Softball Closes Out Strong Season, What to Expect Next Year -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Softball Closes Out Strong Season, But What to Expect for Next Year

As Paulie broke down in yesterday's article, Louisville softball's season came to an end over the weekend following a rough seventh inning against Indiana. But the season is far from defined by just that seventh inning. The season should be defined by a fourth place finish in the ACC; by the most wins in a season in nearly a decade; by one of the best home run hitting teams in program history.

Louisville finished the year 36-20. The last time the Cards had 36 wins in a year was in 2014, when they went 36-22. The 2014 team went 14-7 in the American Athletic Conference. This year's team went 16-7 in the much-stronger ACC.

The Cards hit .319 as a whole with 470 total hits and 64 home runs, twice as many home runs as opposing teams hit against them. Seven Cardinals hit above .300 and five players recorded at least 50 hits.

On the defensive end, Louisville had a 3.17 ERA as opposed to opposing teams having a 5.51 ERA. The Louisville pitching staff struck out 259 strikeouts while walking only 115 batters.

Where Louisville struggled on the defensive end was the .957 fielding percentage while logging 66 errors. In games where Louisville had multiple fielding errors, they went 6-11. They went 30-9 in games where they had one or fewer errors.

The Cards had win streaks of six, seven, and nine games. Their longest losing streak was five games. Louisville scored 10 or more runs 10 times while giving up double-digit runs six times. They run-ruled opponents 14 times.

Who is Leaving?

With the NCAA entering its final year of COVID-19 extra year eligibility this upcoming season, the confusion of "who is coming back for another year" is nearly gone.

Taylor Roby, Hannah File, and Makayla Hurst all utilized their COVID-19 year this year. Elana Ornelas and Taja Felder are both graduating but neither have hinted at returning next year.

Louisville has relied on Roby a lot in her time with the Cards. One of the nation's best home run hitters, Roby ranks high in the UofL record books in home runs and RBIs. She also has appeared in the record books in pitching.

File spent her final three seasons with the Cards after some time at James Madison and spent much of her time in a Louisville uniform at first base as well as being a factor at the plate.

Hurst, Ornelas, and Felder all filled in needed gaps at times for the Cards. Hurst's on base percentage of .577 was a team high.

Who is Returning?

Most of the starters are back. ACC Freshman of the Year Sarah Gordon is back at catcher. The middle infield will be back in second baseman Easton Lotus and shortstop Daisy Hess. Hess is using her COVID-19 year next season. Ally Alexander, who commanded third base a good chunk of the season, will be back. The entire outfield will be back. Korbe Otis was command the outfield from center field. Paige Geraghty will be back and most likely hold down left field. Vanessa Miller and Pickle Winkler battled it out for right field much of the season and both are returning.

In the circle, plenty of Cardinals will be back. Alyssa Zabala, the freshman ace, will be back and most likely be the go-to pitcher. She will have Gabby Holloway, Sam Booe, and Cassie Grizzard in the bullpen with her.

Louisville's top pinch runner, Mia Forsythe, should be back as well. Maddi Grant, who made an impact as a pinch hitter late in the season, should also be returning.

The entire coaching staff should be back again next year. Holly Aprile took over as head coach in the summer of 2018 with her first season with the Cards being in 2019. A majority of her tenure at Louisville has been during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has helped lead Louisville to a pair of 35+ win seasons and two NCAA Regional appearances.

Griffin Joiner has been with Louisville since Holly Aprile took over as head coach and specializes in the pitchers. She has been responsible for helping develop both Megan Hensley and Taylor Roby.

Bryce Neal just wrapped his second season as an assistant coach for the Cards. He specializes in the offense, and Louisville's offense has already improved in that short span.

Casey Bonk followed Holly Aprile from Pitt and has been the Director of Operations since. She is responsible for anything ranging from travel plans, to scheduling, to organizing teams to join the Cards on the field prior to home games, and so much more.

2024 Expectations

With a heavy amount of the starters returning who feature plenty of firepower, expectations will be high next season for the Cards. A 35+ win season should be within reach again.

While the home run totals might drop significantly due to the departure of Roby and File, the batting averages and multi-base hits should still be there. Louisville has plenty of speed returning next year in Otis, Lotus, Alexander, Hess Geraghty, Miller, Gordon, and Winkler. That group was a combined 78-89 (.877) in stolen base attempts They also combined for 87 extra base hits.

The returning group of pitchers combined for 229 innings pitched, 893 batters faced, and 195 strikeouts. Roby won't be around to fall back on anymore so Zabala should command the top spot while Booe, Holloway, and left-handed pitcher Grizzard should all see an increase in innings pitched.

There's plenty of time in the offseason to see what freshmen and incoming transfers will join the Louisville roster for next season, but the addition of new players should just help increase expectations. If you're looking for a women's program on the rise, Louisville softball is the place to go to.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Thump BC to Open Weekend -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Homers and Small Ball Lift Cards to Run Rule

In the opening game of Louisville's home finale weekend, the Cards gave fans something to be excited about as they send off their seniors. Despite an early run by Boston College and a slow start offensively for Louisville, the Cards used a big fifth inning to take control of the game and earned a walk-off run rule an inning later. When all was said and done, Louisville had earned their seventh straight win with a 10-2 victory.

BC opened the scoring in the top of the first when the first five batters were able to put the bat on the ball against Alyssa Zabala. The first two both singled, and the next three grounded out. Unfortunately, those ground outs were productive, moving the runners in both of the first two instances to bring around the leadoff hitter to score. Zabala stranded the runner at third and turned the ball over to her counterpart in the circle. Louisville was also seeing the ball well early. A hard liner by Korbe Otis was caught at short, but Easton Lotus reached base on a walk. After Taylor Roby fouled out, Sarah Gordon also walked. Daisy Hess broke the trend of odd-positioned players in the order getting out and sent a double to right to score Lotus. The Cards left two in scoring position, but they tied the game 1-1.

Zabala settled in a bit, finally getting an out that didn't depend on the defense with a strikeout for the second out of the second inning. A single opened the inning, but the strikeout split a pair of groundouts for no damage. Vanessa Miller opened the bottom half of the inning with a four-pitch walk and Paige Geraghty singled two batters later to put a pair on. A wild pitch to Otis put two runners in scoring position, but she would ultimately strike out. Lotus grounded out to end the inning and leave both runners on.

The ground balls continued for Zabala until they didn't. After two more ground outs opened the third, a BC batter finally got under the ball instead of on top of it. Hannah Slike, the three-spot hitter for the Eagles, got ahold of a 1-0 pitch to send a home run over the left field wall. It was her seventh home run of the season, leading the team. A pop-out ended the top half with BC back on top by a run, 2-1. Their lead didn't last long. Taylor Roby opened the bottom half of the third with a solo shot of her own to level the game back at 2. Like Slike, Roby is Louisville's leader in home runs. Unlike Slike, Roby is also the NCAA leader in home runs. The third inning blast was her 20th of the year. The homer rattled the BC pitcher a bit, as Louisville followed it up with a walk and two singles. The second, by Hannah File, scored Gordon from second to give Louisville its first lead. Louisville went on to load the bases with one out after a strikeout, a steal, and an intentional walk. Unfortunately, a liner straight to third ended the inning when the third baseman caught it and stepped on the bag for the double-play. Louisville led 3-2. They would not yield that lead.

The fourth was relatively uneventful, with both teams getting a runner on base without the benefit of a hit. BC got a hit by pitch to split two strikeouts and Roby was pitched around to earn a walk for Louisville. BC threatened a bit in the fifth, with a single and a walk putting two runners on. Slike was unable to capitalize, though, and she grounded into a double play. 

The Cards then went to work. Daisy Hess earned a nine-pitch walk to open the inning. Needing many fewer pitches than that, Hannah File sent her tenth homer of the year over the wall on the second pitch of her at-bat to score two. Maddi Grant pinch hit for Miller, but her time in the game was short lived after she walked and Miller immediately replaced her back on the base paths. Ally Alexander bunted Miller over, and Makayla Hurst also earned a pinch hit walk, this time for Geraghty. Just like Grant, Hurst was replaced at first right away. Korbe Otis stepped up with runners on first and second and singled to center. The hit was deep enough for Miller to score, and the ensuing throw by the center fielder was off-line. Geraghty scored on the throw and Otis advanced to second. Easton Lotus hit a full-count triple to right to score Otis, and the success of batters ahead gave Roby big eyes. She was first pitch swinging for the fences but was rewarded with just a pop out. Gordon knocked a two-out double to score Lotus and the Cards officially batted around in the inning. They'd go no farther than Hess, though, as she flew out to center to end the inning. With a two-run home run and three more RBI hits, Louisville left the inning leading 9-2. One more would have ended the game, but the teams played on.

Sam Booe entered for Zabala in the top of the sixth and made short work of the Eagles. Despite needing 11 pitches to force a foul out from the leadoff batter, Booe got a one-pitch ground out and a three-pitch foul out to end the inning 1-2-3. File opened the bottom half for Louisville with a single. She was obviously in pain at first, with a nagging injury suffered at Virginia coming back to haunt her late in this one, and asked to be removed. Elana Ornelas was brought on to pinch run, and she advanced to second after Miller was hit by a pitch. Ally Alexander swatted a full-count single into left field and Ornelas came around for the walk-off run. Final score: 10-2.

Ornelas's entry in the sixth meant every senior being honored this weekend appeared in this one with the exception of Taja Felder. It's a little surprising to see her not get a nod in the circle with Louisville so far ahead, but we will see what the rest of the weekend brings. Hurst earned the pinch hit walk, and Roby and File both homered. While Roby's day was a bit light, the solo home run being joined only by a walk, File had a big afternoon. Her home run was part of a 3-4 day with three RBIs. Hopefully she's able to return to the field without pain from that leg injury.

Sarah Gordon isn't a senior, but she also found herself being honored this week. Gordon was named to the Top-25 List for the National Freshman of the Year award. Two more cut downs will happen with a Top Ten announced on May 11th and three finalists named on May 25th. The winner will be announced on May 30th in Oklahoma City ahead of the WCWS. Gordon joins Megan Hensley and Maryssa Becker as players to have been named to the list. No Cardinal has won the award. Gordon is second on the team in batting average with a .404 (Otis: .411) and RBI with 42 (Roby: 51). She's also tied for third with Otis in home runs with eight, trailing Roby's 20 and File's 10. She's one of four Cardinals with an OPS over 1.000, sitting at third with a 1.122. Joining her are Roby (1.357), Otis (1.205), and File (1.094). She has started all 47 games as a freshman.

Leading up to this series, I talked quite a bit about how these were must win games. Louisville didn't start it out very convincingly, but they ultimately picked up their seventh straight win and their tenth run-rule victory of the year. They've edged ahead of Duke into 3rd in the ACC on winning percentage. One more win would put the Cards out of reach of Virginia Tech or UNC for fourth in the conference, which would be a great result for Louisville. I think it's fair to say our expectations remain higher, though. That said, assuming Duke wins their last two against Pitt, Louisville would need to complete the sweep this weekend and sweep the Seminoles in Tallahassee next weekend to finish third in the league. Such a performance would give them a chance to win the ACC, which would be quite the coup. I'll settle for completing the sweep this weekend and letting the chips fall where they may next weekend.

The series against Boston College continues today at 2PM. The game will be on ACC Network proper. Let's hope the weather cooperates for the teams, with some light rain in the forecast.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

After taking last week off, we're back with a show this weekend. There will be four of us on as we recap the last couple of weeks for Louisville spring sports. Despite some interesting sound bites of late, we'll stay on brand and bring you the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

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RadioPublic: Link

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Photos by Jared Anderson

Softball Hosts Senior Weekend -- HVL to LSU -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

We have finally reached the beginning of the weekend! The weekend brings several UofL sporting events on the women's side. Track and Field and Softball. We'll look at Softball today, plus news on a former WBB player here at the Ville. 

Softball Hosts Boston College for Senior Weekend

Louisville softball will play at Ulmer Stadium for the final time this season with a three-game series against Boston College this weekend. The Cards are set to play at 6:00 Friday, 2:00 Saturday, and 12:00 Sunday.

The Cards enter the weekend 32-14. Their 13-4 conference record places them third in the ACC.

For Louisville, five seniors will be recognized on Senior Day, which will be held before Saturday's game. Taylor Roby (pitcher), Hannah File (first base), Makayla Hurst (pinch hitter), Taja Felder (pitcher), and Elana Ornelas (third base) will be recognized.

Boston College comes into the weekend 21-25 on the year. The Eagles have had a down year and have struggled both offensively and defensively. 

Nicole Giery powers the way with a .307 batting average, the only player on the BC roster above .300. As a whole, Boston College averages .239 at the plate. Giery and Hannah Slike are both above 40 hits on the year at 46 and 41, respectively.

Abby Dunning and Susannah Anderson have split the bulk of the work in the circle. The former carries a 3.60 ERA and a team-high 10 wins while the later has a 5.43 ERA and seven wins. Dunning has struck out 134 batters..

The Cards lead the series 10-6. Tonight's game will be on ACCNX.

Hailey Van Lith Commits to LSU

Former Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith announced her commitment to LSU. After spending three seasons with Louisville that featured a pair of Elite Eight appearances and a Final Four, Van Lith will utilize her final two years of eligibility with the Tigers. She is part of the last class to be allotted an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.

Fans and media had mixed responses to the announcement of her leaving Louisville and then finding out yesterday's news. I'm a bit on the disappointed side of how everything transpired, but have turned my attention back to Louisville in excitement for next season.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast Resumes

After taking Thunder Over Louisville Saturday off, we will be back with the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. While Daryl will be unavailable, it sounds promising to have Paulie, Jeff, Case, and myself ready to go.

We will be taking next Saturday, May 6, off. It has been traditional for us to take a break from the former radio and current podcast off in celebration of the Kentucky Derby.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Drops Series Opener Against Notre Dame -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Solo Homer Sinks Cards

With the Bats back in season and opening their home slate this week, you've got me instead of Daryl for your Friday morning read. Unfortunately, it's not the greatest news on the day. Louisville brought Notre Dame in for their weekend set and their bats went as cold as the weather with the front coming in. Notre Dame, on the other hand, found a barrel on the first pitch with two outs in the third inning to score the only run of the game and take the series opener 1-0.

Despite my quip about the coldness of their bats, Louisville scattered six hits throughout the game, double Notre Dame's output, but small ball wasn't working for them. Four of the Cards' six hits came in pairs, but both instances saw the runners stranded. In addition to their six hits, Louisville had a single walk which helped contribute to their six runners left on base. Easton Lotus and Hannah File each had two hits for Louisville, with Korbe Otis and Vanessa Miller picking up the other two. Otis also drew the walk. Louisville only struck out twice, meaning they put the other 19 outs in play. Critically, one of their two strikeouts was with two runners on base and two out. 

The defense and pitching were solid. Allowing just three hits and two walks is a tough pill to swallow when the offense is unable to scratch a single run. Alyssa Zabala got the start in this one, but her outing was shorter than the strong numbers would suggest. The third inning saw Zabala give up the two-out home run and immediately follow it with a double and a nine-pitch walk. Taylor Roby came in in relief and forced a pop out. Zabala's final line was two and two-thirds with two hits, two walks, one run, and a strikeout. Roby was strong in the circle in relief. In the remaining four and a third, she gave up just one hit. Notre Dame was similarly good at putting the ball in play, as they had just the one strikeout, but Louisville's defense was up to the task, despite two errors.

There's really not a lot else to say about the game. With hits scattered and Louisville's only opportunities being dashed, the opener was rather uneventful. Run time was only 1:55, and there wasn't much drama. After Louisville put two on in the third, trying to immediately answer the scoring by Notre Dame, they had just two base runners over the remaining four innings. One was erased by a double play and the other split three foul outs. The last two innings saw the Cards go six up, six down. 

The Cards and Irish will be back in action this evening at 6PM. Last night's loss was Louisville's first conference loss after winning nine straight starting with the series finale against Duke. Unfortunately, the canceled finale against Syracuse last weekend may have crushed their chance at a double-digit conference winning streak. At any rate, they'll have the opportunity to start a new streak tonight. Head out to Ulmer, or catch it on ACC Network Extra.

( PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON)

Until next time (tomorrow), Go Cards!

Case

Softball Falls Short at Duke; Savage All-American -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Late Rally Can't Overcome Early Deficit

Softball traveled to Durham, North Carolina this weekend to open their conference season against Duke. The schedule was altered slightly due to weather, and the teams will play a double-header today to wrap the series rather than play one game each today and tomorrow. The games this afternoon will begin at 2PM, with the second coming 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. The games will be on ACC Network Extra. The Blue Devils enter the weekend ranked 15th in both polls, presenting the Cards with both a challenge and an opportunity. Entering the weekend, Louisville was just 2-4 against ranked opponents this season, a mark that became lopsided after a pair of losses to Northwestern last weekend. Unfortunately for Louisville, a loss yesterday prevents them from moving that record to even or better for the time being.

Despite Louisville having played just six of their twenty games at home, the Cards had played just two true road games entering the weekend. Those came against UCF in the Knights Classic, and Louisville split the games. As such, a road series to start conference play is sure to be difficult. Despite Duke's relative newness as a program, the team has exploded onto the scene quickly. 250 fans were on hand to watch the Friday night opener, which may not seem like a lot, but Louisville turned out just about 100 more at Ulmer against Northwestern last weekend. 

While it looked like Louisville would be in for a hot start, things quickly turned sour. After back to back singles and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with nobody out, an infield liner resulted in a double-play and a pop out ended the inning. Ouch. To their credit, the Cards came out strong defensively as well. Freshman Alyssa Zabala has quickly laid claim to a prime pitching position and she got the Friday start. She opened the bottom of the first with a swinging strikeout, and, despite a one-out double, induced a ground out and a pop out to keep the Blue Devils off the board. 

Louisville picked up in the top of the second where they left off in the first. Alternating strikeouts and walks, a two-out wild pitch put runners on second and third with two outs and the top of the order at bat. Just as they did in the first, the Cards left two runners on, with Korbe Otis flying out to center on a full count. Louisville was clearly swinging away in this one, as the inning saw two 1-2 strikeouts, two 3-2 walks, and the aforementioned 3-2 fly out. Perhaps some plate discipline was in order, but hindsight is 20/20. 

After sitting down the leadoff batter in the bottom of the second, Zabala again gave up a double to the second hitter of the inning. This time, she was unable to get the ground out she picked up in the first, and a single scored the runner, with the batter advancing to second on the play at home. A pop up gave Louisville two-outs and an opportunity to limit the damage, but they couldn't quite close it out. Another single put runners on second and third (batter advanced to second on the throw home while the runner retreated to third), and the Cards intentionally walked the leadoff batter to load the bases. That's all well and good, but Duke pinch-hit for the second spot, and the substitute batter drew a full count walk to score a run. Duke's three-hole hitter (a position traditionally held for the most consistent RBI batter) tried to take advantage of Zabala's struggling inning by first pitch swinging, but she didn't get ahold of all of it and the would-be grand slam fell to the waiting left fielder. Louisville escaped down just 2-0.

For the third inning in a row, Louisville put two runners in scoring position. For the second inning in three attempts, they loaded the bases. As with the previous two innings, the result was approximately the same. No runs scored. Three left on base. The total LOB after three innings was seven. That's a brutal number, particularly for a team looking to play small ball. 

Zabala's issues continued in the third after being dinged up in the second. She opened with a 2-2 HBP and, again, allowed the second batter to stroke a double. This game had oddly consistent occurrences. A wild pitch advanced the runners, bringing one home, and a single to score the other ended Alyssa's day. 2+ innings, 6 hits, 4 runs (all earned) 2 walks, a wild pitch, and a hit batter. The strikeout that opened the game was her only one, and it was an evening to forget. They happen. The freshman will bounce back.

Cassie Grizzard took over, inheriting a runner on first and no outs. She changed the second part quickly, inducing a pop fly, but the first was more thorny. Grizzard's second batter grounded into what should have been at least one out, if not a double play, but instead it was scored a fielder's choice with no out. The throw to second was either late, or pulled the fielder off the bag, and Duke had runners on first and second with just one out. Grizzard got a three-pitch strikeout to make it two outs and Deja Davis saw her second intentional walk to load the bases and set up a force out anywhere in the infield. Grizzard was apparently unimpressed by the idea of the defense trying to get an out after the previous grounder, so she got a strikeout to end the inning instead. Louisville trailed 4-0 after three.

Louisville got a bit of life in the fourth, as Madison "Pickle" Winkler pinch-hit for Vanessa Miller to open the inning. Pickle drew a full count walk before Paige Geraghty struck out behind her. With the order turned over, Pickle showed her speed and base-running prowess. Otis grounded out to the first baseman, who stepped on the bag for the force out and tried to fire it over to second for a tag-out to end the inning. The throw was off the mark, missing the shortstop completely, and Pickle advanced to third on the error. A wild pitch gave her the opportunity to come home, and Louisville was on the board with no hits in the inning. That changed rather quickly, as Sarah Gordon singled and Hannah File brought her (and herself) home with a shot to right field. Having seen their margin shrink from 4 to 1 in the span of three batters with Taylor Roby in the box, Duke made a pitching change and intentionally walked Roby. Daisy Hess worked a walk to put runners on first and second, but Easton Lotus was unable to capitalize. Nevertheless, Louisville had entered the inning down 4-0 and was taking the field down 4-3. Improvement.

The improvement was short lived. After a ground out to open the inning, Grizzard gave up a first pitch homer to straightaway center to make it 5-3. She took the next batter to a 1-2 count, but the result was the same, with the Duke catcher pulling this one slightly to left center. A strikeout and a ground out ended the inning, but Louisville's hopes had been a bit deflated with the lead growing back to three runs. Duke made a bunch of changes to the lineup card that extended the play-by-play box for Louisville's fifth. Otherwise it would have been just three lines: strikeout swinging, strikeout swinging, ground out. 

The bottom half saw Gabby Holloway take over in the circle, but she was unable to miss bats as well. Duke greeted her with two straight singles before a sharp liner right to first made it runners on first and second with one out. The next batter fired one down the right field line as well, but instead of being caught at first, it ran through for a two-run triple. Another single scored the runner from third and Louisville quickly trailed by six, after being down by just one run a short four outs prior. Holloway continued to find the barrel of Duke bats, but at least the damage was limited. A fielder's choice preceded a fly out to end the inning. 9-3 Blue Devils.

Down to their final six outs with the top of the order up, Louisville worked to get back into the game. Otis got things started with an infield single, and the Cards benefited from an error on what might have been a double play. Instead of having nobody on and two outs, Korbe Otis took advantage of the missed throw to second by advancing to third. Hannah File rewarded that effort with a sacrifice fly before Roby struck out swinging hard at a full-count pitch. On the play, Sarah Gordon stole second. She could have very well stayed at first, though, as Daisy Hess sent one over the wall. A strikeout ended the inning, but Louisville was back in it at 9-6, having scored three unearned runs in the inning thanks to a single error.

Sam Booe replaced Gabby Holloway after one inning, but Duke continued to get doubles out of their second batters. This one was unimpactful, though, as it split a pair of ground outs. A pop out stranded the runner at third and Louisville had one last chance. After scoring with the top of the order in the previous inning, though, it was the bottom third of the lineup due up in the seventh. Winkler singled after a strikeout opened the inning, but back-to-back fielder's choice ground outs ended the inning and the game. Final score 9-6 Duke.

After leaving seven on base in the first three innings, Louisville left just three on base over the final four. They outscored Duke 6-5 over that time (albeit Duke had one inning less at bat), but they couldn't overcome the early hole that they had dug. There was plenty to be optimistic about, but a loss with optimistic performances is still a loss. As I mentioned before, it was a tough day for Alyssa Zabala, but those are to be expected from a freshman. Louisville still had plenty of chances offensively to make up for her difficult outing, but they couldn't do it. And it all shouldn't hang on Zabala, either. Sam Booe was the only pitcher not to give up a run, and she pitched just one inning. Louisville has been hit or miss in the circle this season, allowing few runs against bad teams, holding good teams to limited offensive outputs in some games, and getting absolutely blasted in others.

A six run offensive output isn't too bad, but it definitely could have been more. I'm sure Coach Holly Aprile said the same in the post game. Louisville will look to get some revenge and will hope to get a win in the opening series of ACC play when they wrap up today. Again, the double-header will begin at 2PM on ACC Network Extra.

Synclair Savage Earns First Team All-American Honors

Louisville sent six athletes to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One of those was Synclair Savage, who has been fantastic for the Cards this season. Savage continued her historic year by becoming the first woman in UofL program history to score points in the horizontal jump events at the indoor championships. She placed seventh in the long jump, earning a first team All-American spot for the effort. Aliyah Welter was the other woman representing Louisville in the desert, and she placed tenth in the women's pole vault. That position was a career best for Welter at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and it earned her a second team All-American spot. Both honorees will be back in action for Louisville when the outdoor season gets underway soon.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

There's just three of us this week, as work obligations (on a Saturday? Gross!) hold out Jared and Daryl. Paulie, Jeff, and I will hold down the fort, and, after having last week off, we'll have plenty to discuss. With spring sports fully in action and the NCAA basketball tournament on the immediate horizon, we'll surely be busy for the full hour. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Give Up Late Lead at UCF 4-2 -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Two-Run Cardinal 1st Thwarted by Two-Run Knight 6th

Louisville traveled to Orlando this week to take part in the Knights Classic hosted by UCF. Though their first game against the host team (ranked 23/25) was scheduled to begin at 7, Florida weather had other plans. A fairly lengthy rain delay meant this game was pushed to an 8:40 PM start time. Adding on a game time of two hours and forty minutes meant it was quite a late night for two east coast teams. Unfortunately for the Cards, their bodies must have been locked onto the previous game time as they were in the zone for the first four innings before it all came apart late.

Louisville got things started with what looked to be a pedestrian top of the first as Daisy Hess grounded out to her position to open the game and Easton Lotus followed up with a strikeout. After Taylor Roby and Korbe Otis coaxed back-to-back full count walks, though, Louisville looked like they might have a bit of a two-out rally on their hands. Sarah Gordon stepped to the plate and delivered. After going down 0-2 and staving off a strikeout by watching a ball and fouling a pitch off, Gordon knocked the next pitch into right field to score both runners. Hannah File was first pitch swinging to get herself on board, and she and Gordon advanced on a wild pitch. Vanessa Miller walked to load the bases (unintentionally, it was an 8-pitch at-bat), and UCF decided that was enough for their starting pitcher. After getting the first two batters out, Louisville had put the next five on base with three walks. The pitching change paid off, as Paige Geraghty struck out to leave the bases loaded.

Taylor Roby's start was a bit better, but mostly because the defense helped her out. Coincidentally, UCF's leadoff hitter grounded to the shortstop on a 1-1 count, just the same as Daisy Hess had. Unfortunately, it wasn't a true mirror as the Knights' second baseman leads off, not the shortstop. So close to greatness. At any rate, Roby allowed a single to the second batter, who advanced to second on the subsequent groundout. Another ball in play followed, with this one sneaking straight through the middle of the infield. Rather than take runners at first and third, though, UCF sent the runner home, and Otis connected with Gordon to prevent the run from scoring and end the inning. Why did UCF send their 3-hole hitter, rostered as a C/3B, home on a short single to center? Your guess is as good as mine.

Louisville's top of the second was an eventful one, despite only seeing four batters. Ally Alexander walked on four pitches to open the inning. Not much more you can ask from the 9-spot, really. Unfortunately, Hess lined a 2-1 pitch straight at the center fielder. Lotus erased Alexander with a fielder's choice, and that set up an odd line in the box score: "Lotus out at second p unassisted." The Cards weren't charged with a caught stealing in the game and no action came from a batter. Lotus couldn't have rounded first and been tagged out after the fielder's choice because that wouldn't have been unassisted. Your guess is as good as mine as to what happened as I don't have ESPN+ and couldn't catch this one.

Regardless of weird scoreline quirks, Louisville went to the bottom of the second still leading 2-0. That lead was halved in short order by a leadoff home run. Roby continued to struggle missing bats, as all five batters she faced in the second put the ball into play. A single split three ground outs to leave the inning otherwise unharmed, but it's quite unlike Roby to allow 9 straight batters to put the ball in play. After she opened a 1-2-3 offensive inning with a strikeout, she returned the favor to the top of the UCF order. A 1-out double became a runner on third with two outs after a sacrifice fly. An intentional walk set up an easier force out, but the idea was cut down by a steal. Fortunately, Roby turned in her second strikeout of the inning to strand the runner and maintain the 2-1 lead.

Louisville rewarded Roby's effort by adding to their lead. File singled and advanced on another wild pitch (how often does the same player advance on wild pitches by two different pitchers in the same game?). After a Miller strikeout, Elana Ornelas stepped in to pinch hit for Geraghty. She hit the first pitch she saw into left center to easily score File on the double before Geraghty retook her place at second, being substituted back into left field. Softball substitution rules are tricky, as evidenced by UCF changing half their team after the double. Alexander walked to put runners on first and second, but Geraghty was out at third on Hess's fielder's choice. Hess and Alexander advanced on another wild pitch (third different pitcher), but Easton Lotus struck out on a full count to strand them. Louisville took a 3-1 lead into the bottom half. Taylor Roby gave up a first pitch double and Holly Aprile decided that was enough for the super senior. Cassie Grizzard was brought in to clean things up, and she did just that with a ground out, strikeout, fly out combo. 

Louisville, unfortunately, would go cold at the plate. Their next seven batters went right back to the dugout on four straight ground outs followed by three straight strikeouts. In the meantime, UCF came alive. A strikeout and a pop-up opened the bottom of the fifth for Grizzard, but a double and RBI single followed. Grizzard's third strikeout in two innings ended the inning, but Louisville's two-run lead was down to one. Despite solid play for most of the game, Louisville's defense had one blip that was quite costly. After a single split a ground out and a strikeout, UCF had a runner on first with two outs. That became a runner on second with a wild pitch and it became two runners when the eighth pitch of the at bat was a ball. The next batter singled to center field, and the tying runner scored from second easily. Unfortunately, in her haste to get the ball back in, Otis was unable to field it cleanly. The error allowed the runner from first to score unearned and Louisville's game-long lead was now a deficit. Alyssa Zabala relieved Grizzard and forced a groundout to end the inning. 

Louisville's top of the seventh had promise, but it just didn't quite work out. After the opening strikeout, Hess singled at the top of the order. Lotus grounded into what should have been a double-play that would have ended the game, but she was able to leg it out to make it a fielder's choice and keep the Cards alive. Roby showed great discipline as she watched three straight balls after falling into a 1-2 hole to put two on and a pinch runner replaced her. A passed ball moved the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, but Otis laced a 3-1 pitch right at the right fielder to end the game.

We talked a bit about Louisville's small ball mantra on last week's show, and it was in force last night. Louisville had five hits and six walks in the game and scored three runs off of those. While it doesn't look like much, stringing together baserunners is how you score. Picking up three triples in a game doesn't help you if no one else is on base. While you'll take a homer every once in a while (who wouldn't), you have to be able to score when people are in position to do so. That leads to the negative side of the box score. Louisville had nine strikeouts and left seven players on base. An average of a runner left on per inning is going to haunt. While UCF had the same mark with six, they reached one extra time and took advantage of an error to score the winning run. Louisville had one extra base hit to UCF's four. If they're going to be a small ball team, they can't leave that many runners on base. 

It was a surprisingly short outing for Roby, as she pitched just three full innings. She gave up one run on six hits and a walk, but she had two strikeouts with no wild pitches and had thrown just 51 pitches total. Grizzard, who started out well, struggled on the final line: 2.2 innings with three runs (two earned) on four hits, a walk, and a wild pitch. Four of her eight outs were strikeouts, though, so she can miss bats. Louisville dinged around the first two pitchers they saw, getting three runs on four hits and five walks in 3.1 innings combined. They just couldn't make it happen against Sarah Willis, though, as they managed just one hit and one walk while striking out four times in the last 3.2 innings.

Louisville is back in action with a pair of games today. The first is against Columbia at 11:30 with the second scheduled for 2 PM against Bradley. Both games will be available on ESPN+. Louisville will wrap up the event with a game against Purdue tomorrow morning and a rematch against the hosts in the afternoon. After that, the Cards will return to Louisville to open Ulmer against Bellarmine Tuesday evening before hosting the Cardinal Classic next weekend.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

I'll be out this week, but the crew will have plenty to discuss with the exciting Louisville vs Miami WBB game this week and the upcoming rematch against Notre Dame. There's also softball, lacrosse, and more to cover, so be sure to tune in. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Splits; Lacrosse Drops Heartbreaker -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Opens with Win, Falls to UK

Louisville softball got their season off to an interesting start yesterday in Clearwater, Florida. That start included back-to-back games to open their schedule with the second coming against a ranked rival. The Cards opened with South Alabama at 11AM, with the game against Kentucky scheduled to start at 1:30PM or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. At the same time as Louisville faced South Alabama, Kentucky took on St. John's on a different field at the same complex, so the Cards don't have that as an excuse. However, their games couldn't have gone much differently.

Kentucky cruised to a 14-4 run rule over St. John's. The Red Storm took a 3-0 lead into the bottom half of the first, which UK quickly erased with a 2-out grand slam. In the meantime, Louisville struck first against USA in the third inning. On the play, Korbe Otis stood at first, having earned a one-out single before Taylor Roby fouled out. With two outs, Otis was running on contact, which came lightly off the bat of Hannah File. The ball blooped over Otis's head, and fell in front of South Alabama's second baseman, who was playing off. As Otis rounded second, the second baseman fumbled the ball, taking a play for File at first out of the question. Recovering, she prepared to throw the ball home as Otis didn't slow down. The throw was way off target, allowing Otis to score and File to reach second. Vanessa Miller went down swinging to end the inning, but the Cards held a 1-0 lead.

That lead was quickly erased by an unearned run by South Alabama in the bottom half. What goes around comes around, they say. Louisville got a strikeout to start the inning, but back-to-back singles put runners on first and second. A grounder looked like it would end the inning harmlessly, but newcomer Daisy Hess (a transfer from Georgia State) made an uncharacteristic error. The high school Gold Glover and three-year starter at shortstop for GSU stepped on the bag for the first out but airmailed the throw to first to allow the runner rounding third to score. Louisville got another grounder to end the inning, but the score was tied at one. 

Neither team was able to break through for the remaining four innings of regulation ball, with Louisville grabbing two singles and reaching on an error and South Alabama picking up two walks. The Cards took to the plate first in the eighth, with a runner standing on second, per the international tiebreaker rules. To Louisville's great benefit, the previous batter had been Korbe Otis, who advanced to third on a wild pitch quickly. Taylor Roby doubled to score Otis and was pinch run for to continue the attack. After a strikeout, a dropped flyball put runners on the corners for catcher Sarah Gordon. Gordon doubled down the left field line to score them both and give the Cards a 4-1 lead. A flyout and a strikeout ended the inning and Louisville took to the field. USA would score one in the bottom half, as it's pretty difficult not to score a runner from second with no outs. In fact, USA used two outs to score her, getting an advancing ground ball and then a sacrifice fly. With nobody on and two out, Alyssa Zabala picked up her third strikeout to finish the inning and grab her first win as a Cardinal.

As I said, Kentucky was a little more rested than Louisville, but neither team could claim much momentum. Even though Louisville had just picked up an extra inning win, Kentucky scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to complete their game one run-rule. The #20/17 Wildcats wasted no time getting back to business. After sitting Cards down in order in the top of the first and having their leadoff batter ground out, the Cats put three straight players on base with a single, an outless fielder's choice, and a double. A passed ball helped set up the fielder's choice and a fielding error by the catcher on the double allowed the second run to score. After a groundout advanced the runner to third, another double brought her home. Another groundout ended the inning, but Louisville was quickly in a 3-0 hole. 

Louisville finally got a runner on base to leadoff the third inning, but she was caught stealing to quickly end that threat. Defensive issues came back to bite the Cards again in the bottom half of the third. After a single and a walk had runners on first and second with two outs, a throwing error by the pitcher on what should have been the third out allowed both runners to score and pushed the Kentucky lead to five. The fourth inning saw six up, six down, and Louisville finally got their second base runner to open the fifth when Roby singled. Again, the runner was quickly erased, this time on a lineout double play. 

The bottom of the fifth unraveled for Cassie Grizzard, who hit a batter to open the frame, gave up a four pitch walk after a steal, and saw a 2-2 pitch skied to center for the walk-off home run to end the run-rule shortened game. Though they had only two strikeouts, the Cards also had just two hits. They committed three errors, leading to four of Kentucky's eight runs. The Cats are good, and Louisville will get another shot at them this season, but this is a game to forget. Fortunately, there are positives to take from game one of the day, and Louisville is allowed to have a short memory early in the year. The Cards are back in action today at 1:30PM against Southern University and later at 4 against another ranked SEC team. This time it's Mizzou. The gocards website includes a video link, but the stream can be a bit hit and miss.

If you would like to follow Softball today, TRY THIS LINK HERE

Lacrosse Drops Four-Goal Lead Against Denver

Louisville lacrosse opened their season against Denver yesterday, and the game is beginning to feel like a given on the schedule. Unlike in years past, Louisville looked very prepared early in this one. While the Cards have played Denver close before, it didn't exactly feel like they threatened to win. That was different yesterday, as Louisville opened the scoring and held a 3-0 first quarter lead. Unfortunately, their offensive firepower ran out much too early, and the Cards fell 5-4.

Nicole Perroni was the first on the board for the season, surprising no one, as she scored in less than five minutes. Negai Nakazawa, Kokoro's younger sister, scored to put the Cards up 2-0 and Perroni struck again to make it 3-0 with just eight seconds remaining in the frame. The second quarter was much less eventful, with neither team able to score again until Louisville increased their lead to four with a Lauren Figas goal with 2:25 remaining. If you had told Scott Teeter or anyone else that it would be their last goal of the day, they'd surely be shocked and dismayed. Those feelings would come to pass. It took Denver fewer than 30 seconds to answer the fourth goal, cutting the lead to 4-1 with just under two minutes until halftime. Louisville held on to the break and went to the locker room feeling good. Remember, no one had told them yet that they wouldn't score again.

The third quarter played out much like the second, with neither team making much offensive headway. Lauren Black scored a second goal for the Pioneers with 3:05 remaining in the third, but Louisville still held a two-goal lead. Unfortunately for the Cards, a two-goal lead entering the late stages of a game is among the most dangerous leads you can have psychologically. Two goals feels comfortable, but just one quick goal cuts your advantage in half and gives the opponent more motivation. Such was the case in the fourth quarter of this one, as Denver scored at the 9:49 mark and equalized just 44 seconds later. All of the sudden, Louisville went from a two-goal lead to a tied game and Denver was rolling. Such is the psychological snowball effect. In just under a minute and a half more, Denver scored the go-ahead goal, the ninth and final goal of the match. Neither team was able to attack successfully for the remaining eight minutes of the match, but only one team needed to. After scoring the first four goals of the match, Louisville gave up five straight to end their chance at a top-ten upset.

There is a lot to be encouraged about with this match. Similarly, there is plenty to be discouraged about. Denver is a top-ten team (ranked 9th), and the Cards should have beaten them. They scored early and often, but they weren't able to keep up the scoring later in the game, despite having seven shots in both halves. One of the discouraging stats is the turnovers, as Louisville had 25 in the game, ten more than Denver. Another issue was draw controls late. After winning the draw control battle 3-1 in the first quarter, the Cards lost it 6-3 over the remaining three quarters. Those draw control losses can lead directly to goals, as was the case on the quick Denver run.

Louisville has today off before they host Colorado tomorrow. The game is at Noon and will be available on ACC Network Extra. The Cards will look to bounce back from the tough loss and regain some momentum. It's a short non-conference season, as Louisville will get Lindenwood next Sunday before starting conference play against Virginia on the 25th. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're without Daryl this morning, but after recovering from travel last week, I'm back to make it four on today's show. With spring sports getting fully underway, we'll have more than enough to talk about to fill the hour. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case