PRESS RELEASE
UofL Baseball S.I.D. Garett Wall
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 2016 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, featuring rising University of Louisville juniors Devin Hairston and Brendan McKay, split its four games against Chinese Taipei last week while also withstanding Super Typhoon Nepartak, which made landfall in Taiwan on July 8.
In a series originally slated for five games, Team USA won games two (3-1) and four (3-2) while dropping games one (8-7) and three (3-2) before the deciding fifth game was cancelled in the fourth inning due to heavy rains and lightning. The two teams played on July 5-6 as scheduled before adjusting the slate with a doubleheader on July 7 in advance of the arrival of Nepartak. After successfully navigating the heavy rains and winds on July 8, the attempt to determine a series winner on July 9 was halted early because of inclement weather.
McKay has made six starts as a hitter for Team USA this summer accumulating a .438 batting average with one double, four RBI and four walks. His .565 on-base percentage leads the team, which has a 6-2-1 record after splitting the four games against Chinese Taipei. In his two starts on the mound, McKay is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA and four strikeouts in 6.1 innings, including a no-decision in Team USA’s 3-2 win against Chinese Taipei on July 7 in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Hairston has scored a pair of runs while making five starts and playing in eight games thus far for Team USA.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team continued its international travel with a safe arrival in Japan on Sunday. The team practiced Monday in Niigata, Japan before attending a welcome banquet. Team USA will begin the 40th edition of the USA-Japan International Collegiate Friendship Series on Tuesday at 5 a.m., ET (6 p.m. local time) at Hard-Off Eco Stadium in Niigata. The series will continue on Wednesday in Niigata and Thursday at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo before concluding Friday and Saturday at Kusanagi Stadium in Shizuoka.
Cape Cod League Notes
• Through 14 games for the Brewster Whitecaps, catcher Colby Fitch is hitting .300 with one home run, five RBI, seven walks and eight runs scored. He has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
• Righthander Kade McClure has a 2.84 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 19.0 innings while making four total appearances, including three starts. In his last outing, McClure registered five strikeouts and allowed just one hit in four shutout innings while finishing with a no-decision against Orleans on July 10.
New England Collegiate League Notes
• Rising sophomore lefty Adam Wolf was named Monday as the NECBL Pitcher of the Week on July 11 after finishing with seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings of shutout relief while serving as the setup man in three victories last week for the Newport Gulls. Through seven outings this summer, including one start, Wolf has a 2.31 ERA with 17 strikeouts and just five walks in 11.2 innings.
• Righty Sam Bordner has a 1-1 record with a 3.46 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched for the Vermont Mountaineers, including two starts and four total appearances.
Northwoods League Notes
• In 22 games with the Green Bay Bullfrogs, Austin Clemons is hitting .341 with two home runs, nine RBI, 16 runs scored and 14 walks. He has reached base safely in nine straight games, including multi-hit performances in three of his last four games.
• Rising sophomore outfielder Josh Stowers has a .300 batting average with one home run, five RBI, 12 runs scored and nine walks in 15 games this summer for the Madison Mallards.
Louisville Baseball Summer Overview
The Cardinals have 18 underclassmen assigned to five different wooden bat leagues as well as the USA Collegiate National Team this summer. Following the completion of the collegiate summer season, Louisville players will return to campus for the fall semester in late August to continue preparations for 2017. The Cardinals closed the 2016 season with a 50-14 record overall having reached the 50-win plateau for the fourth time in school history.
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.
2016 University of Louisville Summer Baseball Assignments
USA Collegiate National Team
• SS Devin Hairston
• LHP/1B Brendan McKay
Cape Cod League
• C Colby Fitch, Brewster Whitecaps
• RHP Lincoln Henzman, Chatham Anglers
• OF Colin Lyman, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
• RHP Kade McClure, Brewster Whitecaps
• OF Logan Taylor, Orleans Firebirds
New England Collegiate League
• RHP Sam Bordner, Vermont Mountaineers
• INF Daniel Little, Vermont Mountaineers
• INF Devin Mann, Newport Gulls
• C Zeke Pinkham, Vermont Mountaineers
• LHP Adam Wolf, Newport Gulls
Northwoods League
• OF Chris Botsoe, Green Bay Bullfrogs
• OF/C Austin Clemons, Green Bay Bullfrogs
• INF Drew Ellis, Rochester Honkers
• OF Josh Stowers, Madison Mallards
California Collegiate League
• RHP Chandler Dale, SoCal Catch
Perfect Game Collegiate League
• LHP J.D. Mundt, Albany Dutchmen
