Lacrosse in ACC Tourney today -- Softball drops a double -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

Softball Drops Two

As a website dedicated to bringing you joy and excitement, let me tell you about this programming library that I'm writing in the Python programming language...

(EDITOR NOTE: JEFF DOES NOT KEEP PYHTON'S OR SPEAK TO THEM...JUST SOME EGGHEAD STUFF  REFERENCE THAT WE ARE GUESSING IS PART OF HIS WORK...)  

Oh, right, we're specifically about UofL Women's Sports.  Unfortunately, joy and excitement in the women's sports programs are a little hard to find right now.

Softball was in action yesterday, but the results definitely didn't spark joy.  After a win Friday over North Carolina, with only the bare minimum offense (a pair of home runs) to get the job done, the lack of offense hurt yesterday.

(ravishing Riley !) 

The first game of the day saw UNC get out to an early lead with three runs in 1st inning.  They tacked on another in the 3rd.  The Cards sensing the need to do something, well, another home run by Riley Frizell.  I mean, it was a good weekend for her in the batter's box, but without more offense around her...it's not good.  The Tarheels then finished it off in the bottom of the 6th with five runs, walking it off with the run-rule win, 9-1.

There was more offense in the second game, but still not the small ball play that Holly Aprile is looking for.  Maddi Grant started it off in the 2nd inning with a long ball shot over the fence in right field.

The Cards would add on five more in the 5th, and about the only hint of small ball play that Aprile would see the whole weekend.  Chelsea Mack reached on a bunt, Frizell drew a want, and was replaced on the base paths by the quicker "Pickle" Winkler.  It wouldn't really matter, however, as Vanessa Miller homered to right, scoring the trio.  UofL would tack on two more, both homers again, with Bailee Richardson and Katie Thatcher being the bombers.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing some light tower power, but for consistent success, teams do really need to be able to play the small ball game.  And, in fact, in this one, with the score 6-0 UofL after five innings, UNC would score seven unanswered in the 6th and 7th innings, again with the walk-off.  And I hate to say it, but the Cards looked more like the Bad News Bears out in the field during that 7th inning.  UNC played well, no disrespect to them, but UofL largely fumbled it away.  HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU RECALL THE SOFTBALL CARDS GETTING BEAT WITH A SEVEN RUN FINAL TWO INNINGS FROM THE FOE?  I'll wait for your answer .

Softball returns home for a mid-Derby Festival series with Clemson starting Friday at 6pm.

Lacrosse

Let's look for some joy and excitement from Lacrosse, they're in Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech, but this isn't just any old home game for the Hokies.  This is the first round of the ACC Tournament.  Louisville is the 9th seed in the tournament, Virginia Tech is the 8th.

In the earlier matchup between these two teams, Louisville played VT competitively for three quarters of the game.  The Cards won the 1st quarter 4-2, VT came back to tie it at half-time 5-5.  It was the 3rd quarter that sunk the Cards, VT won it 6-2, though the Cards didn't give up, they did tie the 4th quarter, but of course that's not enough when you dug a 4 goal deficit in the 3rd.  VT won 14-10.

The Cards will be looking for revenge, and to advance to the main portion of the tournament at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC.  If they beat VT, they will get the "honor" of meeting Syracuse on the 24th.

All games in the ACC Women's Lacrosse tournament will be on the ACC Network linear channel, but of course you can also stream them through the ACC Network Extra streaming setup.

The game today will get underway at noon.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(jeff and Jared escort Paulie to the broadcast venue) 

Jared, Paulie, and myself gathered to discuss the latest in UofL women's sports on the CCRHP.  Softball and Lacrosse are active, so of course much of the discussion centered on those two sports, but we did get some exciting recruiting and transfer portal news for WBB this week, so we did cover that territory as well.

Unfortunately, we did lose the last couple of minutes as my streaming software crashed for some unknown reason.  Fortunately, it waiting until very near the end to do so, so check out the show below, and apologies for the abrupt ending.

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/Lacrosse-and-Softball-Struggle-e2im0b6

 

-- 

JMcA

LAX FACES PITT in ACC TOURNAMENT OPENER -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS AND PANTHERS KICK OFF ACC W.LAX TOURNAMENT

And, so, it's come down to Tournament time for Louisville Lacrosse.  The second season. The win or go home scenario. 

The Cards will face Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. at Notre Dame. It's viewable on the ACC Network. It's the #8 seed vs. #9 seed play-in-game. The winner gets UNC (#1 seed) on Friday at noon. The Cards (the #9 seed) go into the contest at 7-10 overall and 1-7 in conference play. The Panthers finished with a 8-9 record and 1-7 in the league. 

A history between the two? Well, no, not much of one.  It's Pitt's first year of competition, The Panthers did defeat Louisville during conference play.. The match, held in Pittsburgh in their Highmark Stadium went to the Panthers 17-10. 

A nice stadium, no doubt, that holds about 5,000 and is about two miles south of Heinz Stadium. On the south bank of the Monongahela River. Louisville had a rough second half in that previous meeting, scoring only four times, and losing despite three goals from Hannah Morris. 

So, what say you, Scott Teeter, about the matchup?

"We've got to battle. It's a short turnaround for us and a bit of a revenge tour. I think it's going to be a good battle between two good teams. We were unhappy with our consistency the first time we played them, so we just need to bring it for 60 minutes and give it everything we've got."

The Cards probably need to go on a four-game win streak in the ACC Tournament to make the ACC Tournament, although...if they can get by Pitt, UNC and either Duke or Notre Dame -- I'd think they might deserve at least a look for NCAA tournament consideration. The Cards were able to put a four-game win streak together early in the schedule against Marquette, Central Michigan, Virginia Tech and Butler -- but all four of those were in the friendly confines of the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. 

The Cards will look for big scoring efforts from Morris, All-ACC Second Team selection Caroline Blalock, Nicole Perroni and a strong net presence from our goalkeepers J.Pleck and Sara Addeche

Let's hope our Cards can start a new win streak today. At this time of the year, you worry about one game at a game, because ii's either a win or your season is over. We'll worry about UNC once we're safely past Pitt. 

Here's UofL's "hype" video for the tournament: 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1519111584823627776

WHO AM I?

Jared had a little fun with the Cardinal Couple crew Tuesday when he texted us a picture from a photo-shoot and asked if we could identify the people in the photo. Our Jeff McAdams eventually made the correct selections. I was nowhere close with my guess.. Let's see how you do, leave your guess in the comments section if you want and Jared will have the answer for you tomorrow in his column. 

Jared will personally drive the first correct entry to a place that serves breakfast and spring for a cup of coffee and a three-hour review of the photos he's taken in 2022. The catch is, he'll use your car and you're responsible for any tip...and the facility must offer a "bottomless" cup of coffee...

Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

paulie

Lax Falls to UNC -- Golf Hosts Regional -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Lacrosse Bows to North Carolina

North Carolina has not lost since May 24, 2019. The Tar Heels are the clear and obvious choice as the favorite to be taking home the hardware at the end of May 2021. Along the way, North Carolina wants to take home another ACC title and no one is going to stand in their way.

Unfortunately for Louisville, the Cards were the first off the chopping block with a first round match-up with North Carolina. Louisville fell to the #1-seed 19-6.

UNC scored less than 90 seconds into the game, but Louisville had an answer roughly a minute later as Caroline Blalock found the back of the net. Over a span of the next 10 minutes, North Carolina went on a 6-0 run to take a big lead.

The Ally's took turns trading goals as Ally Hall had an unassisted goal at the 15:54 mark to end the run. UNC's Ally Mastroianni responded with a goal over her own shortly after. Louisville's Ally Hall did find the back of the net one more time before halftime for her 100th career goal.

North Carolina would go on to score after Hall's second goal of the match before Louisville put two shots back-to-back inside the net. Nicole Perroni would score unassisted while Hannah Morris would feed a pass from Blalock two and a half minutes later to score and get the Cards within 9-5. The Tar Heels would close out the half scoring the final two goals for an 11-5 lead at the break.

Things turned sour in the second half. UNC scored eight straight over the span of 23 minutes. The 19-5 lead was more than enough to trigger a running clock.

Caroline Blalock did score the final goal of the match with just 21 seconds remaining to bring the score to 19-6.

For the Cards, they drop to 5-11 on the year but remain in the Top 25 for now. They will now be at the mercy of the selection committee to deem them worthy of making the tournament this year. Louisville faced 12 ranked opponents on the season and had one of the toughest schedules in the country.

Rachel Florek had a notable performance in goal. Despite the onslaught she faced from the UNC offense, the senior keeper recorded 13 saves to go with a .406 save percentage for 54 minutes of play.

Hall, who reached the century mark in goals, is just the 11th Cardinal to do so.

Paulie caught up with Louisville Lacrosse head coach Scott Teeter after the match and you can hear his remarks below: 

LINK :  SCOTT TEETER POST UNC GAME

Golf to Host an NCAA Regional

On the lighter side of news, Louisville women's golf will make history as they host their first ever NCAA Regional. 

For the seventh straight season and 13th time in program history, Louisville golf will be competing in the postseason. They are one of 18 teams that will be in the Louisville Regional, which will be played at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, KY.

The Cards have some tough competition in town for it featuring six ranked teams: #1 South Carolina, #8 Auburn, #9 Florida State, #16 Arkansas, #18 Texas, and #21 Texas Tech.

The top six teams as well as the top three individuals not from one of those six teams will qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Louisville Regional will be held May 10-12.

Derby Festivities

www.kentuckyderby.com

Typically, today we would see the Pegasus Parade marching down Broadway as well as many Louisvillians participating in Thurby at Churchill Downs. With COVID-19, things are still altered, but fans are allowed at Churchill Downs. The parade did not happen like it has in past years, but the City of Louisville did take Pegasus around town a couple different days for people to watch from home and cars. At the track, a 50% capacity is the mandate, and if you go, take a poncho -- it's gonna rain on you. 

We are quickly approaching Oaks and Derby (and Paulie still hasn't given us good picks for the two events *cough cough* all eyes on you Paulie). Many folks have some wonderful Derby traditions. I've had my fair share of going to different Derby parties as well as the opportunity to perform "My Old Kentucky Home" with the UofL Marching Band three times.

You can follow Paulie Picks daily this week to see how he's doing each day with the picks and the results at Churchill. He does well, as a rule, with what he gives you -- and it doesn't cost you a penny to look at his selections !! 

LINK:  PAULIE PICKS

There was no live performance of it last year, but UofL invited current members and alumni as well as other colleges and universities in Kentucky to perform and was featured May 2020. You can enjoy that video below.

Do you have any Derby traditions? We'd love for you to share those!

Happy Thursday, Happy Derby season, and Go Cards!

Jared 

Lax vs. UNC in ACC Tourney Today -- Justine Sowry Presser -- Balogun to Duke -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LOUISVILLE LACROSSE TO FACE UNC IN FIRST ROUND ACC LACROSSE ACTION. 

It'll be Louisville vs. North Carolina today in the first round of the ACC Tournament. All eight teams go at it today, with the Cards and Heels taking the field at noon. 

Louisville is the #8 seed in the tourney, UNC the #1 seed...so, it'd be a pretty big surprise to the world of Lacrosse and sports in general if the Cards pull off the win. They met during the regular season, back on March 18th, when UNC traveled to Louisville, faced the Cards in Cardinal Stadium and took a 19-7 win. 

This time, the squads are in Chapel Hill, and UNC is still the #1 squad in the nation, sporting an unblemished 15-0 record.  The Cards come in ranked #19th in the nation and are 5-10 on the season. Louisville is currently on a four game losing streak and went 1-9 in ACC regular season play, defeating Virginia Tech...the #7 seed. 

Sweet Caroline ! 

The Cards will have Caroline Blalock on the pitch, she was named to the All-ACC Second team yesterday, and Bella Karstien received All-ACC Freshman team honors. 

Louisville will need top performance from those two, plus scorers Ally Hall, Hannah Morris, Nicole Perroni, Kokoro Nakazawa and a strong effort from goal-keeper Rachel Florek and the defense, if they are to get past the TarHeels. 

Good luck, Louisville Lacrosse!! 

JUSTINE SOWRY PRESSER

Louisville head Field Hockey Coach Justine Sowry held a presser yesterday to talk about the Field Hockey squad playing in the NCAA Tournament and other things yesterday. Although I was unable to take part in it, due to a prior, scheduled appointment elsewhere, our Daryl Foust took part in the Microsoft Teams Q&A session. 

Daryl's thoughts: 

"It was cool to tune into Coach's PC today. (My co-workers also got to listen in. Ha-Ha. 

I got to ask the questions we came up with and I appreciated her answers. Sowry started off her post-season media campaign with a quote I doubt a lot of others around the tournament field could mirror in "coolness" -- she mentioned that she wouldn't normally be sitting wherever she was remotely talking to us about "hockey"-- she'd be prepping for the Derby.  She did not say what that meant, or whether she actually goes to Churchill Downs for the First Saturday in May or hosts the squad  at her house for "the greatest two minutes of sports" -- and I didn't ask. But, she did say she's got HOT ROD CHARLIE (8-1) who will come out of the #9 gate hole winning the roses. 

Sowry was very easy to listen to, she had a calmness in her voice that I imagine the team can feed off as they look ahead to their first NCAA Tournament game  (Sunday, MAy 2nd against either UConn or Rider) at 3 p.m.

With as weird of a season it has been, I believe the team can find inspiration and weather whatever storm comes their way. As far as HOT ROD CHARLIE goes...be sure to check out PAULIE PICKS this Saturday to see what he thinks of the Louisiana Derby winners chances. 

You can hear Sowry's remarks at the link below: 

LINK:  Juaatine Sowry 4/27/21

BALOGUN TO DUKE

Elizabeth Balogun entered the transfer portal on April 6th. and has decided that Duke will be her destination for the upcoming 2021-22 women's basketball season. 

Balogun joins former Cardinal WBB student-athlete Nyah Green on the Blue Devils roster and will be under the direction of head coach Kara Lawson. 

Balogun never really lived up to the promise that being ACC Freshman of the Year brings. At Louisville, she was hot and cold from the three-point range and  never really looked totally comfortable play "Walz Ball" to me.  One thought that she might step up into a leadership role after the graduation of Jones, Shook, Dunham and Diop -- but it never developed.  

Her 2019-2020 numbers were 28 games played and 26 starts. She saw an average of 24.1 minutes a game, averaged 8.1 pts., and 4.6 rebounds.

Her 2020-21 numbers were 29 games played with just 16 starts. She saw an average of 19.6 minutes a game, averaged 5.8 pts., and 3.8 rebounds. 

It's a good fit for Balogun. She should get the playing time she seeks. Kianna Smith emerged as a preferable choice in the lineup and Balogun's time shrunk. Her length will be missed and those occasions when she was hitting the three. But, players want what players want and, will go search for it. In Balogun's case, it's a new coach to the ACC and college basketball that has tons of playing experience. Kara Lawson is drawing some good talent because of her playing acheivements and work on ESPN and other platforms. How that will translate out into coaching should be interesting.  

We wish Elizabeth the best of fortunes at Duke and hope she has a great career there -- except when the Cards face the Blue Devils. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

paulie

ACC Lacrosse Tournament -- Thank You Softball Seniors -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ACC Lacrosse Tournament Set

The ACC Lacrosse Tournament is all set. Unfortunately for Louisville, Virginia Tech was sneaky and cheated the Cards out of the 7-seed. Louisville is the 8-seed and will face 1-seed North Carolina.

Louisville (1-9 ACC) beat Virginia Tech (1-8 ACC) in the regular season and would have given the Cards the tiebreak over the Hokies. However, Virginia Tech had a couple schedule changes between weather and COVID-19 protocol and were not eager to make up their final game, giving them a half game edge over the Cards.

The Cards, who are ranked #19 in the most recent poll, seem to be in a position to still make the NCAA Tournament, but upsetting an undefeated Tar Heels team would guarantee a bid.

Louisville hosted North Carolina earlier this season at Cardinal Stadium. The Cards had a couple offensive spurts, but like everyone that has faced UNC, Louisville fell by a large margin in the end.

UNC has not lost since 2019, when they fell in double overtime in the NCAA Semifinals to Boston College. The Tar Heels are also looking to win their fifth straight ACC title (there was no tournament in 2020).

For the Cards, Ally Hall is two goals short of scoring 100 career goals. Rachel Florek has 335 career saves, ranking first in program history. Her .427 career save percentage is third in program history. 

This match is scheduled for Wednesday at noon on the ACC Network. In other action Wednesday, #4 seed Notre Dame get #5 seed Duke at appox. 2:30 p.m., #2 seed Syracuse faces #7 seed Virginia Tech at5:00 p.m. and #3 seed Boston College will go against #6 seed Virginia at 7:30 p.m.

Softball Concludes Home Season, Thank You Seniors

Louisville Softball concluded its home season on Sunday with a doubleheader against #7 Florida State. The Seminoles took the first game by Mercy Rule victory while the second game ended in a 0-0 tie after 11 innings and more than three hours due to a scheduled flight home.

A 1-2-1 series against one of the favorites to win the NCAA title is a plus in my book. It also knocked the Seminoles out of first in the conference and allowed Clemson to take the lead in the conference. Somewhere our buddy Arthur has a big smile on his face.

Louisville recognized a total of eight players, seven from the current season and Caitlin Ferguson, who played her final season in 2020.

Both Paige and Riley Schindler have had some unfortunate luck with injuries, which prevented them from playing the last couple years. Madison Ciaccio had appearances in dozens of games throughout her career and often subbed in at first base. Jordyn Wolfe has seen plenty of action in the outfield and as a pinch runner but also has been plagued by an injury the last couple of weeks. Jennifer Leonhardt joined Louisville for her final year of eligibility and has made a significant contribution in the circle and is second on the team in strikeouts. Maddy Newman spent four years as a starter at second base and has been a behind-the-scenes leader for much of her career. Celene Funke repped the Louisville jersey for five seasons and was one of the most recognizable student-athletes at Louisville known for her charisma and energy.

This senior class has had to overcome a great deal between a mixture of injuries, a coaching change, COVID-19, and now having one of the toughest schedules in the country. Even with so many obstacles, this senior class has proven to be strong leaders and kept the energy level high. We thank all of the seniors for everything they've done for this program.

The Cards sit at eighth in the ACC currently. They have eight games remaining: a four-game series at last place Boston College and a four-game series against North Carolina, who is currently 10th in the conference. Louisville is 3.5 games ahead of Pitt, who is 11th. The Cards need to finish in the top ten to qualify for the ACC Tournament at Ulmer Stadium in mid-May.

(Softball and Lacrosse photos from Jared Anderson) 

Other News

Louisville head Field Hockey Coach Justine Sowry has a press conference this afternoon to discuss the upcoming NCAA Field Hockey Tournament. The Cards still have a few more days before their quarterfinal match-up on Sunday. We'll bring the words to you in tomorrow's Cardinal Couple.

It is Derby Week in the Ville so the parties have begun. Our horse handicapper extraordinaire Paulie is hard at work doing his research for your Oaks Day and Derby Day picks. Stay tuned this week to see what advice and recommendations he has....he's handicapping Weds. thru Sat. this week. Check out his handicapping site PAULIE PICKS at: 

Paulie Picks

The "naming" of Derby Day weekdays began a few years ago with "Thurby" for Thursday at the Downs. Of course, Firday has always been Oaks Day and Saturday is Derby Day -- but recently someone came up with "Mondby" for Monday "Tuesby" for Tuesday and Wednesday has now become "Louisville's Day at the Track"  Someone offered "Wednesby" but that's just going too far, right? 

Happy "Tuesby" and Go Cards!

Jared