Softball Defeats NKU; Lacrosse Faces Xavier -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Sink Norse in Six 15-4

Coming off of a tough weekend against Virginia Tech, Louisville needed a get-right game. Taking on the Norse of NKU (entering at 11-13), the Cards had a chance for just that. Louisville scored early and often, putting up three runs in the first before scoring in every inning but the second (and non-existent seventh) en route to a run-rule drubbing of the team up I-71. As an aside, I also spent the day in Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, but my day was less enjoyable than the Cards'.

The Cards opened with an Easton Lotus triple followed by a walk. Stop me if you've heard this one before: Chelsea Mack then stole second. With a pair in scoring position, Bri Despines brought both home on a single. Not to be repetitive, but Bri Despines then stole second. The steal turned out to be academic, as a double from Char Lorenz likely would have scored Despines anyway. After a strikeout, Lorenz ran herself off the basepaths with a caught-stealing at third. Ally Alexander was stranded at first after a single, but Louisville led 3-0. 

Alyssa Zabala was given a get-right opportunity of her own, and she started off hot with a line-out to left followed by a pair of easy grounders for a 1-2-3 inning. Two quick outs in the top of the second meant Louisville faced an uphill battle to score, but Lotus and Mack tried with a single and a bunt single to advance. A ground out stranded them both. Zabala's strong start continued with a strikeout, another outfield liner, and a fly to center field. Six-up, six-down. Cards still led 3-0. 

NKU made a pitching change to start the third and Lorenz welcomed the new pitcher with her second double of the day. Taylor Monroe advanced her with a sacrifice bunt, and Alexander's second single came with an RBI. Maddi Grant took an HBP, followed by a pop-out. Another bunt single, this time from Madison Pickens, loaded the bases, but a ground out ended the threat. Cards extended their lead by one to 4-0. 

Zabala looked to be cruising to another quick inning when started with a ground out and a pop out. Unfortunately, things weren't as they seemed, and NKU found a groove against the Cardinal ace. With two outs, the Norse rallied for single, walk, RBI single, RBI single before a ground out ended the inning. Louisville's lead was trimmed to 4-2, but they still didn't seem in much danger. 

The danger was lessened even more when the Cards took to the plate. Chelsea Mack singled (and stole second), and Despines doubled to right. Mack was pinned by the chance that the ball could be caught, and she was surprisingly slow to react to it falling. She made the safe play to stay at third, which turned out to be smart when Lorenz hit her third double in as many at bats. Monroe and Alexander both flied out to left before Grant realized it might be better to go to the right. She homered to right center to tack on two more runs and Louisville's lead had ballooned once more, this time to six runs at 8-2. 

Zabala's struggles continued in the fourth, as she opened with a pair of singles. A strike out broke up the hit parade, but only briefly, as two more singles scored another run. Katie Thatcher inherited a tough situation with the bases loaded, but she worked a strike out for the second out of the inning. A wild pitch moved every runner up 60 feet (including one to home), but a ground out ended the inning. From there, Louisville would go on to score, giving Thatcher the win. I still haven't quite figured out the softball win statistic, so I can't explain this one. In my view, Thatcher didn't inherit the tying runner on base, and Zabala pitched more than half the game, so Zabala still should have earned credit for the win. Whatever. 

The Cards scored seven more runs over the next two innings, and Thatcher continued to hold NKU without any more runs. The result was an 11-run lead after six innings, which promptly ended the game an inning early. Louisville's offense came from starters and substitutes alike, including a three-run homer from Riley Janda. Janda's home run was the freshman's first of the season (and her collegiate career). It was also part of a 21 hit effort from the Cards, who also walked three times and struck out only twice. With the hit-by-pitch, Louisville put up a team on-base percentage of .694. That's the type of offensive output that will win you games, even with nine runners left on base. 

The wild pitch in the fourth was Thatcher's only blemish. She threw two more hitless innings, needing a total of just 25 pitches for her two and two-thirds. She didn't add any more strikeouts, but didn't walk anyone either. It was a very good showing. Zabala, despite the flurry of hits, had an ok outing. She was chased, sure, but she was fairly unhittable right up until she wasn't. Her dominance will be back, of that I have no doubt. 

Of Louisville's 21 hits, nine went for extra bases. Five doubles, two triples, and two homers. Spicy. They added four steals to their season total, and had just one CS. Char Lorenz was the star, going 4/4 with five RBI, but it's hard to overlook 3/3 with a walk from Mack, 4/5 with 3 RBI from Despines, or 3/5 with two runs (and stranded thrice) from Lotus. Further down the order, Pickens and Alexander went 2/3. It was a team effort, and we'll look to see the success continue when the Cards head to Chapel Hill for a three-game set with North Carolina. 

Lax Looks for Non-Con Boost

ACC Lacrosse is a gauntlet. Louisville was reminded of that fact over the course of their last three conference matchups. The Cards were respectable on Saturday against the top-ranked Eagles in Chestnut Hill, but they still came away with another big loss. Like the midweek following the UNC loss, Louisville will make a short road trip to face a beatable non-conference opponent. On March 5th, that was Vanderbilt, who the Cards took down 13-9. Today, it is Xavier. 

The Musketeers are just 1-6 so far this season, having beaten Gardner-Webb last week (did you know they sponsored WLAX?) before losing their most recent game to Wofford (did you know they sponsored WLAX?). This will be Xavier's second game against an ACC foe this season, having lost 16-9 in Durham at the beginning of March. Despite the relatively close mark there, the Musketeers have lost big to Akron (15-6), Cincinnati (18-11), and South Florida (20-4). Their closest losses to Bucknell (12-8) and Wofford (14-12) have come, along with the 13-5 win over GW, in the last four matches. They're joined, though, by that clunker in Tampa. 

This will be the second meeting between Louisville and Xavier in lacrosse, with the Cards having won the first last season 15-7. It is only Xavier's third full season as a program, and they are working to build off of a pair of 4-win seasons to open the history books. Louisville will look to play spoiler to those aspirations this evening as the Cards try to return to .500 on the year. Tonight's match will get underway at 6pm and be available on FloSports. 

NCAA Tournament Pick 'Em 

With just a couple of days left, don't forget to get your entries in for the Cardinal Couple NCAA Tournament Pick 'Em. Paulie and I will be keeping track of the scores, and the first and second-place finishers will be treated to brunch at Cracker Barrel or First Watch. Sending your entry is simple. Just tell us who wins each game in the comments. Provide a points total for the national championship as a tiebreaker. Formatting is largely up to you, but here are my and Lindsay's picks as examples.

Case

Spokane 1

UCLA, Richmond, Ole Miss, Grand Canyon, Florida State, LSU, Harvard, NC State

UCLA, Ole Miss, FSU, NC State

UCLA, NC State

UCLA

Spokane 4

USC, Miss State, Kansas State, UK, Murray, Oklahoma, So. Dakota State, UConn

USC, UK, Oklahoma, UConn

USC, UConn

UConn

Birmingham 2

So. Carolina, Utah, Alabama, Norfolk St., WVU, UNC, Vanderbilt, Duke

SCar, Alabama, UNC, Duke

SCar, Duke

Scar

Birmingham 3

Texas, Illinois, USF, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Louisville, TCU

Texas, OSU, ND, TCU

Texas, ND

ND

Final Four

UCLA, ND

UCLA - 161

Lindsay

Spokane 1

UCLA, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Baylor, George Mason, LSU, Michigan State, NC State

UCLA, Baylor, LSU, NC State

UCLA, LSU

LSU

Spokane 4

USC, California, Kansas State, UK, Iowa, Oklahoma, So. Dakota St., UConn

Cal, K-State, Oklahoma, UConn

K-State, Oklahoma

K-State

Birmingham 2

So. Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Maryland, WVU, UNC, Oregon, Duke

SCar, Maryland, UNC, Oregon

SCar, UNC

Scar

Birmingham 3

Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Louisville, TCU

Texas, OSU, Michigan, Louisville

Ohio State, Louisville

Ohio State

Final Four

K-State, Scar

South Carolina - 142

To date, these are our only two entries. Lindsay and I like brunch, but at least make us work for it!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case