7 Louisville Cardinals
Louisville, Kentucky
Won Louisville Regional (3-0), at-large bid from ACC
2017 record: 23-6 (ACC), 50-10
Head coach: Dan McDonnell (The Citadel, 1992)
Record at school: 506-201 (11 years)
Overall record: 506-201 (11 years)
Assistant coaches: Roger Williams, Eric Snider, Adam Vrbale, Brian Mundorf
Team offense: .290 BA, 441 R, 67 HR, .464 SLG%, .387 OBP%, 95-117 SB
Team pitching: 2.88 ERA, 541 IP, 434 H, 193 BB, 562 K
Top hitters: Drew Ellis (.362/17/55/18 SB), Brendan McKay (.356/17/56), Josh Stowers (.315/5/32/22-27 SB), Devin Hairston (.303/3/51), Colin Lyman (.294/1/30/14-20 SB), Logan Taylor (.274/0/39/21-24 SB)
Top pitchers: Lincoln Henzman (3-0, 1.30 ERA, 16 SV, 34.2 IP, 17 H, 8 BB, 35 K), Brendan McKay (9-3, 2.31 ERA, 97.1 IP, 61 H, 33 BB, 133 K), Adam Wolf (6-0, 2.55 ERA, 35.1 IP, 27 H, 13 BB, 30 K), Nick Bennett (5-0, 2.70 ERA, 63.1 IP, 56 H, 13 BB, 59 K), Kade McClure (7-3, 3.63 ERA, 91.2 IP, 75 H, 34 BB, 96 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2016 (3-0 at Louisville Regional; 0-2 at Louisville Super Regional)
Notes: UL is 32-4 at home this season. The Cardinals are looking to make their fourth appearance in the College World Series and third in the past five years. Louisville has made the NCAA Regionals 10 times in McDonnell’s 11 years at the helm. Despite playing the ACC Tournament in their hometown, the Cardinals did not advance out of pool play, defeating Notre Dame before losing to Florida State. U of L’s 46 regular-season wins matched a school record from 2010, 2013 and 2016. The win total includes a 19-game win streak to start the season and a 15-game streak from April 22 to May 16 with wins in 12 of their 13 weekend series (dropping two games to Florida State in regular season finale). The Cardinals again boast one of the best pitching staffs in the country. Their unit ranks third nationally in ERA (2.88), fourth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.22), fourth in WHIP (1.16) & 11th in K/9 (9.35). Two-way standout Brendan McKay was named ACC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year by Baseball America. Closer Lincoln Henzman also was named first-team All-ACC and leads the country with 16 saves. Shortshop Devin Hairston was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year after committing only three errors all season with a .987 fielding percentage while also one of the team’s leaders in batting average and RBIs. First baseman/third baseman Drew Ellis was also named first-team All-ACC. Ellis and McKay have both been named semi-finalists for the Dick Howser Award. Dan McDonnell was honored as the ACC’s Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. U of L has won 40-plus games in 10 of his 11 seasons and has won six straight divisional championships (2015-17 ACC Atlantic, 2014 AAC, 2012-13 Big East).
Kentucky Wildcats
Lexington, Kentucky
Won Lexington Regional (4-1), at-large bid from SEC
2017 record: 19-11, 43-21 (second in SEC East)
Head coach: Nick Mingione (Embry-Riddle, 2000)
Record at school: 43-21 (1 year)
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Jim Belanger, Roland Fanning, Todd Guilliams
Team offense: .319 BA, 480 R, 72 HR, .495 SLG%, .420 OBP%, 63-95 SB
Team pitching: 3.81 ERA, 559.2 IP, 480 H, 206 BB, 569 K
Top hitters: Tristan Pompey (.368/10/44), Evan White (.368/9/40/24 2B), Zach Reks (.360/3/44/15-18 SB), Riley Mahan (.339/15/67/22 2B), Kole Cottam (.326/7/44), M Carson (.307/7/38), Troy Squires (.304/1/26)
Top pitchers: Logan Salow (2-6, 1.70, 12 SV, 53 IP, 35 H, 14 BB, 72 K), Zack Thompson (8-2, 3.52, 1 SV, 71.2 IP, 47 H, 36 BB, 90 K), Justin Lewis (6-4, 3.60, 90 IP, 76 H, 26 BB, 70 K), Sean Hjelle (11-3, 3.75, 103.1 IP, 92 H, 31 BB, 99 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2014 (2-2 at Louisville Regional)
Notes: The Wildcats are making their first Super Regional appearance and are looking for their first trip to the College World Series. UK split a pair of games this season with Louisville. The Cards won 5-3 in Louisville and the Cats won 11-7 in Lexington. UK is making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and hosted a regional for the second time. The Wildcats first hosted in 2006. UK was 31-6 at home this season. Sean Hjelle was named SEC Pitcher of the Year. Head coach Nick Mingione was an assistant at Mississippi State for the previous eight seasons.