Louisville faces an immense challenge Friday as it steps on to college baseball's grandest stage for the first time.
Matt Spencer and Arizona State will be among four teams that wait until Saturday to begin play at Rosenblatt Stadium.The Cardinals face Rice in the opening game of the 61st College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium. Not only are the 54-12 Owls top-ranked and the highest remaining seeded team (second) in the NCAA tournament, they are the pick of many observers to walk away with the national championship.
Louisville? The 46-22 Cardinals had played in the tournament just once in school history before this season's run through the regional at Missouri and the super regional against Oklahoma State. They come into the 1 p.m. game decided underdogs, but coach Dan McDonnell prefers not to use that word in describing his team's chances against Rice.
You see, McDonnell knows underdogs. He played for perhaps the biggest underdog team in CWS history when The Citadel ventured to Omaha in 1990.
"You're talking about a military school of less than 2,000 students," McDonnell said. "We were not fully funded. We used to have to hand our hats back in at the end of the year. If you didn't win a championship, you handed your hat back in so that they could use it the next fall for practice.
Omaha.com CWS 2007
06-12-2007, 08:16 AM
High stakes for Cards in CWS opener - Omaha World-Herald (subscription) 
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