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Baseball players make first team Big East

The University of Louisville baseball is already off to a positive start, even before actual play has started. The baseball team was picked to finish third in Big East play, and has three infielders on the preseason team.

Jorge Castillo, Chris Cates and Logan Johnson were chosen to be on the all Big East preseason roster. Johnson and Cates are both entering their senior season while Castillo is coming back for his junior year. The three are part of the seven returning starters. The team also has 17 returning letter winners.

Johnson, besides being named to the All Big East team, has also been named to the Wallace Award watch list. The Wallace Award is given to the best national collegiate baseball player. Last season Johnson led the Cards with 10 homers and ranked in six offensive categories. He made second team all Big East last season, largely in part to his 49 RBI and .319 batting average. He also set the Louisville record for number of pitches he has been hit with at 42.

Cates is the Louisville shortstop. He committed just seven errors last season. Currently he has played in 163 consecutive games over his career, and all 60 last season as the starting shortstop for the Cardinals. He topped the batting averages of the Cards with a .332 and 47 RBI.

Castillo is the first baseman, who batted a .317 and had 44 RBI. He also boasts a .991 fielding average over all 60 games.

Last season the Cards finished with a 39-21 record, and a 17-10 record in the Big East. The Cardinals hope to be even better this year with new head coach Dan McDonnell. McDonnell comes to Louisville from the University of Mississippi. McDonnell was hired in June after former head coach Lelo Prado moved over to the University of South Florida to accept the head coaching position there, after being with the Cardinals for 11 years.

“When we met [McDonnell], he was the most prepared of any candidate that I have brought in on an interview in any sport,” U of L athletic director Tom Jurich said in June at a press conference. “Recommendations for him came from across the country about his ability to recruit and handle student athletes. He reminds me a lot of Bobby Petrino.”

With a new coach and three players named to the Big East preseason first team, the Cards prepare to play soon and their regular season schedule is now posted. Their first game is a home opener at Jim Patterson Field on Feb. 12. They take on Murray State then travel to Mississippi for the Coca Cola Classic, where they plan to play Northwestern State, Southern Illinois University and Southern Mississippi University.

Women’s basketball defeats Seton Hall

The No. 13 University of Louisville women’s basketball team beat the Seton Hall Pirates 88-67. The Cardinals advance to 16-1 and 2-1 in Big East play.

Angel McCoughtry scored 21 points and had nine rebounds along with seven steals, while Chauntise Wright added 14 points. Yuliya Tokova made 11 and Jazz Covington put away 10.

The Cards were only behind Seton Hall once, but used a 10 point run to end the first half with a seven point edge, 28-35.

After the first half, the Cardinals came out and made another 14 point run against the Pirates and built a solid 49-33 lead against Seton Hall. The final score of the game was 88-67.

This is the second straight loss for Seton Hall in Big East play as the Pirates fall to 9-5 and 1-2 in the Big East.

Next up for the Cardinals is Big East opponent Georgetown, on the road. Georgetown is currently 11-5, 1-2 in the Big East after defeating conference opponent St. Johns on the road.

Three football players make All-American

Three University of Louisville football players have been named to the All American team, put together by the Associated Press. Junior kicker Art Carmody, senior defensive tackle Amobi Okoye and senior offensive lineman Kurt Quarterman all were honored in their selections.

Carmody was a second team All-American. He finished the regular season making 20 of 23 field goals and 57 of 57 extra points. He also kicked a 41 yard field goal in the second quarter at the Orange Bowl against Wake Forest, but missed a 32 yard attempt in the third quarter.

Senior defensive tackle Amobi Okoye also made the second team. Okoye finished the season with 55 tackles (38 solo, 17 assisted) and tallied six tackles against Wake Forest, with three for a loss, totaling 20 yards.

Kurt Quarterman also made the third team for USA Today.

All three made first team all Big East, which also included junior Harry Douglas, senior lineman Renardo Foster, sophomore lineman George Bussey and senior William Gay.

Second team all Big East included sophomore Mario Urrutia, sophomore lineman Eric Wood, junior Malik Jackson and junior Brian Brohm.