ACC LEADER FSU COMING TO TOWN
The Cards have the opportunity to make up ground, in fact... grab the conference lead with a sweep of the Tallahassee squad...but it will not be an easy task at all for Sandy Pearsall's Bat Cards.
Louisville showed some signs of life in the Wednesday win over DePaul in Chicago...winning 5-0 behind the strong arm of Maryssa Becker. Becker and Kelsi Jones pounded balls over the fence in the "W"...prior to that, the Cards had managed only two runs total in the series against the Hokies and no runs against rival UK last Wednesday. Only N.C. State and Notre Dame have hung losses on the Seminoles in conference play this...Notre Dame currently fourth in the conference at 10-5 and N.C. State in fifth at 7-5.
The ACC Conference alignment in softball is a bit different...you don't face everyone in the conference. Louisville probably is a bit glad that they do not face Notre Dame or N.C.State this season in regular season conference play...they could very well run into them in the ACC Conference tournament, though...which will be held in Blacksburg, VA on Virginia Tech's field.
Two Cards are batting over .400 for the season...Jordan McNary at .415 and Kelsi Jones at .412. Maryssa Becker and Shelby McCombs have 8 wins each for the Cards. The Louisville vs FSU series begins Saturday night at 7 p.m. The teams will also face Sunday and Monday nights at Ulmer Stadium at 7 p.m. The Sunday and Monday matchups will be televised on ESPNU.
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APRIL CARDINAL COUPLE CONTEST
Time is running out for you to get in the CARDINAL COUPLE APRIL CONTEST. We're asking you to predict the total number of run the Louisville Softball team will score in the final 11 games of April. The Cards will play three in Ulmer Stadium against FSU, go to Oxford, MS to play Ole Miss for three, travel to Lexington for one against UK, host Boston College for three and WKU for one. The winner gets an absolutely fabulous CARDINAL COUPLE Tee-Shirt and if anyone guesses the exact number of runs, we'll toss in a $25 gift card.
Entries need to be in by 7 p.m. Saturday night. You can leave your guess in the comments section or e-mail us. Greg B. writes:
"I choose 39 runs and I think that Louisville will go 9-2 in this stretch. I predict that the losses will come in one game against FSU and at UK. Prove me wrong, girls! Go 11-0!"
That's the spirit, Greg!
paulie
Don't overlook WKU who is having a great season. Just one CUSA loss and pitcher Miranda Kramer has a 1.00 ERA which is in the top 10 of NCAA D1. WKU also narrow lost to FSU 2-1 earlier in the season. Good softball up on the hill!
ReplyDeleteHere's my 'take' on Louisville softball. It is an entertaining sport to attend in the spring. I was at the UofL versus UK game and had fun despite the loss. This is a program, though, that has failed to 'turn the corner' since inception and hasn't become a recognized and feared power.
ReplyDeleteHow many times have they been to the College Softball World Series? Have they ever had a POY? The program, while better than average, just hasn't seemed to be able to keep pace, in terms of success. with other programs on campus. Like football, MBB and WBB, baseball, soccer and even field hockey and tennis.
Maybe it is time for a change in the leadership of the program. Pearsall is a great coach but one has to wonder if she will ever be able to get Louisville national recognition.
I will recuse myself from any discussionon that. I will say I consider Coach P a friend and she built this program from scratch. That deserves respect and recognition.
DeletePaulie
50 runs.
ReplyDeleteRonnie the Popular
u have my e-mail address Polly.
Rest In Peace Lauren Hill. Passed today at age 19.
ReplyDeleteSad news, indeed. What she stood for and accomplished will long be remembered. She became a hero to all of us and fought the good fight.
DeletePaulie
This is sad news. Thank you for the link, P. I was not fully aware of the whole story on Lauren and it served to increase my admiration and appreciation for her and her efforts toward fighting cancer.
DeleteLauren is a part of CARDINAL nation.
Go ye well.
The Real Joe Hill
A fitting tribute at this link below:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/2015/04/10/lauren-hill-obit-cancer-brain-tumor/21393079/
Paulie
I know we're on to other sports now but they're projecting three of our kids to be third round picks in the upcoming WNBA draft.
ReplyDeleteSara - #1 - #25 overall to Tulsa
Bria - #8 - #32 overall to Washington
Jude - #12 - #36 overall to Phoenix
I love our kids but I never in my wildest dreams thought we'd get three drafted by the W this year. I guess we'll see. Here's the link. Note that it will change daily up till draft day on the 16th so if you're interested check back:
http://www.draftsite.com/wnba/mock-draft/2015/
If Jude happens to land in Phoenix it will be crazy as AZ is a huge native market.
It's tough for a third round pick to make it. Too many guaranteed contracts. That said, hope all three are drafted and are given a shot at showing what they can do.
DeleteNo Doubt. But it would be good for U of L program & recruiting purposes. Our second consecutive draft with three draftees, right?
DeleteWould probably also help them land overseas if that's what they want to do.
It is, indeed, tough for a 3rd round pick to make it to the squad, but it certainly is possible, as we saw last year with Asia Taylor making it on the squad of a loaded Minnesota Lynx team after being the last pick in the WNBA draft at 36.
DeleteI suggest we have a couple on the team, now, that will make it and are about to see a bucket load more in the near future.
ReplyDelete