Friday Cardinal Couple -- Cards hope third time is charm

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball faces IPFW in Louisville NCAA Regional

-Three named to NFCA All-Great Lakes Region team

-Cameron Newbauer named Belmont head coach


Julie Hermann was fond of speaking about a sense of urgency around the UofL campus when it came to sports. Sandy Pearsall is a firm believer of taking games one at a time. So, can you combine urgency and systematic approaches when it comes to advancing in the NCAA softball tournament?

For Louisville, hopefully the answer will be yes. The Cards begin their quest to get to the WCWS (Women's College World Series) tonight when they take on the Mastadons of Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne at 7:30 p.m. in Ulmer Stadium.

The regional also represents the third title that the Cards will try for in the 2013 season. Louisville appeared to be in the driver's seat for the BIG EAST regular season crown...but a rough weekend in South Bend to end the regular season left the Cards in third place in the regular season standings. UofL came into the BIG EAST Tournament in Tampa, FL last weekend looking for redemption and blasted Syracuse over into the Gulf of Mexico briny deep with a 12-3 shellacking. The homestanding Bulls thwarted the Cards chances of getting to the title game, though...blanking the Louisville bats in a 3-0 win en route to the BIG EAST Tournament title.

Round three approaches. The Louisville lineup, filled with powerful hitters from leadoff to ninth batter, will look to bombard Brandeis Avenue behind the left field fence as they try to advance to a 2 p.m. semifinal date Saturday.

If you're sitting out on the grassy knoll behind the outfield, a hard hat or motion sensing device might not be a bad idea. Louisville led the BIG EAST in home runs and with fence swingers Maggie Ruckenbrod, Alicja Wolny, Taner Fowler, Katelyn "Mannie" Mann and Katie Keller capable of saying goodbye to Mr. Spalding at any time...the Mastadons might need radar tracking devices to keep sight of the flights and the Cardinals' ability to clear the bags.

UAB and UCLA start it off at 5 p.m. Louisville is offering a free shuttle bus from Papa John's Stadium to Ulmer Stadium for fans from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m....in case you're looking to avoid the $5 parking fee closer to the stadium.

See you at Ulmer.

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Alicja Wolny and Katie Keller were named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team yesterday and Maggie Ruckenbrod received second team honors.

What Louisville and its' vicinity to the Great Lakes have in common is anyone's guess...but it's still quite a huge honor for these three softball Cards.

ALICJA WOLNY, a senior from El Dorado Hills, CA., was also selected for the first team last year. She's been a four-year starter and four-year member of the All-BIG EAST Conference team. Wolny led the Cards with a .417 batting average and had 10 home runs, 52 RBI's and scored 39 runs. If Katy Perry had been a Cardinal Softball season ticket holder, Wolny probably would have batted .600 and had 30 fence clearers. The steady first baseman for the Cards is also the team leader when it comes to advice, confidence and style.

KATIE KELLER, a junior second baseman from Livermore, CA. is also a two-time All-Great Lakes Region selection. She hit for .412 in 2013 and set a school single season record with 54 RBI's. Her 12 home runs led Louisville this season and she was selected as the USA Softball National Player of the Week this year as well. "Killer" Keller also plays a mean second base defensively and it's also reported that the Louisville International Airport air controllers have requested that special tracking devices get implanted in the softballs when Keller comes to bat....so they can identify the moon shots and not get them confused with meteors...

MAGGIE RUCKENBROD, a junior hailing from St. Louis, MO. is batting .349 in 57 games and has seven home runs, 40 RBI's and 35 hits. "Large Marge" also knows a thing or two about catching and baserunners who think about stealing on her usually regret the decision if they attempt it. She has thrown out 15 thieves this season and picked off 10 slow-to-react base dwellers. She holds the school record for season and career pick off and stealers retired. We're not sure if it's true or not, but it is rumored that the Louisville Metro Police Department anxiously awaits her graduation so  they can add her to the Crime Prevention Unit. No one steals when Large Marge is around.

In this columnist opinion, center fielder Jordan Trimble should have been the fourth Card to receive NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honors. She's a prime-time, tournament star...however and you can expect her to rattle some fences and shake the confidence of a few pitchers over the weekend.

Congratulations to our Softball stars!! Keep it up, ladies.

Readers, please try to get out to Ulmer tonight and this weekend to cheer on your softball Cards. One of the most common themes I've run into when talking to these incredible ladies that make up the UofL Softball team is the joy, excitement and delight they feel when they see the seats and outfield watching areas packed with red-clad fans.

You help them be what they are.

Make them great this weekend.

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Louisville assistant women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer is headed to Belmont.

No, not the third leg of horse racing's triple crown. The university in Nashville, Tennessee. As the head coach.

Cam was a Louisville assistant for one year under Jeff Walz before taking the plunge and accepting the head position at Belmont University.

Cam is a rising, young star of women's college basketball coaches. He was instrumental in getting the University of Louisville women's basketball team to the National Championship game in 2013. His knowledge of skills, defense and fundamentals were a great help to the Cards in his one season here.

Another success story springs from the coaching tree that is Jeff Walz. We figured his time here at UofL was limited, at best....a man with so much talent and expertise doesn't stay un-recruited and ignored for long.

The wheels got into motion when Belmont head coach Brittney Ezell resigned April 28th. after three seasons to take the East Tennessee State head coaching job. Newbauer was an obvious choice and accpeted yesterday. A press conference is scheduled for Monday.

We have a feeling it's not the last stop on Cam's rise to head coaching. Recognition of talent and skill is always rewarded.

We wish Cam the best of luck with Belmont...he was always a great interview and know he'll be successful in this...his first head coaching opportunity.  



-Paulie


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Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Meet the competition

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-They come from north, south and west to challenge Cards in NCAA Regionals

-Softball Cards statistics

-Another Shoni and Jude story

-Julie Hermann one of two finalists for Rutgers job.

Three teams travel to Louisville, arriving Wednesday or Thursday, to compete for the Regional Championship. Louisville is one of sixteen spots hosting a regional. Here's a look at the three squads that will try to defeat Louisville and claim the prize of Regional Champion...


Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne

They're the squad that will be travelling from the north, in case you are geographically-challenged. Or headed southbound, for a more accurate trip description. What they bring with them is a Summit League championship and a 34-14 record. The Mastadons (which are prehistoric elephants...if you aren't up on your extinct animals) are on a roll (if Mastadons could actually roll...) winning eight of their last nine games. They defeated North Dakota State to take the Summit League Championship tournament and get the automatic bid to the NCAA Big Softball Dance.

IPFW gets good production from Summit League Tournament MVP Ashleigh Bousquet, who hit .417 on the season with nine home runs and 42 RBI's. Inside the circle, Miranda Kramer is the ace of the pitching staff...carrying an impressive 1.82 ERA and 270 strikeouts in 180.2 innings of work.

It'll be the first meeting ever between Louisville and IPFW. We're hoping for a five inning, run-rule affair.  

UAB (University of Alabama-Birmingham

Yep, they're the squad that comes from the south and will be travelling northbound. See how quickly you catch on? The Blazers (named either after a type of fire or a type of dress jacket) got to the NCAA Tournament by receiving an at-large bid. UAB actually won the Conference USA regular season with a record of 19-4...but lost in the Conference USA Tournament semifinals to Marshall.

Caitlin Attifield leads the UAB hitters with a .367 average. She's scored 33 runs and stolen 23 bases. The powerbroker is Kristen McGrath with a team-best 12 roundtrippers and 39 RBI's.

UAB has an excellent group of hurlers. The "L" squad (Lannah Campbell, Lauren Webster and Leigh Streetman) combined for 432 strikeouts. Each pitcher won 12 games this season and UAB were 37-16 overall.

Louisiville and UAB were old C-USA foes from 2000-2005 and the Cards hold a 18-3 advantage in the series. Last time out, the two met in the FIU Combat Classic on Feb. 11, 2012...the Cards taking a 5-4 win. Maggie Ruckenbrod blasted two home runs and Katelyn "Mannie" Mann sent her first career four bagger over the fence in the win.

More please! Let's wake 'em up on Brandeis Street if these two match up on Saturday.

UCLA (University of California Los Angeles)

Isn't it a bit interesting that all three schools coming to Louisville are better known by their initials and are schools designated by the name of a state institution and then city?

Or maybe it isn't. These Bruins (a type of bear..to continue the history lessons) are travelling eastbound from the left coast. Unless they decide to take the Hawaii, Toyko, New Delhi, Paris and New York round trip to Louisville. That would have them going westbound and they'd probably be pretty tired when they got here if they went that way.

UCLA tied for 5th. in the strong PAC-12 Conference. They closed the season by winning five out of their last six games. There is no listing of a PAC 12 Softball Tournament,  so we guess they don't play one and we'll assume their bid was an at-large one. The Bruins went 37-18 overall and 10-14 in conference play.

The Californians bat .302 as a team and seem quite proficient in the long ball...blasting 82 of them so far this season. B.B. Bates blasted 24 of them, Ally Carda sent 16 over the wall and Stephany LaRosa gave out 15 souvenirs and led the team with a .378 batting average.

Carda also handles primary pitching duties...going 22-10, recording a 2.37 ERA and fanning 202 batters in 186.1 innings.

Louisville and UCLA have met once....back in 2004 in the Los Angeles NCAA Regional...with the Bruins winning 2-0.

They have 12 national championships to their credit, the most recent coming in 2010. It'll be Louisville's job to stop these bears on the path to their 13th...

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UofL enters regional play with a 46-11 record. The Cards are ranked #11 in the USA Today Softball poll and #12 by ESPN.

Alicja Wolny leads the Cards with a .417 batting average and had 10 home runs and 52 RBI's. Katie Keller carries a .412 average and led Louisville with 12 fence clearers. She's scored 60 runs and driven home 54. Jordy Trimble adds a .385 average, scored 49 times and sent 25 base runners home.

In the circle, Caralisa Connell punched out a 25-4 record with a 2.20 ERA. Rachel LeCoq (21-7) has a excellent 1.88 ERA. The two have struck out 302 batters in 381 innings.

We hope for "good" Carl and "le gran Le Coq" over the weekend. And, no rain.

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WE can talk UofL women's  basketball every day here at CARDINAL COUPLE without any problem. Check the link below that talks a little Shoni and Jude. (Thanks to Jenny for the 'find'...who says she only works here on Wednesdays and Saturdays?)

SHONI AND JUDE


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Rutgers University has identified Sean Frazier and Julie Hermann as the two finalists for the Athletic Director job.

It seems, however, there is a major question about a decision in each candidates past duties. Hermann's goes back to 1997, when she was head volleyball coach at Tennessee. Frazier's stems from a sexual assault case in 2012.

Click the link below to get the details from nj.com:

Questions about Frazier and Hermann

Everything seems to have to have drama involved in it these days, doesn't it?  Sometimes, I'm ashamed to be associated with some yellow dog journalists. Assuming I am one...to begin with. Most days, I prefer to refer to myself as the ring-leader of the chimps. That's much more fun.  

That's when I'm not under the illusion that I'm Paulie Skynyrd and belting out "Gimme Three Steps" at karaoke to a dis-interested audience. 

We joke at how horrible I am at predictions on CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO. Therefore, I am predicting that Julie Hermann gets the job at Rutgers. This, then...will most certainly not happen and we will get to keep her here at UofL. Being selfish? You bet! We love the job she has done here and don't want to see her go.

I will close with this, and it was mentioned in the article. Why...after 16 years...is Julie interested in a head Athletic Director's job? Especially at a school that seems to be filled with more problems, failures and goof-ups than a Three Stooges comedy?

Nevertheless, we wish her the best and we'll know in a couple of days.

-Paulie

Cards crush Orange

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Early production, Trimble's blast send Cards to the semifinal


Sandy Pearsall may have said it best. In an interview that we'll play on the Saturday Cardinal Couple Radio Show, I asked Coach P. about the overall power of the Louisville batters..

" I was talking to the assistants about that the other afternoon. I said to them...what if we were the opposition and had to look across the diamond and see what Louisville had coming up to bat against us. Holy cow! We're scary..."

Louisville was scary, indeed on Thursday...pounding Syracuse for 12 hits and 12 runs in a 12-3 win.

Louisville wasted no time in unpacking the hitting sticks. In the bottom of the first, Katie Keller led things off with a single, moved to third on a Jordan Trimble bunt and scored when Maggie Ruckenbrod reached on a grounder to second.
Katelyn Mann cleared the bags with a triple to make it 3-0. Hannah Kiyohara's single brought Mann in and Kayla Soles smashed a triple to score Kiyohara. 5-0 Cards before the chalk dust on the first base line had settled.

Syracuse tried to make a contest of it. They settled down and got the Cards retired in the second with two hits but no runs. They cut the gap to 5-3 in the top of the third with a pair of home runs.

Louisville was nowhere finished with the offensive firepower, though.

Soles started the home half of the third with a two out fielder's choice. Taner Folwer took one deep to left that appeared to be caught at the fence...but the umpires ruled it a trapped ball and Fowler was awarded first base. After Keller was plunked by a pitch to load the bases, Trimble emptied the bags with a blast to left-center. It was her sixth homer of the year and second grand slam. 9-3 Louisville.

The Cards added three more in the fourth. Kiyohara scored when she reached on a fielder's choice and Soles singled. That set the stage for Fowler's two run blast to left that made it 12-3 Cards. The game was ended after five innings because of the eight-run rule.

Rachel LeCoq went three innings, allowing three runs on five hits. Caralisa Connell was "good Carl" in the final two...holding the Orange scoreless and striking out three.

Louisville advances to play #2 seed South Florida today at 6:30 p.m. The Bulls handled Providence 3-0 in the final game of the day.

In earlier action, #4 seed DePaul won a pitcher's duel with Georgetown 1-0. #1 seed Notre Dame shut out Seton Hall 6-0.

On a opening day of BIG EAST Tournament play where five teams managed a total of only four runs combined, Louisville showed why they were the offensive leader in just about every imaginable offense stat in the BIG EAST this season.

May the bats be with you again tomorrow...Cards!

-Paulie

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Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Unfinished business...Softball heads to Tampa

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Cards open BIG EAST Tournament against nemesis Syracuse


It has been an outstanding season so far for the Louisville Softball squad. With a 45-10 record and third place finish in the BIG EAST regular season, UofL can point proudly to their achievements so far and kudos go to the team for providing two pitchers with 20 or more wins and two players with over .400 averages at bat.

There is still some unfinished business at hand, though.

First on the docket...defense of their 2012 BIG EAST Tournament title. The road will not be easy in the single-elimination event. Opening foe Syracuse hung one of Louisville's ten losses on them back on March 29th. in Ulmer Stadium. It was the conference opener for both schools and the Cards fell in the second game of the double header 4-2 after winning the first challenge 8-1. Louisville rebounded to take the "rubber match" 9-0 the next day.

There's also the history of Syracuse's success against UofL in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Orange holds a 2-1 advantage - defeating the Cards in the finals in 2010 and 2011 in Ulmer Stadium. Gone from those teams is SU pitching ace Jenna Caira, but so is Cardinal shut out star Tori Collins.

Louisville holds a 12-8 lifetime advantage over Syracuse. The Cards will look to advance to a Friday, May 10th. semifinal duel against either #2 seed South Florida or #7 seed Providence. The final game of the championship will take place Saturday at 4 p.m. and will be televised live of ESPN2.

Junior second baseman Katie Keller provided the greatest offense spark for the Cards in the 55 game regular season...batting .420 with 12 home runs, 54 RBI's, and 58 runs scored. Senior first baseman Alicja Wolny was close behind with a .417 average, 10 fence clearers and 51 RBI's.
Senior centerfielder Jordan Trimble slugged for a .387 mark...driving in 24 runs and scoring 47.

The duo of Caralisa Connell and Rachel LeCoq had 291 strikeouts in 354 innings pitched. Connell tossed for a 2.17 ERA while going 25-4. LeCoq produced a 1.69 ERA to go with her 20-6 record.

The word on Connell is that she is healthy and available for BIG EAST play. She pitched just one inning in the three-game set against Notre Dame...control problems allegedly being the reason for the lack of circle time.

Louisville has reached the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament every year since joining the conference in 2006 and advanced to the finals in five out of their seven appearances.

The Cards are hovering on hosting a first round regional site for the NCAA Tournament. A three-day sweep in Tampa would most certainly bolster those chances of getting to play at Ulmer Stadium in mid-May. They have displayed the ability to hit the cover off the ball at times...but were shut down by Notre Dame pitcher 3-1 in the final regular season game in South Bend.

For Louisville, a chance to gain one of the two post-season trophies still exists...if they can win three on the Bulls home field. The bats need to be popping and the pitching precise and powerful.

A great time to start a winning streak. We hope the bags are full of Cards leading up to Mother's Day and that home plate delivery comes often.

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Thursday and Friday action of the quaterfinals and semis will be available on bigeast.tv

Louisville plays at 4 p.m. Thursday. The first game of the day is at 10 a.m.



-Paulie

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE -- Softball splits with Notre Dame

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Cards split with Irish. Regular season title on the line today.

-Derby wrap up


The University of Louisville softball team fell in the first game to Notre Dame 5-4 but rallied to pound the Irish 15-1 in five innings in the nightcap. The two will meet today (weather permitting) to decide the BIG EAST regular season winner at 1 p.m. today in South Bend. 


Notre Dame 5 - Louisville 4

Louisville rallied from behind twice in the first game yesterday to get close...but it wasn't enough to defeat the Irish. Notre Dame jumped out to a first inning 3-0 lead off Caralisa Connell and the Cardinal defense. A two-out, two run homer was the Irish big hit to put them up by three after one.

Louisville rallied in the top of the second to make it 3-1 when leadoff hitter Maggie Ruckenbrod parked one in the bleachers in left field.

Alicja Wolny blasted her 10th. homer of the year in the third to cut the lead to 3-2.

After an Irish fence clearer made it 4-2, the Cards got solo, back-to-back homers from Whitney Arion and Jordan Trimble to tie it up at 4-4.

Notre Dame scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. A walk, bunt single and sacrifice bunt got a runner to third. A sacrifice fly to Hannah Kiyohara scored the winner...her throw to the plate not quite in time.
 
Rachel LeCoq took the loss, going to 19-5 on the season, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out four in six innings of relief. Louisville's four runs came on solo shot home runs.


Louisville 15 - Notre Dame 1

Le Coq started the second game in the circle for the Cards and she was involved in a pitcher's duel for the first two innings...a scoreless affair when Uofl came to bat in the top of the third. The Cards got a single from Kayla Soles, A walk from Jordan Trimble and a Katelyn Mann single to fill the bags with Cardinals. Alicja Wolny stepped up big with a deep double that cleared the based and almost made it over the fence. 3-0 Louisville

Notre Dame cut it to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run.

The Cards exploded for 12 runs in the top of the fifth. Trimble singled and scored on a Mann triple. Wolny drove home Mann with a single. Ruckenbrod then singled and Katie Keller followed with a three-run "good bye, Mr. Spalding"...to make it 8-1 Louisville.

Louisville was just getting warmed up.

Kiyohara walked and Taner Fowler reached on an error. Both scored on Soles' double. Trimble "sent one out for a fan" to push to Louisville lead to 12-1. Mann and Wolny then drew walks. Ruckenbrod drove home Mann with a single and Wolny and Ruckenbrod scored out a Keller double to provide Louisville with a 15-1 advantage.

LeCoq gets her 20th. win of the season....going five innings and allowing just two hits, one run and getting a strikeout in five innings.

They decide it today in South Bend. We hope for a "good" Carl appearance or Le Coq to rock again.

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DERBY WRAP UP

Sonja had the hot had again on Derby picks...with exacta picks in races #8, #9 and #10 and trifecta winners in #9 and #10.

I didn't do as well...but did hit the Pick Three and Pick Four that ended with the Derby race.

We both had ORB finishing second in the Derby, but bet him across the board anyway....for a nice $25.60 return on $6 invested. Congratulations to Shug McGaughey. One of the best and nicest trainers in the business.

The "tree" showed up the "apple" in the Derby, though. Sonja's mom had the $1 exacta. Her $20 wager paid $490.80.  She boxed Orb, Golden Soul, Goldencents, Giant Finish and Normandy Invasion.

Her betting strategy? She liked the name Orb, she included all the horses that started with "G" and her late husband (who's first name was Gene) was part of the actual Normandy invasion in WW II.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to you!

-Paulie

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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Softball splits, Lacrosse plays today

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville splits double header against Georgetown

- Lacrosse ends season today against Villanova


The No. 7/8 University of Louisville softball tean split a BIG EAST doubleheader against Georgetown yesterday. They Cards took the first game 8-0 in five innings but fell in the nightcap 4-2. The loss put Louisville a game behind Notre Dame in the BIG EAST standings. 

Louisville 8 - Georgetown 0 

The Cards struck early in the first game against the Hoyas. Jordan Trimble doubled in the first inning and scored on an Alicja Wolny single. Louisville added a second run in the second when Taner Fowler doubled and scored on a Katie Keller walk with the bases loaded. It was 2-0 Cards after two innings.

The third inning brought Louisville their third run. Maggie Ruckenbrod and Whitney Arion delivered singles to start the inning. Ruckenbrod scored on a Hannah Kiyohara sacrifice fly. Make it 4-0 UofL after four frames. The Cards loaded the bases when Trimble singled and Wolny and Ruckenbrod walked. Arion's single scored Trimble.

Louisville broke their run-per-inning trend in the fifth. Kiyohara started the inning with a blooper single and Katelyn Mann's bunt left both runners safe. That set the stage for a three-run homer from Trimble, which made it 7-0. The Cards added the final run on hits from Ruckenbrod and Arion.

Rachel LeCoq was magnificent in the circle...allowing just four hits in the five innings to go to 18-4 on the season.


GEORGETOWN 4 - LOUISVILLE 2

Caralisa Connell was in the circle for the second game and it didn't go well for her early. A double and two-run homer in the top of the first put the Cards behind before they ever got to bat. Louisville did respond with two runs in the bottom of the first.

Trimble singled and Keller got hit by a pitch. A wild pitch advnaced them. Trimble scored on a Wolny sacrifice fly and Keller made it home on a Arion sacrifice fly. It was 2-2 after an inning.

Georgetown touched Connell for two more runs in the second. Two walks and three singles gave GU a 4-2 lead.

The Cards threatened several times to score again. Bases loaded and one out in the second but nothing got to the plate. Scorers in position in the fourth and sixth as well. Louisvile left nine runners on base for the game.

Connell went the distance and gets the loss to go to 25-4.

The teams play again today at noon.  It's senior day and Louisville will honor seniors Katelyn Mann, Jordan Trimble, Alicja Wolny, Jennifer Esteban, Chrisanna Roberts and Chelsea Leonard prior to the game.


LACROSSE ends regular season against Villanova.


Louisville Lacrosse will end the regular season against Villanova today at 1 p.m. at the UofL Lacrosse Stadium. The Cards will not qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament regardless of the outcone...they take the top four (Connecticut, Loyola, Georgetown and Syracuse). The Cards 2-5 in the BIG EAST and 10-6 overall.

Lacrosse will say good-bye to three seniors today...midfielder Katie Oliverio, goal-keeper Danielle Pawliw and defender Janaye Dzikewich.

No word or idea yet on whether a 11-6 or 10-7 record would be good enough for an NCAA bid.

Monday Cardinal Couple -- Softball, Lacrosse get wins... Golf leads in BIG EAST

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball victorious over Villanova

-Lacrosse defeats Bearcats

-Golf leads BIG EAST Championships

-Rowing gets win in Clemson Regatta


A busy Sunday in Louisville women's sports...with four squads engaged in action. Let's get to the action!

Louisville 8 - Villanova 1


UofL's softball sluggers improved to 15-1 in the BIG EAST with a 8-1 trouncing of the Villanova Wildcats in Philly Sunday. The Cards maintained a share of the lead in the BIG EAST conference race with the win and also secured a spot in the BIG EAST championship tournament by knocking off VU. The Cards have now won 15 games in a row.

The teams battled in a scoreless affair for three innings before the Cardinal bats got untracked. Louisville opened the fourth inning with Whitney Arion receiving a base on balls. She was safe at second when Hannah Kiyohara reached on a grounder. Kayla Soles drove Arion home with a single to left and Katelyn Mann filled the bags full of Cardinals after getting hit by a pitch from 'Nova starter Kate Poppe. Katie Keller's single plated two more Cardinal runs and Jordan Trimble's base hit made it 5-0 UofL.

Villanova countered with a run in the fifth and had the bases loaded against starter Caralisa Connell with no outs....but Rachel Le Coq entered the game and got the next batter to line out to Arion, and then forced a ground ball double-play to get the Cards back to the dugout with no further damage.

Louisville added their final three runs in the sixth. Mann and Keller singled and Trimble's double returned Mann safely home. Alicja Wolny's single drove in Keller and Trimble...giving the Cards the 8-1 lead and eventual win.

Carl gets the "W"...going to 25-2 on the season. She went 4.1 innings and allowed the lone run on four hits. Rachel Le Coq picks up the save with 2.2 innings of one-hit pitching.

The Cards travel to Lexington on Wednesday to face The University of Kentucky.

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Louisville Lacrosse got back on the winning track by defeating Cincinnati 18-10 Sunday at the UofL Lacrosse Stadium. The Cards struck early with a 4-0 offense attack to begin the game. Goals from Colleen O'Malley, Nikki Boltja, Cortnee Daley and Monica Negron in a dizzying 180 seconds propelled the Cards to a comfortable lead after four minutes had passed with no scores.

After UC pushed a goal past Ashley Herbst, Louisville responded with a three-goal streak...O'Malley getting her second score of the day, Boltja also finding net and Jamie Redding pushing the Cardinal lead to 7-1.

The Bearcats managed two goals in the final 10 minutes of first half play to send the teams to halftime with Louisville enjoying a 7-3 lead.

The action picked up in the second half. Scores from Daley and Laura Patterson gave UofL a 10-4 lead. UC responded with two goals within 20 seconds of each other to cut the Cards' lead to 10-6. Louisville responded with a three-goal run, though...Patterson, Kaylin Morissette and O'Malley all scoring to make it 13-6 Cards.

UC went on a run after that, their three-goal run had them within four at 13-9. Louisville was able to outscore UC 5-1 the rest of the way, though...Morissette, Botja and a couple of Faye Brust goals ensured the eight-point Cardinal win.

Louisville is now 9-6 and got their first BIG EAST win of the season.

The teams gathered at midfield before the game for a moment of silence to honor the tragedy in Boston and also the passing of a member of the Cincinnati womens' lacrosse family.

Louisville stays home to play their next two. Rutgers comes in Friday for a 5 p.m. contest and the Cards end the regular season on Sunday when Villanova visits.

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Louisville women's golf leads the BIG EAST Tournament at Reunion Resort in Orlando, FL. after one round. The Cards fired a -1 under par 287 to take a seven stroke lead over Norte Dame after 18 holes Sunday.

Four Cards golfers are in the top ten scorers. Tara Lyons and Katie Petrino are tied for second place with a 71. Emily Haas carded a 72 and Laura Restrepo fired a 73.

St. John's Harin Lee leads the pack with a 70.

Seven BIG EAST teams are participating. After Notre Dame (294)...Seton Hall (301), St. John's (302), Cincinnati (304) Rutgers (304) USF (305) and Georgetown (305) make up  the first day order of finish.

They tee off day two today, beginning at 8 a.m.

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#18 Cardinal Rowing took a big win in the Clemson Regatta Sunday in Day 2 of action on Lake Hartwell. The varsity eight crew defeated five other competitors (Clemson, Cornell, Duke, Michigan State and Oklahoma) winning the event by 1.2 seconds over the #14 ranked Tigers.

Second Varsity +8 gave a strong fourth place performance also in the activities earlier in the day. 

Because of strong wind conditions, four other Louisville crews competed but the results were deemed unofficial.

Next up, BIG EAST Championships on May 19th. in Princeton, NJ.

-Paulie

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Cards crush Panthers 8-5, 15-0

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-# 8 Cards score 23 runs in double header to beat Pitt

The University of Louisville softball team, after a slow start, pounded Pitt pitching for 23 runs in a doubleheader Wednesday at Ulmer Stadium. Kasey Kasem would have referred to it as a "solid gold hit parade"...Louisville getting three home runs in the 12 inning attack against the Panthers 

Louisville 8 - Pittsburgh 5

The Cards took awhile to warm up in game one on a beautiful, low 70's clear day at Ulmer Stadium...the game scoreless and the Cards hitless after three innings. Pitt grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the third inning off starter Caralisa Connell and pushed that to 2-0 in the top of the fourth. Savannah Hill was looking good in the circle for the Panthers.

Then the Cards did their version of Thunder Over Louisville.

Jordan Trimble started the bottom of the fourth with a single, which was also Louisville's first hit of the game. After getting retired at second on a Alicja Wolny fielder's choice, Mags Ruckenbrod singled and set the plate for Whitney Arion's two RBI double. Hannah Kiyohara followed with a single to score Arion to make it 3-2 UofL. Taner Fowler followed with a two-run blast to left-center that gave Louisville a 5-2 lead. Jasmine Smithson-Willett drew a walk next...and scored on a Katie Keller single and throwing error. Trimble batted for the second time in the inning and singled again to score Keller and Trimble reached the plate on a throwing error following a Wolny grounder.

All of a sudden, it was 8-2 Cards.

Pitt chipped away at the lead with two runs in the sixth and a score in the seventh...but it wasn't enough to catch the Cards.

Carl gets her 24th. win of the year...allowing five runs, eight hits and striking out seven in seven innings pitched.

Louisville 15 - Pittsburgh 0

The Cards got off to a much earlier offensive attack in the second game...placing a run on the board in the first an threatening for much more. Trimble and Wolny singled with one out. Ruckenbrod received a base on balls to load the bases. Whitney Arion walked next to force in Trimble...but Pitt starter Alexa Larkin got out of the jam by getting out the next two Cards at the plate.

Sandy Pearsall's charges added four runs in the second. Katelyn Mann started a two-out charge with a home run. Keller and Trimble followed with a single and double and both scored on Wolny's double. Ruckenbrod followed with a single to plate Wolny. It was 5-0 Louisville after two.

The Cards put on another fireworks show in the third. 10 runs on 10 hits. Alicja Wolny's three-run homer was the event of the inning...but Mann had a two RBI double that almost got out of the park, Wolny added a two RBI double her second time up in the inning and Arion produced a run-scoring double also. RBI singles from Ruckenbrod, Brittany Sims and Ally Vaughn put Louisville ahead 15-0 after three.

The Pitt outfielders must have thought the heavens were raining softballs.

Rachel LeCoq pitched a strong five innings with four strikeouts and just two hits allowed to improve to 15-4.

On a day where the Cards beat the eventual rain, they filled the skies with their own falling objects. The air traffic controllers at nearby Louisville International Airport were probably going nuts with all the unidentified flying object to the north of them...

In the "Tell your statistics to shut up" department...nine Cardinals are batting over .300

Katie Keller         .432         Jasmine Smithson-Willett  .333 
Alicja Wolny        .424         Katelyn Mann                    .319
Maggie Ruckenbrod  .386     Whitney Arion                   .315
Jordan Trimble    .361         Hannah Kiyohara               .314
Kayla Soles          .337


Home run Derby leaders:

Keller   10
Wolny    9
Fowler   7

Hits parade:

Keller   63
Wolny   56
Ruck     51

Driving them in (RBI's):

Keller   45
Wolny   42
Ruck     35

Getting home (runs scored)

Keller   52
Wolny   36
Trimble 35

Louisville has scored 315 runs this season and allowed just 104. As a team, they are batting .345 and opponents just .220.

The Cards are #8 in the nation with a 39-6 record and tied for least losses in the BIG EAST with a 12-1 mark.

USF              13-1
Louisville    12-1
Notre Dame 10-1
DePaul         10-1
Georgetown  7-6


-Paulie