Minor Departure from UofL Sports -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Texas Thumps TTU in Championship Rubber Match

Louisville softball missed out on the postseason this year, but we're in the midst of the summer doldrums here at Cardinal Couple and the Women's College World Series was quite the event this year. Plus, with Louisville baseball's upset in Nashville the super regional coming back to Jim Patterson Stadium, diamond sports are on the mind. Last night, in a winner-take-all game three of the WCWS Championship Series, Texas proved why having a single arm that you depend on solely to get you through the postseason may not be the answer. They jumped on NiJaree Canady for five runs in the first inning (with some help from the defense) before ultimately putting Texas Tech on run-rule watch at 10-0 and going on to win 10-4. 

The championship is Texas softball's first, but not for lack of trying. Since their first season in 1997, the Longhorns have made it to Oklahoma City eight times, and they were tied for the most visits without a championship before they won this season. They also had to watch their rivals in Oklahoma win it all four times in a row. To make matters worse, the team the Sooners beat for two of those four straight championships were the Texas Longhorns. That's just an almighty sting. The Longhorns got some payback as they beat OU in OKC for the first time last Saturday to help knock the Sooners out of contention. 

This season's WCWS brought all kinds of eyes to the sport, as OU went for history, Texas made a strong push, and TTU brought the first million-dollar softball player to Omaha. Tennessee and UCLA had their own fun as rules and reviews came into play across the event (including last night), and the NBA Finals coming to OKC during the championship series brought even more stars out to the games. 

Now is a great time to be a softball fan, and it would be an even greater time for Louisville to get over the hump and make some noise in the postseason. Louisville doesn't need to bring a million-dollar pitcher into the program to help them do that, but they can still put together an exciting roster and find a way to make it farther than anyone expects. Ole Miss was the only unseeded team to make it to OKC this season, but TTU was the 12-seed and Oregon was the 16. You just have to get into the postseason to give yourself a chance. Hopefully 2026 sees more for the Cards. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're finally back this week, but it'll be a two-man show. Paulie and I will bring you the latest in Louisville women's athletics, although that isn't much. We may not go the full hour, but we'll still do our best to find as much joy and excitement as we can in the summer slump. Check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case