There’s talk of great timing, newfound confidence and the power of youth in this latest installment of Ron Steiner’s Likes and Dislikes:
WE LIKE the way Louisville outfielder Isaiah Howes (pictured left) put an exclamation point on his last home-game performances. First, on senior night against Evansville, he hit a home run in his last at-bat, thinking that was the last time he would play at Jim Patterson Stadium. However, the NCAA had other ideas and made U of L the host site for a Super Regional event. Last Sunday, with the Cards leading Oklahoma State, 16-2, in the eighth inning, Howes (Pleasure Ridge Park, Louisville) stepped to the plate for his last at-bat. This time, he pounded a grand slam home run to close out his team’s 20-2 victory over OSU, which gave the Cardinals a ticket to the College World Series. Perhaps his flair for the dramatic will continue in Omaha where Howes will have a few more chances to make history.
WE DISLIKE the thought some folks have that U of L’s baseball team should be intimidated by the competition at the World Series “Being an underdog is fun,” said Cardinal baseball coach Dan McDonnell. “But as I told our players before the Super Regional, I made sure they knew that they are achievers, not over-achievers. You don’t over-achieve and get to the College World Series. You get there because you achieve great things. So I don’t think we’re going to be intimidated by anybody. We definitely will have a lot of respect for all the teams in Omaha. For us to beat Miami twice, Missouri twice and Oklahoma State twice was encouraging. The teams we’ll see out there at the CWS aren’t any better than those we just played, but they’re just playing better right now.”
WE LIKE the style of play that has carried Louisville to the College World Series - solid pitching and defense, bunts, stolen bases, speed and a free-swinging philosophy. “We like the aggressive style, and college baseball is traditionally an offensive game,” said McDonnell (pictured left). “You have to swing the bats. It’s a fun system to play in; we’re not a team that will take pitch after pitch after pitch. Kids enjoy this style. As I’ve often said, you can’t walk your way to Omaha and you can’t back in. Now, after last week, our guys definitely have a lot of confidence. But as we take each step in the tournament, we’ll find the other teams are playing very well, too.”
WE DISLIKE the way the baseball Cards were having to battle at the /files/storyimages/of the regular season. But good things began to happen, and eventually the NCAA Tournament committee came calling. “Overall, I thought we were very consistent all year, but when we made the NCAAs, I saw a change in our kids. I saw the weight of the world was suddenly off their shoulders. At that moment I thought, ‘Wow, they’re ready to play and they’re going to enjoy the post-season.’ We’ve taken that attitude to heart and things have worked out for us. You have to stay loose and relaxed. You can’t let the jitters get to you or try to do too much. That’s been the mindset that has carried us the last month. You can see the look on their faces; you can see how relaxed we’ve played the last few weeks. What it comes down to is winning is fun. If you play well and you win, you have fun. We’ve had a lot of fun lately.”
WE LIKE the send-off the Cardinal baseball team received at Fourth Street Live on Tuesday. Mayor Jerry Abramson (pictured left) even helped lead the cheers. “That was Orange Bowl-like, that was Final Four-like,” said McDonnell. “There are a lot of college programs around the country that don’t get this kind of support. I’d say at least half of the teams in the CWS didn’t get a send-off like that.” Many of the 800 fans at the rally were youngsters. “It’s all about the kids,” McDonnell said. “This is a sport that needs to have kids if you’re going to have great fan support. If you can get the kids excited, you have a chance to have some great fans for a long, long time.”
College World Series Schedule
Game 1 - Rice (51-12) vs. Louisville (46-22), Friday, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2 - Mississippi State (38-20) vs. North Carolina (53-13), 7 p.m.
Losing teams play Sunday at 2 p.m. Winners play Sunday at 7 p.m.
The U of L Alumni office is promoting the following locations throughout Louisville for Cardinal fans to gather for this weekend’s games.
Game Watch Locations:
- Fourth Street Live! - Fourth and Muhammad Ali Blvd.
- Buffalo Wild Wings - 3584 Springhurst Blvd.
- Buffalo Wild Wings - 6801 Dixie Hwy.
- The Pizza Place - Taylorsville and Richland
- Fox and Hound - 302 Bullitt Lane
- Tailgaters - 2787 S. Floyd Street
- Beef O'Brady's - Central Avenue across from Patterson Stadium
NOTE: Daily columnist Ron Steiner also appears on the Red & Blue Review, a weekly statewide TV sports show (Insight Ch. 2), is published weekly in the Voice-Tribune and is a guest each Friday (5:45 p.m.) on the Cardinal Insider radio program (KRDS, 790AM). He can be reached by e-mail at ron@louisville.com.
