Watch: Louisville HC Dan McDonnell Talks End of 2023 Season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2023 season for the Louisville baseball program is now officially in the books.
The Cardinals' final game of the regular season against Florida State on Saturday ended how so many had in recent weeks: with a loss. This time, the loss prevented them from punching their ticket to next week's ACC Baseball Championship, prematurely ending what at one point seemed to be a promising season.
"Today is a culmination of kind of how it's gone," head coach Dan McDonnell said. "We just fell short. We almost had to play perfect baseball. We just felt like, this last four to six weeks, we had to be flawless. We had to be perfect on the mound without walks, and we had to be perfect on defense, because offensively, we just couldn't get the big crooked number."
Louisville began the season at 18-2 and ranked as high as the No. 2 team in the nation, only to lose 22 of their final 35 games of the season and play their way out of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. Not only do the Cardinals miss the Big Dance for the second time in three years, but they fail to clinch a spot in their conference tournament for the first time since 1970.
“I apologized to them in the outfield (following the FSU loss),” McDonnell said. “I wish I could have done a better job. I couldn't get it to come together. I can say I'm probably guilty of over coaching, over motivating or whatever. But it always starts with me.”
Following Saturday's loss to FSU, McDonnell took time to meet with the media. He discussed the season as a whole, what comes next as the program transitions to the offseason, speculation that he might be interested in another position, and more.
Below is the video from his press conferences:
(Photo of Dan McDonnell: Steven Branscombe - USA TODAY Sports)
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