CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COUPLE
We report on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports here. Thanks for checking us out! Click the picture of Louie to hear the latest Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast!!

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Lax Wins at Vandy -- Softball Hosts Bellarmine -- ACC WBB Tournament -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Lacrosse Survives Late Surge to Defeat Vanderbilt



Despite a late run by Vanderbilt, Louisville Lacrosse was able to hang on for the win, 15-12. Kylea Dobson scored a career-high six goals to help the Cards get the win and improve to 3-2 on the year.

Nicole Perroni scored a season-high four goals while Kokoro Nakazawa logged a hat trick. Negai Nakazawa scored the other two goals for the Cards as only four different players recorded a goal for Louisville in the match.

Madi McKee had a strong showing with 12 draw controls and two assists. Perroni had two assists while Tiffany Natoli and Kokoro Nakazawa each recorded one assist.



The Cards raced out to a 3-0 lead three and a half minutes into the match before Vanderbilt got onto the board with a goal. Louisville commanded a 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Vandy went on a 3-0 run to start the second quarter before Louisville used a 3-0 spurt to push their lead back out. Vandy netted one more goal shortly before halftime, but Louisville held a 9-5 advantage.

While we don't know what was said in the locker room at the break, it must have been inspiring. Scott Teeter's squad raced out of the gate to start the second half, scoring three goals over a 10-minute span. Vanderbilt broke the run with a goal before Louisville scored a pair of goals in an eight second stretch to command a 14-6 lead heading into the final period.



Louisville made a substitution at goalkeeper for the fourth quarter with Sara Addeche coming out and Aubrey Bagenstose going in. The Commodores took advantage of the change as they used a pair of 3-0 runs split by a Louisville goal to rally. The final Vanderbilt goal came with 1:52 remaining in the match before Louisville held on to claim the win.

Addeche allowed six goals along with four saves in her 45:00 of play, earning her win number three this year.

Louisville comes home after a 1-1 road trip. The Cards hosts Cincinnati on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and then Pitt on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.


Softball Hosts Bellarmine




Fresh off a strong 4-1 weekend in Orlando, Louisville softball comes home for the first time this season when they take on crosstown rival Bellarmine. First pitch is slated for 5:00 p.m. and admission is free. The early start time will unfortunately draw a smaller-than-normal crowd.

Louisville enters the game with a 10-4 record on the year and are in the receiving votes category of the most recent Coaches Poll.

Bellarmine is 1-13 on the year with their lone win coming against Sacred Heart University. The Knights went 10-41 in their first year in Division I last year.

In their lone meeting (excluding exhibition games), the Cards defeated Bellarmine 8-1.

You can catch this one on ACCNX.


ACC Women's Basketball Tournament and ACC Pick Em

IMPORTANT NOTE. IF YOU USED THE ALLY FINANCIAL BRACKET TO FILL OUT THE CONTEST... THEY MESSED UP WEDNESDAY'S GAMES. IT SHOULD BE WAKE FOREST VS VIRGINIA, CLEMSON VS PITT and BOSTON COLLEGE VS GA TECH. 

WE NEED VIVIAN, JOE HILL, SONJA, NICK O, BEN JONES, CURTIS FRANKLIN and K.S. TO CHECK YOUR ENTRIES FOR WEDNESDAY GAMES AND LEAVE ANY CHANGES YOU WANT TO MAKE IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION.

THANK YOU.....PAULIE AND JARED







We are just one day away from the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament, with the first game starting at 1:00 p.m. om Wednesday. With the exception of the ACC Championship, which will be aired on ESPN, all games will be on ACC Network.

Louisville will play on Friday at 11:00 a.m. and will face either 5-seed Florida Sate, 12-seed Wake Forest, or 13-seed Virginia.




While Paulie will not be able to make the trip down this year we have an alternative in the works that will hopefully be announced soon.

With the ACC Tournament being back, it means that the Cardinal Couple ACC Pick Em is back as well. We've already started receiving entries and there is still time to get yours submitted. You can add your picks on here or send them via email at eupherjared@gmail.com. Any entries sent via email will be put in the comments section as well so everyone can follow along. The cutoff time for entries is noon ET on Wednesday.

A $25 Cracker Barrel Gift Card prize for the winner and a $15 Taco Bell gift card for the runner up !




WE'D LIKE TO THANK CRACKER BARREL AND TACO BELL FOR THEIR SPONSORSHIP !!


Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!
Jared

Monday, February 27, 2023

Notre Dame WBB sinks Cards 68-65 -- Softball wins twice in Orlando --- CARDINAL COUPLE ACC TOURNAMENT PICK EM TIME ! -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

VAN LITH'S 23 NOT ENOUGH, WBB FALLS TO IRISH 68-65


Robbie Bartlett performed the National Anthem ! 


A tough loss for Louisville WBB Sunday, the Cards leading the game for almost 30 minutes in the 40 minute contest, but falling late to the rally by Notre Dame, and, namely -- Sonja Citron. 

A great pre-game ceremony where the Cards said "Good Bye" to six super seniors in Kasa Robinson, Chrislyn Carr, Morgan Jones, Liz Dizon, Josie Williams and Norika Konno. Jared's photos of the pre-game below:



















This one was more like a rugby match than a hoops affair at times...Van Lith popped in the nose and went out temporarily to control the bleeding, Robinson decked several times by Irish players and ND's Olivia Miles blowing a knee out on fast break to the hoop after a steal.. 

A encouraging Cardinals-dominated crowed of 12,015 watched a first quarter where Louisville held a 14-10 lead with slightly over two minutes left. A quarter-closing 5-0 run gave the first to UND, though...15-14.  Lith had five first quarter points, and so did Citron. 


(Paulie caught up with Kianna Smith - in attendance ) 


Louisville would score the first six points of the second quarter to build a 20-15 lead. Notre Dame would battle back to make it a 24-22, two-point deficit, but the Cards went on a quarter-closing 9-2 run over the final four and 1/2 minutes to take a 33-24 halftime lead. A 19-9 quarter for UofL where Olivia Cochran totaled seven points and three Cards (Robinson, Van Lith and Russell) had four points each.

Citron led the Irish with 10 points in the first half, the Cards had held Miles to two. Miles had a steal from Robinson with 2:42 left in the half but her leg went out as she approached on the layup attempt and she was helped off the court after the trainers and staff worked on her. She would not return. No word on the extent of the injury as we went to print. 




Citron took up the slack in the third quarter with eight of UND's 19 third-quarter points. The Cards managed just 13 points and saw the halftime lead  diminish from nine to three at 46-43 after 30 minutes. Notre Dame was hanging on, without Miles, and one wondered if they would keep it up in the fourth quarter.

The Irish not only hung on... they rallied and grabbed the lead at 54-53 with 5:30 to play. Louisville would never see the lead again. 




That's also roughly when the fourth quarter free throw line procession began...Notre Dame would go to the line 12 times the rest of the game and make nine. Notre Dame held a 66-61 lead when Robinson hit a jumper with 35 seconds to play to cut the lead to 66-63.  ND still held that 66-63 lead with 18 seconds to play when Citron was fouled, went to the line and actually missed two free throws, Van Lith got the rebound and the Cards got a timeout. The Cards ran a play that gave Van Lith a chance to tie it with a three-point attempt with nine seconds left,  but it fell short. Prosper grabbed the rebound, was fouled and added two free throws for the Irish. Carr countered with a jumper with a second on the clock for the Cards, but, it was not enough...Notre Dame with the 68-65 win.  


("Fred, we lost in the fourth quarter? Fred? FRED !!")

THE FRED REPORT


FREE THROWS -- The Cards were 21-26 (80.8%) for the game and that easily passes our 70% mandate. A CAPITAL "F" EARNED. 

REBOUNDING --  A 39-32 edge for Louisville on the boards. Kasa Robinson with nine and Liz Dixon with eight to lead Cards. A CAPITAL "R" EARNED

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Cards had just 10 turnovers and 14 assists on 20 made baskets, which we'll take anytime. It was the Irish bench who outscored ours 25-18, while playing just nine players that hurt the Cards. UofL 34.5% shooting hurt badly, especially in the fourth quarter when Cards went 4-15.  NO LETTER HERE

DEFENSE -- Louisville did hold Notre Dame to under 70 points and that usually means a win, but that fourth quarter saw ND outscore Cards 25-19 and shoot 54%..  Louisville forced 13 turnovers but they couldn't stop Citron and took the loss..  a small case "d" here.

FINAL FRED REPORT:   F-R-_-d


A tough loss on Senior Day and a game Louisville had control of most of the way.  It's all about the finish in close, competitive ones...and Notre Dame was playing for a #1 seed, so they were inspired as well. Let's hope we get a shot at them in the ACC Tourney. Third time might be the charm.


SOFTBALL




The Cards got the bats out in Orlando on Sunday and took both games, a come-from-behind win over PURDUE 4-3 in their first game and a five-inning walk-off win over #23/25 UCF 15-2.

 Louisville was 4-1 overall in the UCF Tournament and now stands at 10-4 on the season.. 

CARDS 4 - PURDUE 3

The Boilermakers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning of this one, but their bats went silent after that. The Cards used five pitchers along the way to contain Purdue -- Gabby Holloway stared and went 2/3 of an inning, Roby followed with 2 innings, Sam Booe and Taja Felder followed with 1.1 innings each and Alyssa Zabata finished the duties in the circle with 1.2 innings. 

Louisville picked up three runs to tie it in the top of the fifth, when Ornelas singled and eventually advanced to third. Daisy Hess got on base with a single that scored Ornelas and Hess came home on Korbe Otis' home run to left field. 

The Cards got a 6th inning, 4-3 lead on Hannah File's four-bagger to right field and it held through a scoreless seventh. 

CARDS 15 - UCF 5




Louisville benefitted from two Taylor Roby home runs and three Korbe Otis doubles in the score-fest in the second game. It was also a strong, five-inning pitching performance by Alyssa Zabala. UCF posted four runs in the bottom of the fifth, but could not score enough to avoid the run-rule loss. 

The Cards jumped out to a 4-0 lead, increased that to a 6-1 advantage and held a 9-1 lead after four innings. They added their final six runs in the fifth inning. Roby's homers came in the fourth and fifth innings. She is the career-leader in home runs for UofL and had four so far this season. 

Louisville comes home to face Bellarmine for a game at Ulmer on Tuesday.   A 5 p.m. start is anticipated.  Admission is free, bring your kids !


CARDINAL COUPLE ACC TOURNAMENT PICK EM


ACC WBB Tournament starts Wednesday and that means it's CARDINAL COUPLE TOURNAMENT TIME !!!

Leave your picks in the comments section. Leave a name or nickname and how we can get in touch with you if you win (or goof up your entry).  Total score in the final game breaks ties. 


WEDNESDAY - MARCH 1st -- FIRST ROUND

Game 1 -- 1 p.m.  #12 WAKE FOREST vs  #13 VIRGINIA

Game 2 -- 3:30 p.m. #10 CLEMSON vs #15 PITTSBURGH

Game 3 -- 6:30 p.m.  #11 BOSTON COLLEGE vs #14 GA TECH


THURSDAY - MARCH 2nd -- SECOND ROUND

Game 4 -- 11 a.m. #5 FSU vs. Game 1 winner

Game 5 -- 2:00 p.m  #8 NC STATE vs #9 SYRACUSE

Game 6 --  6:00 p.m.  #7 NORTH CAROLINA vs Game 2 winner

Game 7 -- 8:00 p.m.  #6 Miami vs Game 3 winner


FRIDAY - MARCH 3rd -- THIRD ROUND (QUARTERFINALS)

Game 8 -- 11 a.m. #4 Louisville vs Game 4 winner

Game 9 -- 2:00 p.m.  #1 NOTRE DAME vs. Game 5 winner

Game 10 -- 6:00 p.m.  #2 DUKE vs Game 6 winner

Game 11 -- 8:00 p.m.  #3 VIRGINIA TECH vs  Game 7 winner


SATURDAY - MARCH 4th --SEMIFINALS

Game 12 -- Noon -- Game 8 vs Game 9 winner

Game 13 -- 2:30 p.m. -- Game 10 vs Game 11 winner


SUNDAY -- MARCH 5th -- FINALS

Game 14 -- Game 12 vs. Game 13 winner


LEAVE YOUR ENTRIES IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. GOOD LUCK and MAY THE BEST ENTRY WIN !! 


paulie and jared




Sunday, February 26, 2023

** SPECIAL ** ACC WBB TOURNAMENT BRACKET SEEDINGS ** SPECIAL**

 

Here's a list of games, seedings and times for the 2023 ACCWBB Tournament. 

Our Cardinal Couple 2023 ACC Pick 'Em contest is open, leave your picks, with a final score guess in any comments section up to noon Wednesday. Any questions? E-Mail Jared at eupherjared@gmail.com, or Paulie at cardinalcouple@twc.com or leave the question in a comments section.

It's a free Pick 'Em. don't cost ya nuthin! Play ! 


WEDNESDAY - MARCH 1st -- FIRST ROUND

Game 1 -- 1 p.m.  #12 WAKE FOREST vs  #13 VIRGINIA

Game 2 -- 3:30 p.m. #10 CLEMSON vs #15 PITTSBURGH

Game 3 -- 6:30 p.m.  #11 BOSTON COLLEGE vs #14 GEORGIA TECH


THURSDAY - MARCH 2nd -- SECOND ROUND

Game 4 -- 11 a.m. #5 FSU vs. Game 1 winner

Game 5 -- 2:00 p.m  #8 NC STATE vs #9 SYRACUSE

Game 6 --  6:00 p.m.  #7 NORTH CAROLINA vs Game 2 winner

Game 7 -- 8:00 p.m.  #6 Miami vs Game 3 winner


FRIDAY - MARCH 3rd -- THIRD ROUND (QUARTERFINALS)

Game 8 -- 11 a.m. #4 Louisville vs Game 4 winner

Game 9 -- 2:00 p.m.  #1 NOTRE DAME vs. Game 5 winner

Game 10 -- 6:00 p.m.  #2 DUKE vs Game 6 winner

Game 11 -- 8:00 p.m.  #3 VIRGINIA TECH vs  Game 7 winner


SATURDAY - MARCH 4th --SEMIFINALS

Game 12 -- Noon -- Game 8 vs Game 9 winner

Game 13 -- 2:30 p.m. -- Game 10 vs Game 11 winner


SUNDAY -- MARCH 5th -- FINALS

Game 14 -- Game 12 vs. Game 13 winner


LEAVE YOUR ENTRIES IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. Please include name or nick name and e-mail or phone we can get in touch with you at if you win (or mess up an entry) .OLEASE ALSO PROVIDE YOUR GUESS AT THE FINAL SCORE IN THE FINAL GAME -- THIS WILL BE THE TIE-BREAKER.


We already have an entry !!


SONYA SAYS: 

 GA TECH, CLEMSON, BOSTON COLLEGE,

 FSU, SYRACUSE, NORTH CAROLINA, MIAMI. 

LOUISVILLE, NOTRE DAME, NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA TECH, 

NOTRE DAME, VIRGINIA TECH,

 VIRGINIA TECH

71-60


Good luck, have fun!  Winner gets $25 Cracker Barrel card, second place a $15 Subway Card


paulie  

A New School Home Run Record - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Home Run Queen Roby Leads Softball




Holly Aprile, along with Taylor Roby, in the Spring Sports Media Day said that this year's softball team would be a "small ball" team, without much in the way of big sticks hitting long balls over the fence.  They said there wouldn't be much of that, but it's not none, either.

In two games yesterday in the Knight's Classic in Orlando, the Cards scored 16 runs, while holding their opponents to only a pair.  Most of those runs were small ball runs, but it does include a record setting 43rd career fence clearer by Taylor Roby.

The first game was against Columbia, and the Lions would get on the board early with a pair of runs in the first, but would be held scoreless the rest of the way with Louisville answering the pair of runs in the second inning, and scoring their other six runs in the sixth.

Sarah Gordon got things started with a double to center, Korbe Otis then filled in the open first base by being hit by a pitch.  Elana Ornelas got the first RBI on a double, scoring Gordon and pushing Otis on around to 3rd based.  Ally Alexander walked, but would get left stranded at the end of inning.  Paige Geraghty would fly out to center, but Ornelas would tag and score after the catch.




Moving ahead to the 6th inning, but about the same place in the lineup, Geraghty lead off and singled up the middle, then would steal second.  Daisy Hess hit to right and would take advantage of a fielding error to reach first and advance to second, moving Geraghty to third.  Sensing an opportunity, Makayla Hurst pinch hit for Easton Lotus, singled out to left, scoring Geraghty.  While the Lions were trying to catch Geraghty at home, Hurst would advance to second.  The faster Lotus would re-enter for the base running duties.  She would promptly put that speed to use by taking third on a wild pitch, and then would score on a Taylor Roby single.  Hannah File followed with a single, advancing Roby to second.  This precipitated a Columbia pitcher change, and while changes were being made, Aprile, again, sensing opportunity, brought in Cassie Grizzard to pinch run for Roby.  Sarah Gordon singled to center field, and the Grizzard speed would also immediately be useful scoring on the play while File advanced to second.  Madison "Pickle" Winkler pinch ran for Gordon, and then would get to stroll to second, with File did similar to third when Korbe Otis drew a walk.  Ornelas also pushed everyone around the diamond a bag when she got hit by pitch, filling the bases.  Vanessa Miller flew out center but everyone advanced on the tag, with Winkler scoring to finish the base crossing in the first game of the day.  Taylor Roby pitched six innings with Sam Booe entering in the 7th to keep the Lions at just the two runs.

In the second game of the day, the Cards would blank Bradley in a run-ruled five inning 8-0 win.




UofL got the scoring going in the 3rd inning with Daisy Hess getting to first on a short-stop fielding error, and then stole second.  Korbe Otis chalked up another single pushing Hess to third and then scored on a fielding error by the second base player.  Taylor Roby comes to the plate and sets the school career home run record, as mentioned earlier, with her 43rd blast, this one to right center.  This, of course, scored Otis in the process.  Sarah Gordon would get on base, but would be left stranded.

Just one inning later, the Cards would put another "3" up on the scoreboard.  Ornelas started it out, pinch hitting for Ally Alexander, and was able to get on base with a fielding error at first.  She would advance on a Paige Geraghty sacrifice.  Daisy Hess would fill in the first base spot with a walk.  Korbe Otis singled, advancing Hess to third and scoring Ornelas.  Taylor Roby then doubled, scoring both Hess and Otis.

Finally, the Cards would get a pair of runs in the fifth to trigger the run-rule, but it has to be said, these two runs were all on Bradley.  Ornelas walked, Geraghty reached on a fielding error at short, moving Ornelas to second.  Lotus walked, and then Hess walked, scoring Ornelas, and Otis walked, scoring Geraghty and ending the game.




Alyssa Zabala pitched the first four innings, with Gabby Holloway closing out in the fifth.

Softball will be back in action today with another double-header.  They'll meet Purdue at 11am, and then they'll get another shot at UCF following, scheduled at 1pm.  These games are on ESPN+.

Lacrosse Opens Conference Play




The UofL Lacrosse team opened conference play with a visit to Virginia, but the Hoos would prove to be too much for the UofL defense, taking the win 19-9.

The Cards played a good first half of play, leading to a halftime tie of 6-6.  They got the scoring off quickly with Kylea Dobson scoring the first goal of the game just 35 seconds after the opening draw.  She would score again about four minutes later.  After UVA got one back, the Cards would put another pair up with Negai Nakazawa scoring, followed up about 2 minutes later by her sister Kokoro providing the feed to Hannah Morris.  Dobson would claim her hat trick just a minute and a half into the 2nd quarter, but UVA would then run off three to tie the game at five.  Nicole Perroni would finish out the scoring for the Cards, but not before UVA would tie it back up with 38 seconds left in the half.

The second half really fell apart for UofL.  As coach Teeter described it after praising the early play, "...we played defense quite a bit. We struggled with clearing the ball and our defense got extremely tired."



Kokoro Nakazawa and Hannah Morris both scored in the 3rd quarter, about a minute apart, and Alexa Steffens got a goal in the 4th quarter, but that fell far short of the 13 goals that UVA would get into the net after halftime.

Sara Addeche started in goal, with J Pleck taking over in the 4th quarter with eleven and a half minutes left.

Lacrosse now heads to Nashville for a 2pm Monday game against Vanderbilt which, for some unfathomable reason, is only available on ESPN+, and not SEC Network Plus.

Basketball


(She comes to see us...)



The time has come to close out the regular season.  Notre Dame comes to the KFC Yum! Center for UofL's Senior Day.

As I read the situation, Notre Dame is locked into a two seed in Greensboro at this point, this game cannot change that.  If ND wins and Duke loses to UNC, they end up tied for first, but Duke has the tie break win over ND.  If ND loses and Virginia Tech beats Georgia Tech, which is, let's face it, pretty likely, then they end up tied for 2nd, but ND has the tie break win over VT.  So The Irish will be the two seed in Greensboro regardless of the outcome.

The Cards, however, are currently tied with Florida State for fourth place, and have the tie break over them in the head to head matchup.  So a win today gets us the fourth seed in Greensboro, and an extra day of byes, meaning we would start play on Friday rather than Thursday.  A loss today means our fate rests with Clemson.  If Clemson can pull off a pretty big upset and beat Florida State, then we get the fourth seed and the extra bye regardless of the outcome of our game today.




So the stakes are high for UofL, and essentially nonexistent for Notre Dame.  Advantage, probably, to UofL for the "playing for stakes" factor.  Over 11,000 tickets have been sold, meaning part of the upper deck at the KFC Yum! Center will be open, so advantage UofL for the crowd.  It's Senior Day, where the Cards will be honoring Morgan Jones, Chrislyn Carr, Josie Williams, Liz Dixon, Norika Konno, and of course, Mykasa Robinson, so again, advantage UofL, probably, for the Senior Day emotion factor.

We know the cast at Notre Dame, Dara Mabrey's career ended earlier in the season with an injury ending the long era of Mabrey's playing at Notre Dame.  Of course, the star is Olivia Miles, backed up by Sonia Citron, and Maddy Westbeld.  They're all quite good players, that we've all seen before.  They're lead by head coach and Notre Dame alumna Niele Ivey in her first season replacing the legendary Muffet McGraw.

It's a big one, and the TV coverage shows it too, at noon, on the flagship channel of the ESPN fleet.  You can, of course, pick up the radio coverage from Nick Curran and Cortnee Walton on 93.9.

Senior Day festivities will start at 11:35am, so be in your seats early, doors open an hour and a half before tip, at 10:30, so you'll have plenty of time to make it in.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast




Daryl, Jared, Paulie, and myself were the nearly full crew on the CCRHP yesterday.  We had some great discussions and talked about some great Cardinals sports events.  Lacrosse, Softball, and Basketball are the biggies right now, and we covered them well.

and it is always available at any meaningful podcast directory.

-- JMcA

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Cards Give Up Late Lead at UCF 4-2 -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Two-Run Cardinal 1st Thwarted by Two-Run Knight 6th


Louisville traveled to Orlando this week to take part in the Knights Classic hosted by UCF. Though their first game against the host team (ranked 23/25) was scheduled to begin at 7, Florida weather had other plans. A fairly lengthy rain delay meant this game was pushed to an 8:40 PM start time. Adding on a game time of two hours and forty minutes meant it was quite a late night for two east coast teams. Unfortunately for the Cards, their bodies must have been locked onto the previous game time as they were in the zone for the first four innings before it all came apart late.

Louisville got things started with what looked to be a pedestrian top of the first as Daisy Hess grounded out to her position to open the game and Easton Lotus followed up with a strikeout. After Taylor Roby and Korbe Otis coaxed back-to-back full count walks, though, Louisville looked like they might have a bit of a two-out rally on their hands. Sarah Gordon stepped to the plate and delivered. After going down 0-2 and staving off a strikeout by watching a ball and fouling a pitch off, Gordon knocked the next pitch into right field to score both runners. Hannah File was first pitch swinging to get herself on board, and she and Gordon advanced on a wild pitch. Vanessa Miller walked to load the bases (unintentionally, it was an 8-pitch at-bat), and UCF decided that was enough for their starting pitcher. After getting the first two batters out, Louisville had put the next five on base with three walks. The pitching change paid off, as Paige Geraghty struck out to leave the bases loaded.

Taylor Roby's start was a bit better, but mostly because the defense helped her out. Coincidentally, UCF's leadoff hitter grounded to the shortstop on a 1-1 count, just the same as Daisy Hess had. Unfortunately, it wasn't a true mirror as the Knights' second baseman leads off, not the shortstop. So close to greatness. At any rate, Roby allowed a single to the second batter, who advanced to second on the subsequent groundout. Another ball in play followed, with this one sneaking straight through the middle of the infield. Rather than take runners at first and third, though, UCF sent the runner home, and Otis connected with Gordon to prevent the run from scoring and end the inning. Why did UCF send their 3-hole hitter, rostered as a C/3B, home on a short single to center? Your guess is as good as mine.

Louisville's top of the second was an eventful one, despite only seeing four batters. Ally Alexander walked on four pitches to open the inning. Not much more you can ask from the 9-spot, really. Unfortunately, Hess lined a 2-1 pitch straight at the center fielder. Lotus erased Alexander with a fielder's choice, and that set up an odd line in the box score: "Lotus out at second p unassisted." The Cards weren't charged with a caught stealing in the game and no action came from a batter. Lotus couldn't have rounded first and been tagged out after the fielder's choice because that wouldn't have been unassisted. Your guess is as good as mine as to what happened as I don't have ESPN+ and couldn't catch this one.

Regardless of weird scoreline quirks, Louisville went to the bottom of the second still leading 2-0. That lead was halved in short order by a leadoff home run. Roby continued to struggle missing bats, as all five batters she faced in the second put the ball into play. A single split three ground outs to leave the inning otherwise unharmed, but it's quite unlike Roby to allow 9 straight batters to put the ball in play. After she opened a 1-2-3 offensive inning with a strikeout, she returned the favor to the top of the UCF order. A 1-out double became a runner on third with two outs after a sacrifice fly. An intentional walk set up an easier force out, but the idea was cut down by a steal. Fortunately, Roby turned in her second strikeout of the inning to strand the runner and maintain the 2-1 lead.

Louisville rewarded Roby's effort by adding to their lead. File singled and advanced on another wild pitch (how often does the same player advance on wild pitches by two different pitchers in the same game?). After a Miller strikeout, Elana Ornelas stepped in to pinch hit for Geraghty. She hit the first pitch she saw into left center to easily score File on the double before Geraghty retook her place at second, being substituted back into left field. Softball substitution rules are tricky, as evidenced by UCF changing half their team after the double. Alexander walked to put runners on first and second, but Geraghty was out at third on Hess's fielder's choice. Hess and Alexander advanced on another wild pitch (third different pitcher), but Easton Lotus struck out on a full count to strand them. Louisville took a 3-1 lead into the bottom half. Taylor Roby gave up a first pitch double and Holly Aprile decided that was enough for the super senior. Cassie Grizzard was brought in to clean things up, and she did just that with a ground out, strikeout, fly out combo. 

Louisville, unfortunately, would go cold at the plate. Their next seven batters went right back to the dugout on four straight ground outs followed by three straight strikeouts. In the meantime, UCF came alive. A strikeout and a pop-up opened the bottom of the fifth for Grizzard, but a double and RBI single followed. Grizzard's third strikeout in two innings ended the inning, but Louisville's two-run lead was down to one. Despite solid play for most of the game, Louisville's defense had one blip that was quite costly. After a single split a ground out and a strikeout, UCF had a runner on first with two outs. That became a runner on second with a wild pitch and it became two runners when the eighth pitch of the at bat was a ball. The next batter singled to center field, and the tying runner scored from second easily. Unfortunately, in her haste to get the ball back in, Otis was unable to field it cleanly. The error allowed the runner from first to score unearned and Louisville's game-long lead was now a deficit. Alyssa Zabala relieved Grizzard and forced a groundout to end the inning. 

Louisville's top of the seventh had promise, but it just didn't quite work out. After the opening strikeout, Hess singled at the top of the order. Lotus grounded into what should have been a double-play that would have ended the game, but she was able to leg it out to make it a fielder's choice and keep the Cards alive. Roby showed great discipline as she watched three straight balls after falling into a 1-2 hole to put two on and a pinch runner replaced her. A passed ball moved the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, but Otis laced a 3-1 pitch right at the right fielder to end the game.

We talked a bit about Louisville's small ball mantra on last week's show, and it was in force last night. Louisville had five hits and six walks in the game and scored three runs off of those. While it doesn't look like much, stringing together baserunners is how you score. Picking up three triples in a game doesn't help you if no one else is on base. While you'll take a homer every once in a while (who wouldn't), you have to be able to score when people are in position to do so. That leads to the negative side of the box score. Louisville had nine strikeouts and left seven players on base. An average of a runner left on per inning is going to haunt. While UCF had the same mark with six, they reached one extra time and took advantage of an error to score the winning run. Louisville had one extra base hit to UCF's four. If they're going to be a small ball team, they can't leave that many runners on base. 

It was a surprisingly short outing for Roby, as she pitched just three full innings. She gave up one run on six hits and a walk, but she had two strikeouts with no wild pitches and had thrown just 51 pitches total. Grizzard, who started out well, struggled on the final line: 2.2 innings with three runs (two earned) on four hits, a walk, and a wild pitch. Four of her eight outs were strikeouts, though, so she can miss bats. Louisville dinged around the first two pitchers they saw, getting three runs on four hits and five walks in 3.1 innings combined. They just couldn't make it happen against Sarah Willis, though, as they managed just one hit and one walk while striking out four times in the last 3.2 innings.

Louisville is back in action with a pair of games today. The first is against Columbia at 11:30 with the second scheduled for 2 PM against Bradley. Both games will be available on ESPN+. Louisville will wrap up the event with a game against Purdue tomorrow morning and a rematch against the hosts in the afternoon. After that, the Cards will return to Louisville to open Ulmer against Bellarmine Tuesday evening before hosting the Cardinal Classic next weekend.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast


I'll be out this week, but the crew will have plenty to discuss with the exciting Louisville vs Miami WBB game this week and the upcoming rematch against Notre Dame. There's also softball, lacrosse, and more to cover, so be sure to tune in. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!



Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link
Anchor (podcast host): Link
Apple Podcasts: Link
Google Podcasts: Link
Overcast (free account required): Link
Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link
RadioPublic: Link
Spotify: Link


Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Friday, February 24, 2023

WBB secures victory over Miami 71-57 -- SB at UCF -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL



Hello and happy Friday readers. I can't believe we are nearing the end of another WBB regular season. I want to start by giving a huge thanks to Paul for the opportunity to cover one of my favorite squads.  It was my last night on media row for the 2022-23 season but I should make it in the stands for Sunday's rematch with the Irish and Senior Day


 


Paulie celebrated another 30th birthday on Wednesday and Sonya celebrates hers today so lets give a shout out to the original Cardinal Couple on their celebrations this week. He even gave Kasa Robinson one of the cupcakes I brought him.  

I always think of things I should've said to players when I'm standing there but I guess I can say them here and hope she sees it.  I wish I would've thanked Kasa.  For several things.. one being the night she just had vs the Hurricanes.  Robinson has established her role as a Louisville leader from start to finish.   She came out of the gate swinging against Miami, securing rebounds and generously distributing the ball.  If there is a loose ball in the area, you bet Mykasa is diving for it.  Her ability to drive to the basket and out-tough the defense for the up and in has erupted this season. 




For so long the national narrative for Robinson has been 'She gives you everything that doesn't show up in the stat sheet' but here we are witnessing those numbers showing up on the stat sheet.  #5 has given me some of my most jaw dropping reactions in Cardinals WBB memory.   

I stand for Mykasa Robinson and a ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. 



WBB




Louisville got a quality win against Miami on Thursday night, 71-57 in front of more than 8,000 fans. This was a must win for Louisville to remain in control of their post season destiny as Miami and UofL are both battling for 3rd place in the ACC. Hailey Van Lith led for the Cards with 25 points 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Mykasa Robinson and Liz Dixon were huge contributors to this victory as well. Dixon had 13 points and 10 rebounds while Kasa had a season high 12 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. As a team, the Cards only turned the ball over 13 times.

recap

End of 1Q 18-15 Cards


FG %
7 -14 50% Cards
6-14 42.9% Miami
Reb. 9-7 Cards
3-pt %
3-4 75% Cards
1-4 25% Miami




At this point, the starting lineup is the starting lineup and doesn't need really need to be commented on. Walz has found what works and he's sticking to it heading into the final stretch. Liz Dixon scored first on the jumper, HVL hit a 3 on the assist from Kasa for a 5-2 Cardinals lead.  HVL hit another 3... this time from Olivia to make it 8-4.  Jones tried to get going with just under 5 min in the first quarter but her shot went in and out and Liz Dixon cleaned it up for the put back, Cards up 10-8.  Miami responded hitting the 3 pointer to take the lead 11-10 before Olivia was fouled and we took the first media timeout. She made 1-2 at the line to tie it 11 all.   Chrislyn 'The Carr' got started to hit the 3 and put the Cards back up 14-13. With the Cards up 18-15, time winding down in the quarter and both teams trying to establish a rhythm, a loose ball under the basket was dove for by who other than Kasa Robinson. Who secured the possession for UofL.  Paul and I decided her gameday presence as a defensive shark. When she smells blood in the water, she's going to swarm.  


End of 2Q 18-12  Cards

FG %
6-17 35.3% Cards

4-13 30.8% Miami
Reb. 12-8 Cards
3-pt %
1-6 16.7% Cards
2-4 50% Miami





Miami hit a 3 to open the second quarter and tie it 18 all before it started to look like they were going to have their way, going on a 6-0 run over 2 minutes before the Cards said "Not so fast" and went on a run of their own 12-0 over 4:30 minutes to give UofL the 30-24 lead.   HVL hit her third 3 pointer to put the Cards up by 10, 34-24 with a minute left in the half.  Van Lith had 8 points in the quarter while Robinson and Dixon both had 4 rebounds. Cards shot 42% in the first half while allowing the Hurricanes to shoot 37% from the field. Cards outrebounded Miami 21-15, Dixon leading with 7.



HALF 36-27



End of 3Q 23-21

FG %
9-15 60% Cards
8-15 53.3% Miami
Reb. 10-5 Miami
3-pt %
2-5 40% Cards
3-7 42.9% Miami




Louisville opened the quarter with a bucket by Jones, assist by Robinson. But the Cards went cold for more than 2:30 minutes before Jones hit another jumper to push it back to a 10 point lead for the Cards. #14 Haley Cavinder for Miami really started to warm up for the Hurricanes scoring 11 points in the quarter with 4-6 shooting and 3-4 from 3 point land. At this point, the Cards were up by 14, but it definitely didn't feel safe.   And, just as I was mentioning it to Paulie, the Hurricanes put up 4 quick points. Not to be out done, Walz calls Josie Williams' number to come in and create an offensive spark, she drains an open 3 and gets open under the basket to give UofL a 5-0 run and go up 59-47.


End of 4Q 12-10 Cards

FG %
6-16 37.5% Cards
4-12 33.3% Miami
Reb. 11-7 Cards
3-pt %
0-3 0% Cards
1-6 16.7% Miami




Louisville opens the 4th quarter looking to control the clock and keep the lead while Miami is looking for a last ditch effort to steal a win at the Yum! Center.   'Next level Kasa' drives the lane and powers through the defense to score and put the Cards up 63-51 with 6:30 left in the game. At this point in the game, it really did appear that the Hurricanes had run out of gas. Louisville was winded, no doubt, as it was a fast paced contest but Miami had given it all they could.  UofL controlled the possessions for the final few minutes and the Hurricanes backed off.   The crowd rocked the house in victory. 

Cards win!!!  71-57





UP NEXT

Louisville vs Notre Dame
Sunday 2/26  12:00PM
KFC Yum! Center 


Lets get 15,000 out there Sunday for SENIOR DAY AND PAYBACK!!!! 



Fred Durst is our Fred of the game




FRED REPORT


FREE THROWS -- Cards went 9-14 at the FT line for 64.3%. Nyla Harris struggled going 2-5 and needs to spend some time at the gym. This wasn't her first poor performance at the charity stripe. These missed opportunities could be the difference between moving on and going home. no letter

REBOUNDING -- Louisville out rebounded Miami 37-33. Liz Dixon had an imposing impact on the outcome of the game. I was specifically watching her in the pregame and she was hitting those jumpers and feeling her stride. Dixon had 10 total rebounds, 7 of them on the offensive end. CAPITAL R


EFFORT/EXECUTION -- You could tell the team knew how important this game was for post season implications. HVL came out firing to open the game but Miami was not an easy matchup. Louisville shot 60% in the third quarter but also allowed Miami to shoot better than 53% but the name of the game is to do better than the other team, and UofL did that. CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- Like I mentioned earlier, we have deemed Kasa the defensive shark. Where there is blood, she will swarm. HVL was the biggest fan for Kasa to be ACC DPOY. Will the powers that be agree? I hope so, it would be an incredible send off for the senior. CAPITAL D



FINAL FRED TALLY:    _R_E_D


THEY SAID IT...

pics by Jared Anderson today


POST GAME JEFF WALZ

KASA ROBINSON AND HAILEY VAN LITH POST GAME




Softball



Louisville at UCF
February 24 7:00PM
ESPN+




About the Knights

Prior to Thursday's DH With Gardner Webb, where the Knights swept them in 6 and 5 innings... UCF Knights was 5-7 on the season losing 5 of their previous 6 matchups.   

On Wednesday, the Knights lost 4-3 walk off loss against Stetson after giving up 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th. Kaitlyn Felton was nearly untouchable throughout the evening, yielding just one first-inning run on two hits before being pulled after a couple walks in the 7th for left-hander Angelina DeVoe to enter and take the loss. She gave up an RBI single on the first pitch, and a third walk in the inning loaded the bases with two outs. Junior right-hander Grace Jewell represented UCF's third pitcher of the inning to try to close out but Stetson plated the tying and winning runs on a fielder's choice at third base after a throw to second ricocheted off the defenders glove.

After opening the weekend with a 8-2 win over  #25 Michigan, the Knights lost to Texas A&M 7-0. UCF fell short in extra innings to #17 Duke and #12 Alabama before closing out the tournament with a 5-4 win over Mississippi State.

    • Chloe Evans leads the team with a .351 batting average, three home runs, five doubles and 12 RBIs.
    • Kaitlyn Felton (2-2) has carried the bulk of the pitching duties, logging 24.2 innings with 28 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA.


Daisy, Daisy, Daisy ! 


About the Cards

UofL brings a 6-3 record into the weekend following a 2-2 performance in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
• The Cardinals are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches' poll.
• In Sunday's 2-1 win against Wisconsin, Taylor Roby registered her 42nd career home run, tying UofL's all-time record set by Courtney Moore (2004-07).
• Senior Daisy Hess has reached base via a hit or walk in six straight games while junior Vanessa Miller carries a five-game reached-base streak.
• Senior Elana Ornelas leads the team with a .417 batting average.


Louisville leads the series 4-2 with the Cardinals winning the last meeting 5-3 at UCF on Feb. 9, 2018. 


As always

Go Cards!

~Daryl 

Thursday, February 23, 2023

WBB Prepares for Miami -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Closes Regular Season with Two Home Games, Hosts Miami Tonight




The women's basketball regular season wraps up this weekend for most teams. For Louisville, their regular season will conclude with a pair of home games- Thursday against Miami (Fla.) and Notre Dame.

Louisville welcomes Miami to the KFC Yum! Center for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off today. The early start time is the result of the game being aired nationally on ACC Network. Pam Ward and Stephanie White will be on the call on tv while Nick Curran and Cortnee Walton will continue to cover radio duties on 93.9-FM.

A new jersey will make an appearance for the Cards, as Louisville recognizes and celebrates Black History Month. The jersey will be primarily white with red and black letters and numbers, and the sides of the jerseys will consist of a variety of colors.




Most recently, Louisville defeated Boston College by 10 following a monstrous fourth quarter rally. The win moved Louisville to 20-9 on the year and a tie for fourth place in the ACC at 11-5. Louisville finished the 9-5 in true road games in the regular season this year.

For Louisville, a win tonight would guarantee a top five finish in the ACC and their final position would be decided following their game against Notre Dame on Sunday. The Cards could potentially still be tied for fourth even with a loss tonight, a tie that could consist of four teams depending how other games around the league play out. Just win and not put yourself in that position, right?




Miami enters the game with a 17-10 record and 10-6 in the ACC. The Hurricanes have lost two of their last three including a nine-point loss at Syracuse last weekend. The current Bracketology by Charlie Creme puts Miami as one of the "last four bye" slots and a projected 9-seed.

The Hurricanes have had a productive offensive output this year. They average 71.9 points per game. Their .432 shooting percentage (taken from Miami's website) and 14.7 assists per game both rank fifth in the ACC. They shoot a respectable .307 from three-point range and their .730 free throw shooting is one of the best in the league.

Senior transfer Haley Cavinder leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game. Her 68 assists rank second on the team and her 92% free throw shooting is one of the best in the conference.


(remember when COVID cancelled games?)


Destiny Harden has been the do-it-all player for the Hurricanes. She is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game and she has a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with 44 steals.

While Ja'Leah Williams has been an average scorer at 7.3 points per game, her 76 assists lead the team.


(did someone say cookies?)


Miami does like to run with some size, with four players ranging between 6'4 and 6'6. Lola Pendade has been the primary post player this year for the Hurricanes.

Louisville has owned the series against Miami, 7-3, and they are 7-2 since Jeff Walz took over. Miami won the most recent match-up, a 61-59 game in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Hurricanes outscored the Cards 23-7 in the fourth quarter.

The Cards had won the previous three games against Miami, two on the road and one at home. The most recent three games in the series all were all a three-point margin or less.

Paulie, Daryl, and I plan to be in attendance for this one. Hopefully Paulie's birthday festivities (he celebrated his birthday yesterday) will continue today with a Louisville win!

Wednesday Pressers



Coach Walz and the six seniors on the UofL WBB squad met with the media Wednesday. The pressers were divided into three segments, and you can listen to them below! 





Cardinal Couple Pick Em




We're working on the prizes for the winners and runners-up for the ACC Tournament Pick Em and NCAA Tournament Pick Em, but word on the street is that it's food related and who will say no to a gift card for food?! We would love your participation and even invite your family and friends!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
Jared