BOZICH | Why does Louisville baseball keep winning? | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — If there was going to be a season when the University of Louisville retreated into the world of being just another colder-weather baseball program this should have been the season.

The Cards' roster is not stuffed with no-doubt, first-round draft picks like Henry Davis, Reid Detmers, Brendan McKay, Corey Ray or Will Smith.

They had not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2019, missing the party last season after COVID canceled it in 2020.

They were missing from several preseason Top 25 polls. Florida State and Georgia Tech were picked as the two Atlantic Coast Conference teams to beat. A vote of ACC coaches, not the media, had Louisville fourth in the Atlantic Division, behind FSU, North Carolina State and Notre Dame.

The Seminoles and Wolfpack are finished playing.

The Cardinals (42-19-1) are bound for College Station, Texas this weekend for a best-of-3 NCAA Super Regional event that begins Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Blue Bell Stadium.

Consider this the season when Louisville confirmed its pedigree as one of college baseball’s special programs. The only piece that is missing is a College World Series title, but that seems inevitable.

And consider Wednesday morning, as the Cards completed their final practice at Jim Patterson Stadium, a perfect opportunity to ask why McDonnell’s program keeps going and going and going.

Who better to explain why Louisville has made nine Super Regionals in 16 seasons than two former Cardinals — pitchers Lincoln Henzman and Kade McClure?

Drafted in 2017 by the Chicago White Sox, Henzman and McClure are in town for the 6-game series the Charlotte Knights are playing against the Louisville Bats.

They came out at 10 a.m. bringing their major-league all-star teammate Lance Lynn and two more Charlotte players to speak with McDonnell and watch Louisville practice.

They were eager to talk about why Louisville is always a threat to get to Omaha.

“It’s kind of the hockey mentality we have,” McClure said. “It’s a lot of Midwest kids, a lot of grinders. It’s a lot of kids that practice inside a lot of times of the year.

“Kids playing high school ball in a lot of snow. Where I’m from (northeast Ohio), I played nine games my freshman year because of snow and rain.

“To get here to a great facility like this and play in front of great fans in a big conference, it just amplifies everything.”

“I’d say its Coach Mac’s ability to challenge you as a young high school kid,” Henzman said. “When you come to a place like Louisville you’re not coming to a place where you’re going to not win.

“You’re going to come to this university, come to this field and read all those names (of all-Americans) on that (right field) wall out there and those guys are winners.

“That’s what we do here. If you don’t want to win, then don’t come here. I would say that’s why year after year after year, we’re either hosting a regional or a national seed. It’s just continuing.”

Here is a small tidbit that illustrates the challenge that McDonnell accepts and then delivers on:

McDonnell prefers not to describe Louisville as one of the game’s premier colder-weather programs. It's not frigid in February and March. It's simply interesting. But a look at the 16 teams still playing in the NCAA Tournament shows that only Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana) and Connecticut (Storrs, Conn.) deal with greater weather challenges.

The Cards’ roster is built with guys from 11 states — Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Tennessee, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida.

Not the case for Texas A&M, the No. 5 seed in this tournament. Of the 38 players on the Aggies’ roster, 32 list a hometown in Texas. There are four others from Hawaii, California, Arizona and Nevada, where weather is not a factor. Weather is a recruiting pitch.

“(Winning) is just what we do here to be honest with you,” McClure said. “It’s something Coach Mac has prided himself on in recruiting.

“As alumni, it’s something we’re prided ourselves on in following and watching. It’s what we do, we win.

“It’s fun to follow along and be going into your pro locker room and talking smack to your teammates about who’s still playing and where we stand. It’s just an awesome time of year.”

“There’s no better time of year,” Henzman said.