By Andrew Krumme
The University of Louisville baseball team and head coach Lelo Prado will open their 2005 campaign Friday with a three-game home series against the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Cards have the luxury of playing their first 16 games at home this season.
Conference USA coaches picked the Cardinals to finish seventh in league standings this year. Louisville lost seniors Ron Braun and Mark Jurich. Braun solidified the team behind the plate and in the batter’s box last year. Jurich had anchored Prado’s lineup for the past three years.
Despite the significant losses and the mediocre preseason expectations, Louisville has several returning starters to lead the team. Junior Nick Haley and sophomore Chris Cates are set to anchor the middle of the infield and had a combined 97 starts last year. Haley was second only to Jurich last year with a .340 batting average. He also posed a threat on the base paths, finishing second on the team in stolen bases behind his infield comrade Cates.
Last year, Cates finished the year with a .279 batting average and combined solid defense with good offensive numbers all across the board.
Sophomore Daniel Burton is expected to hold down the middle of the lineup for Coach Prado, returning as the Cards’ best power hitter. Burton hit .294 and churned out five homers and 28 RBIs last season as a freshman.
Sophomore Logan Johnson will also be asked to step up his play as well. He was the odd-man-out of the starting lineup and was forced to play several positions last year. Nevertheless, he still turned in some effective offensive numbers. While Johnson was forced to be the utility last season, he may be asked to settle down at a certain position this year.
The Louisville offense lost some of its “pop” and experience from last season, but the pitching staff has several key returning players that should be the key to the Cardinals’ C-USA performance. Preseason All-Conference selection Brian Halford will be the main man for the Cardinals on the mound this year. The Louisville native paced the pitching staff last year with a team-high six saves to go along with six wins.
While Halford will most likely log a majority of his innings coming out of the bullpen, the sophomore tandem of B. J. Rosenberg and Justin Valdes will start the majority of the games for Prado. The presence of Mike Tisdale will be missed, considering he was the only full-time starter who had an ERA under five for the Cards. Valdes and Rosenberg showed some serious promise last year, including a couple huge conference wins which should help the Cardinals this time around.
Though the Cards look to make a name for themselves during their final year in the C-USA, much of this year’s hype on signees may distract from and take focus from the team.
The unveiling of the brand new Jim Patterson Stadium and the expectations for the Cards’ Big East appearance may be a huge distraction for the team.
Jim Patterson Stadium was originally set to open before the 2005 baseball season. The stadium won’t be ready for Kent State, but University of Louisville Sports Information contact Sean Moth stated that the stadium should be ready in the coming weeks.
Baseball signee Chris Dominguez, set to join the squad for the 2006 season, is ranked as the best third baseman in the nation, in addition to being a top-10 player overall.
