CBB Spotlight Series: #8 Louisville at # 11 Florida

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The College Baseball Blog is starting up a new feature this year showcasing the best match-up for the upcoming weekend. The best weekend match-up this week is when the Louisville Cardinals head down to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators.

The Louisville Cardinals are coming off a 41-21 season which saw them in the Athens GA regional. The Cardinals went 0-2 in the Regional with an opening round loss to Georgia Tech 8-5 and then lost to Georgia in an elimination game 9-8. The top returning hitter for the Cardinals is Chris Dominguez who has been named to multiple preseason All-American teams. The top pitcher returning for the Cardinals is junior LHP Justin Marks who went 9-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 2008. He has a career record of 18-4 with a 2.53 ERA in 195.2 innings. We spoke with Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell and you can check out the interview by clicking here.

The Florida Gators are coming off a 34-24 campaign which ended in the Tallahassee Regional with a 17-11 loss to the Florida State Seminoles. The Gators were fantastic at home last season with a 27-6 record but struggled in road games with a 7-14 mark. The top returning hitter for the Gators is Matt den Dekker who was named as the 12th best player in college baseball by our site. (Click here for the article.) The top returning pitcher for the Gators is Patrick Keating who went 8-1 with a 4.16 ERA last season. Stephen Locke was expected to be the top returning pitcher but was thrown off the team after a drunk driving incident.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday, Feb. 20 – 6:30 p.m. ET

Jr. LHP Justin Marks (9-2, 2.37 ERA in ‘08) vs. Sr. RHP Patrick Keating (8-1, 4.16 ERA)

Free Louisville Audio

Saturday, Feb. 21 – 1 p.m. ET
So. LHP Dean Kiekhefer (1-1, 4.88 ERA) vs. Fr. LHP Alex Panteliodis
Free Louisville Audio

Sunday, Feb. 22 – Noon ET
Jr. RHP Matt Lea (5-0, 2.72 ERA) vs. Fr. LHP Nick Maronde
Free Louisville Audio

Louisville Game Notes
Florida Game Notes (Currently Not working)