Louisville Softball vs. Kentucky tonight -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards vs Cats on the Softball Diamond

Tonight at 6:00 p.m. Louisville softball will host arch-rival Kentucky at Ulmer Stadium for a showdown between the state’s top two teams.  Fans will scramble for what few tickets remain in hopes to catch a glimpse of the action.

The Wildcats enter the game ranked 24^th in the country and hold a 26-17 record on the season.  Of those 17 losses 12 come against ranked opponents.  They sit at 9-9 in one of the strongest softball conferences in the modern era, the SEC.

Overall, Kentucky’s pitching has been consistently good.  The five-person lineup holds a 4.16 ERA as opposed to opponents’ 7.97.  This young group has struck out 207 batters on the season (almost 5 per game) with Grace Baalman leading the charge with 77 on the year.  Kentucky holds opponents to a .248 batting average but opponents have scored often once a runner reaches base.

Abbey Cheek’s .482 batting average makes her threat every appearance at the plate.  She ranks fifth in the country with that mark.  Cheek’s 16 home runs puts her in a tie for 11^th in the NCAA.  Her on-base percentage of .628 ranks second.  Her 41 walks almost tallies one per game and is fourth in the country.

Kentucky’s offense averages 7.05 runs per game, putting them 12^th in the country. 

Louisville comes into the game with a 27-15 record and is coming off back-to-back conference series victories.  Their 8-7 conference record places them sixth in the ACC, although their .659-win percentage on the 2019 season is fourth-best in the conference.

Celene Funke remains tied for first in the country with nine triples.  Sidney Melton comes in tied for 28^th in the country with four.  Melton is first on the team with a .331 batting average.  Four Cardinals hit between .310-.320.  Funke and Melton are swiftly approaching the 50-hit mark with 47 and 45, respectively. 

In the circle, the Cards have a combined 2.74 ERA.  The crew has a combined 243 strikeouts with Danielle Watson’s 116 contributing almost half of the total.  Louisville has held opponents to a .223 batting average.

As a team, Louisville averages .56 triples per game, second best in the country.  They have batted .283, a mark that should hopefully improve in the future.  The Cards like to run and have successfully stolen 77 bases on 90 attempts compared to opposing teams going 33-42.

Plan to arrive early to accommodate for parking and a larger crowd.  The outfield berm area is considered outside of the stadium and is free for anyone to hang out.  This game will be aired on ACC Network Extra and is the first time Holly Aprile gets to face the Cats in the regular season.

Tonight's game is a "red-out" event, so choose your outfit appropriately. UofL is also offering a "swap out"...bring a UK shirt, hat or such and you can swap it out for something in red at the tables inside Ulmer Stadium -- located close to where you first walk in. (That swap-out probably doesn't include relatives or neighbors). 

National Champion Ladybirds

Let's hope softball can do what their baseball counterparts did last night (W 18-6) but preferably not as long as the four and a half hours the game in Lexington took last night.  Tonight's game will be my 59th photography event of 2019... I know, I'm slacking..

The Cats have won the last three games in the series. Last year, UK blanked the Cards 8-0 in Lexington. Kentucky holds a 20-19 edge in the series lifetime, the Cards have a 10-9 edge in games played at Ulmer Stadium

CARDINAL COUPLE will have a pretty large contingent on hand for the annual battle tonight.  Paulie, Worldwide, and myself should all be in attendance for this game. Our radio-show  regular and Ky Women Talk Sports show host Daryl Foust will also be in attendance. She also contributes over at THE CRUNCH ZONE -- check her out!

If you can't get a ticket for the event, it looks like a great night ahead for hitting the outfield berm, it is dog-friendly and you just never know who you might run into out there! Why not head to Floyd Street and take in the rivalry?

There is a small fee for parking right across the street at the appropriately named Floyd Street Garage, which opens approximately an hour before game time for parking for the event.

"A very exhausted" Jared