Off The Bat: Cardinals Show Toughness In Bouncing Back

RALEIGH, N.C.—After losing the opening game of its series at North Carolina State, 3-1, on Friday night with All-American Brendan McKay on the mound, its second straight loss after opening the season with 19 straight wins, Louisville didn’t panic. The Cardinals came back to win the next two games against the Wolfpack, capping the series win with an 8-1 victory Sunday.

Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said his team showed its toughness against N.C. State (13-12, 4-5 ACC).

“You lose your first game of the year on Tuesday night on the road and then you lose with McKay on the mound, which doesn’t happen often,” McDonnell said. “You could cower down and say ‘woe is us and the road’s not going to be good to us.’ But we really grind it out as you saw (Saturday) as well as (Sunday).”

McDonnell and the Cardinals (21-2, 8-1) don’t think about the Atlantic Coast Conference season as a series of 10 series. Instead, McDonnell wants his players to take the 30 conference games one at a time, never worrying about winning a series, finishing a sweep or avoiding a sweep. He said winning the series was never mentioned this weekend.

McDonnell said he has tried to get the Cardinals to play with the same mentality golfer Bubba Watson had at the 2012 Masters. Watson, a Georgia alumnus and part owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, said during his win at the tournament he kept his head down between shots because if he looked at the crowds he would have become overwhelmed.

“Put your head down and stay focused,” McDonnell said. “We use that line quite often, because that’s what you’ve got to do in this league with all the noise that surrounds your players and the program.”

The noise grew in the last few weeks, as Louisville remained the last undefeated team in the country and rose to No. 1 in the Top 25 for the first time in program history. The buzz also grew around McKay, as he makes a bid to become the top pick in the draft in June. While the winning streak is over and Louisville dropped to No. 2 in the ranking this week, falling behind Oregon State, the buzz won’t dissipate anytime soon.

McKay (4-1, 1.13) had a bit of a tough weekend as he was saddled with his first loss of the season Friday night after giving up three runs in seven innings while striking out 14 batters. At the plate, he went 1-for-10 with four walks, dropping his season line to .412/.543/.647 with 20 walks and 10 strikeouts.

As Louisville’s all-around superstar, a lot is expected of McKay. He starts on the mound every Friday, serves as DH on Saturday and then plays first base on Sunday and in midweek games. McDonnell said the Cardinals have to make sure they aren’t putting too much on their superstar’s shoulders.

“Hopefully he realizes he doesn’t have to do everything,” McDonnell said. “But we’ve got to be smart too. We might be asking too much of him at times.”

As good as McKay is, the Cardinals don’t need him to carry the entire load. They have amassed another special team, even after losing several key pieces from last year’s team, which entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 national seed.

Shortstop Devin Hairston and outfielder Josh Stowers both had five hits on the weekend, and second baseman Devin Mann homered both Saturday and Sunday.

After striking out 12 times in Friday’s loss, Louisville adjusted its approach at the plate the final two games of the series. Mann went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Friday, but went 3-for-7 scored four runs and walked twice to go with his two home runs in the next two games.

“Just kept it simple, kept it easy,” Mann said. “Just tried to keep it up the middle of the field and take what they’re going to give me.”

On the mound, Louisville showed the strength of its staff, with Kade McClure and Nick Bennett following McKay in the rotation and a stout bullpen backing the rotation. The Cardinals held a strong Wolfpack lineup to 10 runs on the weekend.

“It started on the mound, of course,” McDonnell said. “You’ve got to get quality starts. It wasn’t McClure’s best, but he gave us a chance. Bennett grinded out another really good start, so that allowed our offense to settle in because we had struggled for a couple games there. But we got it back.”

The road won’t get any easier for Louisville, but having passed its first road test of the season, the Cardinals are ready for the coming rigors still to come in ACC play this season. Louisville faces another challenge next weekend, as it travels to No. 19 Virginia.

Kentucky Continues Strong SEC Start

Following a sweep on the road against Texas A&M, Kentucky returned home this weekend to another tough Southeastern Conference test against Mississippi. The Wildcats lost the first game Thursday, but bounced back to win the next two games to claim the series.

Showing the ability to bounce back is nothing new for the Wildcats (18-7), who started the season with four straight road losses by a total of five runs. Since then, Kentucky is 18-3, including a 5-1 start in the SEC, its best start to conference play since 2012. As a result, the Wildcats moved into the Top 25 at No. 16, their first time in the rankings this season.

First-year coach Nick Mingione said the Wildcats’ attitude has stood out to him since they arrived on campus in August.

“The most impressive thing is they never stop competing,” Mingione said. “They have a teachable spirit and want to keep learning. Those are my favorite things. 18-to-22-year-olds who never stop competing and who are committed to learning are able to do special things.”

Kentucky is off to a special start to the season, especially at home where it is 12-1. The Wildcats are hitting .326/.430/.495 as a team and lead the SEC in all three categories, as well as runs (201). Kentucky’s lineup got a boost this week as first baseman Evan White returned from a hamstring injury and freshman T.J. Collett recorded his first college hit—a grand slam—after missing the first month of the season as he recovered from offseason knee surgery.

But as well as the Wildcats have hit, Mingione said the pitching staff has been the key to their success. Starters Sean Hjelle (3-2, 5.20), Zach Logue (4-1, 2.45) and Justin Lewis (4-2, 2.72) has stepped up after Kentucky lost its entire rotation from last season, and closer Logan Salow (0-2, 0.00, 6 SV) has been lights out at the back of the bullpen. The senior lefthander has gone 24 straight batters without allowing a hit or a walk, striking out 17 in that streak.

Kentucky has already played 12 games against ranked opponents, and its schedule doesn’t ease up. After hosting Cincinnati and Vanderbilt this week, it travels to Louisville and Mississippi State, Mingione’s former team. A series against Louisiana State and trips to South Carolina and Florida loom later in the season.

But Mingione is confident the Wildcats will be ready for the challenge. He said they have done a good job of respecting their opponents but focusing on themselves and their process.

Kentucky has also quickly adopted the family atmosphere Mingione sought to create. As a result, he said, their care for each other has translated to hard work in practice and the ability to have honest conversations with each other like families do.

“They genuinely love the environment and being around each other,” Mingione said. “They love throwing and pitching for coach Belanger, they love hitting and defending for coach (Roland) Fanning and coach (Todd Guilliams). Even when we were losing games, the losses were hurting, but you could see it was in there.”

Maryland Pushes Through Critical Week

After splitting a pair of midweek games at UNC Wilmington and winning a series against then-No. 23 Michigan to open Big Ten Conference play, coach John Szefc said last week had been “the most important” of the season so far for Maryland.

Maryland (15-8, 2-1 Big Ten) lost the first game at UNCW, 10-7, but bounced back for a 10-6 victory Wednesday. The Terrapins carried that momentum into the weekend against the Wolverines and won the first two games.

“I thought the whole week in general was big for us,” Szefc said. “We answered two pretty big calls. No. 1, we lost Tuesday at Wilmington. That’s a difficult place to play. It’s a difficult place to pitch and play defense. We answered the bell to get the split down there.

“Then we came back and answered the challenge of Friday and Saturday very well to win the first conference series against a very good opponent in Michigan.”

The Terrapins were the preseason Big Ten favorites and entered the year ranked No. 24. They got off to a tough start, going 1-2 on opening weekend at a tournament in Clearwater, Fla., and getting swept the next weekend at Louisiana State.

Maryland shook that start off with an eight-game winning streak the next two weeks. The Terrapins have an older, experienced team, which Szefc said has helped them play loose, even when they’re losing.

“This is one of the most fun groups I’ve been around,” Szefc said. “These guys enjoy working at the game, practicing the game and being around each other. They enjoy working and preparing, and we have enough talent where you combine it with that attitude, it helped us get back on track.”

Maryland’s talent is especially apparent in its rotation. Friday starter Brian Shaffer (3-1, 1.77) has been strong all season and delivered another quality start against Michigan. He held the Wolverines to two runs on five hits and three walks in eight innings, while striking out 10 batters in a 7-2 victory.

Righthander Taylor Bloom (3-2, 4.11) and lefthander Tyler Blohm (4-2, 2.86) weren’t as sharp the rest of the weekend, but that rotation and relievers Andrew Miller (1-0, 1.46, 3 SV) and Ryan Selmer (0-0, 1.98, 3 SV) have kept the Terrapins in games throughout their hot streak.

Outfielder Marty Costes (.359/.459/.576, 5 HR) has led the Terrapins offensively, with transfers Will Watson (.310/.419/.437) and Brandon Gum (.308/.479/.404) providing an immediate impact to the lineup. First-team Preseason All-American shortstop Kevin Smith (.262/.326/.536, 5 HR) hit two home runs in both of the games at Wilmington, but is still not fully locked in at the plate.

The Terrapins played 11 of their last 14 games at home, going 10-1 at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. Now, Maryland will hit the road for seven of its next eight games, including Big Ten series at Rutgers and Nebraska.

Szefc said Maryland will be ready for the challenge of playing on the road.

“We played our first three weekends away,” he said. “I don’t think it will bother these guys at all.”

Eight for Omaha

Cal State Fullerton, Florida, Louisiana State, Louisville, Oregon State, South Carolina, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

No changes this week, even as Fullerton and LSU lost road series. LSU came back Sunday to avoid the sweep at Florida, while Fullerton lost three tight games at archrival Long Beach State. LSU has now lost twice on both weekends it has left home, but the Tigers still look like one of the best, most experienced teams in the country. The Titans had been red hot going into the weekend, and will now have to regroup as Big West Conference play begins. With their pitching, they won’t be down for long.

Eye-Catchers

Five players or programs who stood out this weekend.

Cory Abbott, rhp, Loyola Marymount: Abbott threw on Sunday the first perfect game in Loyola Marymount history, as the Lions defeated Brigham Young, 2-0. Abbott struck out 13 batters and threw 106 pitches. The junior is 4-1, 3.29 with 34 strikeouts and 13 walks in 38.1 innings this season.

Kent State: The Golden Flashes opened Mid-American Conference play with a sweep at Ball State, the preseason MAC West favorite. Kent State (15-6) has a six-game winning streak while playing five of its last six on the road.

Matt Lloyd, dh/rhp, Indiana: In a sweep at Northwestern, Lloyd went 9-for-13 with four home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs. The junior also made two appearances on the mound and picked up the save Sunday. Lloyd is hitting .327/.400/.694 with five home runs and is 2-0, 2.79 with two saves on the mound.

J.P. Sears, lhp, Citadel: In a 3-0 victory Friday night against Virginia Military Academy, Sears threw a two-hit shutout and tied the program record with 20 strikeouts. Sears improved to 4-1, 1.70 and has struck out 63 batters and walked seven in 42.1 innings this season.

Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles swept Austin Peay State to extend their winning streak to eight games and improve to 20-6. Tennessee Tech is off to a 9-0 start in the Ohio Valley Conference, matching its best ever start to conference play.

Looking Ahead

Three weekend series we’re most excited for

(1) Oregon State at (15) Stanford: The top-ranked Beavers have won 15 straight games, the nation’s longest winning streak. They will look to keep that going at Stanford, in a series where runs will likely be at a premium. Oregon State leads the nation with a 1.25 team ERA, while Stanford ranks third in the Pac-12 at 2.90.

(7) North Carolina at (12) Florida State : North Carolina will make a rare visit to Florida State, which it has not travelled to since 2011. The Tar Heels (18-6, 6-3) have won their first three ACC series and are trying to establish themselves as the team to beat in the Coastal Division, while the Seminoles (18-7, 6-3) are trying to catch up to Atlantic Division leaders Clemson and Louisville.

(4) Texas Tech at (17) Oklahoma: Both the Red Raiders (22-4, 3-0) and the Sooners (23-5, 2-1) are off to strong starts this season and won their first Big 12 Conference series. Both will have a chance for another marquee series victory.

Two weekend series you shouldn’t overlook

McNeese State at Southeastern Louisiana: McNeese State (18-6, 9-0) has swept its first three Southland Conference series and is off to its best start in program history. Southeastern Louisiana (14-9, 5-4) has consistently in the mix in the conference race and will present a tough road test for the Cowboys.

Charlotte at Old Dominion: With Rice (7-19, 1-5) in last place, Conference USA has more of an open feeling at the top of the standings. Charlotte (15-9, 4-2) and ODU (19-5, 5-1) both have a chance to establish themselves in the conference’s top tier with a series win this weekend.

One midweek game to keep an eye on

(8) Florida vs. (12) Florida State, Tuesday, 6 p.m. ET at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville: The two Sunshine State rivals will meet for the second of their three midweek games. The Gators (16-9) won round one, 1-0, in Gainesville two weeks ago and have a chance to claim the season series Tuesday. The Seminoles (18-7) are seeking to snap a three-game losing streak and 31-inning scoreless streak in the rivalry.