LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- University of Louisville head baseball coach Dan McDonnell calls the NCAA Super Regionals the best weekend in college baseball.
Better than the four-team regional the Cards just survived at Jim Patterson Stadium. Better than the eight-team College World Series, which will begin in Omaha, Nebraska, next weekend.
This is simply team against team — Louisville against Texas A&M — in one of the eight best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals.
The Times: Game 1, 8:30 p.m. (EDT) Friday; Game 2, 3 p.m. Saturday; Game 3 Sunday (if necessary), start time not determined.
TV/Radio: Friday’s game will air on ESPN and then switch to ESPN2 on Saturday. The platform has not been determined for a possible Sunday game. Mike Monaco will handle play by play with Louisville native Chris Burke serving as the analyst. Sean Moth will handle radio play by play on 93.9 The Ville.
The Venue: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park, capacity 6,100, which will expand to 6,964 with temporary seats. The Aggies averaged 5,816 fans per home game this season.
It’s a symmetrical park, with the fences set at 330 feet down both lines, 375 feet to left- and right-center and 400 feet to center field.
It is generally considered one of the 10 nicest parks in college baseball, and A&M fans have been called “R-Aggies,” because of their tradition of “ragging” on opposing teams.
The Weather: The temperature is expected to reach 100 in College Station Friday, with 97 degrees forecast at game time. On Saturday, the forecast calls for 101 degrees by 4 p.m. and the high Sunday is forecast at 102.
The Records: A&M went 40-18 this season, including a 25-9 record at home. The Cards are 42-19-1 and 8-9-1 on the road.
The Rankings: The Aggies were the No. 5 seed in the NCAA field, which is why the series will be played in College Station. Louisville was seeded No. 12. A&M is ranked No. 4 in the Baseball America Top 25, while the Cards are No. 7.
The Leagues: Louisville was one of nine Atlantic Coast Conference programs to make the 64-team NCAA field. The Cards, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech advanced to the Super Regionals.
Texas A&M, which won the West Division of the Southeastern Conference, was one of nine SEC teams selected for the tournament. The Aggies, Auburn, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas will play this weekend.
The History: Louisville won the only meeting between the programs. Brendan McKay earned the victory as the Cards defeated the Aggies, 8-4, in the 2017 College World Series.
The Coaches: Dan McDonnell has led Louisville to nine NCAA Super Regionals in 16 seasons and is trying to direct the Cardinals to their sixth trip to the College World Series.
The Aggies are coached by Jim Schlossnagle, who took over the program prior to this season after 18 seasons as the head coach at TCU. He led the Horned Frogs to five College World Series, including four straight from 2014-17. He is trying to direct A&M to its seventh trip to Omaha.
Big League Appeal: The Cards currently have six players in the major leagues: Angels pitcher Reid Detmers; Braves outfielder Adam Duvall; White Sox outfielder Adam Engel; Yankees pitcher Chad Green (currently recovering from Tommy John surgery); Nationals pitcher Josh Rogers and Dodgers catcher Will Smith.
There are five Aggies in the big leagues: Braves relief pitcher A.J. Minter; Reds outfielder Tyler Naquin (currently on the IL); Tampa reliever Brooks Raley; Blue Jay reliever Ross Stripling and Boston starter Michael Wacha.
The Big Boppers: A&M features left fielder Dylan Rock, who leads the Aggies with 18 home runs, 13 doubles and 59 runs batted in. A graduate transfer from Texas-San Antonio, Rock ranked second in the SEC in on-base percentage (.483) as well as fifth in walks (47).
The Cards’ have three power hitters with similar statistics: catcher Dalton Rushing (22 homers, 60 RBIs); third baseman Ben Metzinger (19 homers, 68 RBIs) and left fielder Cameron Masterman (18 home runs and 61 RBIs).
The Big Arms: Texas A&M is expected to start Nathan Dettmer, their right-handed ace. In 16 starts, Dettmer went 5-2 this season with an earned run average of 4.67. He struck out 71 in 79 innings as opposing batters hit .270 against him with four home runs.
Louisville will also start a right-hander: Jared Poland. He also started 16 games, splitting 10 decisions. Poland struck out 96 in 78 2/3 innings. He allowed nine home runs as opponents batted .244.
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