Watch: Dan McDonnell, Louisville Players Talk Start of Baseball Preseason
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Baseball season in the Derby City is just around the corner.
In preparation of the upcoming 2023 season, the Louisville baseball program conducted their first official team practice of the preseason on Friday. The Cardinals also held their first of two scrimmages of the weekend, which were open to the public.
"This is fun," head coach Dan McDonnell said. "You get three weeks of individuals: make sure their legs are in shape, their arms are in shape, the conditioning piece, bullpens, and BP, and defense, and all that good stuff. So now we get to come together as a team, and you hope to get three weekends in of game scrimmages so we can get the pace going, and get ready for somebody being in that dugout on February 17."
Louisville is coming off of a 2022 season in which they returned to the NCAA Tournament after missing it in 2021, getting to the College Station Super Regional before ultimately falling to Texas A&M. Unlike this time last year, the Cardinals are back to experiencing their usual amount of preseason hype, and are ranked as high as the No. 5 team in the country.
"It was fun to see them bounce back, recapture that culture that we had for so many years, and reset the standard," McDonnell said. "The goal now is to keep it going. It's a new team every year, but you like to have good momentum with a balance of not losing your edge, and making sure nothing's guaranteed."
Louisville will open up the 2023 season with a three-game home series against Bucknell. The first pitch of the year is scheduled for Friday, February 17 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
Prior to the start of practice, McDonnell, outfielder Isaac Humphrey and right-handed pitcher Ryan Hawks took time to meet with the media. They discussed the offseason, the preseason itself and how they are preparing for the upcoming season, and more.
Below are the videos from their press conference:
Head Coach Dan McDonnell
Outfielder Isaac Humphrey
Right-Handed Pitcher Ryan Hawks
(Photo of Dan McDonnell via Matt McGavic - Louisville Report)
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