisville loss
	Postponement
Bold	Louisville team member

2017 Louisville Cardinals Baseball Game Log
Regular Season
February Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record February 17 vs. Alabama State #11 Spectrum Field • Clearwater, FL W 7–1 McKay (1–0) Howe (0–1) Hoeing (1) 455 1–0 February 18 vs. Maryland #11 Spectrum Field • Clearwater, FL W 10–7 Sparger (1–0) Bloom (0–1) Henzman (1) 652 2–0 February 19 vs. Ball State #11 Spectrum Field • Clearwater, FL W 10–4 Hummel (1–0) Marquardt (0–1) None 609 3–0 February 22 vs. Eastern Kentucky #11 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 19–3 Martin (1–0) Ford (0–1) None 2,154 4–0 February 24 Omaha #11 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 7–2 McKay (2–0) Murphy (0–2) None 1,862 5–0 February 25 Omaha #11 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 10–0 McClure (1–0) Binger (1–1) None 825 6–0 February 26 Omaha #11 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 6–0 McAvene (1–0) Suponchick (0–2) None 1,056 7–0
March Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record March 1 Morehead State #6 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 20–2 Sparger (2–0) Stambaugh (0–1) None 929 8–0 March 3 Eastern Michigan #6 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 13–0 Bennett (1–0) Mattson (2–1) None 936 9–0 March 4 Eastern Michigan #6 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 3–2 Thompson (1–0) Feldman (0–2) None 1,077 10–0 March 5 Eastern Michigan #6 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 8–7 Elliott (1–0) Feldman (0–3) Sparger (1) 3,475 11–0 March 7 Eastern Kentucky #5 Turkey Hughes Field • Richmond, KY Postponed March 8 Fort Wayne #5 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 12–2 Bordner (1–0) Helm (1–1) None 1,084 12–0 March 10 Pittsburgh #5 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 3–0 McKay (3–0) Mitchell (0–2) Henzman (2) 995 13–0 1–0 March 11 Pittsburgh #5 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 8–2 McClure (2–0) Pidich (2–1) None 894 14–0 2–0 March 12 Pittsburgh #5 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 3–1 Bennett (2–0) Falk (2–1) Henzman (3) 1,017 15–0 3–0 March 15 Xavier #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 13–4 Martin (2–0) Astle (1–1) None 883 16–0 3–0 March 17 Boston College #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 6–0 McKay (4–0) Stevens (2–1) None 620 17–0 4–0 March 18 Boston College #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 6–4 McClure (3–0) Gill (1–4) Henzman (4) 958 18–0 5–0 March 19 Boston College #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 5–3 Martin (3–0) Metzdor (1–3) Henzman (5) 968 19–0 6–0 March 21 at Cincinnati #2 Marge Schott Stadium • Cincinnati, OH L 3–6 Kroger (1–0) McAvene (1–1) Orndorff (4) 1,709 19–1 6–0 March 24 at NC State #2 Doak Field • Raleigh, NC L 1–3 Adler (3–2) McKay (4–1) O'Donnell (1) 2,824 19–2 6–1 March 25 at NC State #2 Doak Field • Raleigh, NC W 7–6 Henzman (1–0) Staley (1–1) None 3,048 20–2 7–1 March 26 at NC State #2 Doak Field • Raleigh, NC W 8–1 Bennett (3–0) Wilder (0–2) None 2,821 21–2 8–1 March 28 Western Kentucky #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 11–1 Hummel (2–0) Bruner (0–1) None 3,294 22–2 8–1 March 31 at Virginia #2 Davenport Field • Charlottesville, VA W 5–2 Wolf (1–0) Harrington (1–1) Henzman (6) 2,928 23–2 9–1
April Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record April 1 at Virginia #2 Davenport Field • Charlottesville, VA L 2–11 Bettinger (4–0) McClure (3–1) None 3,832 23–3 9–2 April 2 at Virginia #2 Davenport Field • Charlottesville, VA W 4–3 Wolf (2–0) Doyle (1–1) Henzman (7) 3,736 24–3 10–2 April 4 Kentucky #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 5–3 Hummel (3–0) Thompson (2–2) Henzman (8) 6,210 25–3 10–2 April 7 Wake Forest #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY L 1–2 Dunshee (6–1) McKay (4–2) Roberts (3) 2,931 25–4 10–3 April 8 Wake Forest #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 7–6 Sparger (3–0) McCarren (2–3) Henzman (9) 3,104 26–4 11–3 April 9 Wake Forest #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 7–5 Wolf (3–0) Roberts (1–1) Bordner (1) 4,056 27–4 12–3 April 11 Purdue #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 13–2 Hummel (4–0) Dellinger (1–3) None 1,579 28–4 12–3 April 13 at Georgia Tech #2 Russ Chandler Stadium • Atlanta, GA W 3–0 McKay (5–2) Schniederjans (0–2) Henzman (10) 1,215 29–4 13–3 April 14 at Georgia Tech #2 Russ Chandler Stadium • Atlanta, GA W 10–1 McClure (4–1) Curry (3–4) None 1,220 30–4 14–3 April 15 at Georgia Tech #2 Russ Chandler Stadium • Atlanta, GA W 5–4 Wolf (4–0) Ryan (3–2) Henzman (11) 1,358 31–4 15–3 April 18 at Kentucky #2 Cliff Hagan Stadium • Lexington, KY L 7–11 Thompson (4–2) Hummel (4–1) None 4,018 31–5 15–3 April 21 Duke #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY L 3–5 Stallings (4–3) McKay (5–3) Labosky (5) 1,533 31–6 15–4 April 22 Duke #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 7–5 Wolf (5–0) Ziemba (2–3) Henzman (12) 814 32–6 16–4 April 23 Duke #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 10–0 Bennett (4–0) Day (3–3) None 2,158 33–6 17–4 April 25 at Eastern Kentucky #2 Turkey Hughes Field • Richmond, KY W 14–4 Smiddy (1–0) Carter (0–1) None 894 34–6 17–4 April 26 Northern Kentucky #2 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY W 6–4 Wolf (6–0) Jerger (1–3) Henzman (13) 2,729 35–6 17–4 April 28 Toledo #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 5–4 McKay (6–3) Calhoun (3–3) Bordner (2) 950 36–6 17–4 April 29 Toledo #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 11–1 McClure (5–1) Achter (3–4) None 1,746 37–6 17–4 April 30 Toledo #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 17–2 Sparger (4–0) Shutes (2–6) None 1,852 38–6 17–4
May Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record May 2 Miami (OH) #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 6–5 Henzman (2–0) Mraz (0–2) None 1,734 39–6 17–4 May 5 at Notre Dame #2 Frank Eck Stadium • South Bend, IN W 2–0 McKay (7–3) Bass (2–7) Henzman (14) 517 40–6 18–4 May 6 at Notre Dame #2 Frank Eck Stadium • South Bend, IN W 5–1 McClure (6–1) Hearne (3–4) None 557 41–6 19–4 May 7 at Notre Dame #2 Frank Eck Stadium • South Bend, IN W 9–4 Elliott (2–0) Guenther (2–1) None 828 42–6 20–4 May 9 Vanderbilt #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY W 6–2 Martin (4–0) Ruppenthal (1–3) None 4,120 43–6 20–4 May 12 Clemson #2 Doug Kingsmore Stadium • Clemson, SC W 4–2 McKay (8–3) Barnes (5–4) Henzman (15) 4,405 44–6 21–4 May 13 Clemson #2 Doug Kingsmore Stadium • Clemson, SC W 6–4 McClure (7–1) Beasley (1–2) Wolf (1) 5,164 45–6 22–4 May 14 Clemson #2 Doug Kingsmore Stadium • Clemson, SC W 6–4 Bennett (5–0) Krall (7–2) Henzman (16) 4,572 46–6 23–4 May 16 Indiana #2 Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, IN L 3–4 Saalfrank (2–1) Martin (4–1) None 3,077 46–7 23–4 May 18 Florida State #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY L 9–12 Voyles (4–0) Sparger (4–1) None 3,487 46–8 23–5 May 19 Florida State #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY L 2–8 Holton (8–2) McClure (7–2) None 3,359 46–9 23–6 May 20 Florida State #2 Jim Patterson Stadium • Louisville, KY Postponed
Post-Season
ACC Tournament Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record May 25 Notre Dame #4 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY W 10–3 McKay (9–3) Hearne (4–5) None 6,945 47–9 23–6 May 26 Florida State #4 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY L 6–2 Holton (9–2) McClure (7–3) None 8,843 47–10 23–6
NCAA Tournament Louisville Regional Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record June 2 Radford #7 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY W 11–6 Bordner (2–0) Gerber (4–4) None 3,763 48–10 23–6 June 3 Oklahoma #7 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY W 11–1 Sparger (5–1) Irvin (6–3) None 4,060 49–10 23–6 June 4 Xavier #7 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY W 8–7 Henzman (3–0) Kirschner (4–3) None 4,012 50–10 23–6
NCAA Tournament Louisville Super Regional Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record June 9 Kentucky #7 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY W 5–2 McClure (8–3) Thompson 8–3 None 6,235 51–10 – June 10 Kentucky #7 Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY W 6–2 McKay (10–3) Hjelle (11–4) Bordner (3) 6,237 52–10 –
College World Series Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record June 17 or 18 Texas A&M #7 TD Ameritrade Park Omaha • Omaha, NE W 8–4 McKay (11–3) Martin (7–4) None 23,437 53–10 – June 20 Florida #7 TD Ameritrade Park Omaha • Omaha, NE L 1–5 Singer (8–5) McClure (8–4) None 22,222 53–11 – June 22 TCU #7 TD Ameritrade Park Omaha • Omaha, NE L 3–4 Wymer (6–4) Bennett (5–1) – 24,985 53–12 –

Awards and honors

National / Conference Players of the Week

Awards Player Award Date Awarded Ref. Brendan McKay Preseason National Player of the Year December 19, 2016 [5] National Player of the Month March 7, 2017 [6] ACC Pitcher of the Week March 13, 2017 [7] March 20, 2017 [8] April 17, 2017 [9] ACC Co-Player of the Week May 1, 2017 [10] Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week Drew Ellis Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Month May 8, 2017 [11] Brendan McKay ACC Pitcher of the Week [12] Colby Fitch ACC Co-Player of the Week May 15, 2017 [13] Award Watch List Player Award Date Awarded Ref. Brendan McKay USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List April 12, 2017 [14] Lincoln Henzman 2017 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award Watch List April 27, 2017 [15] Brendan McKay Semifinalist – John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award May 12, 2017 [16] Semifinalist – National Pitcher of the Year Award Devin Hairston Semifinalist – Brooks Wallace Award Awards Player Award Date Awarded Ref. Kade McClure Perfect Game Preseason All-American January 10, 2017 [17] Brendan McKay Brendan McKay Preseason First Team All-American January 30, 2017 [18] Brendan McKay NCBWA Preseason First Team All-Americans January 31, 2017 [19] Kade McClure Devin Hairston NCBWA Preseason Second Team All-Americans Brendan McKay ACC Player of the Year May 22, 2017 [20] First Team All-ACC – Designated Hitter / Utility First Team All-ACC – Starting Pitcher Devin Hairston ACC Defensive Player of the Year Third Team All-ACC – Shortstop Drew Ellis First Team All-ACC – Third Base Lincoln Henzman First Team All-ACC – Relief Pitcher Colby Fitch Second Team All-ACC – Catcher Kade McClure Third Team All-ACC – Starting Pitcher Nick Bennett Third Team All-ACC – Starting Pitcher Freshman All-ACC – Starting Pitcher Coaching awards Player Award Date Awarded Ref. Dan McDonnell ACC Coach of the Year May 22, 2017 [21] References "Louisville Baseball to Host Fifth Straight NCAA Regional". GoCards.com. May 28, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017. "Louisville vs. TCU – Box Score". GoCards.com. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017. "Three more Louisville players selected on second day of MLB draft". Courier-Journal.com. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017. "Official Baseball Roster". Louisville Cardinals. Retrieved March 23, 2017. "McKay named Preseason National Player of the Year". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. December 19, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "NCBWA Names McKay as National Player of the Month". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. March 7, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "McKay named ACC Pitcher of the Week". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. March 13, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "McKay named ACC Pitcher of the Week, Second Straight". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. March 20, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "McKay Earns Third ACC Pitcher of the Week Honor of the Season". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "McKay, Ellis Earn Player of the Week Honors". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017. "Ellis Named National Player of the Month for April". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017. "McKay Sets ACC Record with Latest Pitcher of the Week Honor". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017. "Fitch Earns ACC Player of the Week Honor". Louisville Cardinals Athletics. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017. "McKay Named to Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List". GoCards.com. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "Henzman Named to Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List". GoCards.com. April 27, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017. "McKay, Hairston Named Semifinalists for National Awards". GoCards.com. May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017. "Perfect Game Names McKay, McClure Preseason All-Americans". GoCards.com. January 10, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "Baseball America Names McKay Preseason First Team All-American". GoCards.com. January 30, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "Trio of Cardinals Named NCBWA Preseason All-Americans". GoCards.com. January 31, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017. "McKay Named ACC Player of the Year; Hairston, McDonnell Earn Major Conference Honors". GoCards.com. May 22, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017. "McKay Named ACC Player of the Year; Hairston, McDonnell Earn Major Conference Honors". GoCards.com. May 22, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.