The University of Louisville baseball team is headed to Texas this weekend to participate in the 2023 Shriners Children’s College Classic. The tournament, which will take place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, will feature six teams, including Louisville, Texas A&M, TCU, Michigan, Rice, and Texas Tech. All three games will be streamed on Astros.com, along with the Astros Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts, and the MLB app. Radio coverage will be available on 970 WGTK all weekend and 93.9 The Ville when play doesn’t overlap with basketball.
Louisville closed out an impressive eight-game homestand with a 7-1 overall record after an 11-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday. The team’s pitchers were outstanding, allowing just four baserunners in nine shutout innings. The Cardinals will be playing in a Major League Baseball stadium for the second time under Dan McDonnell, with their first appearance being a 4-1 victory over Cincinnati on April 6, 2013, at Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds.
The 2023 Shriners Children’s College Classic features six teams with a storied history of success. All six teams, including Louisville, Michigan, Rice, TCU, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, have been to the College World Series in the last 15 years, with five of the six appearing in Omaha since 2017.
Louisville has an impressive winning percentage of .848 (139-25) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016, including a 114-13 (.898) mark in regular season non-conference home games. The Cardinals have also recorded at least 10 hits in six of their first eight games this season, tallying double-digit hits 41 times during the 2022 season. The team has been excellent early in games this spring, outscoring opponents 18-3 in the first two innings, and they have launched 13 home runs over the first eight games, the most for a Louisville team through eight games under Dan McDonnell.
Several players are standing out for the Cardinals this season. Jack Payton, who finished with an ACC-best 23 doubles in 2022, has already hit four doubles and three home runs in eight games this season. Ryan McCoy is tied for the team-lead or leads in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, and total bases through eight games, while freshman Patrick Forbes recorded his first and second career home runs in consecutive plate appearances against Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday. Eddie King Jr., who sat out the 2022 season with an injury, has been off to a blistering start, hitting in seven of his first 11 at-bats and reaching base in 11 of his first 15 plate appearances.
Louisville will face three familiar opponents in Houston this weekend, including Texas A&M, TCU, and Michigan. The Cardinals and Texas A&M met in the College Station Super Regional last year, with Louisville losing a pair of one-run games. Louisville and Michigan squared off six times in 2022, with the Cards taking 2-of-3 during a regular-season series and then winning 2-of-3 against the Wolverines in the Louisville Regional, including an 11-9 victory in the regional final. Louisville defeated TCU 9-8 in a midweek contest at Jim Patterson Stadium in March.
The Shriners Children’s College Classic promises to be an exciting tournament, with six talented teams battling it out in Houston this weekend. Fans can tune in to Astros.com, the Astros’ social media channels, and the MLB app to catch all of the action, while local radio stations will provide coverage throughout the weekend.
