Softball Cards Open against GCU -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS MUST GO THROUGH GRAND CANYON TO REACH NEBRASKA

OK, most geography scholars would shake their head in disagreement when they read the headline for today's article. Or, ask the following question. "Where are they travelling from to get to Nebraska." 

Fortunately this isn't a geographical website.  We talk UofL women's athletics here and we are talking about the most likely route Louisville Softball will have to follow in their NCAA Championship quest. Grand Canyon University is Louisville's first opponent in the Lincoln Regional and I'd say it a 99% certainty that Nebraska will defeat South Dakota St. to meet the winner of UofL and GCU. 

GCU has an impressive record, no doubt... at 52-8. They are a snake in the tall weeds for the Cards..with the fourth best winning percentage in the last five years in D1 softball at 253-58 (80%).

The Cards didn't get the easiest draw to reach the sweet Sixteen..if they manage to get by GCU..they'll most likely face homestanding Nebraska. Nebraska is #1 in the nation, according to ESPN.com. D1 Softball has Nebraska #2 . Softball America says #2 also. 

The Cards are #24 according to ESPN Softball. D1 Softball says the same. Grand Canyon was in the "also receiving votes" category in the ESPN poll...so maybe the Cards are a slight favorite to get to the field of 32...it's a close one, though, no doubt. 

What are five things UofL has to do to reach the final game of te Nebraska Regional? 

1) Get good pitching. Honestly, Alyssa Zabala has been less than spectacular lately. Brooke Gray has also been hot and cold. Zabala needs to re-find the fire and domination that made her a pitcher to fear back in the early days of her career. Gray needs to return to her unhittable status when she was the best pitcher in the state back in high school at Ballard.  

2) Clear the bases. The Cards have had problems this season with leaving runners on the bags against opponents. Louisville has the base path speed, no doubt, in their lineup...but not always able to get the runner to the plate or get the speed to reach third and to home plate. We hope they can clear the bases tomorrow. 

3) Eliminate the errors. Louisville was not in the top 50 fielding percentage teams in 2026. Grand Canyon snuck in at 48th. Let's hope they perform better in the playoffs. 

4) Powerball. Keep playing powerball. No, we are NOT suggesting the players play the Kentucky lottery games. We'd jut like to see them continue to amass runs like they did in thee regular season. 

5) Runs Cards Runs! This isn't a takeoff on the line for Forrest Gump movie. Louisville was 10th in the nation in runs scored in 2026 . They were second in the ACC, behind Va. Tech and outscored FSU.  We hope Jenny is yelling from the bleachers "Runs Cards Runs" (and they listen.)

4 p.m. game time against GCU. On ESPNU. Case will recap it tomorrow.  

paulie

Kentucky High School Softball Rankings -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SOUTH WARREN LEADS THE WAY IN KY. SOFTBALL

Since we are approaching the end of college softball season, let's take a look at the local scene here in the state for Softball. 

A look at the top ten in the Commonwealth starts us out at South Warren. The school, which is located in the Bowling Green area, is 35-0 on the season. The Spartans haven't just been playing  smaller schools, either. They defeated Eastern (Louisville) 10-0 and Assumption 15-0. 

Checking in at second is Daviess County. They are at 29-3-1. Not sure how a  game ends up in a tie. My best guess is either rain, darkness or going past some of the kids curfew? 

Filling out the top ten: 

3) Ballard (Louisville) 20-5. 4) Bullitt East 27-4. 5) Mercy (Louisville) 31-3. 6) Henderson County. 7) Trigg County. 8) West Jessamine. 9) South Laurel. 10) Oldham County. 

Local teams in the Louisville area are Assumption, Atherton, Ballard, Bullitt East, Butler, central, christian Academy, Manual, Eastern, Fairdale, Fern Creek, Holy Cross, J-Town, Male, Mercy, Oldham County, PRP, Portland Christian, Sacred Heart, Southern, and Waggener.

paulie    

Former Cards Awarded -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Familiar Names Earn MLV Accolades

The Major League Volleyball season has just wrapped up and former Cardinals have been in the news as part of the league recently. Last week, the league announced their individual awards, and multiple former Louisville players saw themselves on the list. As part of the only team to have multiple players awarded, Elena Scott (of the Indy Ignite) was named the Libero of the Year. Indy also had the league's best setter, middle blocker, and opposite hitter. The top outside hitter came from the Dallas Pulse, but more on that in a moment. The other Cardinal awarded was Aiko Jones (Atlanta Vibe), who was named the Most Inspirational Player. Jones balances her professional playing duties with being an assistant coach for the Bellarmine Knights. 

I said we'd come back to Dallas, and that's because there is more to discuss than just an individual award. Mimi Colyer was named the Outside Hitter of the Year, which isn't what I came to mention. The former Wisconsin Badger led the league in points and kills this season. In both categories, she narrowly beat out her teammate, Sofia Maldonado Diaz. Colyer had 5.08 points/set while Maldonado Diaz was at 4.94. The third place player was all the way back at 4.52. Dallas finished just behind Indy in total points per set (17.97-17.64), and they were far and away the best teams in the league. Grand Rapids was third with 16.47 points/set. 

The number one seed, Indy, was upset by the Omaha Supernovas in the tournament semifinals, though, depriving Louisville fans of a match of the ages for former Cards. Dallas won their semifinal round and defeated Omaha 3-2 in the championship match. It was the first time an expansion team has won in the league's young history, and it was Dallas's first season in play. It was also the first time the championship match has gone to five sets. Sofia Maldonado Diaz earned the upper hand over her teammate in this one, taking home match MVP honors after finishing with 26 kills. She had five in the decisive fifth set. 

It's always exciting to see former Cards continue to succeed in their post-collegiate careers. Congratulations to these (and all others who had a successful season) and good luck to them in the years to come. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Scouting the 'Lopes -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL PLAYS FRIDAY AT 4 P.M.

Louisville will open their quest in the NCAA Tournament on Friday when they face Grand Canyon University at 4 p.m. in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

Looking at the Antelopes, they went 52-8 overall, one of the best records in D1 softball. Shanon Hays is the head coach at GCU, a position he has held since 2022.  He has established them as a top 25 contender...and has taken the Antelopes to the NCAA Tournament in all four years ofbeing head coach there.  

Hays on the school: 

"GCU is a wonderful university and place to work," Hays said. "Tina and I love living here, and we love what GCU stands for. I'm glad I get the opportunity to coach here for the foreseeable future. I also want to thank President Brian Mueller and (Vice President of Athletics) Jamie Boggs for their vision and support of our program. Their leadership is a key component of why our program has had such great success. They both have a vision of wanting to not just compete for championships at the conference level but for national championships, and that's the kind of place I want to be a part of.

paulie

Cards Softball To Begin NCAA Tournament Against Grand Canyon -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL HEADED TO LINCOLN REGIONAL 

Maybe not the best start one could hope for, but the Cards are in the NCAA Softball Tournament and will get their start against Grand Canyon University. And, some of you are saying...who? 

Grand Canyon University Softball had quite the season...going 52-8 overall and defeating Nevada to win the Mountain West Softball Tournament. They came from the WAC last year and GCU is located in Phoenix, Arizona. They are a private Christian university...

Being in the Lincoln Regional means that the winner of UofL vs GCU is going to have to face the winner of Nebraska vs, South Dakota St. Nebraska is the #4 seed overall in this year's tournament. The GCU squad is nicknamed the Antelopes. 

GCU won their first 25 games of the 2026 season, finally falling to Oklahoma St. Other losses have come to Arizona, Nevada (twice), Arizona St., San Diego St.and UNLV, 

“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Louisville coach Holly Aprile said. “We’re just going to go attack it like we have throughout the whole season here. We’re going to try to run. We’re going to try to hit the ball hard. We’re just going to play hard overall.”

Friday 4 p.m. (EST) is the scheduled start time and the contest will be shown on ESPNU. 

We'll have more on this as the tournament draws closer. 

paulie

Six Ex-Cards in WNBA on Opening Night/Day -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HINES-ALLEN LEADS THE CARDS IN 2026 WNBA

Yes, she's still around. Myisha Hines-Allen is a proven WNBA veteran and Louisville fans can get the chance to see her a lot closer now, with her move to the Indiana Fever from the Dallas Wings. 

Here's what she said about the transition:

"I'm excited to join the Fever. Playing for a contending team was a priority for me in free agency. The Fever check off all the boxes in what I was looking for, so I'm eager to play with these elite women...and to get the best fans in the league cheering for me...as well. Hines-Allen is one of only two forwards on the Fever roster..along with Monique Billings. 

They call her the "mother-hen" of this Fever group of younger players. She should be a great addition for them. 

Emily Engster wasn't a Louisville Cardinal very long, but she showed the grit to make it to the next level and ha recently moved across the nation in her WNBA career. she was a Washington Mystic last season and is now on the expansion Portland Fire. On a roster with six rookies and four second year players..."Double E's" has become a vocal leader for Portland. 

Dana Evans has gone from the Chicago Sky to the Las Vegas Aces...but is sidelined with a leg injury. She is in rehab after having an operation on her knee. evans signed with the Aces...a thing that surprised  lot of us who have followed her, since she seemed to be happy in Chicago and near her home town of Gary, Indiana. 

Sydney Taylor is a rookie in the league and will be on the Chicago Sky roster this season. Taylor, of course, was at Massachusetts before becoming a Card and attributed a lot of the skills that got her to the WNBA as a walk on to what the Cardinals coaches taught her in the time was at UofL as a walk on. 

Laura Ziegler is another example of a mid-major star that came to the Ville to increase her WNBA chances. Leaving St. Joseph's..she turned into a dynamo for Jeff Walz's squad at the Ville and her European experience will no doubt have her ready for the powerhouses in the WNBA. She's on the Sparks developmental roster, I doubt she's there long before they bring her up to the Sparks. 

We'll toss Hailey Van Lith in the group, even though she was a college vagabond ,with stops at the ville, LSU and TCU. She never realized how well she had it at Louisville and I hope she can stick with the Connecticut Sun...after the Chicago Sky dumped her just seven days ago. 

I'll be keeping an eye on these six and wish them the best of luck in the league...even Van Lith, who broke a lot of hearts when she left Louisville but was always nice to me when I chatted with her and interviewed her. 

paulie

Softball Awaits Fate in NCAA -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sorry for the late post today! I'm on vacation and the day of the week got away from me a bit. All of our Louisville women's sports teams are idle at the moment, so let's take a quick look at the ACC Championship. 

Louisville fell to Stanford in the quarterfinals Thursday and will wait to hear their name called on Monday morning. The Cards were ranked 24th in the ESPN / USA Softball poll entering the week and 30th in the RPI as of the end of yesterday. A win over the Cardinal would have been great, but taking the Palo Alto squad to extra innings was a nice consolation. Louisville should see themselves with a 2-seed in a regional when the names are drawn at 10am on Monday. 

In continued action in the ACC Championship, it was a day of shutouts in the semifinals. Top-seeded Florida State thumped Stanford 9-0 in the first game, and they'll go for their 20th ACC title this afternoon. In the second game, Virginia Tech pulled a minor upset over Duke, beating the Blue Devils 5-0. That was a small retribution for earlier in the year, when the Hokies were beaten in 2/3 in Durham. VT won that series in runs 18-14, but only due to a lopsided victory in the final game. 

Today's game will be the first meeting of Virginia Tech and Florida State this season. The two teams have played 59 games all time, starting in 2005. FSU leads the series 38-21, and the two teams have split the six games they've played outside of conference competition. Surprisingly, Virginia Tech leads the series at neutral sites 5-4. It would be a coup for them to pull an upset today. The championship game is at 2:30 ET on Saturday. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Cards fall to Stanford 6-5 in ACC ChampIonships -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 STANFORD GETS WALK OFF WIN IN BOTTOM OF EIGHTH

Louisville had a chance to advance in the ACC Championships..but that old nemesis...B.L.O.B. came back to haunt them. BLOB? BaseRunners left on base. 

Fighting back from an early 4-2 deficit, Holly Aprile used three different pitchers but could not completely silence the Cardinal (or Trees) bats. It was Home Run Derby for awhile for UofL...Bri Despines had two four baggers for the Cards and Madison Pickens added one as well...but the most crippling event was Louisville loading the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh after tying it at 5-5 and being unable to push anymore runs across the plate. After not scoring in the top of the eighth, the Cards took to the field, but Stanford loaded the bases and got the win on a sacrifice fly to advance to play the Noles.

So, it's tear off the rear view mirror and drive on. It is Stanford who will play today against #1 seed FSU in the ACC Championships. 

Louisville will have to wait and see if they get a bid in the NCAA Softball Tournament when the teams are named on Sunday, May 10th on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. You have to like the Cards chances..but the NCAA can be very unkind sometimes to teams that don't reach the semifinals of their conference tournaments. Unless you are in the SEC. 

44-12 seems to be a record that would get a team in the NCAA Tournament for postseason play .We'll see how it shakes out for Louisville. It's going to be a long trip back from Charlottesville for the Cards...

paulie

Cards Softball rallies to down NCSU 6-5 in ACC Tournament opener -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS PUT UP FIVE RUNS IN FINAL THREE INNINGS TO ELIMINATE NORTH CAROLINA ST. IN ACC TOURNAMENT.

They've been doing it all season long and did it once again Wednesday in their opening contest of the ACC Softball Tournament in Charlottesville, VA. To borrow an old UK monicker...maybe these are the "Comeback Cards". 

Louisville softball found themselves trailing 5-1 going into the home half of the fifth inning against #12 seed NCSU. Wednesday afternoon in Charlottesville at the ACC Softball Tournament. The Wolfpack had put up four runs on UofL in the top of the fifth and a bit of consternation was beginning to develop in Cardinals fans. One thing that I was hoping would transpire, though...was the Cards penchant to rally from behind to win games. And UofL did not disappoint. Alyssa Zabala and Brooke Gray, usually the Cards top two hurlers, had been touched by the Wolfpack hitters and the Cards bats were still sleeping. 

In the bottom of the fifth the Cards got a single from Easton Lotus and a walk to Bri Despines to open the inning. Camryn Lookadoo produced a single to score Lotus and Madison Pickens singled to get Despines and Lookadoo to the plate and...suddenly...it was only 5-4 NCSU. 

After a scoreless sixth for both teams, Gray kept NCSU away from crossing home plate in the top of the seventh. Louisville came to the plate three outs away from elimination..

It did not happen. With one out, Despines doubled  and moved to third on a wild pitch. Lookadoo singled Bri home to tie it up and Pickens launched one into the left field corner to score Lookadoo and give UofL the walk-off win 6-5. 

Holly Aprile's birds advance to Thursday play to face #4 seed Stanford today at 1:30 p.m.

In earlier play Wednesday, Georgia Tech bombed Notre Dame 13-3, After the Cards win, North Carolina eliminated Clemson and Virginia downed Pitt. 

 

ACC Championship Begins Today -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS FACE WOLFPACK IN SECOND GAME OF THE DAY

Of all the silly phrases and non-sequiturs I use here on the site, one that I don't think I've thrown out there yet is..."absence makes the heart grow fonder"  I bring it up because it probably does NOT apply to softball tomorrow.  Louisville Softball just might be tired of seeing the NCSU Softball squad. The Cards are probably not missing NCSU one bit, after ending the regular season against them, maybe still a little mad they lost the middle game of that series to them...because that prevented them from grabbing fourth place in the conference and a first round bye. 

After Notre Dame (the #6 seed) and #11th seed Georgia Tech battle out the Wednesday morning contest, starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday...the Cards and Ms.Wuf's team take to Palmer Park to see who will advance to play #4 seed Stanford on Thursday. They list 1:30 p.m. as the time for Cards and Wolfpack, we all know how time frames are just an estimation when tournament time rolls around. 

Louisville has already had a season to remember...a vast improvement over their 26-25 slate from 2025. They've got possibly the most speed on the base paths of any team in the ACC this season, and their 46 steals are tops in the conference. Without any one noted power hitter in the lineup, these Cards could go by the adage..."Sun's out, runs out" because of their proclivity to get around the bases. The opposing catcher better be ready to be throwin' because you know the Cards will be going.

It's interesting to point out that if the Cards move to Thursday, they'll face a Cardinal team that they won the series against back in late Feb-early March 2-1.hope was off the charts for this Cardinals squad. After that series, the Cards were 13-3.

 Yes, we have that Cardinals vs Cardinal potential again, or as a friend is fond of saying..."Birds vs Trees" .

We'll have the results here for you and you can catch all the action on ACCNX. 

paulie