CARDS SOFTBALL RUN RULES BELLARMINE 10-2 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS HIT EARLY AND OFTEN IN THE BATTLE OF EASTERN PARKWAY

On a picture perfect night for softball on the Belknap campus. Louisville Softball touched Bellarmine for six runs in the first two innings and got the 10-2 win in the Battle of Eastern Parkway -- softball style. 

Bri Despines drove in Chelsea Mack and Easton Lotus with a first inning single to get the Cards on the board and a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Bellarmine responded with a Kendall Gaddie home run in the top of the second to cut the Cards lead in half...but Louisville struck back with four second inning runs...Easton Lotus' two RBI triple being the big hit in the inning. It was 6-1 and UofL was definitely in control of the contest. 

The Knights would be held scoreless in the top half of the thrd and fourth innings, and the Cards would add three runs in the the bottom of the fourth, to build a 9-1 lead. 

(Photo courtesy of Bellarmine)

Bellarmine did get their second home run of the contest in the top of the fifth inning to make it 9-2 but Louisville would get the run rule game ender in the bottom of the fifth...with Chelsea Mack singling home Jordan Williams for the 10-2 final score.

And, so..the Cards improve to a 4-2 mark on the season. Jayden Gohs gets the win to go 1-0 on the season in three innings of work. Ryann Sanders pitched two innings of relief. 

Next up, Louisville heads to Fort Myers, FL for another early season tournament...facing Buffalo in their opener on Friday, Feb 20th. 

paulie

Cards Softball beats Bellarmine 8-1 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS HIT TWO HOME RUNS IN WIN OVER KNIGHTS

The Louisville Softball squad found their bats and exploded for eight runs on ten hits last night in Ulmer Stadium -- downing the Bellarmine Knights 8-1.

In the first "Battle of Eastern Parkway" since the Knights joined the A-Sun Conference and Division I Athletics, Louisville got home runs from Makaya Hurst and Carmyn Greenwood in the seven-run win. Starter Taylor Roby and Jen Leonhardt combined for a six hits allowed, and a one run performance from the circle to even the Cards record out to 7-7 and drop the Knights to 4-8.

Louisville started the contest in a big way with Greenwood tripling in the bottom of the first inning, but was picked off at third by an alert throw from Knights catcher Sydney Young and Louisville did not get on the board in the opening inning.

 

The Cards struck for a run in the second, and that run came from the bat of Hurst, The first baseman from St Louis, MO sent a towering blast to center field that easily cleared the fence and probably startled some of the patrons viewing the contest from the outfield berm. It was 1-0 Cards after two innings. 

Roby retired the Bellarmine batters in top of the third, after allowing an opening walk and UofL added three more runs to the scoreboard in the bottom of the third frame. After Maddy Newman started the inning with a single to left, the older Greenwood sister (Carmyn) blasted an ball down the left field line for two RBI's  to make it 3-0 Cards. Jordyn Wolfe followed with a triple to left and that closed the book on Bellarmine starting pitcher Carson Goatley. Kaylee Terral entered the circle for the Knights, but threw a wild pitch that allowed Wolfe to cross the plate. The Cards would touch Terral for a single (Roby) and draw a walk (Rebecca Chung) but a Cassady Greenwood fly out to center got the Knights out of the inning. After three innings, the Cards held a 4-0 lead. 

Roby allowed a walk and single in the top of the fourth but the Knights could not plate either of the two runners.  In the bottom of the inning, the Cards added two more runs -- on a Taryn Weddle walk, Maddy Newman single and two out, two RBI single from Wolfe. Going into the top of the fifth, UofL was comfortably in charge 6-0. 

Jen Leonhardt assumed pitching duties in the fifth after Roby delivered a four-inning, four hits allowed and two strikeout performance. Leonhardt struggled a bit at the start with the top of the Bellarmine batting order, allowing a single to left by Grace Werner and RBI double to Knights second baseman Hannah Webb. She quickly regained control, though, and struck ou the next three Knights batters to end the BU part of the inning. The Cards responded  with two more runs in the home half of the fifth when Leonhardt started things with a single. After Cas Greenwood reached on a hit-by-pitch offering from Terral, Weddle drove home two more Louisville runs with a single up the middle. That bumped the score to 8-1 Cards. 

Leonhardt allowed a walk and single in the top of the sixth, but the Knights couldn't plate either runner...Leonhardt recording the final two out by striking out the Knights plate visitors.  The Cards sent three to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, but they went down in order, with two groundouts and a swinging strike out. 

Bellarmine had one more chance to score in the top of the seventh, but Leonhardt retired the side in order. Your final:  Louisville 8 - Bellarmine 1

A beautiful, balmy night for Softball last night at Ulmer for the Cards vs. Knights and some impressive pitching from both Roby and Leonhardt.  

                                    ***************************************

Head Louisville Softball coach Holly Aprile spoke about the win after the contest: 

APRILE ON CARDS WIN OVER BELLARMINE

Up next, The Cards were scheduled to play Valparaiso on Thursday, but that one has been postponed until Sunday due to Valpo travel issues. Louisville does welcome in Western Kentucky for the Red and Black Challenge on Saturday as well, but, we'll keep an eye on the weather and changes could occur if the expected rain alters action. We'll update you on any changes here at your #1 source for the joy and excitement of UofL womens' athletics.

(Special thanks to UofL Softball S,I,D Lori Korte for sending the Aprile audio and to JAred Anderson for today's photos) 

Have a wonderful Wednesday 

paulie

Softball Hosts Bellarmine -- Lax Climbs Rankings -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Softball Welcomes Bellarmine to Ulmer

Louisville and Bellarmine are no strangers when it comes to softball. The two foes have scrimmaged each other several times, especially in the Sandy Pearsall days. This time will be different as both teams will meet for their first official time as D1 rivals.

The Cards are fresh off a 3-1 weekend performance in the Cardinal Classic and will have had 48 hours to rest and prepare. Louisville sits at 6-7 early in the season and looks to get back up to .500.

Taylor Roby has been a do-it-all player so far. She leads the team with a .400 batting average and has hit four home runs so far. Her most recent home run landed on the top level of the berm. She has been in the circle longest while facing 129 batters.

Jennifer Leonhardt has taken a lot of pressure off of Roby by facing 77 batters and only giving up a .156 batting average. She has struck out a team-leading 22 batters. She has struck out nearly 30% of the batters she has faced.

Carmyn Greenwood has been solid as a leadoff batter with a .316 average. Over the weekend, the redshirt senior went 7-for-11. Greenwood has crossed the plate seven times already.

Celene Funke has used her speed to continue racing into the record books. The redshirt senior has 20 career triples, good enough for second in school history. The record is 26. Her 63 career steals is third all-time in school history and needs five more to move into a tie for second.

Bellarmine comes into the game with a 4-7 record, according to their website. This will be their first game on the road, even if it is no more than 10 minutes down Eastern Parkway. Their wins include a two-game sweep over Western Michigan and series splits with IUPUI and Dayton. 

The Knights carry a .289 batting average while averaging 3.73 runs per game. They have not been much of a threat with the long ball- just three home runs- but have been successful with base running and knocking runners in. Bellarmine has been successful on all 10 steals.

This game is set to start at 6:00 p.m., on Don Dobina Field at Ulmer Stadium. Attendance inside the stadium remains 20% with no tickets for sale. However, the berm allows for plenty of room to spread out while still having a good view of the game.

Lacrosse Climbs Rankings

Louisville Lacrosse took down Cincinnati 13-5 last week before falling to #8 Virginia 13-12 on the road just a few days ago. Still, the performances were enough to impress those who control the polls.

Three different polls have moved the Cards up in their most recent release.

-- Inside Lacrosse (IL) moved the Cards from #27 all the way up to #17. US Lacrosse Magazine moved the Cards from #20 up to #18. The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association (IWLCA) moved Louisville from #25 up to #19.

Sitting at 2-2, Scott Teeter's squad has turned some heads this year. They are on a short scheduled break before visiting Central Michigan for a Friday afternoon match. The word is that Paulie has plans for an interview with Teeter before they head to visit CMU. We'll run it here when it happens. 

Cardinal Couple Pick Em

Paulie posted the final results in yesterday's article and it came down to the wire. Worldwide Jeff held a small lead up through the final day but NC State beating Louisville by a slim margin allowed David Watson to turn things around.

"Dave-O" gave his victory speech in the comments section yesterday. We are sure he'll be ready to take on a tougher challenge with the NCAA Tournament Pick Em, which is roughly a week and a half away. Pending the NCAA doesn't decide to give the Cards the bird (pun intended) Louisville will be dancing and seem to be borderline 2-or-3-seed.

In case you are going through bracket
withdrawals, here's a fast food Pick 'Em 

The Selection Show will be held on Monday, March 15, at 7:00 p.m., on ESPN. You will then have a few days to get your picks together. Once again, you can share in the comments section or by emailing Paulie (cardinalcouple@twc.com) or myself (eupherjared@gmail.com). We will try to post the picks from emails in the comments to add a level of transparency for those who like to keep their own tally.

Who knows what prizes Paulie will have for those who can win. Personally, I'll take a full-sized country ham or a peanut butter milkshake.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared