Dan McDonnell announced Friday that he will give the ball to near-consensus national Player of the Year Brendan McKay (10-3, 2.34 ERA) for Louisville’s College World Series opener against Texas A&M on Sunday.
McDonnell had gone with junior Kade McClure (8-3, 3.43 ERA) for U of L’s first game in both the regional and super regional round, but on the sport’s biggest stage, he’s going back to his No. 1 starter. The fact that three of the four Aggie hitters batting .300 or better are left-handed may have also factored into the decision.
With the early double elimination format (the same as the 4-team regional format at the start of the tournament), winning your first game in Omaha is pretty crucial to having a shot at winning the whole thing.