Home 2010 Season Coverage2010 NCAA Tourney 2010 Regional Previews: Louisville (KY)

2010 Regional Previews: Louisville (KY)

by Brian Foley
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2010LouisvilleRegionalLogo The Louisville Cardinals will be hosting a NCAA Baseball Regional this weekend which features the host Cardinals as the number 1 seed, Vanderbilt as the two seed, Illinois State as the three seed, and St. Louis rounds out the bracket as the four seed.

 

Louisville (48-12 overall, 21-6 Big East)

The Louisville Cardinals enter the weekend with a 48-12 overall record while they went 21-6 in the Big East Conference winning the conference title by a half game over UConn. They went 2-2 in the Big East Conference Tourney with victories over West Virginia and South Florida sandwiched around two losses to St. John’s. They have a team batting average of .317 while hitting 85 homers. Andrew Clark leads the offensive attack with a .377 batting average while hitting 12 homers and driving in 58 runs. Phil Wunderlich leads the squad in homers with 20 while he has drove in 58 runs. The pitching staff for the Cardinals has a team ERA of 3.71. They have been led this season by Thomas Royse who is 9-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 15 starts. He has struck out 94 batters in 99 innings pitched. Neil Holland has served as the closer as he has 16 saves while going 8-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 27 appearances.

Vanderbilt (41-17 overall, 16-12 SEC)

The Vanderbilt Commodores enter the weekend with a 41-17 overall record while they went 16-12 in SEC play. Vanderbilt won their first game in the SEC Tournament over Arkansas 2-0 before dropping back to back games to LSU and Florida. The Commodores have a team batting average of .312 with only 54 homers. They are led by Jason Esposito at the plate as he has a .348 batting average with nine homers and 54 RBI. Brian Harris is on the verge of an NCAA record as he has been hit by 34 pitches this year and is only one behind the leader. He is currently hitting .294 with five homers and 34 RBI in 57 games. The VU pitching staff enters the weekend with a team ERA of 3.64. Sonny Gray leads the staff with a 9-4 record while having an ERA of 3.18 in 16 appearances (14 starts). Russell Brewer has served as the closer with six saves on the year while having an ERA of 3.07.

Illinois State (31-22 overall, 15-6 Missouri Valley Conference)

The Illinois State Redbirds head to Louisville this weekend to take part in the 2010 NCAA Baseball Tourney. They enter with a 31-22 overall record while being 15-6 in Missouri Valley Conference play. They won the Missouri Valley Conference Tourney by going a perfect 4-0 with victories over Bradley, Indiana State (twice), and Wichita State. Kevin Tokarski leads the Redbirds offense with a .429 average while hitting seven homers and driving in 49 runs. Ryan Court leads the team in homers with 10 on the year while driving in 48 runs. Corey Maines leads the starting pitchers with a 6-3 record while having an ERA of 4.45. The best pitcher on the entire team has been closer Kenny Long who is 4-3 including nine saves with a 1.37 ERA in 30 appearances.

St. Louis (33-27 overall, 15-12 Atlantic 10)

St. Louis enters the Louisville Regional with a 33-27 overall record while going 15-12 in Atlantic 10 play. They won the Atlantic 10 conference tournament by going 4-0 with victories over Fordham, Charlotte and Xavier before defeating Charlotte again in the Atlantic 10 championship game. They have a team batting average of .300 as they are led by Jon Myers who is hitting .367 with 15 homers and 70 RBI. Second on the squad in hitting is no slouch in Danny Brock as he is hitting .361 with 17 homers and 73 RBI. The Billikens have been downright terrible on the mound as they have a team ERA of 6.42. Bryant Cotton is the top pitcher with 9-4 record while having an ERA of 3.97 in 17 appearances including 16 starts.

Prediction

  1. Vanderbilt
  2. Louisville
  3. Illinois State
  4. St. Louis

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1 comment

WhenItStrikesMe June 3, 2010 - 1:56 pm

Attaboy Brian!

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