SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE
- Cards crash four home runs in 6-0, 9-1 wins
Cards 6 - UConn 0
Louisville struck early in the opener...getting a run in the first when Kelsi Jones drew a walk, advanced to third on a steal and wild pitch and scored on a Katie Keller single. The Cards lit up the scoreboard in the second with two over the fence efforts. After a Maryssa Becker walk, Taner Fowler unbuckled off the left field scoreboard. Hannah Kiyohara drew a base on balls and Jones returned to the plate to power one over the center field fence. It was 5-0 Cards after two.
UofL added a run in the fourth...Jones scoring her third run of the game when she singled, stole second and third and reached home on a double steal play that had Keller out at third.
LOUISVILLE 9 - UCONN1
The Cards kept the fireworks going in the nightcap...closing out the Huskies by eight runs in five innings. A strong start in the second game as well, two runs crossing the plate...thanks to a Brittany Duncan double that nearly was a home run with Whitney Arion and Keller on base. The Huskies got one across the plate in the visitor half of the third but Louisville answered with two runs in the inning...Kayla Soles bouncing one high off of the scoreboard with Keller on base. It was 4-1 Louisville after three.
UofL kept up the air show in the fourth...Fowler doubled, Kiyohara singled and a deep fly by Jones brought Fowler home. That set the stage for Whitney Arion's bombardment of Brandeis Street...her fifth homer of the year made it 7-1 Cards. Louisville ended it in the fifth. Duncan drew a walk, Jordan McNary came in to run for her. Kayla Soles singled to set up a Becker single that scored McNary. Soles got the ninth run when she crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
Rachel LeCoq with a strong outing in the finale...going five innings, allowing just two hits and getting 2 k's to go to 8-7 on the year.
They'll play the series-ender today at noon in Ulmer. It is Softball's Pink Game. The team will be donned in special pink jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as well. The auction will go to support Live Strong in conjunction with the YMCA.
Good to see the softball team we have come to expect surface with two big wins. It was a nice aerial assault by Louisville Saturday...one that might have had the Blue Angels doing a flyover above the campus to see who was going to put one out next.
paulie
OT: recently - on another website- there was an article cited where it stated that prior to agreeing to a renewed scheduling of games between UConn and TN that Geno would require an apology from Holly as a TN representative and make other admissions regarding a past dispute over recruitment methods allegedly used by UConn to acquire a specific player who ultimimately signed with UConn.
ReplyDeleteNo one knows ALL the details and facts - maybe not even the parties involved - and if these teams are to voluntarily schedule each other then it is time to let the past go and move on. If the cited article is true it appears that Holly pretty much would pretty much need to spit shine Geno's shoes before TN would be acceptable for UConn to play. As supporters and promotors of the women's game - we should not bend over to anyone, much less per UConn's directions.
Maybe the better option for all is to let UConn sit in the AAC and continue dismantling teams with 30 point wins while the rest of the folks who besides winning are wanting to grow the women's game and/or who " play for the love of the game" should just ignore UConn for scheduling purposes and just not play them outside of conference or tournament pairings.
Personally i could care less if we ever schedule UConn as an out of conference game. We and the others will survive and acquire quality teams to play with out them as personally I did not watch live any of their Tournament games except for on dVR where I could skip past most of it.
Geno isn't my favorite person but I don't blame him for his feelings about Tennessee. Summitt went after him like gangbusters and when she didn't get her way with the SEC or the NCAA she quit scheduling UConn. Probably the most damaging move to the potential of WCBB in the history of the game. An excellent piece on the subject:
ReplyDeletehttp://deadspin.com/5704435/how-pat-summitt-ruined-the-best-thing-about-womens-basketball
Auriemma has been putting up with nastiness and negativity from many in the WCBB coaching profession and hierarchy for decades. Many of the untrue "negative recruiting" conspiracy theories out there have been whispered about him & his program. It's more than a bit of poetic justice now that he is the unquestioned GOAT WCBB coach. The way UConn crushed their competition this year was nothing short of epic. The fact that they basically did it with a six person rotation makes it even more amazing and noteworthy. All of the UConn haters are just lucky that Delle Donne decided to go back to Delaware instead of staying in Storrs. Had she stayed UConn would probably have 11 or 12 national championships right now.
Geno doesn't really care what anyone thinks about him or his team. All of the competition needs to be quiet and get to work getting good enough to get close to them. In my opinion it most certainly won't be Tennessee. Warlick just isn't going to get them there. Too many years as a copilot.
Man, I sound like a UConn fan. On a more positive note here's Shoni and friends hanging out waiting for the big day.
https://twitter.com/Chiney321/status/455408360868020224/photo/1
Actually you do sound like a Uconn fan.
ReplyDeleteI have attached a sports illustrated article with what is a different perspective than deadspin.com
Regardless of what happened with Pat and Geno - Pat is no longer his competitor.
Maybe my reluctance to see good teams voluntarily play UConn is more a product of the referees behaviors rather than all Geno's fault. He works political magic and others respond.
As to his being able to play with primarily 6 players. Go back and watch play by play of any of the more competitive UConn games and count actual fouls called v obvious fouls called. In particular count the number of non called moving picks by Dolsen. No wonder he only needs 6 players.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20130226/pat-summitt/
Maybe Geno can line something up with Pat's son -- Tyler -- who recently was selected as a head coach at Louisiana Tech. If you can't whip up on Mama...is the son a suitable alternative?
ReplyDeletePaulie
I'm a fan of good basketball. WCBB needs more coaches like Auriemma. Coaching that teaches the game the right way and demands excellence is what will help WCBB succeed in the long run. They also need fewer folks complaining when they can't compete on the court. Instead of grumbling and acting like they're getting bullied the other Top 25 programs should get it in gear and go out and compete.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the refs go it's pretty easy to blame them and many losers do. It's the coaches job to determine how to coach his team in the context of how the refs call the game. I don't blame Auriemma for how the refs call UConn's games any more than I blame Walz for taking the same approach last year against Baylor. The coach has to manage the game and his ballers in the context of how the refs are calling fouls. Frankly I think Walz is cut from similar cloth as Geno, although Jeff is certainly more politically correct in his approach.
Tyler Summitt getting a D1 head coaching job at 23 years old is a good example of why the women's game has trouble getting respect. I'm sure there are dozens of coaches that have legitimately paid their dues and deserved that job before Summitt. The fact that so many seem cool with it is a head scratcher to me. I guess we'll see what he can do.