Happy Easter -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HAPPY EASTER

From all of us to all of you, HAPPY EASTER ! 

-Paulie, Sonya, Jeff, Case, Jared, Daryl and the Cardinal Couple Chimps. 

Louisville Softball Wins Three -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS SWEEP DAY, SERIES AGAINST THE RAMBLIN WRECK

It is a rarity in the college softball world to play three games in one day.

It's even rarer for one team to win all three contests, but that's what the Louisville Softball team did on Easter Sunday at Ulmer Stadium on the Don Dobina Field against Georgia Tech.

Louisville head coach Holly Aprile couldn't ever remember doing it in her college coaching career. Cardinal third baseman Sidney Melton had never played in and won three on the same day.  A 6 1/2 hour time frame on the same day was long and tiring for the teams. But, that's what the Red and Black accomplished...with a 11-7, 7-2 and 11-10 whitewash of the YellowJackets from Atlanta. 

Action began promptly at 10 a.m. yesterday, a swirling and almost mysterious fog sweeping across the dirt infield from the warming dirt and humid but dry conditions.You couldn't see downtown from the press box -- that much fog still remained in the Louisville area -- but the Cards held a 10-5 lead from the Friday afternoon came that was stopped because of rain. The scenario began with no outs, Georgia Tech at bat and runners on second and third.

Danielle Watson was in the circle for the Cards and promptly walked the first batter she faced. With the bags full of YellowJackets, the situation looked ominous and the atmosphere tense. 

Watson and her teammates got out of the dire circumstances, though, getting three straight outs, two of them strikeouts, and allowing just one run. The ominous monster had not risen from the fog and engulfed the Cards. They still led 10-6

Charley Butler began the top of the fifth with a single and proceeded around the bases to score for the Cards, using a Tech throwing error and run down of Melton trying to steal second after a walk. 11-6. The visitors loomed large again in the top the sixth -- a double and single cut the Cards lead to four again. 

The Cards went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, producing three attempts that never got out if the infield, but held court in the top of the seventh as Watson collected two more "K's" and just a walk. It was an early preview of the kind of day Watson was going to produce in the circle and the Cards won 11-7 in the "continuation" game. 

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Louisville started game two with Watson in the circle again and decided to put this one out of reach early. After she set the Jackets down with a 1-2-3 top of the first, Louisville exploded for five runs on three walks and three hits. Bulter's single to right drove home two Cardinal runners and a booming double from Maddy Newman to right center had the Cards in great shape. 

Watson was "on" in the circle and was dispensing strike outs. Tech managed just two runs and two hits in the seven-inning second contest, the sophomore pitcher from Osceola, IN. punched out 11 Tech participants to tie her career strike out record. Louisville tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth when Newman and Celene Funke scored -- aided by a clutch single from Melton and a run-down on an attempted steal of second by Melton. 

7-2 Cards, with Watson going the distance and picking up her second win of the day.


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Georgia Tech decided they'd try the "big lead early" scenario in the final game of Easter Sunday. They rocked starting pitcher Megan Hensley, who was relieved in the circle with just one out by Taylor Roby, and when the fog had cleared, the Cards found themselves in a 5-0 hole.

Louisville was undaunted, however. They struck back for four runs in the bottom of the first. Doubles by Funke, Melton and Roby, a walk to Hensley and a Taylor Roby single produced the damage. 

While Roby held the G.T. squad scoreless over the next few innings, the Cards continued to chip away at the lead and regain it. Roby smashed a home run to left center to tie it in the second. The Cards took the lead in the bottom of the third 6-5 when Rebecca Chung powered a double to deep center and scored on a Cassady Greenwood sacrifice fly. 

Then, Tech woke up for the second time in the game. Three singles filled the bags and a sacrifice fly tied it up again. Crosby Huckabay came to the plate and absolutely crushed a ball to left center that bounced off the top of the Ulmer Stadium scoreboard for a grand slam. UofL found themselves in a 10-6 trailing situation going into the bottom of the fourth.


These birds weren't done flying, though.

Back-to-back home runs from Hensley and Chung cut the Tech lead to 11-8. After holding the softball version of the Rambling Wreck scoreless in the top of the fifth, Louisville came to the plate needing two to tie and three to take the lead. 

At this time, another aspect developed. 

The visitors, it seemed, had a flight to catch back to Atlanta. They needed to end this one at 4:25 p.m. to get to the airport in time. The Georgia Tech assistant S.I.D. sitting next to me in the press box was nervous and watching the clock. Holly Aprile decided not to tell her squad about the intended Georgia Tech sudden departure until the Cards came to bat in the bottom of the fifth. Why put any undue pressure on the squad, right? 

This bottom of the fifth inning started out pretty rough for Louisville. Funke grounded out to the Tech pitcher. Melton lifted a lazy fly to center that was caught. Two down. But Megan Hensley wasn't ready to tote the equipment bag back to the Koetter Center yet and drilled a sharp single to left. Roby followed suit and singled to center. Caitlin Ferguson drew a walk from Tech hurler Brooke Barfield. With the bases loaded, Chung came to the plate and calmly drove one deep to right center. It soared past the fielders and the Cardinal runners were flying as well. Chung had emptied the bases with a double and Louisville led 11-10. 

The teams started the top of the sixth -- but with Georgia Tech batting, with one out and one on -- Georgia Tech head coach Aileen Morales came out of the dugout at 4:26 p.m., motioned to the home plate umpire that they were done and the teams lined up for the post game handshakes. 

Tech scampered to the bus. 11-10 the final tally and the Cards had swept the day.

A full day of Softball. A total of 53 runs scored in the series. The Cards go to 31-15 and 11-7 in the ACC. That's a pretty good Easter Sunday. As if in agreement, the sun broke out and smiled down upon us as we conducted the post game interviews. 

A Cardinal squad that is 9-3 in April. UofL Softball has won seven of their last night. It would seem that Aprile is doing well in April. 


(TODAY'S PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON)



THEY SAID IT 

Holly Aprile discusses the wins:  HOLLY APRILE POST SERIES 4/21/19

Sidney Melton Post Game (with a cameo by Celene Funke): SIDNEY MELTON DISCUSSES THE WINS 4/21/19



paulie
xxxxx 

Happy Easter! -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

HAPPY EASTER!

From all of us to all of you, Happy Easter! It is also April Fools Day, so one could surmise...are we kidding you? Nevertheless, hope your Sunday devotion went well, your Easter basket was full of goodies and you eat your Easter Dinner to your heart's content.

It's kinda wind-down time after the hectic pace of UofL WBB these past few weeks, but...we'll still be here bringing you the Spring schedule for UofL women's sports....Softball, Lacrosse, Swimming, Track and Field, Golf, Tennis and plenty more!  

-- Paulie-- 

Cardinals All Over the Map

From San Diego, to Raleigh, to Texas, The Cardinals were all over the map yesterday...and that's just Track&Field.

In action at the San Diego Collegiate Open, the Raleigh Relays, and the Texas Relays, the Track&Field squad split up yesterday, and even that is only the start of the Cardinal's locations yesterday.

Tennis was competing at Duke, Rowing some successes in the PAC-12 Challenge, Baseball was in Tallahassee, while Softball and Lacrosse were at home on Floyd Street.

Results on some of these competitions are a bit scarce, but we'll cover a few.

Softball

Softball finished out their conference series with NC State with a solid win, 7-0, with consistent
scoring throughout the game.

The masked one, Megan Hensley pitched the complete game shut-out, as well as supporting her cause at the plate getting hits all three times at bat, making it around the full base circuit twice, and contributing an RBI.  She is now 10-4 on the season and cementing her place as the ace pitcher of the staff.

Celene Funke brought the funk with a 3 for 3 showing at the plate, with Sid Melton going 3 for 4 to add to the good day for the Cards on the basepaths.

Pearsall's squad was definitely consistent, leaving only one frame, the 3rd, without a score, and while putting up a pair in the 1st and 4th.

Rivalry week is back, and Softball will be participating with a mid-week Wednesday game against Kentucky in Lexington at 7pm.

Baseball

Baseball capitalized on a good start in Tallahassee to get the win over a quite good Florida State team, getting the win 6-1.  All 6 Cards runs were on the board before FSU were able to get any successful offense.  UofL was able to get a run in each of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th innings, with 3 scoring in the 3rd to reach their tally before FSU plated a run in the bottom of the 4th for their only offensive success of the day.

Baseball will also be participating in rivalry week, with a 6:30 start in Lexington on Tuesday.

Lacrosse

Paulie was able to make it to the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium to catch a thrilling game against a good ACC opponent (yes, "good" and "ACC opponent" are redundant in Lax terms).  The Cards come away on the losing side of this one, 15-14.  Virginia Tech is currently tied for 2nd place in conference standings with a 3-1 conference record.  Overall, the Hoos are 10-4, while the Cards are still looking for their 1st victory in conference after 4 competitions, with an overall 6-7 record.

We've said it before, but we knew this would be a challenging year for Louisville Lacrosse with the loss of so much talent after last year.  Tessa Chad, who transferred in to continue to play for Scott Teeter has continued to be one of several bright spots for the Cards, scoring 5 in the contest.  Stalwarts for the Cardinals, Madison Hoover and Jillian Balog each got hat tricks, both with the requisite 3 goals to reach that mark.  Another 4 year Cardinal, Julia Wood picked up 1, along with freshmen, Alex McNicholas and Caroline Blalock.

VT got the hot start, quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but UofL was able to then go no the 6-0 run to take a 2 goal lead.  It would hold a lead through late in the 2nd half, but VT went on a 5-0 run to retake the lead, reaching their final tally, 15-13 at 4:01.  The Cards would score one more, but it wouldn't be enough.

Lacrosse won't be participating in rivalry week as Kentucky doesn't have a Lacrosse team, but they will be playing next against UNC in chapel Hill Saturday at 3pm.

Paulie's Post Game Interview with Scott Teeter

I Heard It On the Radio

The crew was limited in the WCHQFM studios, but we had a great show with Mike Gilpatrick joining Paulie in-studio and Case Hoskins plus Jeff McAdams via phone. 

A few "knuckleheads" shy of a basket but a special "thank ya" to the guy with three first names for shrugging off the sleep deprivation and spending the hour with Paulie. 

It was a lot of post-WBB game therapy and speculation going on for us and a thoughtful and excellent hour! 

Here's the Facebook Live feed: 

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/1984623254894281/

JMcA

HAPPY EASTER -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

From all of us at CARDINAL COUPLE..HAPPY EASTER !!

However you decide to spend the day, we hope it is an enjoyable and meaningful experience for you. 

We'll be back Monday with a Jeff "Worldwide" McAdams article.

paulie
xxxxx

Fun on Floyd - Sunday Cardinal Couple

HAPPY EASTER!

We wish a happy Easter to all our Cardinal Couple readers! Whether you're gathering for a meal, planning on a day of basketball watching or just enjoying the candy you pilfered from your kids baskets...may the peace of the season be upon you this day and many more! 

A Fifteen Frame for Softball

In NCAA Softball, the run-rule says that if either team is leading by at least eight runs at the end of any inning after the 5th, the game is over.  This can result in games being as short at 4 1/2 innings if the home team is leading by eight or more points after four innings and the visiting team doesn't score enough in the top of the 5th to close that margin.

That happened rather easily yesterday in the 19-3 win in the final game of the UofL Softball series with NC State.

There were some hints in the first inning that there were going to be a few unusual things to this game.  Things got started with Sidney Melton getting a single, and Maryssa Becker got hit by a pitch to move Melton to 2nd.  Then a career first stolen base by Maryssa Becker as the Cards pull off a masterful double-steal.  We here at Cardinal Couple don't mince words when it comes to pointing out that Becker is not a very fast base runner.  She's a CC favorite, but speed is not her strong point, so to see her with a stolen base makes the ears perk up. 

After the double-steal, Megan Hensley flew out to left, but the much quicker Melton got home after the tag, and the throw to home to try to catch her allowed Becker to advance to 3rd.  Lillie Goetz walked, Jenna Jordan got a double shot out to right field which scored Becker and the quick Goetz advanced to 3rd.  As testament to the Goetz speed, Brittany Sims then popped out to the short-stop, and Goetz reached home on the tag.  Sarah Lopesilvero singled up the middle, which brought Jordan around 3rd and to home to finish the first inning tally at 4.  The Cards did load up the bases again, but NC State was able to get out the jam.

The 2nd inning was blank for both sides, but things got interesting again in the 3rd.  NC State put 3 on the scoreboard in the top half of the frame, but in the bottom half, the wheels really fell off or the Pack.

A double and two walks loaded up the bases for the Cards, and triggered an NC State pitching change.  The Pack brought in their pitcher that had been wearing a boot during the starting line-ups and national anthem presentation...for shin splints according to their Sports Information Director.  Alas, whatever sympathies she may have garnered didn't earn her much time in the circle as she promptly walked two runs home and the starting pitcher re-entered.  The Pack were still looking for answers though, as the first batter faced, Lillie Goetz, cranked her 1st career home-run, a Grand Slam, out to the right field berm.  Now I have to borrow from bad television infomercials, "But wait, there's more!"  Jordan singles, Sims got a walk, and a fielding error on Lopesilvero's at-bat loaded up the bases again for the Cards.

At this point, you could almost hear the Jaws music "du-DUM, du-DUM, du-DUM".  Nicole Pufahl singles, scoring Jordan, McNary reached on a fielding error, scoring Sims, and Melton singles, scoring Lopesilvero.  That's now nine runs scored in the bottom half of the 3rd.  "But don't call yet!"  Maryssa Becker cleared them all with her own Grand Slam, the 2nd of the inning, out to the Brandeis road construction area in left.  "But we're still not done, yet!"  Megan Hensley singles, and Goetz walks.  NC State then swapped their Designated Player for their 1b, so the 1b to go to the bull-pen to warm up as the Pack were still looking for a way out of this nightmare as there was still only one out on the board in exchange for 13 runs.  Jordan grounded out, advancing the runners, then Sims singled out to left field, scoring Goetz and Hensley for a whopping 15 runs in the inning.

Both teams made wholesale changes in the 4th inning, for the Cards at least, it was the equivalent of emptying the benches with a big lead near the end of a basketball game, but there was no scoring on either side.  When NC State couldn't produce anything in the top of the 5th, the game was over on a run-rule, 19-3.

In the post-game interview, a smiling Coach Sandy Pearsall was obviously happy with the performance and focus of the team, and hoped the momentum would carry them forward through a midweek matchup with Western Kentucky, and hopefully next weekend's matchup with UNC in Chapel Hill.

Lacrosse Joins in the Fun

Paulie was on assignment at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium, but after the Softball game concluded, Sam Draut and I walked down Floyd St. to join in the action and caught about the last 20 minutes of Loucrosse's victory over Virginia Tech.

After their romp through the "C" schools, Canisius, Coastal Carolina, and Cincinnati, the Lacrosse squad got back to conference action with a 15-9 win over Virginia Tech.

During the week, Patrick McEwan tweeted a tease about an article that he had written for Inside Lacrosse Magazine where he created "Advanced Draw Control Stats", his teaser tweet concluded, "Turns out @LouisvilleLax's Kaylin Morissette is really good."  To which, I replied, "Next: 'Grass is Green'.  But thanks for noticing! ;)"  To be fair, his massaging of the draw control stats is quite interesting and does do an even better job of demonstrating just how dominant Kay Morissette is in the draw.  She is leading the NCAA basic stats of total draw controls (115, vs Kayla Treanor's 90 from Syracuse) and draw controls per game (10.45 vs Treanor's 10...UofL has played two more games than the Cuse so far this year).  The Inside Lacrosse article is available here.  It ends up focusing more on the team draw control stats, as there is more granularity to work with than the individual draw control stats, but Morissette takes the vast majority of UofL's draws, so it is essentially an analysis of her achievements.

On to the game recap, then!  As Sam and I were walking up, the score was 8-3 with about 20 minutes left in the 2nd half.  Scoring to that point:  Morissette already had a hat trick in the 1st half, Cortnee Daley had two, Hannah Koloski had one, Madison Hoover had one, and Kelli Gerding had one.  As we arrived, VT scored two, then UofL would go on a 5-0 run.  The run started off with Koloski getting her hat trick, Kelli Gerding got her 2nd, Cortnee Daley also picked up a hat trick, and Heidi Smith would get her only point of the game.  The rest of the game was back and forth, with Cardinal goals by Koloski getting her 4th, and Kelli Gerding finishing the hat trick.  VT scored 3 in the last ten minutes with the aid of a couple of UofL yellow cards.

After such a glowing review of Morissette's draw controls in the Inside Lacrosse article, she did have a lackluster day starting the play off with "only" 6, and VT led Louisville 15-11 overall in controlling the starts.

A smiling coach Kellie Young did speak about a few lapses in the post-game interview, including the yellow card fouls; while Morissette, while also smiling from the win, was clearly unhappy with her draw control efforts, and arguably the best draw controller in the country commented about the need to be better on the draw.

We'll have all three of the post-game interviews mentioned here, plus audio from Lillie Goetz after her first career home-run this Saturday on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on WCHQ.


Cardinal Couple Bracket Challenge

We're down to an Elite Eight now in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and after an upset-filled Friday, Saturday's games were fairly predictable. Congratulations to UConn, Texas, Baylor, Oregon State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Stanford and Washington for advancing. A bit of surprise in the roster...with three Pac-12 teams in the mix, two from the Big 12, and one each for the AAC, ACC and SEC.

The Deb Factor remains atop the field with a 43-13 record. She is closely followed by Jenny O, Kenny S, and Viva "Q" who have compiled 42-14 marks. Seven contestants follow at 41-15. 

Seven games remain. Can the Syracuse magic continue? Which PAC 12 school will emerge out of a probably vacant Rupp Arena? 

Can Texas slow down the UConn juggernaut? Can Kim Mulkey continue to prove Barack Obama wrong by beating a ferocious group of Beavers? 

Should be fun! GOOD LUCK TO ALL! 

jmca

Friday Softball doubleheader vs NC State...NCAA WBB Tournament...Will you watch? -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SOFTBALL VS. WOLFPACK

Easter weekend gets off to a fun start with NC State coming to Ulmer Stadium for a three game set. The teams will play a doubleheader today that starts at 2 p.m. and a single game that includes an Easter Egg hunt prior to a Saturday noon first pitch. 

The Cards (19-6, 5-1) come into the game after a three game sweep at Virginia. Maryssa Becker, ACC Co-Player of the Week carries a .423 batting average and 1.65 ERA into the series. NC State (15-15, 2-1) enters today's doubleheader after losing a midweek contest to East Carolina. 

Temperature outlook is mid 50's today with skies clearing this afternoon...so make a Good Friday and attend the games. Admission is free at Ulmer and concessions are available.

If the crack of the bat and catch at the wall is your thing...you can also catch Louisville baseball at 6 p.m. against top-ranked Virginia tonight at Jim Patterson Stadium. A great hat trick for today! 

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NCAA WBB SWEET SIXTEEN...WILL YOU WATCH? 

With Louisville out of the NCAA Tournament, will you watch the remainder of the action? Will you see if DePaul can continue the magic against a very talented Oregon St. squad on Saturday? Will you tune in tonight to cheer for or against UK as they face a surprising seventh seeded Washington squad? 

There are some very interesting match ups ahead over the next two days. Another #7 seed...Tennessee looks to pull the upset over Kelsey Mitchell and Ohio State. Can Mississippi St. perform an Easter weekend miracle over #1 UConn? How will ACC squads Syracuse, Florida State and Notre Dame fare against perennial powers Baylor, South Carolina and Stanford? How many of you figured it would be UCLA vs. Texas in Bridgeport Saturday night? 

Who survives this weekend to gain a trip to Indianapolis? In our contest, I had UConn, Louisville, Ohio State and Notre Dame making the Final Four.  How many of your Sweet Sixteen picks are still alive? I've got 12 of the 16 that are still dancing. In our contest, a couple of competitors have 13 teams still alive. 

What say you? 

_________________________________________________

DEAD AIR

Our critically acclaimed CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR will not be broadcast tomorrow. The Crescent Hill Easter Parade on Frankfort Avenue in Louisville will be aired Saturday morning in our place...an annual broadcast for WCHQ. 

It's a big event and we understand. We encourage you to tune in and listen to Tara Bassett's gal-on-the-street live broadcast. 

We'll be back next week. We assume. 

paulie
xxxxx 

HAPPY EASTER!

.
SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Happy Easter Cardinal Couple readers


-Softball completes the sweep of Rutgers 3-2


-Lacrosse falls to Georgetown


-Golf moves up a spot


-Beautiful afternoon in Lexington? They can exist

We wish our readers a HAPPY EASTER and hope you have a great Sunday. Whether it's a family get-together and meal, religious services or raiding the kids' Easter basket...we hope it's a great day for you. Christianity teaches that followers should rejoice in the news that Christ rose from the dead and has ascended to be with His Father in heaven. Whatever your religious affiliation is, we hope it's a beautiful Sunday for you.


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A sunny, if bit chilly, day greeted the softball Cards in their final game of the series against Rutgers yesterday morning. The early start of 11 a.m. may have had a few of the fans yawning and reaching for the coffee, and it had the batters of both team a bit tardy in their performances as well. UofL's Tori Collins and Rutgers' Alyssa Landrith were pitching dual no hitters after two innings in this one. 


Rutgers' Lindsey Curran singled with two out in the top of the third to deep short for the first hit of the game but it was Louisville who placed the first runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. 


Hannah Kiyohara began the inning with a base on balls and Maggie Ruckenbrod's bunt advanced her to second. Whitney Arion followed with a screaming shot down the left field line for a double...scoring Kiyohara.

Jennifer Esteban reached next on a fielding error by Rutgers second baseman Jennifer Hambedian. Arion was picked off trying to steal but a Jordy Trimble single to left scored Esteban to make 2-0 Cards. Katie Keller's blast to deep left brought Trimble home to complete the Cardinal scoring for the bottom of the third. 3-0 Cards. 


With Collins on the stripe, Cardinal fans felt confident as Rutgers came to bat in the top of the fourth. The Scarlet Knights, though, were not ready to concede the ballgame. After a single and walk allowed, Alexis Durando touched Collins for a two-RBI double to right center. Collins recovered to get the final two outs on a couple of pop-ups but it was 3-2 midway through the 4th inning. 


And it stayed that way. Louisville went down in order in the bottom of the fourth and Chelsea Leonard took over at pitcher to begin the fifth. She allowed two singles in three innings of work to pick up her seventh save of the season. Louisville threatened in the bottom of the fifth with two on and two outs but couldn't produce a score. 


Collins gets the win to go to 15-1 on the year. Louisville had six hits against Rutgers' Landrith, who went the distance for the Scarlet Knight. A crowd of around 600 watched the game and Louisville improves to 33-2 on the season. 


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Nearly 400 watched the Louisville Lacrosse team battle Georgetown Saturday afternoon in the lacrosse stadium. The Cards fell short against the #13 Hoyas 19-11. 


Georgetown opened strong with the first four scores of the contest and held a 10-5 at the break. 

"Lacrosse is a game of runs. If you can be with that wave, you can always come back. Even when we were down by eight, I wasn't rattled I knew we could come back. We had opportunities but we didn't finish on our shooting" -- Louisville lacrosse head coach Kellie Young.


The Hoyas put this one away early in the second half with four straight goals but the Cards out-played Georgetown 6-5 the rest of the way. Nikki Boltja led Louisville with four goals. The Cards (3-8, 1-3) travel to Rutgers on Friday for their next match. 


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Day two in the Bryan National Collegiate saw the Louisville women's golf team move up one spot and freshman Katie Petrino lead the Cards with a 75 to put Louisville in 16th place in the tournament with a 633. Tennessee leads with a 581.

Petrino is tied for 49th with a two day score of 154. Other Cardinal results:


Emily Haas --  76 Saturday. 155 total
Candice Wiley -- 81 Saturday. 159 total
Sara Karlsson -- 84 Saturday. 164 total
Maria Castellanos -- 84 Saturday. 169 total


Louisville's top player from last season, Anna-Karin Llungstrom is recovering from thumb surgery but could return in time for the BIG EAST Championships. The Cards finish up the 3-day event today.


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Unplanned circumstances prevented CARDINAL COUPLE from making the trek to Lexington and historic Keeneland yesterday but we get this report from our buddy and CARDINAL COUPLE reader Bob who did make the trip. 


(Paul did discuss some picks and favorites with him throughout the day via phone and the boys did quite well on their selections) 


It was a great day for racing at a packed Keeneland Race Course Saturday. I would even say it was a beautiful afternoon in Lexington. Being a Cardinal fan, that is a tough statement. 

My day started rather rough with wagering selections. I was 0 for 3 after three races. I got my comeback started with Royal Start in the fourth race. A nice ride by Paul's favorite jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. and a nice payout at 7-1. Paul and I talked about Billy Mott's entry in the fifth race. Al Khali went off at 3-1 and hit the wire first. Alan Garcia rode the winner and he is one to watch at Keeneland. More on that later.


I now had two nice wins in a row now and treated myself and my friend I was there with to the concession stand. There are places at Keeneland you can get served pretty quickly. Even with yesterday's wall-to-wall crowd. We looked at the next race and I suggested we try a Pick 3 since there were several horses I thought had a chance in the next three races. We were in agreement and we came up with a 50 cent wheel that cost us a mere $9 each. I called Paul while I was standing in line to bet it and he asked me to duplicate the bet for him. 


I barely got the wager placed before the race. The windows were crawling slow. There ought to be a special area set aside for first-time bettors. They can really slow the wagering process down. The automatic wagering machines are usually a good option for me but they had deep lines in  front them too and there aren't nearly enough of them at Keeneland.

We ran into friends and races 6,7 and 8 seemed to zip by. I didn't get to the windows to do anything else. I was yelling pretty loudly when James Graham got 15-1 long-shot Karlovy Vary to the lead in the eighth race and held off favorite Stephanie's Kitten to win the Ashland Stakes.



We had just won the Pick 3 and celebrated when we saw our payout was a little over $200. I called Paul with the good news and it had turned out to be a great day in Big Blue Country. After cashing our tickets, we were ready to leave but we ran into a former classmate of my friend. They began chatting it up and I studied the final two races of the day. I decided to wager a Daily Double based on jockey/trainer combinations and, once again, barely got my selections in before the race started. And, a special thanks to the lady two people in front of me who spent a good two minutes telling the cashier what she wanted and then realized she didn't have enough money and proceeded to start over. 


Alan Garcia, who I mentioned earlier, came through in a big way for us in the final two races by winning on Ken McPeek's Scotus in the ninth and Todd Pletcher's Counterparty in the final. The $2 Daily Double paid $57 and I had it in several combinations. 


We left in a great mood and even the horribly slow traffic exit strategy they have up there couldn't bring our spirits down. Good days in Lexington? Despite all the 'blue' up there, they can happen and do exist. 


(Yay! Bob! Thanks for the report and it was a pleasure handicapping with you via cell phone!) 


The Derby picture got even more muddled after three key prep races on Saturday. I'll Have Another upset favorite Creative Cause in the Santa Anita Derby. Done Talking nipped favorite Morgan's Guerrilla in the Illinois Derby and potential Derby favorite Gemologist had to use a late, charging rally to catch and pass Alpha in Aqueduct's Wood Memorial. With just four weeks until Derby, there really is no clear choice for the winner's circle. Don't ya love it? 


CARDINAL COUPLE will offer some picks and selections as Derby gets closer. You've been properly warned. Here's our first ranking and we've also listed our favorite handicapper John Asher's selections, too. 


PAUL                       SONJA                JOHN


1. Hansen                 1. Gemologist   1. Union Rags
2. I'll Have Another   2. Union Rags   2. Hansen
3. Alpha                   3. Liaison          3.Creative Cause
4. Morgan's Guerrilla 4. Alpha           4. Gemologist
5. Bodemeister         5. El Padrino     5. Bodemeister
.
..
...  

Jesus Easter Video

SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

A happy Easter to all our readers, friends and contributors! Remember that HE is risen and HE will be with us always. 

PAUL & SONJA

When things do wrong, as they sometimes will.
When the road you are travelling seems all up hill
When the funds are low and the debt is high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest if you must, but don't you quit
Life can be strange with its twists and turns
As everyone of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When you might have won had you stuck it out
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you  are
It may well be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit.
It's when things seem the worst that...
YOU MUST NOT QUIT.  

Happy Easter to you!

Happy Easter to all of our readers. We all enjoy the fun of the little ones searching for eggs during the Easter Egg Hunts and the delight and joy in their faces when they find their Easter baskets on Sunday morning but please keep the true meaning and reason in mind why we have an Easter Sunday. He has risen and lives within all of us.

My favorite Easter story goes back quite a few years ago when I was a college student. Members of our fraternity volunteered each year to assist at a large Easter egg hunt at one of the local parks. Our primary duties were to help the youngsters find the hidden eggs, especially if they hadn't found any... and make sure no one got hurt during the mad scramble at the start. As I remember it, the Saturday I will tell you about was a bit chilly and we were dressed in coats and jackets. I noticed two small boys, walking a bit slower than most of the kids in the mad pursuit and I went over to them to help them in their search. As we hunted, we talked. One of the boys asked me if there really was an Easter Bunny and I told him that there was. He then asked why the Easter Bunny had skipped their house the previous year and why his mom said that he would be skipping their house tomorrow. The young boys were brothers and they both looked at me...waiting for my answer.

I told them that they could count on the Easter Bunny making a stop at their house on Sunday. That seemed to cheer them and they eventually found several eggs. I walked them back to where their mother was waiting. She was underdressed for the chilly weather and looked a lot older than you would expect for having two young sons that were preschool age. As we went back to their car, I asked for her address. She looked at me suspiciously and I assured her that all I wanted to do was make sure that these boys got an Easter basket. Tears welled up in her eyes and she explained that she could barely make ends meet each month and they were the victims of a deserted father and she was unable to find full time, steady employment.

"What I could really use, mister..." she mournfully answered, "is $50 to make sure they've got food next week." She did give me the address, though, and thanked me for caring.

I went to work when we arrived back at the frat house. Several hours later, a couple of us were headed to the drugstore down the street from us, armed with cash.

That next morning, I awoke early and drove to their house. I tapped on the door and she answered. I handed her two Easter baskets and an envelope.

"This is a gift from my fraternity brothers and me." I told her. "I hope it helps and that your boys enjoy the baskets. I'd also like you to call the phone number in the envelope. The man (an alumni fraternity brother of ours) you'll be talking to might be able to help you in finding a job that pays a little more."

She invited me in for coffee, explaining that the boys were still asleep, but I told her that I was running late for Easter church services and would have to decline. She insisted, though and I sat in the small, dilapidated house with her for a few moments sipping coffee and talking about how the boys were so excited that I had told them that the Easter Bunny would be coming. I left before they awoke and before she opened the envelope.

Several weeks later, I received a letter from her. She thanked the fraternity for the Easter baskets, the $150 in cash and the job lead. She had been hired, enjoyed her job and the extra money it brought in. She had also met a "nice, caring man" who worked at the factory and she had begun to date him.

I never heard anymore about her or the boys until many years later. A young man came up to me at an alumni/student fraternity gathering. He introduced himself and then related that he was the younger of the two boys I had met that Saturday years ago. He had enrolled in college and was pledging the fraternity that had helped him, his brother and mother that day. He caught me up on the years that had passed since then. His mother eventually married the "nice, caring man" she had been dating but she died several years ago of cancer. The step father raised the two boys, never remarrying and eventually became a vice president at the company. The older brother received an academic scholarship to attend Alabama and was majoring in biology, hoping to become a doctor.

He also told me that he had wanted to attend college and eventually join the fraternity that his mother had spoke so proudly of for years. We still talk occasionally. He now lives in Denver...married and with two young children of his own...working as an accountant. His older brother is a physician in Atlanta. He told me that he also helps organize the annual Easter egg hunt for the children of the church he attends.

Paying it forward.

Happy Easter, everyone.

Written by Paul
4/4/10