The No. 6 University of Louisville baseball team kicks off the 2017 season with a visit to Clearwater, Florida for a trio of opening weekend games at Spectrum Field, spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals will face Alabama State on Friday at 3 p.m., ET, No. 22 Maryland on Saturday at 6 p.m., and Ball State on Sunday at 1 p.m. Radio coverage for Friday's opener is set for 1450 WXVW, while 93.9 The Ville will air the final two games of the weekend.The opening weekend in Clearwater features two games each day at Spectrum Field with a full round robin format for each of the four teams. Louisville finished with a 2-1 record in a similar event in Clearwater in 2015 earning wins over Alabama State and USF before dropping the weekend finale to Cal State Fullerton.The Cardinals return a trio of All-Americans and 19 total letterwinners from last year's team, which won its second straight ACC Atlantic Division championship, advanced to its fourth straight NCAA Super Regional and reached the 50-win plateau for the fourth time in school history. Two-time John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and two-time First Team All-Americanreturns for his junior season after finishing with a 12-4 record, 2.30 ERA and 128 strikeouts on the mound and a .333 batting average, six home runs, 19 doubles and 41 RBI at the plate last season.Junior righthander, an All-American selection by the NCBWA and Perfect Game in 2016, is expected to give the Cardinals a 1-2 All-American punch in their weekend rotation after closing his sophomore season with a 12-0 record, 2.54 ERA and 77 strikeouts 13 starts and 15 total appearances. Joining McKay in the Louisville lineup is junior shortstop, who hit .361 with three home runs, 16 doubles and 45 RBI while earning ABCA Third Team All-America honors last season.In 10 seasons guiding the Louisville baseball program, head coachhas placed the Cardinals among the nation's elite programs with three College World Series berths, six NCAA Super Regional appearances, nine NCAA Regional bids, seven regular season conference championships, two conference tournament titles, 29 All-Americans and 456 wins overall.Louisville enters 2017 ranked in the top 12 in all six major preseason polls, including the No. 6 ranking from Perfect Game. The Cardinals are also ranked No. 7 by Baseball America, No. 8 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, No. 8 in the USA Today Sports coaches' poll, No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball newspaper and No. 12 by D1Baseball.Alabama State enters 2017 as the favorite to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Eastern Division title after closing last season with a 24-0 league mark. The Hornets were 38-17 last season and advanced to the program's first ever NCAA Regional in Tallahassee. First-year ASU head baseball coach Jose' Vazquez will be making his NCAA DIvision I coaching debut.Maryland was tabbed Wednesday as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Championship in 2017 by the conference's head coaches. The Terrapins, ranked 22nd in the D1Baseball preseason poll, closed last season with a 30-27 record overall and was tied for sixth in the Big Ten with a 13-11 league record. Maryland closed the 2016 season with a loss to Iowa in the Big Ten semifinals.Ball State is preseason favorite to win the MAC West Division in 2017, while Kent State is the the overall favorite out of the East. Last season, Ball State won the MAC West crown for the second time in three years and was second overall in the MAC with a 15-9 league record. The Cardinals closed the season with a 32-26 record after dropping two games at the MAC Championship.The Louisville baseball program has played 36 games all-time at Spectrum Field (formerly known as Bright House Field) and has played at least one game in the ballpark in nine of the last 11 seasons. The Cardinals have been very successful at Spectrum Field compiling a 23-13 record since its first visit for the 2006 Big East Championship. Along with playing in eight conference tournaments at Spectrum Field, the Cardinals also played in season-opening events in 2011, 2013 and 2015.• Louisville has won three straight season-openers and is 7-3 all-time in season-openers under head coach• Collectively, the Cardinals finished with a .322 (No. 6 nationally entering the week) batting average as eight players hit .309 or better while starting at least 27 games.• Prior to the season-ending loss against UCSB on June 12, Louisville had won 186 straight games when entering the ninth inning with a lead dating back to May 2012.• The Cardinals were 101-of-126 on stolen bases in 2016 (12th nationally) continuing the aggressive approach from McDonnell. Louisville was fourth nationally with 127 stolen bases in 2015, second in the nation in 2014 with 133 and second in 2013 with 150.• Louisville allowed two or fewer earned runs in 36 of 64 games this season, a feat achieved in 36 of 65 games last season. In 2014, they did it in 40 of 67 games, while in 2013, they accomplished the task in 36 of 65 games.• The Cardinals closed the season ranked second in hits allowed per nine innings, third in hits, third in sacrifice flies, third in shutouts, fifth in ERA, sixth in batting average, sixth in doubles, sixth in slugging percentage, sixth in WHIP, ninth in runs scored, 12th in stolen bases, 15th in fielding percentage, 15th in on-base percentage, 15th in strikeouts per nine innings, 19th in home runs, 20th in scoring, 21st in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 25th in hit by pitch and 26th in triples.• Louisville closed the regular season leading the ACC in batting average, ERA, slugging percentage, doubles, RBI and opponents' batting average.: All-ACC Third Team honoree ranked 11th in the ACC in hitting, 10th in runs.: Delivered four of five home runs, 22 of 25 RBI in his 27 starts last season.: Redshirt freshman had 30 starts last season in left field, one at third base and one at second base.: While being called into everyday duty with the injury to, Mann managed himself well hitting .307 with eight doubles, 16 RBI and 13 runs scored in the 19 starts.: Had 47 starts and 60 games played last season with all 47 starts in right field.: Has played in 177 career games with 81 starts, including 44 starts last season.: Recorded eight or more strikeouts in 11 of his 17 starts last season and has finished with eight or more strikeouts 18 times in his career.• McKay ranked seventh in the nation with 128 strikeouts last season.• In 17 collegiate starts at Jim Patterson Stadium, McKay is 15-1 with a 1.56 ERA (20 earned runs in 115.0 IP) and 137 strikeouts.• In 22 career appearances on the mound at home (including 17 starts), McKay is 16-1 with four saves, a 1.48 ERA (20 earned runs in 121.0 IP) and 149 strikeouts.• At the plate, the All-ACC First Team utility player ranked ninth in the ACC in doubles.: Won 12 of 13 starts last season and was tied for fifth nationally in victories. He was also in the top 10 in the nation in WHIP and hits allowed per 9 IP.Louisville has enjoyed a historic run by remaining in at least one of the major national polls every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such span in school history. Ranked in the top 12 in all six major preseason polls for 2017, the Cardinals have received a preseason top 10 ranking in five straight seasons (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) and have earned a preseason national ranking in 10 straight seasons (2008-2017) overall.Louisville was the second choice in the 2017 ACC Atlantic Division race in a vote of the conference's 14 head coaches, while Florida State was chosen as the favorite to win the division and conference championships. The Seminoles were picked by 10 coaches as the team to beat in the conference. Back-to-back ACC Atlantic Division champion Louisville, Clemson, North Carolina, and NC State also had one vote each for overall conference champion.Florida State led the way in the Atlantic Division with 93 points, followed by Louisville (79), Clemson (66), NC State (64), Wake Forest (38), and Boston College and Notre Dame (26). The Seminoles were selected as division favorite by 10 coaches, while Louisville (2), Clemson and NC State (1) also picked up first place votes.Six coaches picked North Carolina to win the Coastal Division, with Virginia (4), Miami (3), and Georgia Tech (1) also had first place votes. The Tar Heels picked up 86 points, ahead of Virginia (84), Miami (77), Georgia Tech (59), Duke (40), Virginia Tech (26), and Pitt (20).Junior lefthanded pitcher and first basemanwas named as the preseason National Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. McKay was selected as the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and earned First Team All-America honors in each of his first two collegiate seasons. As a sophomore in 2016, McKay had a 12-4 record with a 2.30 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 17 starts on the mound, while hitting .333 with six home runs, 19 doubles and 41 RBI at the plate. The two-time All-ACC First Team selection also had a stellar summer hitting .326 with five RBI in 13 starts as a hitter and registering a 2-1 record with a 1.35 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 13.1 innings on the mound for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.Senior righthanded pitcherand senior outfieldersandwere selected by Louisville players and coaches as team captains for the Cardinals baseball team in 2017. Sparger had 50 career appearances on the mound in his first three seasons with the Cardinals, including five starts, and accumulated a 3-2 record with a 3.42 ERA. Summers had 37 collegiate starts while appearing in 108 games during his first three years at Louisville.Taylor played in 177 games and made 81 total starts during his first three seasons as a Cardinal.The Louisville baseball team's 2017 television schedule features 49 of 56 regular season games on ESPN platforms, including all 30 ACC contests. The 49 regular season games slated for television coverage are the most in school history. The Cardinals will play once on ESPN2 with their May 14 contest at Clemson and once on ESPNU when they host Florida State in the regular season finale on May 20 at Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville will make one appearance on the ACC's Regional Sports Network with the March 25 game at NC State, while 45 games will be televised exclusively on ACC Network Extra, available on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. The Cardinals will make one appearance on the SEC Network with their April 18 game at Kentucky.The 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship will be played at Louisville Slugger Field in downtown Louisville as announced by the conference on Oct. 4. Louisville Slugger Field, which opened in 2000, boasts a seating capacity of 13,131. Home to the Louisville Bats' minor league team, the stadium played host to the 2008 Triple-A All-Star Game and features 32 private suites in addition to second-level club seating."The city of Louisville knows how to host big events, especially sporting events, and I believe all of the ACC teams will enjoy the experience of playing in a great sports town and in a terrific ballpark," said UofL baseball head coach. "I'm also excited our fan base will have the opportunity to experience and support the ACC Baseball Championship."The 2017 ACC Baseball Championship will be the event's first time to be held in the state of Kentucky. It will also be the first year under a new format, as the championship will include 12 teams and feature a pool play format leading into a four-team, single-elimination bracket to determine the league champion.The 12 teams in the championship will be grouped into four pools of three teams apiece. Pool play will take place Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with three games per day. Each pool will play a round robin, with the top team advancing to the semifinals. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, followed by the championship on Sunday.Winning at least 50 games for the fourth time ever in 2016, Louisville reached the 40-win plateau for the fifth straight season and the ninth time in 10 seasons. The Cardinals have registered 40 or more regular season wins in four consecutive seasons, including matching a school record with 46 regular season wins in 2016 equaling the total accomplished in 2010 and 2013.A year after setting the single season record for ACC wins in its debut campaign with a 25-5 conference mark, Louisville successfully defended its Atlantic Division title by winning seven of its 10 ACC series in 2016. The Cardinals, who have won five straight regular season conference championships, have lost just three of their 20 ACC series the last two seasons while compiling a 47-13 record during that stretch, including a 27-3 mark at home.As the Louisville baseball team was making significant progress on the field during its 2016 fall workouts, the Cardinals also maintained their impressive work in the classroom registering a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better for the 11th consecutive semester. The notable stretch of academic success has covered five-and-a-half years overall since starting with fall semester in 2011.The span of 11 straight semesters with a team GPA of 3.0 or better includes the 2013 and 2014 seasons, which culminated with back-to-back appearances at the College World Series. In each of those trips to Omaha, the Cardinals received the CWS Academic Award for having the highest team GPA of the eight programs advancing to the pinnacle of collegiate baseball.Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball