Daniel Renken (Courtesy of CSF Media Relations)
The Louisville Cardinals will make the cross country trip to Cal-State Fullerton as the two schools face off in the best of three Super Regional series at Goodwin Field. Louisville enters the weekend with a 47-16 record while Cal-State Fullerton enters with a 45-14 record.
Louisville enters the weekend with a team batting average of .308 while hitting 83 homers in 63 games. The top hitter on the team is Phil Wunderlich who is hitting .372 as he is second on the team with 18 homers and 78 RBI. Andrew Clark is second on the team with a .356 average while hitting nine homers and driving in 55 runs. All-American candidate Chris Dominguez is continuing his great college career with a .348 average with 23 homers and 80 RBI.
The Cardinals pitching staff has a staff ERA of 4.14 in 63 games. The top pitcher this season has been Justin Marks who is 11-2 with a 3.40 ERA in 17 appearances (15 starts). Dean Keikhefer is the number 2 starter with a 6-4 record with a 4.56 ERA. Tony Zych and Derek Self are the top two relievers as they both have an ERA of 3.25. Zych has a record of 6-2 while Self is 7-0. Neil Holland leads the team with three saves but eight different players have recorded at least one save this season.
Cal-State Fullerton has a team batting average of .327 while hitting 57 homers in 59 games. The top hitter on the team is Josh Fellhauer who is hitting .399 with five homers and 53 RBI while stealing 17 bases. Christian Colon is the everyday shortstop for the Titans and one of the top in the nation. He currently hitting .351 with seven homers and 51 RBI. Head coach Dave Serrano when asked about Colon stated: “Christian is a superior shortstop. He’s played every inning for us for two years until we gave him the Sunday game against Long Beach off. He has solidified our defense. He makes the routine plays and the spectacular plays. At the leadoff position, he has set the tone for this team.” The top power hitter on the team is Khris Davis as he has hit 16 homers with a .330 average.
The Fullerton pitching staff has a staff ERA of 3.44 and have three of the best starting pitchers left in the NCAA Tournament. They are led by Daniel Renken who is 10-2 with an ERA of 2.56 in 15 games including two complete games. Noe Ramirez is 8-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 18 appearances including 13 starts. Tyler Pill rounds out the rotation with a 11-3 record and an ERA of 3.95 in 16 starts including two complete games. Head coach Dave Serrano said this about his three stud pitchers: “”I feel like we have a 1, a 1A and a 1B. I feel confident with whomever we hand the ball to. They do have “it”… they are all competitors… all good athletes. I saw a little early jitters last weekend in Noe. It’s been a big growth process… We started him in a midweek game at Texas A&M and that allowed him to grow up in a hurry.” Nick Ramirez has served as the team’s closer this season as he has seven saves in addition to his 3-1 record with a 2.70 ERA.
Friday 10:30pm Eastern: Louisville Dean Kiekhefer (6-4, 4.65 ERA) vs Fullerton Daniel Renken (10-2, 2.56 ERA)
Saturday 5:00pm Eastern: Louisville Justin Marks (11-2, 3.40 ERA) vs Fullerton Noe Ramirez (8-1, 2.91 ERA)
Sunday 10:00pm Eastern: Louisville TBA vs Fullerton Tyler Pill (11-3, 3.95 ERA)
