Junior pitcher Justin Marks
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
University of Louisville baseball head coach Dan McDonnell has released the Cards’ 2009 schedule, which includes 32 home games at Jim Patterson Stadium and 42 games against BCS conference schools.
The Cards, which won their first BIG EAST Tournament title and a second straight NCAA Championship appearance in 2008, will open the 2009 season on Feb. 20-22 in Gainesville, Fla., with a three-game series against Southeastern Conference foe Florida. Overall, 42 of the Cards’ 56 games in 2009 will be against teams from the six Bowl Championship Series conferences, including seven games with SEC teams and eight games against Big Ten competition.
“This is a great schedule for our team and one that will challenge us and prepare us as move through it,” said McDonnell, who is 88-45 in his first two seasons in Louisville, with back-to-back NCAA bids and one College World Series appearance. “To play 42 of 56 games against teams from the BCS leagues, including teams like Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee from the SEC, shows our commitment to playing the best teams from the strongest conferences in the nation. And with a facility like Jim Patterson Stadium, it’s also important for us to play as many quality opponents at home, in front our great fans, as we possibly can.”
Following the three-game series at Florida, the Cards will open their 32-game home schedule on Feb. 25 against Eastern Kentucky, and that will be followed by a three-game home series against Bowling Green on Feb. 27-March 1.
The fourth week of the season will feature a mid-week contest in Knoxville against Tennessee (March 11) and a three-game series with the Iowa Hawkeyes on March 14-16, which will be the Cards’ final non-conference weekend series of the season and will start a nine-game homestand for the squad. The series finale, set for Monday, March 16 at noon ET, will also be Elementary School Day at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Cards will open BIG EAST Conference play at home on March 20-22 against Georgetown. Along with the Hoyas, the Cards will also host BIG EAST foes Pittsburgh (April 9-11), Notre Dame (April 24-26) and South Florida (May 14-16). Louisville will play five BIG EAST opponents on the road this season, including Seton Hall (March 27-29), Cincinnati (April 3-5), Rutgers (April 17-19), Villanova (May 1-3) and St. John’s (May 9-10).
The Cards will play the first of two games against rival Kentucky on Tuesday, April 14 at 6 p.m. ET, at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, while the return game is set for April 28 in Lexington. The Cards will also host SEC foe Vanderbilt on April 22.
Along with Iowa, the Cards will also host Big Ten foes Indiana (April 7), and Ohio State (May 5-6), while visiting the Purdue (March 31) and the IU (April 21). The 2009 BIG EAST Championship will return to Clearwater, Fla., on May 19-23, while the NCAA Championship will begin with regional action play on May 29.
The Cards closed 2008 with a 41-21 record overall and a trip to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA Regional after winning the BIG EAST Tournament to earn the league’s automatic bid. Louisville returns seven of eight position starters, including BIG EAST co-Player of the Year and All-American Chris Dominguez at third base, along with a talented group of pitchers, led by left-hand starter and All-BIG EAST selection Justin Marks.
2009 College Baseball Schedule- Louisville
