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Friday recap: Kay sharp in big win
Impending inclement weather forced Notre Dame and the host Louisville Cardinals to play a doubleheader on Friday. After 20 innings of baseball, the fifth-ranked Cardinals emerged with a pair of victories to move to 12-2 on the season and start of Atlantic Coast Conference play on a good note.
No. 5 Louisville 4, Notre Dame 3 (11 innings)
The series opener had a quick pace, especially in the early going as both starting pitchers were pounding the strike zone often, and even though the game went extra innings, it felt like the contest flew by because of the back-and-forth action.
Louisville’s Kyle Funkhouser hadn’t been particularly sharp in his previous three starts, as the senior had surrendered 12 free passes in 15.2 innings and posted a 5.74 ERA. On Friday afternoon, Funkhouser—a supplemental first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015—filled up the strike zone early and often. He did not show quite the same stuff as he has in the past, as his fastball peaked at 93 mph, but generally sat in the 90-91 mph range for the duration of his start.
Still, the physically built, 6-foot-3, 225 pound righty battled and competed well without his sharpest stuff, and he showed off a solid feel for repeating his delivery and mechanics. It wasn’t always the smoothest ride for him, but Funkhouser was able to make the necessary tweaks and adjustments to his delivery when he was tested in the early innings.
The slider, which has been Funkhouser’s go-to offspeed pitch, wasn’t as crisp as it has been previously, but he had a good feel for locating the 79-82 mph offering and he used it often to good effect.
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