U of L baseball coach weighing postseason pitching options

Dan McDonnell has a decision to make.

The Louisville baseball coach doesn't know his team's starting pitching rotation ahead of this week's NCAA tournament regional at U of L's Jim Patterson Stadium, and every possible scenario has pros and cons.

What's making his decision harder is the unknown status of junior right-hander Jared Ruxer, whose injured forearm has kept him out the past two weeks after starting the season 7-1 with a 2.27 earned-run average.

McDonnell called a Ruxer return a 50-50 chance on Monday night.

"We're preparing to not have Ruxer in the mix," McDonnell said. "The goal is to line everybody up and make sure everybody is feeling good."

With Ruxer, the decision would be easy.

Louisville could start staff ace Kyle Funkhouser (12-2, 1.81 ERA) on Friday against Kent State and have Ruxer available for Saturday, which could be the Baseballgeddon everyone expected when Kentucky was slotted in the other game at U of L's four-team, double-elimination regional.

But without Ruxer, the process gets complicated.

Funkhouser could still go Friday night and, as he put it, "set the tone," but that would leave Ruxer's replacement, Josh Rogers, in an awkward spot if the Cardinals play Kentucky on Saturday.

Rogers, a freshman, started two games against UK this spring, and lost both. He pitched a combined 7 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs on seven hits.

By all accounts Rogers has improved since UK's 4-2 win at Louisville on April 15. He pitched 14 innings in his last two starts, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out 13.

But baseball logic is baseball logic. Teams don't like throwing a pitcher against a tough matchup if other options are available, like Funkhouser or sophomore righty Anthony Kidston.

And the opportunity to hold Funkhouser until Saturday is a tempting one, even if it's a coaching choice that McDonnell has avoided in previous years.

"There's so much parity in college baseball," McDonnell said. "It'd be hard for me to not lean and go with my No. 1 in Game 1."

Funkhouser, McDonnell continued, is Louisville's most durable arm. He could start Friday's game and throw again in a winner-take-all game on Monday, if necessary.

If he pitched Saturday, he wouldn't have that same flexibility.

"You can put us in any order and we'll be fine," Funkhouser said before weighing the pros and cons of starting Friday or Saturday.

The young Rogers didn't seem to mind, either. He went through workouts Monday and Tuesday knowing that he just needed to be ready to pitch.

"It doesn't matter who's stepping on the mound," Rogers said. "Our team has a lot of confidence in us no matter when we throw."

Meanwhile U of L waits for more news on Ruxer. He hasn't pitched since May 10, and McDonnell weighed Ruxer's return against his future chances to make the major leagues.

His player's future, McDonnell explained, is more important than anything else.

"The farther along you go, the longer it's been since he's pitched," McDonnell said. "You're concerned about how durable he is. Where's his stamina going to be?

"I just want the kid to be healthy. He has a chance to be a great draft pick."

Reach Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_CJ).