College World Series Preview: Lousiville

[All_Hoosiers 873]

http://allhoosiers.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/college-world-series-preview-louisville-cardinals/

 

 

On Saturday, Indiana Baseball will play its first ever game in the College World Series. Their side of the bracket features the number three national seed Oregon State, Mississippi State, and Louisville. All Hoosiers will preview each team in coming days, starting with Louisville.

 

Indiana will take on Louisville on Saturday at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT on ESPN. The Cardinals and Hoosiers have squared off three times this season, with the Hoosiers winning twice, but UL winning the most recent matchup. In those three games, the Hoosiers batted .221 and averaged four runs per game. The Cards, on the other hand, batted .204 and averaged two runs per game. Advantage: Hoosiers. Indiana’s defense committed four errors, three coming in one game, however, and Louisville’s defense committed three. Advantage: Neither. Louisville won Game Three of the season series on a walk-off hit. Indiana’s pitching only allowed two earned runs to UL this season, a 0.68 ERA. Louisville, by comparison, allowed nine earned runs, a 3.12 ERA. Advantage: Hoosiers.

 

Louisville had a very nice season. They have a 51-12 overall record, but a 2-3 record on neutral fields. They lost a mere four conference games on their way to a Big East Championship, their fourth in the last five years. Their normal starting lineup has a .267 batting average on the year with 26 home-runs and 125 total extra base hits. The team’s combined on-base percentage is an impressive .383 and they’ve stolen 150 bases this season. Their pitching staff has a combined ERA of 2.50 and opponents are hitting just .212 with just 83 extra base-hits. Nick Burdi, their closer, throws a monster fastball, sometimes reaching triple-digits. There simply isn’t many weak spots on this Cardinal baseball team, and that’s why they’re heading to Omaha.

 

Indiana won the season series against Louisville, but the CWS will be a totally different challenge. The Hoosiers and Cardinals game will be a battle Saturday. The Hoosier offense carried them through the Super Regional, but their pitching will need to step up if the Hoosiers want to make a run at the National Championship. Because of the setting and implications of the game, Saturday’s winner may win by just one-run. Indiana Baseball’s first appearance in the CWS will be very interesting and exciting.

This post has been promoted to an article