LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Some baseball coaches quote Willie Mays or Derek Jeter. On Tuesday afternoon University of Louisville baseball coach Dan McDonnell worked Dr. Hannibal Lecter into the motivational discussion.
Let me explain.
If you look down the right-field line at Jim Patterson Stadium you will spot five black-and-white pictures of the 2007, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019 U of L teams that played in the College World Series in Omaha.
Louisville baseball posters
This U of L team, the one that will open a best-of-three NCAA Tournament Super Regional elimination series against Miami Friday at 3 p.m. in Jim Patterson Stadium, is driven to become the sixth squad to qualify for the trip to Nebraska.
One reason for the large, powerful 40 x 25 foot photo display is to honor the remarkable guys who played on those five CWS squads. The other is to remind his players precisely the Louisville baseball standard.
“We call it RAS (reticular activating system),” McDonnell said.
“Or for those that have seen ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ we covet what we see.”
For the record, the actual scripted words read by actor Sir Anthony Hopkins in the movie as the character of the tortuous Dr. Hannibal Lecter was, “We begin by coveting what we see every day.”
Now, I’ll let McDonnell continue.
"So what you see around here is all Americans and championship teams," he said. "For them to see that every day, the visual of that every day, the power of that every day, is just a reminder, you know, as to why you work hard, why you chose to come here.
“It's fun, because this group has put themselves in a position (to quality for the College World Series). We talk a lot about dog piles. We got to have one the other night (Sunday at Vanderbilt).
“Those are the memories. Those are the things you'll remember for the rest of your life.”
How often do the Louisville players look at those pictures?
“Every day,” relief pitcher Wyatt Danilowicz said. “They’re there for a reason.”
After losing 8 of their last 11 games before the start of the NCAA Tournament, the Cards rolled into Nashville last weekend. They defeated East Tennessee State, Vanderbilt and Wright State to win the Vandy Regional for their first 3-game winning streak since May 1.
What changed?
“You know, this group's been through a lot of adversity throughout the season,” Danilowicz said. “A lot of ups and downs. You know, stuff hasn't gone our way.
“Just to be able to put it all together this past weekend, we stayed close together. We're a very tight knit group, and think just with us being this close, everything just fell into place, and everyone played good baseball.”
Indeed. The Cards’ pitchers allowed five runs and 10 hits in three games. They struck out 43 opposing hitters while walking nine. That plays. That wins.
Although Miami is one of five ACC programs to make the NCAA Super Regionals, the Hurricanes and Cardinals did not play this season. The Cards won two of three at Miami during the 2024 season.
But Louisville did play two ACC teams that made the Super Regional level — North Carolina and Florida State. They won both of those series, two games to one. You can consider that proof McDonnell’s team believes that it can play with any of the 15 teams remaining in the NCAA field.
Louisville is ranked 29th in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) computer formula while Miami is No. 33. The Cards are 38-21, the Hurricanes 34-25.
The Cards have a better team batting average and slugging percentage than the Hurricanes. U of L has scored 115 more runs.
But Miami’s team earned run average (ERA) is close to one run lower than (4.86 to U of L’s 5.73) and Hurricanes’ pitchers have allowed 25 fewer home runs.
“Baseball is a humbling game,” McDonnell said. “I thought we did a great job of hitting the reset button (in Nashville) and we just played great baseball …
“I think the other thing this team has learned is we can take a blow. If you knock us to the mat in an inning or segment of the game, we have the ability to get back up and get down the path.
“We’re battled tested.”
And this weekend they will covet a trip to Omaha. It's what they see.
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