SB Drops Game 1; LAX Senior Day -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Falls 5-2 at ND

In a game that wrapped up scoring early, Louisville was unable to keep their early lead against the Irish in the series opener. The Cards scored a pair in the first inning, but gave up five in the bottom of the second. Neither team crossed the plate for the remainder of the game. The two teams will be back in action today at 1PM.

Easton Lotus reached base from the second spot in the batting order before Bri Despines doubled her home. Camryn Lookadoo singled, and an error helped score Despines to give the Cards the 2-0 lead. Alyssa Zabala got the start for Louisville and had to walk a tightrope in the first inning. She gave up a walk and single to open, but managed to escape the inning without giving up a run. 

Louisville went 1-2-3 in the second, and ND was ready to pounce. Zabala got a fly out to open the inning, but ND would go on to pick up five hits and profit from two Louisville errors in the inning to score five runs. The Cards put a runner on base in the third, but couldn't bring her home. Zabala got two outs to open the inning, seemingly settling back in, but a four-pitch walk spelled the end of her day. Brooke Gray came in to relieve her. 

Gray was incredibly efficient. She pitched the remaining 3.1 innings (ND didn't bat in the bottom of the 7th) and gave up just three hits. She had one strikeout, and used just 38 pitches. Of those 38 (fewer than four per out), 27 were strikes. Gray gave the Cards a chance to get back into the game, but Brianne Weiss on the other side was too good. She threw 118 pitches in a complete game to ice the Cards. Louisville had just five hits and two walks in the game. Despines' double in the first was Louisville's only extra base hit. 

Lax Hosts Pitt for Senior Day

Louisville lacrosse has flagged a bit of late. They beat Cal to keep their ACC tournament hopes alive, then gutted out a 5-4 win over Vanderbilt, but a tough 10-12 loss to Virginia was followed by a 22-5 thumping at the hands of Stanford. The Cards will host Pittsburgh, ranked 25th in the country, today at noon for Senior Day. 

Ahead of today's game, Louisville will honor their seven seniors. Many are names with which we've become quite familiar. The others have given a lot to the program over the years, even if they haven't seen as much playing time. Honorees will be Rian Adkins, Aubrey Bagenstose, Karlie Harnischfeger, Sophie Macleod, Maggie McMahon, Erin Nicholson, and Cece Reilly.

After today's game, Louisville will wrap up the season on the road against Notre Dame on Thursday. With only eight teams making the ACC tournament, the Cards are just about officially out of contention. With two possible wins remaining, they'd need a pair of losses by Virginia to tie the Cavaliers, but they'd still lose the tiebreaker based on the head-to-head loss. A three-way tie between Louisville, UVA, and Pitt is possible, but I don't think Louisville comes out of that one favorably. Nevertheless, four wins would be a high-water mark for Scott Teeter in ACC play, and it would give the Cards an overall record above .500, so they'll still be motivated. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball faces Notre Dame in three game series -- Friday Cardinal Couple

 32-8 LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL TRAVELS TO SOUTH BEND

A crucial three game series with the Irish in South Bend begins today. 

It's a 5 p.m start and will be on the ACCNX broadcast network. Louisville hopes to keep pace with the three teams above them in the ACC standings and maybe even gain ground on them . 

Notre Dame is not having the best of seasons. They are 16-23 overall and 5-10 in the ACC. It's a "Strikeout for Cancer" weekend in the Melissa Cook Stadium on the South Bend campus

Notre Dame is 29-20 all-time against the Cards and have won six of the last nine matchups against the UofL squad. The Irish are led by Mickey Winchell, who is hitting .400 against the Cards in her Notre Dame career. 

Notre Dame is a fairly young squad, with just three seniors and one graduate student. They have no student-athletes from Kentucky, but 10 from California. The Irish have lost their last four games...three to league leading FSU in Tallahassee and one to Valparaiso in South Bend. . We'll have the results here for you tomorrow and the rest of the series on Saturday and Sunday . 

paulie

WBB Coaching Carousel -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SPECULATING ON WHO WALZ WILL BRING IN

Gee, we have seen a lot of assistant and associate coaches come and go for the Louisville WBB  program. Looking back just seven years ago, Walz's staff was Sam Purcell, Steph Norman, Johnneisha Pineda and Beth Burns....although Burns was not officially classified as an assistant. These days,  Purcell, of course, is the head coach at Mississippi State,Norman is an associate head coach at Arizona State, Burns is an associate head coach at USC (Southern California) and Pineda is the only one left at Louisville. Shay Robinson has arrived and departed...joining Florida's staff as an assistant. Amanda Butler came for a cup of coffee and then split for Charleston to become their head coach .

I guess the question is...who will Walz bring in to replace Shay Robinson and Amanda Butler? 

There is a lot of public outcry to have Kasa Robinson join the staff. I'd venture it's be hard to get her off the Marshall WBB staff where she is an assistant, and goes by Mykasa Lucas, since she married Jordan Lucas...who played at Penn State and several NFL squads. I don't see her coming back, but I hope I am wrong. 

Will Walz follow his previous trend of hiring assistants from other programs? My guess is that there's more than a few resumes on his desk in the Kueber Center from aspiring hopefuls. 

And, if that isn't enough, longtime director of video and graphics Lamont Russell will be leaving also to be the director of player development for the Dallas Wings. It was always a pleasure to run into Lamont in the basketball offices and at games when I was more mobile

College basketball is an ever changing world anymore, with the NIL implementation and the advent of players getting five years of eligibility proposal and discussion . Let's see what that does to the power structure of the traditionally strong programs like UCLA, UConn, South Carolina., Tennessee. Louisville, Duke, LSU and others. 

Yes, indeed...interesting times ahead. 

paulie

Cards Called Up -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Bard, Cantu Earn USWNT Attention

Louisville women's soccer saw two players invited to camp with the US Women's National Team youth programs this month, with announcements coming yesterday. Rising sophomore Ella Bard and incoming freshman Cate Cantu heard their names called as they'll join camps for the U-20 and U-18 teams, respectively. Bard will camp in Kansas City 4/7-4/16 with two opportunities to play against Brazil on 4/11 and 4/15. Cantu will camp in West Palm Beach 4/10-4/17. No international friendlies are listed for that one. 

Ella Bard's call-up to the U-20 team indicates that she has impressed the USWNT staff so far in her development. Bard was called up to the U-19 team in October, missing time with UofL to take part in friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Portugal. In February, she joined that team again to play against Czechia, Wales, and Portugal. This time, an invite to U-20 camp means that Bard is a serious contender to be a part of the team which will participate in the Women's U-20 World Cup in Poland in September. A call up in that window would surely be difficult for the Cards in the early season, as Bard figures to move into a full-time starting role on defense, but the experience she could gain would be unmatched.

Cate Cantu is a name that is likely more unknown to Louisville fans. While Bard made a quick name for herself as a freshman last season, making her debut in the Vanderbilt game and earning her first start against Wright State, Cantu hasn't yet made it to campus. Cantu is an incoming goalkeeper, which is a position you might remember as recently vacated. (Happy belated birthday to the new Racing Louisville keeper, Erynn Floyd, by the way.) Cate has the opportunity to claim that position right out of the gate. If she does so, she could become the third straight long-term starter to claim the job as a freshman, following Floyd and Gabby Kouzelos. Cantu was a three-time All Central League First Team selection in Pennsylvania, and she was a High School All-American as a senior. Her club team, Penn Fusion, were ECNL National Champions in 2024. Cantu will be competing for the starting spot against Brielle Baker, who is the only returning goalkeeper from last season's roster.

While players missing time is difficult for a college team, the opportunity to play for your country are invaluable for both the player and the team. Players get the chance to fulfill lifelong dreams and play against some of the top competition the world has to offer. Teams get to reap the benefits of the additional experiences the players gain as well as show recruits how much they support player development. We see the same with Jeff Walz and basketball all the time. Showing recruits that you're not just going to make them good enough to play for their national team, but that you will also give them the freedom to make the most of those opportunities, is quite enticing. 

All the best to Ella and Cate in the coming weeks. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

images from @louisvillewsoc on Instagram

Softball CARDS in logjam behind FSU and Duke -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Louisville in fourth place in ACC 

There are a couple of clear leaders in the ACC Softball race this season.  

FSU and Duke sit atop the conference with the best records. The Seminoles are 12-0  in ACC play and 35-4 overall. Duke is 13-2 in the ACC and 28-11 on the season. Not too far back is Virginia Tech with a 9-3 conference mark and 33-5 overall. The Cards check in at fourth...at 8-4 in the league and 32-8 this season. 

Virginia (9-5) and Stanford (9-6) are hot on the heels of the top four and North Carolina is the only other team with an above .500 conference mark at 8-7.It's important to note that the top four finishers in the league will receive a bye in first round ACC Softball Tournament action and only 12 of the 15 teams that play softball in the ACC make the tournament If the tournament were to start tomorrow...the other five teams that would qualify would be Clemson, Georgia Tech, Pitt, Notre Dame and NC State.  All told, the teams play in 24 conference games. 

The Cards have three games left against each of these fellow league members....Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and NC State. The cards will travel to South Bend for that UND series, Pitt and Syracuse will come to Ulmer Stadium in Louisville and the Cards will travel to Raleigh for the NC State series. The ACC Tournament will be in Charlottesville this year...hosted by Virginia. May 6-9 in the tournament dates...that's is the week after Derby....which is May 2nd. 

The Cards have an advantage in getting to play Pitt and Syracuse in Ulmer. 

The Cards vs Notre Dame series starts Friday.

Louisville is 9-1 in their last 10 games and has been on a hitting tear the last three games...scoring 25 runs. In addition to conference battles ahead, the Cards still have the second rivalry game against UK in Ulmer and also a game against IU. 

Let's hope the old adage of "April Showers bring May Flowers" doesn't rain out any of the Cards remaining games and that we don't get any mid-April or later snow in the area. I can remember snow back in 1989 on Derby Day...by then I had stopped attending the event and was hitting an annual Derby party. 

paulie

The WBB season ends...UCLA proves me wrong by showing they are the best team -- Monday Cardinal Couple

 UCLA BLOWS OUT SOUTH CAROLINA IN SECOND HALF. 

I step back and admit I am wrong. 

I said, a few weeks back, that UConn was the best team in Division I WBB. 

When South Carolina ended their season with a surprising blowout, it led me to think that the Gamecocks would do the same to the Lady Bruins.  But, after a half, this one was already close to being over at 36-23 UCLA.. the 79-51 final unfolded in almost unbelievable fashion. Dawn Staley's gals couldn't buy a basket with gold standard cash money.

As a buddy remarked to me..."When's the last time you saw a bunch of white girls beat a bunch of black girls in D1 action?" Putting the unintended racial profiling aside, she made a good point. I guess none of us figured that Lauren Betts and Gabriella Jaquez would shut out the "cocks" inside and dominate on the offensive boards. Maybe we should have opened our eyes a little wider. 

After all, UCLA came into the contest with just one loss all season. Yes, it was early on, against South Carolina...but this was NCAA Tournament time and many critics were saying that UCLA was the best team in the nation. I was still in the UConn camp. 

I guess I didn't read the signs correctly either. 

Isla, we hardly knew you...Good luck

For Louisville, the upcoming few weeks could prove to be very interesting. The height that the Cards had is disappearing quickly. Between graduation and the transfer portal . Juffermans and Hardy are in the portal. .Ziegler has graduated. Istanbulluoglu and Putra are back, along with Mbugna. It looks like Roberts and Randolph will hang with the Cards, and that alone will make Louisville a bona fide ACC title contender. 

They don't have a Betts on their roster though...and that's what it took this year to best the rest.  

paulie

GOOD AND BAD DAY FOR LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SPORTS IN CALIFORNIA -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SOFTBALL WINS BIG, LACROSSE LOSES BIG ON WEST COAST. 

Two different tales on the Saturday Louisville women's sports activities in California. 

Louisville Softball had batting practice in their final game in the California series, hammering the Golden Bears 12-2  Louisville Lacrosse got whacked around by Stanford  22-5 out on "The Farm". 

SOFTBALL SUCCESS ON CAL PITCHING 12-2

Alyssa Zabala

Holly Aprile's "hit and pitch Cards" unleashed the bats against the Cal pitching staff in the 12-2 massacre. Early in the ballgame, it looked like Cal might be the team to take the final game in the series, scoring two runs in their first at bat against Louisville...but the Cards Alyssa Zabala settled down and the Cards took a 3-2 lead after two. 

The contest stayed at 3-2 until the top of the fifth. UofL brought the bats out for a little more exercise and posted six runs against the Bears to go up 9-2 . Three more runs in the top of the seventh created the final 12-2 blasting. 

This wasn't normally how Louisville unloads on a foe. Not a slap hit, walk and sac fly type of offense at all. The Cards got home runs from Jordan Williams, Bri Despines and Madison Pickens and doubles from Pickens, Riley Janda and Camryn Lookadoo that accounted for 11 of their 12 runs to cross the plate. 

Zabala got the win and turned the ball over to Jayden Gohs after four innings for the completion. The win was "Smiley's" ninth of the season. 

STANFORD FILLS THE NETS AGAINST LAX CARDS 22-5

For as much success as the Softball Cards had against Cal, Louisville Lacrosse must have felt like they were in World War III and losing badly against the Stanford Laxers. 

In this Cardinals ve Cardinal match on the turf...the home team scored first and had put six goals up on the UofL squad with almost four minutes left in the first period. And, in the second 15 minute stretch, Stanford increased a 6-2 lead to 11-2 halfway through the period.

 Halftime's scoreboard read Stanford 13- Louisville 3. 

The third period must have seemed almost boring to the home fans...Stanford was only able to increase their lead to 14-5, The Trees were going to be winners...no doubt..and proved the point to Louisville with a 8-0 fourth period stick party against UofL's beleaguered defense. Everyone scored for Stanford except the concession stand workers. 

22-5. Not pretty. Stanford was the seventh ranked team in DI WLAX going into the game and didn't hurt that standing one bit. They have the best record in the ACC also...at 10-2.  For Louisville..the loss takes them to 6-7 overall and 1-4 in the ACC. Louisville was 43rd in the nation going into the match. 

A JOYOUS EASTER TO YOU ALL...

From Cardinal Couple to all of you,  a joyous Easter to you. Remember, He died for your sins and He has risen. We hope the Easter bunny leaves you and yours baskets full of goodies.

paulie  

Softball Evens Series -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Win 6-3 Over Cal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cal knocks off Softball Cards 7-5 in Berkeley -- Friday Cardinal Couple

 CAL'S BIG SECOND INNING SENDS CARDS TO THE LOSS

Normally, when you've got Alyssa Zabala on the mound it's usually a safe bet for the Cards . California must not have read the script, though...and posted four second inning runs on the Cards en route to a 7-5 victory at a high school softball field near Berkeley. (The Cal field is undergoing a major renovation,,,) 

Jordan Williams

It was 5-1 Bears when the Cards came up in the top of the fourth and Louisville showed they still had a bit of life left in those Cardinals wings...when they got a Jordan Williams home run to left and then Riley Janda scored on a Easton Lotus single to make it 5-3. 

A Cal run in the bottom of the fourth inning made is 6-3 home squad, but Louisville kept knocking at the door with a two run top of the fifth...when Jordan Williams drove in Madison Pickens and then Williams scored on a Cal fielding error. It was 6-5 Cal. 

Unfortunately, that was the end of Louisville's scoring . The Bears added an unneeded insurance run in the sixth inning. A 7-5 win for California. 

The two squads meet again today at 2 p.m.

paulie

Amanda Butler leaving Louisville for College of Charleston -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

BUTLER GOING FROM A CARDINAL TO A COUGAR

The word is out...Amanda Butler is leading Louisville to become the head coach at the College of Charleston. A return to the state of South Carolina, where she coached Clemson before becoming a Cardinals assistant. 

The opening is there because of the past CofC coach Robin Harmony leaving the Cougars to become the head coach at Pitt. So, Harmony goes from being a Cougar to a Panther and sources close to Cardinal Couple, who have a great insight to the operations and workings of Cardinals basketball indicate the move was expected. We, of course are still the bad boys of journalistic media in UofL's eyes because of a hijacked Twitter account. All we can say i we have followed all the things to get us back in there but other forces are working to keep us out of the information loop. 

Butler was aided in getting the job by Debbie Antonelli, a South Carolina resident and well respected college impressario and voice. 

Butler said: 

"This is a championship team with a opportunity to build a legacy. that is based on returning. John Groce touched on it a lot a lot more than I did...the challenge of a new landscape is being able to talk about that openly and honestly. But the reality is...how important is legacy to you?...How important is history to you? "

Let's not forget the valuable two years she spent under Jeff Walz about roster building and management, 

The Cougar are in the CAA, or Colonial Athletic Association. She'll be facing school such as Campbell, Stony Brook, Elon, Monmouth, Towson and William and Mary. In the season just ended, CofC was conference champ at 16-2 and went 27-6 overall. They went into the NCAA Tournament as a #14 seed and was eliminated in the first round by Duke. 

No immediate word on players returning or who recruiting will focus on. We also can't verify if Anaya Hardy, who is leaving the Cards roster will be going to CofC with Amanda. Hardy is the second Cardinal to announce they are entering the portal, along with Isla Juffermans. Also, Shay Robinson is leaving his assistant coaching position at Louisville to go to Florida. He's the one I always got mixed up with Lamont Russell. 

We will watch with interest on who Walz gets in to replace them.  Only  Jonneshia Pineda and Brittany Morris remain on the WBB coaching tree along with Walz. 

paulie