Honors continue for Louisville Softball -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TRIO OF SOFTBALL CARDS HONORED

Bri Despines was named a 3rd String All-American by the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association), Camryn Lookadoo earned Rawlings/NFPA Gold Glove honors and Chelsea Mack received the New Balance/NFPA Golden Shoe award. 

Hey, all we need is a classy pair of slacks and colorful top and someone is ready for a night out on the town, right?

Despines checks in as the 11th All-American in Louisville Softball history. She joins Taylor Roby, Camryn Greenwood, Katie Keller, Alicia Wolny, Tori Collins, Taner Fowler, Melissa Roth (twice), Kristen Wadwell and Lacy Wood on the list. She batted .402 at the plate, with 66 hits and 70 RBI's. Opponents had to think twice about stealing a base on her, too...she threw out 12 runner trying. 

Lookadoo batted .382 this season with 60 hits and 58 RBI's. A junior out of Georgetown, KY (Great Crossings) and formerly a UK Wildcat was par excellence on the dirt with a .992 field average and only three errors all season. 

Mack has 87 hits and ended up second in the nation with 45 stolen bases. She batted .449 at the plate and joined the Cards when she also transferred from UK after her freshman season.  Out of Brecksville (OH) High School,  She was successful in 81 of her 83 base stealing attempts in 2022. 

Despines and Mack are done with their collegiate playing days, while Lookadoo has one more season. 

(Photos from UofL)

palie

paulie

Softball Cards move to 25th in D1 poll -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL MOVES TO 25TH IN D1 SOFTBALL POLL

Louisville softball (38-9) has reach a new pinnacle this season. The Cards are 25th in the NCAA D1 poll. It is their first top 25 ranking of the season. 

Louisville is one of five ACC schools in the top 25. Duke comes in at 13th, Virginia Tech is 16th, Stanford is 20th and  Clemson is 24th .

The Cards step out of conference play today with a game against in-state rival Kentucky. The Cats are 25-25 on the season and a dismal 1-20 in the SEC this season. The two played earlier in the season, at Lexington, and Louisville won a 8-7 thriller over the Cats. 

Game time is Ulmer is 6 p.m.it's at Ulmer Stadium and it will be shown on the ACC Network. 

The Cards swept their series with Pitt last time out and set a few records in the process. 

-- Chelsea Mack became the new record holder for most stolen bases by a Cardinals softball player with 37. Wise advice for any opposing catchers might be.."Don't turn your back on Chelsea Mack" 

-- Crossing Jordan? Not lately. Jordan Williams has hit safely in the last 19 games. That's also a Cardinals team record. 

-- Who's that girl on base? Why it's Easton Lotus! She has reached base safely in her last 40 games. She sets a new Cardinals record each time she gets on. 

We'll be following on the ACCNX and have a full report on it tomorrow. 

Today is Earth Day. Do something nice for our planet today.  It's also Jelly Bean Day. Have some jelly beans while you're dong that nice thing. 

paulie

Softball Evens Series -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Win 6-3 Over Cal

Louisville softball saw their long win streak end Thursday at Cal, but the Cards won yesterday evening (afternoon, depending on which timezone you use) to even the series at one game apiece. Louisville struck first, but they didn't hold the lead throughout. Ultimately, the Cards were able to put up more runs than Cal could answer with, though, and they held on to win to move to 31-8 (7-4). 

Louisville put the first two runners on base with Chelsea Mack and Easton Lotus, and Bri Despines made it count early. A single scored Mack, and a Camryn Lookadoo sacrifice bunt moved the runners up one 60 more feet. A sac fly scored Lotus, and Louisville led 2-0 before the inning ended. Brooke Gray got the start and was rewarded with a bunt pop-out on her first pitch. She walked the second batter but the defense helped her out with a double-play to end the inning. 

The Cards were unable to add to their lead in the second, and the middle of the Cal order jumped on Gray to open the bottom half. She gave up back-to-back solo home runs to tie the game at two before setting the next three batters down in order. The top of the third once more saw Louisville put a speedster on base to open the inning and a steal to threaten immediately. Despines grounded out but advanced Lotus to third, which turned out to be irrelevant when Lookadoo hit a ground-rule double to score the run. The Cards couldn't bring Lookadoo home, but Louisville had regained the lead 3-2. 

Gray settled back in and put up a three-up, three-down inning in the bottom of the third. The Cards added to their lead in the fourth on four hits, including a two-RBI triple from Chelsea Mack. Mack was brought home by Lotus for the third run of the inning, and Louisville led 6-2. Gray would continue to pitch well, giving up just two more hits and two more walks over the next three scoreless innings. Louisville was unable to add any other runs, and Coach Holly Aprile made a quick decision to relieve Gray when she gave up a leadoff single to open the seventh. 

Alyssa Zabala came in to close out the game, but not without a little drama. After a foul out, Zabala gave up a single to right center that allowed the leadoff runner to get all the way to third. A productive ground out advanced both runners, scoring one, but Zabala finished the Bears off with another ground out. Gray took the earned run, but she also finished with the win, moving her to 9-1 on the season. Louisville finished with the 6-3 victory. 

The Cards and Bears will close out the series today at 3PM to give Louisville time to return home for the holiday before they head back out next weekend. Today's series finale will be on ACC Network Extra.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Streak Continues -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Beat GT in Game 1

Louisville softball extended their season-high winning streak to eight games yesterday with a victory over Georgia Tech in the first game of their weekend series. The streak began with a win in the final game of the Clemson series, and last night's win over GT is Louisville's first ACC game since that Clemson win. The victory moved the Cards to 4-3 in conference, so a series win would keep Louisville over .500. A sweep would be even better. 

Alyssa Zabala started the game for the Cards and pitched well to open. Louisville supported her by taking the lead in the second on a Jordan Williams triple and extended that lead in the third with hits from Easton Lotus and Camryn Lookadoo. Lotus, by the way, has moved to the second spot in the lineup. That allows Louisville to take more advantage of Chelsea Mack's speed in the leadoff with Lotus's consistency helping bring her home. Zabala gave up a home run in the top of the fourth, but the Cards still held a 3-1 advantage after being unable to score in the bottom half. 

Zabala opened the fifth inning with a ground out, but then struggled to find the strike zone. She walked the next two batters on full counts, and a single loaded the bases. Anna Wise came in to replace her and things got weird. An infield single scored one run, and everyone advanced an extra base (including another run) on what was scored a fielding error by Bri Despines. A ground out scored a third run and Louisville's lead was gone. Another grounder was scored a fielding error by Lookadoo at first base and another unearned run scored. A fly out mercifully ended the inning, but Louisville's 3-1 lead had turned into a 5-3 deficit. 

Never fear, though, fans: Louisville responded. Riley Janda opened the inning with a walk, and Mack laid down a bunt single before Lotus was hit by a pitch to load the bases. GT made a pitching change, and Bri Despines welcomed the new pitcher by coaxing a four-pitch walk. Lookadoo also walked and the game was tied. A strikeout and a flyout that was too shallow to sacrifice made it look as though Louisville would strand the bases loaded, but Williams came up with her second triple of the game to clear the bases. A grounder ended the inning, but Louisville led 8-5. 

GT put two runners on in the sixth and one in the seventh, but Wise was able to keep any others from crossing the plate so 8-5 was the final score. Louisville and GT will continue the series today in chilly Louisville, with first pitch scheduled for 1PM. Today's game will stream on ACC Network Extra.

Floyd Signs with Racing

A second member of Karen Ferguson-Dayes's final senior class has signed an NWSL contract. After wearing purple for many matches in her University of Louisville career, goalkeeper Erynn Floyd will stick with the color and the city as she signed her first professional contract with Racing Louisville FC. The deal is for the remainder of the 2026 season (which just started) and carries a mutual option for 2027. I'm a bit surprised that Louisville didn't offer a longer deal, or that Floyd didn't sign such a deal elsewhere, but she'll be able to learn a ton behind Jordyn Bloomer, who stands out as one of the top keepers in the league. 

It's a bit of a crowded keeper room in Louisville, with Floyd becoming the fifth on the roster. In addition to Bloomer, she joins Olivia Sekany (Washington 2020), Cristina Roque (FSU 2024), and Maddie Prohaska (Auburn 2025). With a lot of youth (even Bloomer is only 28), there is still a lot of opportunity to find a full-time spot on the roster. This is a great opportunity for Erynn and we wish her the best in the beginning of her career. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Goes 3-1 on Weekend; Faces Evansville Tonight -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Score 34 in Shortened Cardinal Classic

Louisville softball was busy over the weekend, but we had our hands full with WBB in the ACC Tournament. The Cards hosted the Cardinal Classic in their final home non-conference weekend of the season. Louisville will participate in one more non-conference weekend event in a couple of weeks when they play in The Ohio State Tournament. Holly Aprile's squad was scheduled to play five games over the weekend, but a rainout on Friday meant that the game against LIU got the axe.

The Cards still opened the event on Friday, playing the first of a pair of games against Ball State. In Cardinals vs Cardinals action, Louisville ultimately fell 5-7 in the opener, creating an inauspicious start to their home event. Ball State tagged Alyssa Zabala for four runs in the top of the first before she was pulled after just two-thirds of an inning. Louisville was unable to tie the game, so Zabala officially took the loss, marking her first of the season. The Cards made a late rally in the sixth, scoring three runs in the bottom half to make it close, but their charge stopped there. 

The two teams played a rematch to open Saturday morning's events with a 9am start. Ball State scored first again, but this time Jayden Gohs held them to just one run in the opening frame, and Louisville scored a pair in the bottom half to gain the lead. Ball State wouldn't score again and Louisville went on to score in each of the five innings played. Gohs pitched all five and Louisville won in an 8-1 run rule. 

After opening the day at 9am Saturday, Louisville also closed it with a first pitch at 7pm. This time, they were taking on Illinois, and the Cards scored eight runs for the second time that day. Zabala got the start against the Illini and struggled in the first again. She gave up three runs before Louisville was able to stop the bleeding. This time, though, Zabala recovered, and twirled four scoreless before Illinois scored again. The Cards struggled to score for the first three innings, but they exploded for six in the fourth and tagged on two more in the fifth. Zabala allowed a run in the sixth to make it 8-4 in favor of Louisville, and Aprile gave her an opportunity to close the game out in the seventh. After Zabala gave up a single to open the inning, she got the hook and Anna Wise came in to clean up. A strikeout preceded a steal and a liner to third made gave Louisville two outs and a runner on second. A homer to deep left made it 8-6 and things got a bit nervier. Wise stayed cool and induced a ground ball to end the game. 

Louisville closed the weekend with another game against Illinois. This time, Madi Reeves got the start. Brooke Gray was conspicuously absent from the circle over the weekend, but she's been struggling of late. We may see her tonight against Evansville. Reeves pitched a solid first two innings but gave up three runs in the third. After a scoreless first two innings, matching Illinois, Louisville responded to their third inning outburst with one of their own. The Cards scored four in the third, marking their first of three innings with four runs. Louisville put up four more in the fourth and one in the fifth to set up a run-rule with a 9-3 lead. Illinois scored a pair in the sixth to stay alive, but the Cards added their final four runs in the bottom half to end the game. Gohs was the winner after coming on in relief in the fourth. 

Offensively, 34 runs over four games is quite good. Defensively, giving up 19 in four games is less good. At the end of the day, though, they went 3-1, so it's hard to complain too much. Taylor Monroe got off to a good start going 3-3 with three RBI in the first game against Ball State but didn't play for the rest of the weekend. Addy O'Dell replaced Monroe at short and had a strong three games. Her best came in the Sunday game against Illinois, where she went 2-3, scored three runs, and had an RBI on her first collegiate home run. In that game, she had one of Louisville's six doubles. The big bats came against Ball State Saturday morning, when Louisville hit three home runs (Camryn Lookadoo, Madison Pickens, and Katie Thatcher). Lookadoo led the team with eight RBI on the weekend and tied with Easton Lotus and Chelsea Mack for the team lead in hits (7). 

The Cards will face Evansville this evening with first pitch scheduled for 6pm. Evansville is off to a tough start this season, as they're just 7-12. The two teams don't have a common opponent, as the Purple Aces' scheduled game against Ball State on 2/15 was canceled. The Aces are coming off their conference opening weekend, where they lost an extremely close series against Illinois State at home. The series was determined by just one total run with final scores of 2-3, 5-6 (9 innings), and 8-7. Louisville's 3-1 weekend brought their season record to 18-5. If they aren't receiving votes in this week's poll, a win tonight and a series win on the road against current #25 Clemson could get them there. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball 1-1 After Day One -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Opens Season With Split

The Cards took to the sunny climes of Florida for the beginning of the softball season, as they do annually, and began their 2026 campaign with a victory. The joy of a 7-4 win over Stony Brook was a bit short lived, though, as they fell at the hands of the hosting FIU Panthers 5-7 in the later game. Louisville will get a chance for payback against FIU tomorrow morning, but they have a pair of games today first. The Cards take on Corpus Christi at 11:30 this morning and will face Lehigh this evening at 4:30. 

In the first game, Louisville fell behind in the second inning 1-0, but turned their fortunes around with a four-run third. They tacked on a single run in the fifth and their final two in the sixth before needing to hold on to their lead against a three-run seventh inning for Stony Brook. Brooke Gray got the start in game one and pitched four innings of one-run ball. She gave up three hits and hit one batter but tallied three strikeouts and no walks. Two of the three hits came in the second inning to set up the sacrifice fly that scored her only earned run, but it was a decent start for the junior. 

Offensively in game one, Louisville was led by Madison Pickens, who has moved into the third spot in the lineup, as she had two triples. One resulted in an RBI and a little-league home run as she scored on a throwing error by the left fielder, and the other saw her batted in for the Cards' fifth run of the game. Taylor Monroe also had a pair of hits, and Riley Janda had Louisville's only home run. Small ball and speed will likely reign again for Louisville, as the Cards had three stolen bases (Easton Lotus, Chelsea Mack, Bri Despines). 

In game two, the Cards jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first, but FIU responded immediately to take the lead by the end of the inning. The Cards got back-to-back solo homers from Pickens and Despines in the inning, but Alyssa Zabala had a nightmare start in her season opener. Zabala gave up four straight hits and an error put a fifth straight batter on base before Zabala was replaced by Anna Wise. Alyssa will surely be back to her normal form sooner rather than later, but she's sitting on the dreaded "infinity" ERA at the moment. 

Anna Wise settled in and got out of the inning with some defensive help, but Louisville trailed 3-2. The sophomore transfer from Ohio University pitched well as the quasi starter after that, going five innings before she ran into trouble. In the meantime, Louisville scored in the fifth on a Camryn Lookadoo double to tie the game. Things unraveled a bit for Wise in the sixth inning, but it was the defense that ultimately let this one slip away. Wise opened the inning with a popup, but a pair of singles followed. A fly out left runners on first and second with two outs. 

Easy enough, you might think, but not quite. A ground ball back to the pitcher was unable to be converted to the final out, and the bases were loaded. It was a tough call for Holly Aprile to put a freshman in a tie game with the bases loaded, but she trusted her gut. It didn't quite work out. Jayden Gohs took over in the circle and walked in the go-ahead run. Unfortunately, the defense made a bad situation worse when Taylor Monroe sailed a throw from short that could have ended the inning and instead scored a pair of unearned runs. A double added one more unearned run and the Cards trailed 7-3 with one more trip to the plate. 

To their credit, the Cards put up a valiant effort in the seventh. Katie Thatcher walked to open the inning, and Lookadoo singled to try to start a rally. FIU made a pitching change, which looked to be the right call as Easton Lotus struck out, but Chelsea Mack laid down a bunt that scored two runs on an errant throw. Mack advanced all the way to third and with a runner in scoring position, one out, and the heart of the order due up, Louisville wasn't quite out of it yet. Their hopes were dashed in fairly short order, though, as Pickens and Despines both lined out to end the game. 

There's a long season ahead, and Louisville gets back into it today. There's plenty of good and bad to take from the opening day of games, so we'll just see what the Cards do with the rest of their weekend. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

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

Softball Hosts Western Kentucky -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Hosts Western Kentucky

Following a seven-game road trip, Louisville softball returns home to Ulmer Stadium for a four-game stretch. First on the docket is a rematch with Western Kentucky. The Cards beat the Hilltoppers 3-2 earlier this season in Bowling Green.

WKU is 24-19 on the season including 10-10 in Conference USA. Most recently, the Toppers swept New Mexico State at home but was run-ruled by Kentucky before that.

Only two Western Kentucky players are currently hitting over .300- Maci Masters with a .320 batting average across 125 at bats and Jenna Blanton with a .545 batting average across 44 at bats. They hit .270 as a team with 204 runs scored. Roughly 10% of their total hits are home runs.

From a pitching standpoint, four Toppers have stepped foot in the circle. They have a combined 3.47 ERA this season, giving up 282 hits and 165 runs. They have struck out 196 batters compared to 149 walks.

For Louisville, where the Cards have lacked in power hitting, they have made up for in speed and aggressive base running. The lead the ACC with 89 stolen bases, 2.07 steals per game, and 23 triples. Chelsea Mack and Easton Lotus lead the conference with 18 steals apiece. The 23 triples is also good for third-best in the country. They rank in the top 15 in stolen bases per game.

Louisville is 4-1 against in-state opponents this season and look to improve on that mark tonight. First pitch is set for 6:00 pm and will be aired on ACCNX.

(Photos by Jared)

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Beats CMU; Big Game for WBB -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Hangs on to Beat CMU 13-9

After it looked like a run-rule was in order early in yesterday's game against Central Michigan, Louisville ultimately had to buckle down and defend a much closer than expected lead against the Chips. In the end, the Cards never trailed, and put the game away with a 3-run sixth to deflate CMU's comeback hopes. 

Lindsey Mullen got the start yesterday afternoon and put herself in a bit of a jam early. After a leadoff flyout, Mullen split a pair of singles with a strikeout. A steal put runners on second and third with two outs, but Lindsey was able to coax a full count infield pop-up to end the inning. Louisville's offense immediately went to work to protect her. Easton Lotus opened with a single, and Chelsea Mack followed with a bunt single, again proving why even a sacrifice bunt isn't safe for the defense against her. Bri Despines punished the Chips right away with a first pitch double to score Lotus. Char Lorenz then singled straight up the middle to score the pair, and moved to second as the defense tried to throw out Despines at home. A steal put Lorenz at third, and CMU finally got an out by striking out Madison Pickens. Taylor Monroe had an RBI single to score Lorenz but was thrown out trying to stretch for second. Katie Thatcher stepped in, determined she didn't need anyone on base to pick up an RBI, and dumped her first home run of the season over the fence in left-center. A flyout ended the inning and the Cards led 5-0.

Mullen flirted with danger again in the top of the second, as she and Pickens (starting at catcher) struggled to get on the same page. A leadoff single turned into a runner in scoring position on a passed ball. Another single put runners on the corners and another passed ball put two in scoring position. Mullen got the first out with a weak grounder straight back to the circle that held the runners. She then walked the younger Lotus sister to load the bases with one out. Mullen was able to dig deep and find the outs, though, putting up a pair of Ks to strand the bases loaded. 

Ally Alexander opened the bottom half with a single and moved to second on an error. She got a bit greedy, though, and the catcher got her revenge for the error, when Alexander was picked off by a throw behind. The pickoff was costly, as Lotus then doubled to left-center. A productive ground out from Mack moved Lots to third, and Despines singled her home. Another Char Lorenz single put two in scoring position as Lorenz advanced on the throw, and Pickens made up for her out in the first with a two-run double. Pickens, unfortunately, overran the bag at second expecting a throw home, but the cut off went to second instead and she was too late to retreat. Louisville added three to their lead and held an 8-0 advantage.

Lindsey Mullen's luck ran out in the third. Though she picked up her fourth strikeout of the game on the second batter of the inning, it followed a leadoff double. A bunt single put runners on the corners, and a one-out single scored a run and left two on. Izzy Harrison came on in relief, but her outing was short lived. After nine pitches walked the bases loaded and a run in, Ryann Sanders took the circle to face Emma Lotus. Lotus walked for the second time, this time intentionally after a wild pitch scored a run and opened a base. Sanders then got a pop out and a flyout to end the inning. As Mullen put all three runners that scored on base, she inherited the runs, giving her a final line of 2.1 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts. It wasn't terrible given that we haven't seen much of her this season, but it does potentially speak to why the circle has largely been limited to Alyssa Zabala, Sam Booe, and Brooke Gray. 

As CMU's offense warmed up, Louisville's cooled off. The Cards saw a new pitcher in the third and went three up, three down on just seven pitches. Sanders came back out for the fourth and got a good start, picking up a pair of fly outs to open the inning. Back to back two-strike singles were followed by a full-count single to score a run, and Holly Aprile called on Sam Booe in relief. Booe gave up a single to allow a second run to come in, but picked up a ground out to end the inning. 

The Cards added two more in the bottom of the fourth, with the top of the order leading the way again. Lotus got her third hit in as many at-bats, and Mack had another bunt single to advance her. Despines moved both up with a ground out, and Lorenz matched Lotus's continuation of the perfect day by doubling in the pair. Pickens at bat is listed as "out at first 1b to 2b" so I have to assume it was a bunt attempt. Why they left off the "grounded out" part is unclear, but oh well. Louisville extended their lead back to 10-5. 

With Booe in the circle, Aprile shuffled the defensive lineup to get Despines behind the plate. Pickens was moved to right and Thatcher stepped off the field into the DP slot. The move didn't appear to help a ton, as Booe gave up a pair of singles to open the inning anyway. She settled in, though, as the Cards used three straight ground balls to end the inning, never throwing it to first (FC to third, FC to second, FC at second unassisted). The offense faced another three up, three down in the bottom half. 

Sam Booe became the next victim of CMU's resilient offense. A leadoff single was followed by a full-count walk and a four-pitch walk, and Aprile pulled the plug again. In a five-run game with the bases loaded and nobody out, Aprile turned to Brooke Gray as her fifth pitcher of the day. It looked like a great decision, as Gray struck out the first two batters she faced to quickly flip the script of the inning for CMU. Unfortunately, it took one swing of the bat to flip it right back. On the eighth pitch of a full-count at-bat, Carly Sleeman sent one over the fence in left-center for a grand slam. Another full count drew a walk, but Gray got the flyout to end the inning. Booe was credited with three of the runs, and Louisville's lead was just 10-9. 

The Cards responded one more time, with Alexander opening the inning with a double. Lotus followed with a ground ball to third that was ruled a single and an error, as the throw missed the mark but was late anyway. Alexander scored and Lotus moved to second. Mack singled up the middle and moved to second on the throw home, where Easton was beaten to the plate by the throw from her sister Emma in center field. Despines tripled to score Mack, and Lorenz's perfect day ended on a pop up. Pickens singled to score Despines, and Ava Venturelli had a pinch-hit double. Pickens held at third, though, and a foul out ended the inning with no more runs. Louisville pushed the lead back to 13-9, which is where it stayed. Gray pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning and the Cards celebrated the victory. 

Louisville's top of the order showed why the offense can be so dangerous today. The first four hitters in the lineup all hit at least .750, with Lotus going a perfect 4-4. Among their 13 (!) hits, those four accounted for 18 total bases. They scored 11 of Louisville's runs and had eight of the RBIs. Preeeeeetty good. They also didn't leave any runners on base. Louisville, as a team, finished with 20 hits for 31 total bases and only left three runners on base. The Cards saw the ball well, striking out just once as a team and drawing no walks. That's right. They had 20 hits on 34 at bats and had just one strikeout. They didn't reach base via walk or error, as both CMU throwing errors were ruled hits before the errors. 

On the pitching side, it was a weird day. There's a strong chance that the cold and wind played a part, but nine earned runs on fifteen hits and seven walks is a yikes. Louisville matched the seven walks with seven strikeouts, but those seven Ks came from pitchers who threw just two of the walks. They'll want to clean that up. 

Louisville made the decision, as the wind stayed strong and the temperature dropped, to cancel yesterday evening's game against Northwestern. The Cards will face the Wildcats in the final game of the Cardinal Classic today at 1:30. Louisville moved to 14-5 with the win yesterday, and they'll see if they can continue what has been a good showing against Big Ten schools so far this year. If you don't feel like heading out to sit in the 30 degree weather at Ulmer, the game will be available on ACCNX. 

WBB Closes Regular Season at Notre Dame

Today is a big one. College Gameday is in South Bend for #25 Louisville and #3 Notre Dame for what is a huge game for both teams. After the win on Sunday against UNC slipped through Louisville's fingers, the Cards find themselves on the wrong side of the double-bye cut line entering the final day. Everything went wrong for Louisville Thursday, despite the victory over Clemson, as Duke beat the Tar out of the Heels, and FSU upset Notre Dame in South Bend to set up a four-way tie for third in the conference. 

This game has been big for Notre Dame since last Sunday, when they lost in double-overtime in Raleigh. The loss put ND and NC State on a collision course for a tie atop the league, with NC State holding the tiebreaker. Notre Dame's loss on Thursday made today's game even more dire. The Irish must win and have NC State lose at SMU to take the top spot. They'd also like to avoid a three game losing streak to close the season, and a Louisville win would give ND back-to-back home losses. Things aren't looking good for Louisville in the "Notre Dame motivation" department. 

On the Louisville side, the Cards are in a pickle. Four teams are vying for two spots among the double-byes. On decision day, UNC plays Virginia in Chapel Hill, and Duke and FSU play each other in Tallahassee. Let's look at the scenarios. One of Duke and FSU will go to 14-4. Louisville holds the two-way tiebreaker over both teams, so the two-way scenarios are simple. If Louisville wins and UNC loses, the Cards will be the 3-seed. If Louisville loses and UNC wins, Louisville will be the 5-seed. 

Now here's where things get a bit tricky, as Louisville and UNC getting the same result triggers a three-way tie. The first three-way tiebreaker is the record amongst the teams in the tie. Louisville has played each team just once, which puts them at a minor disadvantage. Louisville will be 1-1 in this category regardless of who wins the Duke/FSU game. UNC played Duke twice, going 1-1, and FSU once, going 0-1. That means a three-way tie with Duke would be UNC (2-1),  Louisville (1-1), and Duke (1-2). A three-way tie with FSU would see all three teams at 1-1, which triggers tiebreaker 2: record against highest rated teams. Now the battle for first comes back into play. UNC beat NC State, so if the Wolfpack are first in the league, UNC wins the three-way tie and Louisville then holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over FSU. If the Irish are first, FSU takes the three-way tie and UNC holds the head-to-head over Louisville.

Because UNC holds both three-way tiebreakers over Louisville, the Cards cannot get the 4-seed with a loss. Louisville and UNC both losing would mean Duke/FSU winner takes the 3-seed and UNC takes the 4-seed. However, this also means that Louisville can guarantee themselves a double-bye with a win. If Louisville beats Notre Dame, the Irish will be second in the league, regardless of the result of the NC State game against SMU. That means that UNC will win either three-way tiebreaker, and Louisville holds the head-to-head over Duke and FSU.

So, despite all the convoluted tiebreaker scenarios, Louisville's fate is actually pretty simple: win and you get a double-bye; lose and you don't. No pressure, Cards.

Today's game tips at noon on ESPN. 

ACC Tournament Pick 'Em 

Later today, we we ill know the seedings for the ACC Tournament. We will have our annual Pick 'Em...and you can enter in pour comments sections..up to tip off Wednesday. We will also have Sonya's pick in  the comments later today...winner hets their choice between a Cracker Barrel Gift Card or a Wagner's Restaaurant ( a UofL favorite...) Gift Card...a $25  card!  The tournament is free, just make sure to enter a total score for the final game guess, in case of ties. closest to wins... 

Fire away in the comments section when we have an offiicial finish...

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Wins Home Opener -- WBB Senior Day Tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Open Home Season With Blowout Win

Louisville softball had a warm welcome home, both figuratively and literally, as they defeated crosstown rival Bellarmine 10-0 in five innings. Temperatures broke into the 70s for the first time of the 2025 calendar year and the Cards couldn't be stopped with aggressive baserunning.

The Cards pieced together 10 runs on 10 hits while capitalizing on a pair of Bellarmine errors and multiple obstruction calls.

Brooke Gray got the start in the circle for the Cards, earning her third win on the early season. In her three innings of work, Gray surrendered two hits but maintained a shutout. Izzy Harrison came in relief for the final two innings, striking out six and walking one.

Louisville jumped out front early. After Chelsea Mack and Bri Despines found ways to get on base and advance to scoring position, Char Lorenz drove both runners in. The Cards recorded four successful steals in the first inning.

With two outs in the second inning, Louisville pieced together a four-run rally with Easton Lotus, Bri Despines, Chelsea Mack, and Madison Pickens crossing the plate.

Louisville did more damage in the third inning before recording any outs. Maddi Grant led off with the only triple of the game and was followed by a double by Ally Alexander. Easton Lotus followed with a single and the Cards found themselves threatening to run rule the Knights.

In the fourth inning, UofL pieced together two more runs to add a little insurance. The inning was highlighted by a 10-pitch at bat for Taylor Monroe, who capped it off with an rbi double.

Louisville finished the game 8-for-9 on steals with the only unsuccessful attempt coming in the fourth inning. The Cards had five multi-base hits and had no strikeouts on the offensive end.

The Cards remain home to host the Cardinal Classic this weekend. They will play five games from Friday-Sunday. 

Cards WBB Host Clemson for Senior Day

Photo by Go Cards

Senior Day for Louisville women's basketball has already arrived. The Cards will face off against Clemson at 6:00pm for their final home game of the regular season. It will be aired on tv on ACC Network.

Prior to the game, Olivia Cochran, Merissah Russell, Jayda Curry, and Ja'Leah Williams will be recognized in the Senior Ceremony. Cochran and Russell are both five-year players at Louisville. Curry has been with the Cards for the last two seasons while Williams used her final year of eligibility at Louisville this season.

Clemson, under first year head coach Shawn Poppie, is 13-14 this season. The sit near the bottom of the ACC at 6-10. The former Clemson had coach, Amanda Butler, is on the Louisville coaching staff as an assistant

Photo by Go Cards

While the Tigers don't have a ton of strengths, they have been efficient with their three-point shooting and have had strong bench scoring. Loyal McQueen is one of the best point guards in the country, averaging 5.0 assists per game. Hannah Kohn has proved to be one of the best three-point shooters nationally with 75 made threes and nearly three per game.

Louisville leads the all-time series, 12-3. All 12 wins have come since the Cards joined the ACC. Last year, Louisville went down to Littlejohn Coliseum and won 81-64.

WALZ PRESSER 2/26/25

(Softball photos by Jared)

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Newcomers in the New Year; Part 1 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

New Faces in Spring Sports

The turning of the calendar page to January means all kinds of things. For example, now I can officially ignore the oversized planner that spanned the 2023-24 academic calendar in favor of the more compact 2024 planner that I bought in November rather than only unofficially ignore it. It also means that we'll start to think about spring, despite winter beginning just over two weeks ago. Funny how your brain works, right?

While we're just getting into conference play in basketball, spring sports will be on us in hurry, so let's take a little bit to look at the new names we'll need to get used to in softball and lacrosse this season. This will be a two part series, as I'll cover softball today and lacrosse on Saturday. 

Softball Sees Big Turnover

The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away. Last season's softball team saw quite a bit of the taking, so a fair bit of giving was needed to fill the spots. Right out of the gate (we're going to go in number order because it's easiest to compare the rosters) we see a change. 

Wearing 00 for Louisville in 2024 will not be Cassie Grizzard, as she transferred to Virginia Tech. Instead, it will be Izzy Harrison, the junior transfer from UK. Harrison is a right-handed pitcher who made 10 starts in 27 appearances for the Wildcats. She threw 47 strikeouts in 42.2 innings. The Franklin, Indiana native was 3-3 in decisions at UK, with a 6.40 ERA. She threw two complete games. Harrison is a one-way player, as she saw only one at-bat in her two seasons with the Cats. Louisville needs to replace a lot of pitching, so we'll hope that Holly Aprile can calm Harrison down in the circle to reduce the number of walks and runs allowed.

Brooke Gray is the big name here. Gray comes in as the KY Gatorade Softball Player of the Year and Kentucky's Miss Softball. Gray was the MVP of the 2022 and 2023 state tournaments, both of which Ballard won. In her final two seasons with Ballard, Gray was 57-0 and struck out 687 in 376 innings. Her ERA was 0.82 as a junior and 0.81 as a senior. Gray is among the most lauded incoming freshmen that Louisville has had in any sport, especially as a hometown hero. Gray will join Alyssa Zabala as the two leaders on the pitching staff, as the Cards have to replace starts vacated by Taylor Roby. Gray can't help fill the void in the batter's box, but she should be a sight to see in the circle. Oh yeah... and Gray wears #1.

We won't dwell on the missing number 2 here, as Paige Geraghty retains the 3 (it's Sarah Gordon, the star catcher who transferred to Georgia. You remember her. Let's not talk about it.) We got one whole player before a new face showed up again. Bailee Richardson transfers in from Georgia State and wears number 4. I wrote a bit about Richardson at the time that her transfer was announced, because it was the summer and news was gold. Richardson was the team leader in RBIs (33), doubles (8), home runs (9), and slugging percentage (.551). In that article, I prognosticated that Richardson would slot in next to her former teammate, Daisy Hess, on the left side of the infield. With Easton Lotus at second, that would still seem a safe bet. I also suggested that might move Ally Alexander to catcher. We'll talk more about that in a bit.

After Pickle Winkler, we say goodbye to the number 7 as Hannah File graduates, but we haven't gotten rid of the 8. That's right, someone will step into the very big shoes left by Taylor Roby and wear the 8. Ava Venturelli is a freshman outfielder from Taunton, Massachusetts. You may remember that Louisville needs an outfielder as Korbe Otis also departed. Venturelli (a few times typing that and she might just become Ava) was a three-peat champion in high school and was nominated for the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. She was named the 20th overall recruit by Extra Innings and was No. 71 in the Extra Elite 100. Venturelli hit .479 with a .565 OBP as a senior and had 9 home runs and 35 RBIs. Her power was down a bit, but perhaps because she was being walked after hitting .457 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs as a junior. 

Two more newbies come after Vanessa Miller. Chelsea Mack is a sophomore transfer from UK, joining Harrison as a player changing allegiances. Louisville's new #10 was a role player for UK, as she saw just 13 at-bats last season. She was used as a pinch runner effectively, as she stole 8 bases and scored six runs. One of each of those came in UK's win over Louisville. Mack hit .231 with three singles and had one strikeout. Experience is hard to come by as a freshman, but I think that the outfielder could find a spot in this lineup.

Char Lorenz

Jac Hasty

Next is one of the reasons I'm confused about Louisville's infield. Jac Hasty is a C/INF from Chesapeake, Virginia. Hasty joins Kiley Goff (39) and Char Lorenz (42) as incoming catchers, so I'm just going to talk about them all here. Goff seems most likely to win the spot. She's a senior transfer from Maryland who started her career in her backyard at Purdue. She's from West Lafayette. In her freshman season, she started 40 games and played in all 44. She was second on the team in runs and hits and led the team in triples. Last season with Maryland, she started 54 games, primarily as a catcher. She led the team in runs and led the Big Ten in thrown out baserunners. On the base paths herself, Goff was 18-22. Pretty good. Hasty and Lorenz, both freshman, will have their work cut out for them against a veteran like Goff, especially one with her numbers already in college. Both freshmen come with success of their own in high school, so we'll keep an eye on how this battle plays out. 

Kiley Goff

For the first time after Hasty at 11, we have two players back-to-back that are returning, both of whom I've already mentioned (12-Lotus, 13-Zabala). Riley Frizell is the next newcomer at 14, and she transfers in from Missouri. The infielder (wait, there are a bunch of those) started in 49 games for the Tigers last year, 28 times at 1B and 21 times at DP. We'll have to get used to a regular designated player without Roby playing two ways every other game. As a junior, Frizell hit .216 with five doubles, a triple, five homers, and 22 RBI. Her OBP ticks up a bit to .284, but her .665 OPS isn't stunning. Where she excels is on defense. Frizell finished with a .977 fielding percentage as a freshman, dropped slightly to .962 as a sophomore (only 2 errors on 53 chances), and then posted a 1.000 fielding percentage last year with 213 putouts and five assists. Louisville needs consistency on defense. Perhaps Frizell can help provide it.

Had Frizell worn 77 like she did at Mizzou instead of 14, we would have had six uninterrupted players, so the next four (Forsythe, Holloway, Hess, and Alexander) are veterans on the team. Katie Thatcher wears 24, replacing Mikayla Hurst in the number. (I didn't mention it earlier, but Jac Hasty inherits the 11 from Taja Felder.) Thatcher is a utility player that bats and throws left-handed. The freshman from Rock Falls, Illinois is an on-base machine, as she hit .553 as a senior. She turned 57 hits in 51 runs and 42 RBIs while only hitting 9 homers. Though not listed as a pitcher on Louisville's roster, Thatcher was 19-3 with a 1.81 ERA and 214 strikeouts last year. She was named to the first team all-state team last year and was first team all-conference in the last two. Thatcher was named the 2023 Sauk Valley Player of the Year.

Maddi Grant wears 25, Sam Booe wears 51, and I've already talked about Kiley Goff and Char Lorenz. That means that Lindsey Mullen (28) is the last newcomer (players only) on the squad. Mullen is a freshman from Leesburg, Virginia and is a right-handed pitcher. We'll see whether or not she plays both ways at UofL, but Mullen added a .469 average and 8 homers to her sparkling 0.39 ERA last season. She also struck out 193 batters in 89.2 innings. Mullen was the 4C Co-Region Player of the Year last year and helped her team to the state quarterfinals. Lindsey will join what looks to be an impressive bunch of arms to try to solidify what has been a sore spot for the Cards of late, despite strong individual performances. 

In addition to the players, Holly Aprile's coaching staff sees a bit of a shakeup this year. Griffin Joiner remains the first assistant, but the rest of the staff (with the exception of an undergraduate manager) turns over. Bryce Neal and Casey Bonk are out as assistant coach and director of operations and Aprile brings in two assistants as well as a new ops director in response. Bryan Sabatella comes over after two seasons as the hitting and infield coach at Utah Tech and DeeDee Morris joins the staff after 8 seasons as an assistant at Mount St. Joseph University. Morris joined the Mount after a year as a Graduate assistant at her alma mater, NKU. Jeremy Randolph is the new director of operations, coming to Louisville after two years in the same role for the UCF baseball team. Randolph played most of his collegiate ball for Wright State before moving to Alabama as a graduate transfer. Randolph led the Tide in appearances (22) and saves (9) in 2019 before being drafted by the Cardinals in the 26th round. He joined the staff at UCF after one year in the minors. 

All in all, the Cards welcome 11 new players to the roster and say goodbye to just seven. It should be an exciting season this year as Louisville looks to build on an NCAA Regional appearance from a year ago. The Cards will get underway in just over a month as they kick off the season at the FGCU Classic on February 9th.

As I mentioned, tune in for the continuation of this miniseries on Saturday when we look at lacrosse.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

All photos are official player portraits from gocards.com.