Char Lorenz transferring -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers and Happy Juneteenth, 

Daryl here checking in midweek with you all.  Case was swamped with work and the University of Louisville observes the federal holiday so we opted to swap the coverage. 
 

Softball

Some UofL sports news and some rather devastating to the Cardinals softball program, star freshman from Munster Indiana, Char Lorenz announced Wednesday afternoon that she was transferring out to head south to LSU. 

 She played in 50 games, all starts, primarily in left field lingering somewhere around 2–4 in the lineup. She also led team in batting average at .368%, slugging .677%, and 53 RBIs. Lorenz broke the single-season freshman record with 53 RBIs on the year, tallied 15 multi-hit games and a team high 15 multi-RBI games, hit 9 home runs, 11 doubles, and 5 triples. She stole 13 bases and committed just 3 errors for a .967 fielding %.

Photo: Jared Anderson

I dont think any of us at Cardinal Couple expected this news coming out of softball but honestly not surprised either.  I can see the opportunity for the small town native to get a big shot in the SEC and a better payday after a stellar first year at UofL.  We are sad to see her go but wish her nothing but the best... unless its against the Cards!! 

With that news, reminder the roster also graduated Sam Booe, Izzy Harrison, Maddi Grant and Ally Alexander and picked up two pitchers out of the state of Ohio, Anna Wise and Madi Reeves.

Ps. shoutout to my dog Jack, its his 16th birthday today!! 

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Softballers on Academic All-District Team -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Five Cards Recognized by CSC

The College Sport Communicators (CSC) identified their Academic All-District teams this week, and Louisville softball placed five Cardinals on the Division I list. CSC honors baseball and softball across four divisions of collegiate athletics. The district-level is the only subset prior to the CSC Academic All-American honor, which is voted on via national ballot of specific players from the district list. 

Louisville's five honorees were Bri Despines (JR), Maddi Grant (SR), Char Lorenz (R-FR), Easton Lotus (R-JR), and Alyssa Zabala (JR). The award is the first for Grant, Despines, and Lorenz, and the second for Lotus and Zabala. This marks Zabala's second straight CSC All-District award, as Louisville's ace was honored for her 10 wins with a 4.00 ERA over 140 innings pitched this season. 

In her first year with the team, Despines hit .318 with 37 runs, 47 hits, and 37 RBI. Defensively, she led the team in putouts (narrowly edging Grant (1B) 226-221) and had 12 assists with only five errors. She allowed just four passed balls and caught four runners stealing. Grant, as mentioned, was steller at first, tying with Taylor Monroe for the team lead in double-plays turned (9) and tallying just three errors on her way to a .987 fielding percentage. With 233 fielding opportunities, that percentage is stellar, and it led the team among players with at least 50 chances. Grant also hit above her career average with a .236 clip in 106 at bats (the most of her career by a long shot). She tallied 25 hits, 10 runs, and 13 RBI with two homers. 

Easton Lotus returned from injury with a strong season. Louisville's primary leadoff hitter tailed off a bit down the stretch, but still finished second on the team with a career high .357 batting average. She had 65 hits and 16 walks, which contributed to her 38 runs scored. Her five triples were tied for the team lead, as were her 18 stolen bases. As the leadoff, she didn't get a ton of opportunities, but she still managed to knock in 26 RBI. 

You'll notice that a lot of the stats so far have been "tied for" or "second on the team". That's because Char Lorenz was that good. How she was only second-team All-ACC is beyond me, but I guess it speaks to the quality of the players in the league. Lorenz led the team in average (.368), OPS (1.130), doubles (11), triples (tied; 5), home runs (9), and RBI (53). She walked 17 times and was hit by eight pitches. She also stole 13 bases. Defensively, she was no slouch in left field, fielding .967 with 87 putouts, two assists, and just three errors. Lorenz is the only one of the five Cards on the All-District list to be tabbed for the national ballot, so we'll keep an eye on her potential ascension to the All-American ranks. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

PS: To give everyone an early heads up, the CCRHP hiatus will continue this week. We intended to return on Saturday, but host outages mean we'll have to skip another episode. 

Softball Falls in Walk-Off -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Drop Heartbreaker 3-2

Louisville softball saw their season come to a sudden and somewhat surprising end yesterday when they were walked off by Virginia in the seventh inning of a tightly contested ballgame. The Cards took an early lead and added insurance late before ceding the tying runs in the sixth and the walk-off winner in the seventh. The loss knocked Louisville out of the ACC tournament, and they would need an absolute miracle to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at 26-25. 

Louisville got the game off to an auspicious start, which may have been an omen for how the rest of the game would go. Easton Lotus sent a ball to left field to lead off and the Virginia left fielder was charged with a fielding error. Rather than have the leadoff runner on first base and nobody out, though, Lotus was thrown out at second trying to extend the advantage on the error. The Cards have been aggressive on the base paths all season, and it is frequently beneficial. Not this time. Hindsight is 20/20, but considering the fact that Louisville would strand two runners on base in the inning after Bri Despines and Maddi Grant each singled, it would have been nice to have Lotus's speed on first to start things off. 

Alyssa Zabala took the circle in the must win game and turned in a very quality start. She turned in three quick outs in the bottom of the first with a fly out, a foul out, and a groundout to bring the Cards back up to the plate. Unfortunately, Louisville's early success in getting the bat on the ball dried up slightly in the second, as a pair of strikeouts preceded a groundout and the Cards went down 1-2-3. UVA came to the plate with their second opportunity and earned their first hit when the second batter of the inning dropped a single into right center. After a groundout back to Zabala opened the inning, the runner on first with one out wasn't terribly threatening as Zabala forced back-to-back foul outs to first base to end the inning. 

Virginia turned to the bullpen early, making a change in the top of the third inning with the 9-hole hitter at the plate for the Cards. Chelsea Mack welcomed the new pitcher in maybe the worst way possible. Obviously a towering home run would be a rough outcome against your first batter, but how about a Little League home run instead? Mack bunted down the third base line and was very nearly thrown out at first. The closeness of the throw, though, worked in Mack's favor, as the first baseman couldn't make the catch as the two had a minor collision. Mack stayed on her feet as the ball sailed past first, and she took off for second. With the first baseman and right fielder both chasing the ball around in the foul area in short right field, Mack was waved all the way around to score and crossed the plate standing up. Louisville would put two more runners on base with Char Lorenz taking a hit by pitch and Despines singling for the second time in as many at bats. A strikeout and a fly out stranded another pair, though, and Louisville came back out on defense with a 1-0 lead. That's four stranded, two in scoring position, in three innings. Surely that won't haunt later...

Zabala responded to the Cards taking the lead by forcing another quick three-up, three-down inning before Louisville answered UVA in kind. Madison Pickens took a hit by pitch to open the fourth, but the next three batters went down in order. Louisville likes to play small ball and practices it a lot, so the first out of the fourth inning being a pop out to the pitcher on a sacrifice bunt attempt is definitely painful. Zabala came out in the bottom half, though, and put in another solid inning. UVA started to get the bat on the ball a bit more in the inning, with two fly outs opening the inning before a double. With two outs, Zabala stayed calm and forced a ground ball, which led to another one of those ominous moments. The ground ball went to short, but rather than throw to first for the force out with two away, the ball went to third to get out the lead runner. An odd choice, to be sure, since it wasn't a force at third. Louisville found themselves dealing with a pickle situation, which they ultimately completed by getting the out, but it was a strange choice given the options available. Louisville still led 1-0, but the defense was beginning to look skittish. 

The top of the fifth saw the top of the order step up again, but for the third time, they didn't do much. Lorenz, the recently named second-team All-ACC player, dropped a one-out single into left field, but she became the sixth Louisville runner to be stranded after a strikeout and a groundout ended the side. Virginia got their best chance to date with a single to open the fifth followed by a hard liner to left center. Lorenz was on hand to make the catch in left, holding the runner at first base. UVA batters thought they saw their opening to get more contact against Zabala, which ended up working out in her favor. The next two batters struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Camryn Lookadoo opened the sixth inning with a single and Pickens bunted her over to second with a sacrifice. Like I said, Louisville likes small ball. Lookadoo advanced to third on a productive groundout and Katie Thatcher stepped in to pinch hit for Taylor Monroe. The pinch hit call was a successful one, as Thatcher sent a ball between first and second to bring Lookadoo home to score. Monroe replaced Thatcher on the base paths, and Mack laid down another successful bunt single to put runners on first and second. In a game Easton Lotus might like to forget, she lined out to continue an 0-4 day and end the top half of the inning. Louisville extended their lead to 2-0, but stranded their 7th and 8th runners on base and their third in scoring position. 

Zabala returned for the bottom of the sixth and got a flyout to open the side. A single followed before a grounder to third turned into a bit of a mess. The groundball was too slow to third to think about a double-play, but Ally Alexander still tried to get the lead runner. Her throw was a bit errant, though, and the fielder's choice attempt was charged an error to Alexander with both runners safe. No big deal, said Zabala, as she forced a liner to left field and both runners were forced to hold. Another grounder, though, led to another misplayed fielder's choice. No error was charged this time, but the result was the same. Louisville failed to get the out (this one would have been the final out of the inning) and instead the bases were loaded. The defensive miscues came home to roost on the next batter, when a single into left scored an unearned run (remember the runner on third was only still on base because of an error). That wasn't all, though, as Lorenz booted the ball in left, earning herself an error and giving Zabala a second unearned run. With the go-ahead run at third, Zabala forced a ground out to end the inning.

Louisville entered the seventh facing a new ballgame. There was no time to dwell on having squandered a hard-earned two-run lead. It was now time to put up or shut up, as the season was on the line. With Lorenz due up to open the inning, Louisville couldn't ask for much more in the way of a chance to retake the lead. Unfortunately, Lorenz and Despines went down quickly. Maddi Grant doubled to right center and Riley Janda replaced her on the base paths. Janda's speed came in handy when she advanced to third on a wild pitch, but she was stranded there (9, 4 in scoring position) to end the inning. 

Zabala returned for the seventh, and many at home may question the decision given the outcome. Zabala had plenty of gas in the tank, as she has shown her ability to pitch extended outings, but Virginia seemed to have dialed in on her. A single to left opened the inning, but a fielder's choice made it one on with one out. Zabala yielded her first walk of the game at an inopportune time, putting runners on first and second with just the one out. That set up a difficult position for the defense, as Virginia just needed to move the runner 120 feet to win. They did it all in one go, as a double to left center brought the run in to score. Cards lose 3-2. 

Louisville was facing a top-25 team for the umpteenth time this season, and they had them right where they wanted them... until they didn't. Yesterday's game was a bit of a microcosm of the season at large, with things going well at times but head-scratchingly overall. In the end, it was a Louisville defense that has not been nearly as sharp as in recent seasons that came unglued. Pitching was good but not quite nails, and a questionable management decision may have cost the Cards an opportunity to win. At the end of the day, though, you'd like to see a team that is six outs away from continuing their season be able to convert a 2-0 lead into a win. 

Zabala was pretty good in this one, despite potentially being left in the circle an inning too long. She finished with 6.1 innings pitched, giving up seven hits, three runs (one earned), one walk, and she struck out two. If she had been replaced after six innings, her line goes to five hits, two runs (none earned) and no walks. You'd like to think a start like that would lead to a win, but so it goes. I'm certain Zabala was confident in going back out for the seventh, and I think if she twirls another solid inning then no one is talking about it. But, to me, you have to enter the bottom of the seventh as if it's a new ball game. Without the lead, you're guaranteed to need at least six more outs. Was the plan to leave Zabala in for the eighth, as well, or would we have seen a cold pitcher trying to protect a lead if Louisville could take it? 

It's a decision that can be argued for the entire offseason, since Louisville played their way straight into an early end to the year. Officially, it isn't over yet. The Cards will head home and await the decision of the selection committee to determine if they'll sneak into the tournament. Given that they started the ACC tournament not even on the bubble, though, I'd say the team won't be holding their collective breath. There were plenty of bright spots, so we'll see if Holly Aprile can keep the core of this team together to build on for next season. 

Until next time, Go Cards

Case

Cards Can't Quite Complete Comeback -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Loses Opener 10-9

In a season of what if's, Louisville softball saw another opportunity for a huge win slip away last night. The game was pushed back to an 8PM start to avoid the last few showers rolling through the area, which may have been a good thing for Louisville's offense, who turned up late to the show anyway. The Cards were bombarded early, though, and despite late innings matching the early big ones from FSU, Louisville needed one more run in the bottom of the seventh to keep the game alive. The #7 Seminoles escaped and moved to 41-6, while the Cards fell to 23-22. 

Louisville got off to an unfortunate start when a full-count pitch that looked to be over the plate was ruled a ball instead of a strike for Alyssa Zabala against the leadoff hitter and a strikeout turned into a walk. Walks will haunt (as I've put in this column before) and this one did. The leadoff walk was followed by single, fielder's choice (run scored on E1), RBI single, RBI single, 2 RBI single (E9), pitching change. The Cards trailed 5-0, a runner stood on first, and nobody was out. Brooke Gray replaced Zabala and got a flyout, a fielder's choice out, and survived a single and Louisville's third fielding error before getting the leadoff hitter, back up for the second time in the inning, to foul out. The Cards nearly went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, but Char Lorenz singled before Camryn Lookadoo was hit by a pitch. Louisville couldn't bring a run in and trailed 5-0.

Louisville had three fielding errors in the inning. The good thing is that those were the only three they had in the game. The bad thing is that FSU just decided to score earned runs in the second inning instead. Gray rang up the first batter, but gave up a four-pitch walk to the second. A flyout gave the Cards two outs and it seemed like they might escape the inning. Two singles scored a run, and a triple scored two more before another single added the fourth of the inning. A fly out ended the side and, all of the sudden, Louisville was staring down a run-rule after two innings. 

Sensing the ability to rest the ace, FSU made a pitching change to start the second. Madison Pickens greeted the new pitcher with a leadoff single, but the Cards went down in order afterwards. Sam Booe replaced Gray in the top of the third, and Louisville managed their first inning without giving up a run. FSU turned their lineup over again, with the leadoff batter of the third being the Seminoles' leadoff batter in the order taking the plate for the third time in the game. Booe, like the FSU pitcher before her, gave up a single to start the inning but picked up three outs in succession afterwards.

In the third, Lorenz continued her normal approach of picking up hits when seemingly no one else can, singling down the third base line for the Cards only hit in the inning. The top of the fourth saw the Cards earn their first defensive 1-2-3 inning of the game, but they followed suit in the bottom half. After two quick flyouts in the fifth, FSU threatened again, using a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases. Booe was able to coax a flyout, though, and ended the inning with three runners stranded.

Down to their last opportunity with the run rule on the line, Holly Aprile turned to pinch hitters. Ava Venturelli led off by pinch hitting for Maddi Grant, but grounded out. Katie Thatcher pinch hit for Ally Alexander and doubled to right, quickly being swapped back for Alexander to run the bases. Easton Lotus finally found a gap and singled to left to score Louisville's first run. Riley Janda pinch hit for Chelsea Mack and doubled to left center to put runners on second and third. Lorenz reached once more, this time via fielding error, and Lotus scored to make it 9-2. Unfortunately, Lorenz ran herself off the basepaths by being caught stealing. Lookadoo reached via error as well, and Janda scored an unearned run. Bri Despines made that error burn even more with a two run homer to make it 9-5. Pickens fouled out but Louisville was right back in the game. 

The sixth inning opened with a dangerous double, which was made more dangerous by a ground out advancing the runner to third. Louisville's defense stepped up, though, and a liner to right caught the runner from third off guard. Whether it was an attempt to tag and score, or the runner didn't tag, a cannon from right field to the plate was thrown back to third where the runner was out. Double play, inning over. Louisville was still in play. Ally Alexander walked in the bottom half, but Louisville ultimately didn't threaten. Into the final inning we go, still 9-5. 

Booe opened the inning with a walk, but the runner was replaced on the next at bat by a fielder's choice. A steal meant that there was still a runner on second, though, which became a runner on third with two outs after a grounder. Clinging to hope, the chances got slimmer for Louisville when a single through the left side scored the run. Another single ended Sam Booe's day, and Lindsey Mullen came on to get a fly out and end the inning. 

In previous games, we've seen Louisville step up to the plate in the seventh with the game on the line and fold quickly. Not last night. Chelsea Mack hit a soft grounder back to the pitcher to lead off and beat out the single because of course she did. Lorenz picked a bad time to finally end her on base abilities in the game, though, flying out on the next at bat. Lookadoo doubled, putting runners on second and third with one out. Despines was hit by a pitch and all of the sudden, Louisville looked like they were in business. If not for the run in the top of the inning, the tying run would be at the plate. Pickens struck out, and now the Cards needed a two-out rally. Taylor Monroe was hit by a pitch to bring in a run and put the tying run at the plate. FSU made a pitching change, and Maddi Grant welcomed the new pitcher by walking in another run. Ally Alexander singled to score a pair and put the tying run on third base. Needing a base hit to keep the game alive and extra bases to potentially score the winning run from first, Lotus grounded straight back to the pitcher to end the game at a heartbreaking 10-9. 

That's a tough way to go out, to be sure, but Louisville's resilience was commendable. At the end of the day, the record shows just another loss, but the Cards see the latest in a line of missed opportunities against very good teams. With some luck, Louisville will be able to keep things rolling the way they did near the end of the game rather than repeat the early issues in today's second game of the series. The Cards will honor their seniors prior to the 3PM first pitch, with Izzy Harrison, Ally Alexander, Maddi Grant, and Sam Booe listed as seniors on the roster. Weather should hold out, so get out and support the team if you can. If not, the game will be carried on ACC Network Extra.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have three on board today, with Paulie, Jared, and me bringing you the latest in Louisville women's athletics. As is tradition, we'll be off next week for the Kentucky Derby, so check out this week's episode before the brief break. 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

Softball Falls; Volleyball Beats UK -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Can't Repeat Upset at UVA

After the big win on Thursday evening, Louisville looked to sneak the series from Virginia last night, but they'll have to wait until today if they want to finish the job. The Cavaliers scored first and poured it on late to break away and ultimately take an 8-2 victory. Louisville will get another chance at noon today. 

Louisville ran a bit of a different lineup yesterday, with Easton Lotus leading off but Char Lorenz following her instead of Chelsea Mack. Lotus bunted out before Lorenz had an infield single. Madison Pickens was next, and the box score gives her a single with Lorenz out at second, so I'm not quite sure what happened there. Sounds like a fielder's choice to me, but so it goes. Pickens stole second but Bri Despines ended the inning with another infield ground ball. Hey... at least the Cards were putting the bat on the ball. 

Brooke Gray got the start and UVA jumped on her quickly. A double down the left field line opened the inning and a sac bunt turned into a single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. A steal put two in scoring position and a ground ball back to Gray allowed both runners to advance, scoring a run. The trail runner taking the base was what haunted, as the next ball was a sacrifice fly to center. A ground out ended the inning but the Cavs led 2-0. 

Louisville got those runs back in the third. Chelsea Mack, batting ninth, singled up the middle and advanced to second on a Lotus sacrifice bunt. Lorenz got her second infield single and Mack moved up to third. Lorenz then ran herself off the base paths with a caught stealing, which is an interesting choice in the situation. Either way, Pickens singled to score Mack and Despines singled to keep the two-out rally alive. Camryn Lookadoo then hit a sharp grounder to short, but the shortstop missed the throw to second, allowing Despines and Lookadoo to reach safely and allowing Pickens to score, unearned. The defense recovered, with the shortstop herself refielding the ball and throwing Despines out at third. Inning over, but the score was tied again. 

The tie remained to the bottom of the fourth when UVA again grabbed a leadoff double. Instead of a sac bunt turning into a single this time, it turned into an error when the ball wasn't caught cleanly at first. The unearned run was returned, and UVA regained the lead. A fielder's choice erased the lead runner (and the second potential unearned run), but a two-run homer made it 5-2. Gray recovered for a line out to make it two outs, but a single and a walk ended her day. Zabala came on in relief needing to just get one out, but a single to center was booted and two more unearned runs came in to score. A flyout ended the inning, but the lead had grown to 7-2. 

The Cards stranded six runners on base over the final three innings and were unable to cut into the lead. UVA added an insurance run they didn't need to set the final score at 8-2 in the bottom of the sixth. With two on and nobody out in the seventh, Louisville's chances ended on a strikeout, an infield fly, and a flyball to straightaway center. Ballgame. 

With Zabala having only thrown 1.1 innings yesterday and Sam Booe having come in to throw one of her own, it's anyone's guess who will take the start in the rubber match this afternoon. Louisville will need another strong offensive showing if they want to get a series upset. The game will air on ACC Network Extra. 

Meske Wins First Battle of the Bluegrass

Does a spring exhibition count as a true rivalry game? You bet it does. At least when we win. If we lose it doesn't count. Makes sense, right? Either way, the Cards took on the Cats in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena last night in their fourth and final spring match in the first season of the Dan Meske Era. Over 1,000 fans were on hand to watch the Cards take the 3-1 victory. We're still selling out the L&N FCU Arena in spring ball. I think the volleyball support is doing just fine. 

The Cards won 25-17, 20-25, 25-16, and 25-14 and were led by Payton Petersen and Reese Robins who each had eight kills. Defensively, the Cards were on fire. Kamden Schrand, officially wearing the libero jersey full time, finished with 22 digs, and Nayelis Cabello was close behind with 18. Cabello also contributed three blocks and six kills to go with her 24 assists. Petersen added four blocks and Robins had two. Those four will certainly be names we'll get used to hearing throughout the season. 

Other players that earned shoutouts from the official gocards writeup were Cara Cresse, Chloe Chicoine, Hannah Sherman, Kalyssa Blackshear, Ava Utterback, Hannah Kenny, and Alanna Bankston. There will be a lot of new names to get acquainted with after a fair amount of turnover from last season, but things appear to be just fine after Louisville went 4-0 during their spring season. Last night, the Cards also honored Elle Glock with a special senior day ceremony of her own after Glock decided to forego her final season of eligibility to graduate and depart UofL in May. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have three on hand today, as house projects keep Daryl away. Given the updates from last time she was on the show, we'll definitely let that slide. Join us as we talk softball, lacrosse, volleyball, and a little WBB. 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 

Softball Splits Double Header at BC -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Drop Game 1, Win Game 2 

It's not often that you get a weekend series rubber match on Saturday, but that will be the case when the Cards and Eagles get today's game underway at 1PM. After the schedule change that Daryl mentioned yesterday, the teams played a pair yesterday afternoon, with Louisville scoring more runs overall in the two games but only winning one. 

Louisville's offense wasn't able to support Alyssa Zabala in the first game, though her 100th appearance for Louisville turned into a pretty sparkling start. Zabala played a bit with the strike zone, keeping the ball out of play a total of 12 times, as her five walks weren't great but she struck out seven batters in her six innings (a complete game since Louisville was away and trailed after the top of the seventh). Zabala gave up just four hits and finished with three runs all earned. Boston College struck first, and it was the first inning where Zabala gave up most of the negatives in her stat sheet. BC had just one hit in the inning, but Zabala gave up three walks and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch. She had one strikeout. That means, if you're doing the math at home, her remaining five innings had just three hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. Like I said, it turned into a sparkling start. 

Louisville was able to find only three hits in the game and they didn't earn any walks. However, they only struck out three times, so it was largely a matter of hitting the ball right to the defense. Char Lorenz had two of the three hits, picking up a two-out double in the first and a triple in the fourth. Madison Pickens further picked on the center fielder after Lorenz tripled to left center by going to right center for a triple of her own and scoring Lorenz from third. Unfortunately, Louisville couldn't bring Pickens in after she reached with one out, and the teams headed to the bottom of the fourth tied. 

Zabala gave up a walk in the bottom half but kept the game tied to give the Cards a chance to take the lead late. Louisville responded with a three-up, three-down inning, which was just their second at the time but was the first of three straight to end the game. In the fifth, Zabala gave up a lead-off walk. As they say, walks will haunt, and this one did. A strikeout was followed by a double to put runners on second and third with one out. An infield grounder led to a play at the plate, but with a base open, it wasn't a force play and the runner beat the tag. That set up a sacrifice fly for a second run in the inning and a strike out ended it, but too late. As I mentioned, Louisville didn't get on base in the final two innings. 

The second game looked like it might be a similar story offensively, and BC again scored first. This time it was Brooke Gray with the start and she pitched a complete game of her own. Gray gave up two runs, both earned, on six hits and two walks. She struck out six. The first run of the game came on a BC homer in the bottom of the first, and Gray locked down from there with five straight scoreless innings. 

Louisville was able to find the bases much more frequently in the second game, and good things often happen when they do. The team recorded eight hits and two walks, a marked improvement from the first game. Despite the increase in baserunners, Louisville was unable to find the plate until the fifth inning. In that one, they proved that anyone on the team is a threat on the base paths. Bri Despines walked to open the inning and stole second. She then came around to score on a Jac Hasty single, and Hasty advanced to second on the throw. Hasty's advancement was moot, as Taylor Monroe sent a ball over the fence to score the pair. With nobody out, Louisville turned over the lineup but couldn't score any additional runs. They did lead 3-1, though. 

With blood in the water, Louisville looked to capitalize after a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth for BC by loading the bases in the sixth. The Hasty walk, which came on a twelve-pitch at bat, was with two outs, though, and a fly out came up short of a grand slam to instead record the third out. BC thought they might have new life after surviving the threat as they opened the bottom of the sixth with a single, but Gray responded with two strikeouts and a pop out to end the inning. 

After going down in order in the fifth, the 9-1-2 hitters got to work in the seventh. Ally Alexander opened with a double and advanced to third on a productive ground out from Lotus. Chelsea Mack laid down a bunt single which froze the defense trying to prevent the run from scoring. With all eyes on Alexander at third, Mack advanced to second on what technically counts as a stolen base. Lorenz popped up to set up two outs, but Pickens was up to the moment and hit a double to left to score both runs. 

Gray came back out for the seventh and looked well in control holding a four run lead. She got a fly out to open the inning before giving up her second home run of the day to make it 5-2. A fly out and a foul out ended the game. 

Louisville was there or thereabouts throughout the two games yesterday, and they'll look for the first series win in a hot minute by taking the finale today. The game is at 1PM and will be available on ACC Network Extra. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

It was just be Paulie and me today in a return to the old days of the show being a two-man game. We'll have basketball news and plenty of spring sports to talk about, so be sure to have a listen. 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 

Softball Slide Continues -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Lose to IU 8-3

Louisville softball canceled their ACC bye week double-header against Oakland due to weather, which meant they entered last night's regional rivalry game with the taste of last week's unfortunate loss to Kentucky still in their mouths. Whether that played a part in their undoing in last night's game is hard to say, but it seems fair to assume they would have liked having the get-right opportunity to split the two difficult outings. As it was, Louisville saw an early lead disappear before the opposing offense opened it up for the second game in a row. 

Char Lorenz returned to the lineup for this one and immediately got back to her strong offensive ways. After Easton Lotus walked to open the game, her steal was rendered moot by Chelsea Mack walking behind her. Lorenz stepped in with a runner in scoring position and smacked a single up the middle. The hit was too shallow to send Lotus home, though, and the bases were loaded with nobody out instead. Bri Despines kept the bases loaded but failed to drive in a run when she grounded into a fielder's choice force out at home. Ally Alexander also grounded out, but hers was more productive. Shockingly so, in fact, as she earned a two-RBI fielder's choice. Her grounder to short was thrown to second to get the first out while a run scored, but instead of eating the throw to hold the runner at third, the second baseman threw to first to try to get the double play. Alexander beat the throw and Lorenz came home in the meantime. Taylor Monroe hit the third straight ground out and the inning ended with Louisville holding a 2-0 lead.

Alyssa Zabala got a ground out to open the game but found herself in a slight pickle after giving up two straight singles. A foul out put Louisville in a two-out situation and a grounder to Alexander at third gave them an easy third out when she stepped on the bag for the force out and an unassisted fielder's choice. 

The Cards threatened to score again in the second, with an error on a throw behind Camryn Lookadoo at second base allowing her and Easton Lotus to move up a base to put runners on second and third with two outs. A full-count strikeout ended the opportunity. Zabala gave up a walk to open the second and IU tried to employ some small ball. A sacrifice bunt put Indiana's potential first run in scoring position, but Zabala responded with two strikeouts to maintain the Louisville lead. 

Again the Cards put a runner on base early in the third, with Lorenz reaching on an error and advancing to second. She advanced to third on a one-out sacrifice bunt, but she was stranded there for Louisville's fourth runner left on base. Those runners would prove to be costly. IU greeted Zabala in the third with a first-pitch home run. Slightly rattled, Zabala played with the corners a bit too much and walked two straight batters on five pitches each. In a jam, she earned a foul out and a fly out to put the defense back on level footing with two outs and runners still only on first and second. A single up the middle tied the game at two before a ground out ended the inning. 

Entering the fourth, it was a new ball game, so Madison Pickens responded to IU's third inning homer with one of her own. It was the only run Louisville would score, as they stranded another runner at first base, but they had retaken the lead 3-2. Their newfound lead was short-lived. 

A pair of singles opened the bottom of the fourth, and Zabala heard her name called from the bullpen. Sam Booe entered and immediately made her job more difficult by walking the first batter she saw on four pitches. Bases loaded, nobody out. Worst spot to be in for a defense. A strikeout improved the situation slightly, but a full-count single on the 12th (!!) pitch of the at bat erased the Louisville lead and gave them a deficit for the first time. A steal put runners on second and third with one out, and IU laid down a squeeze bunt. Squeezes don't really work in softball since the runner can't leave early. The result of the play, since Louisville didn't want to give up a run for an out, was a bunt single, and the bases were reloaded with one out. Another two-strike single, this time only on the ninth pitch, scored another run and a fly out to center worked as a sacrifice with IU's sixth run tagged and scored. A strikeout mercifully ended the inning, but Louisville trailed 6-3. They would not recover.

The Cards had one runner reach in each of the final three innings, but they did not earn another hit. The runners came on an HBP, a walk, and an error. The seventh inning saw IU pick up the dreaded four-out inning (with three strikeouts), as Lorenz reached on an error after her third strike was dropped. The middle of the order struck out behind her and that was that. IU had poured it on against Booe in the fifth with a single and a homer before Izzy Harrison relieved her. Louisville's defense got to flash in that inning, with a one-out fly ball resulting in a double play. Runners stood on first and second, and a ball high and deep to left gave IU the chance to tag and attempt to advance. Lorenz made the catch and fired to Alexander, though, and the runner was tagged out to end the inning. Harrison returned in the sixth and gave up a single and walk before Brooke Gray came on to close the game in a desperate situation for the Cards for the second week in a row. 

Overall, Louisville managed just three hits, five walks, and reached on an HBP and two errors. They struck out six times and stranded eight runners on base. Meanwhile, IU benefitted from no Cardinal errors, but they had eight hits and seven walks. They struck out just five times and they managed to score eight runs while leaving 10 on base. Yes...  it could have been worse. For the second midweek rivalry game in succession, Louisville pitching wasn't up to the task. All eight runs were earned and the Cards offense, while not spectacular, had put the team in a position to win twice. It is what it is. 

Louisville returns to conference play this weekend, but they remain on the road. The Cards will head to Chestnut Hill for a three-game set against Boston College starting tomorrow at 4. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Softball to face IU in Bloomington -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Cards Look to Get on Win Streak with Visit to IU

Louisville Softball looks to end a four game losing streak this season and also a four game losing streak to Indiana when they visit IU for a Wednesday match up. 

It's a 6 p.m game, but will only  be available for viewing on the Big Ten Network Plus, unless you make the trip to Bloomington to watch it live. Big Ten Network Plus is a "pay for" channel and not automatically provided to Louisville viewers on cable or free on the Internet. . 

Louisville is 20-16 overall on the season and seems to be in a cycle lately where they win their non-conference matchups and lose their ACC games. UofL has lost four in a row to the Hoosiers, but won six in a row against them before that, and are 20-7 in the history of the series. 

IU enter the contest 26-10. 

Louisville had their two game series against Oakland cancelled due to expected (and received) inclement weather and the skies did unload on the Louisville area, with a lot of road and streets down by the Ohio River still unpassable. Schools in the Louisville area are still on "NTI"  as of Wednesday. The Cards did fall to UK 8-3 back on April 2nd in their last game. Games scheduled against Oakland were cancelled over last weekend and the kickoff to Derby festivities in Louisville, the huge fireworks and air show Thunder Over Louisville, was also canceled this year, since the Great Lawn, where any gather to view the event,  is still underwater. 

For Louisville on the softball diamond..., it seems to be a situation where the Cards can't get across the plate very well lately. Virginia Tech outscored Louisville 27-7 in their three game series back on March 14-16. UNC outscored the Cards 31-15 in the series at Chapel Hill, and UofL hasn't had a 10 run plus offensive performance since they bombarded NKU back on March 18th in Highland Heights. 

UofL isn't a team that is built on the long ball, either.  The have just 19 home runs on the season, while giving up 37. Char Lorenz is the only Card with more than five home runs on the season..,the redshirt freshman from Munster, IN. has six on the season and also leads Louisville in RBI's. 

Cards pitching isn't awful this year, but Holly Aprile has used seven pitchers in 36 games and they have a combined ERA of 4.37 per game. . Alyssa Zabala is still the "ace" of the staff, at 8-5...the other two regular starters are Sam Booe (4-3) and Brooke Gray (5-6). 

Lpuisville is currently tied for 12th place in the ACC Standings, at 20-16 and 3-9 in ACC play, tied with Boston College. 12 teams make the ACC  Tournament this year, a single elimination format. The CARDS have four (3) game series left against ACC opponents...at Boston College, at Virginia, hosting FSU and at Pitt, to end the regular season. 

paulie

Softball Falls in Game 1 vs Duke -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Comeback Comes Up Short

Louisville softball fell behind early in the opening game of their series against Duke yesterday, but they made a hard push to come back at the Blue Devils. Unfortunately, the hole was just a bit too deep for them to recover, and the teams will continue the weekend with Duke taking the 1-0 series lead after a 7-5 victory. 

Brooke Gray got the start for the Cards and the Blue Devils welcomed her into the game rather rudely. The leadoff batter laid down a bunt single and advanced to second on a first pitch single into right by the #2 hitter. A foul out gave Gray a chance to recover, but a walk loaded the bases with one out. In the heart of the order, Duke knocked a single into left, scoring two, and the batter advanced to second on what was considered an error by the left fielder. I assume this was a throwing error, but it isn't listed so.... who knows? Another single scored the two remaining baserunners, one being unearned, before a pair of fly outs ended the top half of the first. Louisville trailed 4-0.

To their credit, the Cards tried to respond immediately. Easton Lotus had an unfortunate foul out before Chelsea Mack was, shockingly, thrown out at first on a bunt single attempt. I guess teams are starting to look for that. Char Lorenz singled, and Bri Despines reached on an infield error. Taylor Monroe was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs, but a strikeout ended the rally. 

Gray settled in a bit in the second by taking care of a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. Unfortunately, Louisville responded with a 1-2-3 inning of their own. They were able to put the bat on the ball, but that doesn't offer much consolation. Gray returned in the third and went walk, flyout, steal, single before her day was ended. Sam Booe came on in a tough spot with runners on the corners and one out, but stepped up herself to help Gray's ERA a bit. After a steal put runners on second and third, a squeeze bunt attempt popped up and Booe flashed the leather to catch it herself. She then put together a seven-pitch strikeout to end the inning.

The bottom of the third was remarkably similar to the bottom of the first, with Lotus and Mack getting out, Lorenz singling, and Monroe taking an HBP to load the bases. The only difference was that Despines walked instead of reaching on an error. Katie Thatcher came in to pinch hit, but Louisville left the bases loaded for the second time in three innings. They still trailed 4-0.

For the good ending to the third she had, Booe's start to the fourth was similarly less than ideal. A pair of singles were followed by a fielder's choice to get the lead runner at third, but a walk loaded the bases anyway. A Duke single scored two and Lindsey Mullen came on in relief. Mullen was able to limit the damage with a strikeout and a fly out, but the lead had grown to 6-0. 

Louisville's offense finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth. After a groundout, Maddi Grant doubled to center and Riley Janda came on to pinch run. Ally Alexander hit a grounder straight to short, which is not really what you want with a runner on second, but the traffic on the base paths meant everyone ended up safe. With runners on the corners, Duke shifted into a five infielder set up, which Easton Lotus punished with a two-run triple to left. A groundout meant the Cards were down to their final out, but Lorenz stepped up with her third straight single to score Lotus. Not to be outdone, Despines got tired of reaching only first while at the plate, so she smoked a two-run homer to right center. Monroe couldn't pick up her third HBP of the game, but Louisville left the fourth down just one run: 6-5.

Unfortunately, the Cards wouldn't score again. Perhaps if they had one more inning, they could have had a five-run eighth, but that's not the way it goes. In their remaining three trips to the plate, Louisville mustered just one walk and one single, not in the same inning. Duke was largely held in check, as well, until a solo home run in the top of the seventh. That set the final at 7-5. 

Both teams were able to find success on opposing pitchers, but Louisville would have hoped for a bit more consistency at the plate and a bit more stability from the bullpen. Mullen pitched the best of the Cardinal hurlers yesterday, finishing with just three hits, one run, and a strikeout in 3.2 innings. Booe, as I mentioned, started out well but ended up giving up three hits, two runs, and a walk with one strikeout in her one full inning. Gray got dinged around in the first, but was helped out immensely by Booe in the third. She finished with five hits, four runs (three earned), two walks, and two strikeouts in 2.1 innings. 

Louisville's offense managed eight hits, two walks, and two HBP, and they scored all five of their runs on one pitcher. The Cards struck out four times, and although eight runners left on base doesn't seem like too terribly many, the fact that six of the eight were with the bases loaded is definitely painful. Char Lorenz continued to show why she's batting third, getting three hits in four at bats and Despines reached base three times as well. 

The Cards and Blue Devils will continue the series at 2PM today, with today's game airing on ACCN proper. Louisville will look to pick up a ranked win and fight for another series victory, while Duke tries to finish off the series and climb back to where they think they should be in the ACC standings. 

No CCRHP This Week

I know that last week I said we'd probably be back this week, but sometimes things go sideways. Our hosts are still a bit scattered, and some things have been abnormal, as you may have guessed from the column schedule. We appreciate your patience and continued support and we'll get the podcast back in your feeds as soon as we can. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Softball Gets Late Winner in Bowling Green -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Wednesday, folks. Let's start with a brief note on recent transfer portal news. While some of yesterday's revelations look to have immediately called Jared's Tuesday column about WBB returners to question, we don't typically trade in incomplete information here at Cardinal Couple. We'll address any major WBB news when its official, but for now, portal announcements don't serve to promote the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. 

Softball Takes 3-2 Victory Over WKU

In a bit of an oddity yesterday evening, WKU hosted a "Red Out" for the visiting team. WKU softball promoted the event, encouraging fans to wear red, only for WKU to take the field in traditional home whites while Louisville softball wore their red tops with red pants. Go Big Red, indeed. The Cards struck first and last in this one, breaking a tie in the sixth inning for a 3-2 win. 

Coming off of a discouraging Saturday and Sunday in Chapel Hill, Louisville headed down I-65 for their fourth in-state matchup of the season. WKU entered the game at just 15-13 overall, but they've played some tough competition already. Their losses include a pair to UK, a pair to Georgia Tech, and a pair to ranked Liberty. The Hilltoppers were coming off of a road trip to El Paso, where they went 1-2 against UTEP, so they may have been a bit more travel weary than the Cards. In the end, Louisville prevailed to improve to 4-0 against in-state competition this year. The Cards will really put that record to the test next Wednesday when they bring the Wildcats into Ulmer. 

Louisville took the plate first yesterday and got to work. After Easton Lotus had an unfortunate foul out on a 2-0 pitch, Chelsea Mack laid down her 2-0 attempt for a bunt to third. At this point, that's an automatic single. She likely would have stolen second, but she was helped out by a wild pitch to advance. In stepped Char Lorenz batting third. A note on Lorenz: other people have noticed her. This is good because she's pretty hard to ignore. Softball America issued their midseason lists and Lorenz was ranked as the top freshman in the ACC. Pretty good. It was a timely announcement, as Lorenz singled up the middle to score Mack and give Louisville the lead. She advanced to second on the throw to the plate, and she came around to score when Bri Despines doubled in the next at bat. Despines advanced to third on a throwing error, but Louisville couldn't continue the scoring rally. The Cards grabbed their gloves with a 2-0 lead. 

Alyssa Zabala got the start and took one batter too long to settle in. The WKU leadoff hitter smoked a double to open the bottom half of the first and advanced on back-to-back sacrifice flies to score. A walk and a ground out ended the inning, and Louisville maintained the lead. It looked as though they would immediately extend it, as Taylor Monroe tripled to lead off the second inning. After a line out, though, Ally Alexander hit a sharp grounder to shortstop that Monroe misread, taking off for home. The WKU shortstop threw to the plate instead of first and Monroe was tagged out. That was made doubly unfortunate when Lotus singled with two outs. The Cards couldn't bring a runner around, but they still led 2-1 heading into the home half. 

Zabala got a bit more comfortable in the second, working around a leadoff HBP to avoid any runs in the inning. Louisville went down in order in the third, and Zabala continued to show resilience. She was having a bit of trouble finding the zone, but her pitches were working to fool the WKU batters. Alyssa gave up two walks and a wild pitch in the third, but she also picked up a pair of swinging strikeouts, adding to the one she had in the second inning. 

Louisville tried to play small ball in the fourth after Jac Hasty singled to open the inning, but she was stranded at second after a sacrifice bunt was followed by two quick outs. Zabala had a fairly quick inning in the bottom half, giving up a full-count single after two fly outs and ending the threat with a pop out. Louisville went down 1-2-3 for the second time in the fifth inning, and Zabala returned to the circle for her fifth inning of work. In hindsight, Coach Holly Aprile might have considered pulling the trigger on relieving her a touch sooner. WKU opened with a double, and the Cards responded with an intentional walk to create a force out at any base. When a single loaded the bases, Aprile made the call to the bullpen and Brooke Gray entered a tough situation. 

Unfortunately for Zabala, Gray surrendered Zabala's win chance in the first at bat, giving up a four-pitch walk to score a run, tying the game and leaving the bases loaded. Fortunately for Louisville (and Zabala's ERA), Gray locked in after that. She struck out the next two batters to flip the situation from very bad (bases loaded, nobody out) to a fair bit less bad (two outs, force out at any base). A fly out ended the inning with the score tied 2-2. 

With the middle of the order due up, Louisville responded immediately. Despines laid down a first-pitch bunt up the first base line and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Hasty singled for the second time in the game, and Aprile chose to hold Despines at third. Riley Janda came in to pinch run for Hasty and immediately stole second. With two runners in scoring position, Monroe worked a strong at bat, fouling off strike three twice for an eight-pitch walk. Ava Venturelli pinch hit with the bases loaded and one out but fouled out. With the potential rally in danger, Louisville was bailed out by a wild pitch, with all three runners advancing 60 feet and Despines scoring the go-ahead run. Alexander ended up walking to reload the bases, but Lotus grounded out to end the threat. 

WKU tried to match Louisville's efforts in the bottom half, with the leadoff batter attempting a bunt up the first base line. She was thrown out, which was good because the next batter singled. Gray responded by forcing a fly ball, walked a pinch hitter in the DH spot, and forced another fly out to end the inning. Louisville's 2-4 hitters went down on just six pitches in the seventh, but Gray was up to the task. She answered the quick top half with an efficient bottom half, using just 12 pitches herself to force two ground outs and a pop out to end the game and earn herself the win. 

Louisville's offense wasn't lighting the world on fire, but that was largely due to a good outing from WKU's Rylan Smith. She threw 120 pitches in the complete game, giving up three earned runs on eight hits, two walks, and a pair of wild pitches. She struck out four. Zabala and Gray combined for 145 pitches, six hits, six walks, one WP, one HBP, and five strikeouts. The Cards left seven runners on base, including an uncharacteristic three from Lotus. Granted, those all came in one at bat. 

Louisville (20-12) returns home this weekend for a series with Duke. The Blue Devils are 21-12 so far this season with a 4-5 conference record. They went 2-1 against Clemson and Syracuse before being swept at home this past weekend by 9th-ranked Florida State. Duke was outscored 33-17 in the series, but they took the Seminoles to the wire on Saturday, losing 12-11. The Blue Devils will face East Carolina today before catching a flight to Louisville to start the series Friday. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case