Louisville baseball's busy week includes super regional
It's a busy week for the University of Louisville baseball team.
The Cardinals (48-15) were hustling Monday to get in their workouts while closely following the regional final in Tallahassee Fla. Upstart Kennesaw State stunned Alabama there to advance to the best-of-three super regional against U of L this weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Cards will spend their afternoons this week fulfilling media responsibilities and preparing for that series, which starts with a 6:30 p.m. Friday game on ESPNU. The winner moves on to the College World Series.
But the Major League Baseball draft poses a bit of a distraction. The Cardinals will go through their usual daily routine, but the draft starts at 7 p.m. Thursday with the first two rounds. Rounds 3-10 are Friday and 11-40 are Saturday.
Meanwhile, head coach Dan McDonnell's staff is out recruiting players to replace U of L's five seniors and other potential draft picks.
"We've been so busy," McDonnell said. "We're texting, talking back and forth. Everybody has a lot to do, but we still have to coach our team. … You hope the younger kids learned from the older kids last year."
He said that last year several players were drafted as U of L prepared for Vanderbilt in the super regional. The Cards swept the Commodores to reach their second CWS.
This year closer Nick Burdi is considered a top-40 pick. Outfielder Jeff Gardner and starting pitcher Jared Ruxer also are listed in Baseball America's top 500 draft prospects.
"It's going to be something I'll remember the rest of my life," Burdi said of the draft. "But at the same time, it's the last two or three weeks I'll be able to wear a Louisville Cardinal uniform, and I'm going to make the most out of it."
The Cards do have the benefit of an extra day's rest, having beaten Kent State, Kansas and Kentucky without needing an extra game to advance to their fourth super regional since McDonnell took over in 2007.
They are facing a piping-hot Kennesaw State team that has won 26 of its past 28 games. The Owls' catcher, Max Pentecost, is friends with Gardner and is expected to be top-15 draft pick this week.
Kennesaw State (40-22) is built around Pentecost, who possesses a .423 batting average with nine home runs and 58 RBIs to boot. Gardner knows just how good Pentecost is, having played with him in the Cape Cod League last summer and formed a fishing partnership.
"They're a hot team," Gardner said. "They're in a super regional. You can't overlook them. Everybody is here for a reason."
Rotation set
McDonnell said his pitching rotation will be the same as it was in the regional. Kyle Funkhouser, the staff ace with an NCAA-leading 13 wins, is slated to start Friday's opener, with Anthony Kidston to pitch Game 2 and Josh Rogers available for a possible tiebreaker.
Rogers spent two weeks as Louisville's No. 2 starter, replacing the injured Ruxer (forearm) in the weekend rotation. But McDonnell explained that Kidston was the No. 3 man only because of the way the schedule set up at the time of Ruxer's injury in mid-May. With the extra time off before the NCAA Tournament, McDonnell lined up his rotation.
Reach Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_CJ).
NCAA Super Regional
Kennesaw State at Louisville
Best-of-three series at Jim Patterson Stadium: Friday 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU); Saturday 7 p.m. (ESPNU); Sunday 6 p.m. (ESPN2), if needed
If you go
• Tickets: All-session passes $45 or $25 ($15 for college students) via GoCards.com or at the Papa John's Cardinal Stadium ticket office.
Single-session tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Friday. It's $20 a day for reserved seating, $10 for general admission and $5 for college students.