Following a record-setting campaign in 2017, the University of Louisville baseball team will enter 2018 with a national ranking for the 11th straight season as the Cardinals landed at No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper preseason poll released Tuesday.
This week’s ranking extends a record run for the Cardinals, who have remained ranked in at least one major national poll every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings — the longest such stretch in school history. The 11 consecutive years (2008-2018) with a preseason national ranking is also a school record streak for Louisville.
Sitting atop the Collegiate Baseball newspaper preseason poll is reigning NCAA champion Florida, while No. 2 Oregon State, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 Texas Tech round out the top five. Louisville is among eight ACC programs in the Collegiate Baseball Top 40 – No. 4 Florida State, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 15 Clemson, No. 16 Virginia, No. 20 Miami, No. 23 NC State, and No. 29 Georgia Tech.
Louisville is slated to play 20 games against eight different teams ranked in the top 23 positions of the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. The Cardinals enter the 2018 season having advanced to an NCAA Super Regional in five straight seasons, the nation’s longest active streak. UofL closed its 2017 season ranked fifth in every major national poll after advancing to the College World Series for the fourth time in school history, setting a school record for wins with a 53-12 mark and earning the program’s third straight ACC Atlantic Division championship.
The Cardinals are scheduled to open the 2018 schedule on Feb. 16-18 in Charleston, South Carolina with a trio of games at The Charleston Crab House Challenge hosted by The Citadel at Joseph P. Riley Park. Louisville will face Richmond on Feb. 16 at noon ET, The Citadel on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m., and George Mason on Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. The 2018 home-opener for the Cardinals is set for Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium against Eastern Kentucky.
2018 LOUISVILLE BASEBALL SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2018 Louisville baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online at GoCards.com/bsbtickets, by calling 502-GO-CARDS or by visiting the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office, located near Gate 2 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium (2800 South Floyd Street) on weekdays from 9 a.m., until 5 p.m.
Reserved chairback ticket packages are priced at $150 for adults (less than $4.50 per game), $120 for senior adults/youth (less than $4 per game) and $480 for a Family 4-Pack (less than $4 per game per ticket). Season tickets for the Left Field Berm are also available at $100 for adults (less than $3 per game), $80 for senior adults/youth (less than $2.50 per game) and $320 for a Family 4-Pack (less than $2.50 per game per ticket).
Single game tickets for the 2018 season will be priced at $10 for reserved chairback and $5 for berm and will be available for purchase at a later date. Season ticket packages include all regular season home games at Jim Patterson Stadium with the exception of the annual Elementary School Day game, played each March during a weekday afternoon. For Elementary School Day, season tickets will provide admission to the game but will not include a reserved seat.
With a listed capacity of 4,000, Jim Patterson Stadium has hosted six crowds of more than 6,000 fans in the last two seasons, including three in 2017. Fresh off a fourth trip to the NCAA Men’s College World Series and third straight ACC Atlantic Division Championship, Louisville baseball has become the must-see event for Cardinals fans in the spring.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
Garett Wall
Assistant Sports Information Director
Baseball | Men’s Soccer | Rowing
University of Louisville Athletics
