Softball Travels to NKU -- NCAA Final Four -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Softball Visits Norse in Highland Heights

After coming over their first ACC series win of the season against Pittsburgh, Louisville softball steps away from conference play for a moment. They remain on the road with a quick trip up I-71 to face Northern Kentucky. First pitch is slated for 5:00pm ET and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Currently holding a 22-14 record, UofL needs to get a few wins to match last year's win total of 36. This is one of 18 games remaining. Three of the remaining games come against in-state opponents- Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and Kentucky.

The Norse enter the game 14-11 and have won three straight after sweeping Purdue Fort Wayne over the weekend. NKU has had an odd schedule that features getting run-ruled by Eastern Kentucky but also upsetting Michigan. 

Northern Kentucky is batting .269 as a team with 94 total runs scored. Their bullpen has a 3.13 ERA and have allowed a .240 batting average to opposing teams. Ella LeMonier (.420) and Olivia Pastin (.343) are the only Norse players hitting above .280. The latter has five of the Norse's nine home runs on the season.

UofL has found some success in the circle behind Alyssa Zabala, who leads the ACC and ranks third in the country with 15 wins. Riley Frizell leads the Cards with nine home runs and 39 RBIs. The RBI mark ranks fifth in the ACC and 23rd in the country. Kiley Goff has been hit by pitch 18 times this year. That number is best in the conference and second nationally.

NCAA Final Four

The 2024 NCAA Women's Final Four is set.

1-seed South Carolina, 3-seed NC State, 1-seed Iowa, and 3-seed UConn have punched their tickets to Cleveland. The Elite Eight featured all 1-seeds vs 3-seeds

The Gamecocks defeated 3-seed Oregon State 70-58, but had difficulty against the Beavers. It was a two-point game midway through the third quarter and Oregon State closed the deficit to four points down the stretch. But this is a battle-tested team and dawn Staley knows how to win on the big stage so it comes as no surprise that South Carolina is back.

NC State celebrated big time on Easter. The women's and men's teams advanced to the Final Four within hours of each other. Wes Moore's squad defeated 1-seed Texas 76-66. They outscored the Longhorns in all but one quarter and held a decent halftime lead. Texas never got closer than within six points in the second half.

Iowa defeated 3-seed LSU 94-87 in a rematch of last year's title game. Caitlin Clark did Caitlin Clark things as the Hawkeyes utilized a big third quarter to pull ahead. LSU tried to battle back in the final quarter but could not overcome the magic of Iowa. Personally, for me, I was happy to see Kim Mulkey get sent home.

3-ssed UConn held on to defeat 1-seed USC. The two teams were tied at halftime but the Huskies used a run in the fourth quarter to build a double-digit lead. The Trojans did everything they could to come back but fell just short. UConn was extremely lucky not to have any players foul out despite many of their players having three or four fouls early in the final quarter. Looking at this officiating crew, not seeing more foul calls is a bit of a shock. Louisville has fallen victim to the whistles of some of this crew before.

The Final Four will be played this Friday with the first game coming at 7:00pm ET. ESPN will carry the game.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared