Denton to Compete for England -- NCAA Soccer Rule Changes -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Denton to Compete for England U19 Team

Louisville soccer defender Anouk Denton has been selected to play for the England U19 Team at the 2022 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship. The event will be hosted by the Czech Republic from June 27 to July 9.

"I'm really excited to represent my country at the EURO this year. This is our opportunity to show that we are the best team in Europe," said Denton. "I think the group of players that we have are world class and we definitely have the potential to win, so I can't wait to get to the Czech Republic and get going."

Denton was also selected to be on the England U17 Team in 2020 before it was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Her top highlight in her rookie campaign at Louisville came as a penalty kick game-winner against Syracuse on Sept. 23.

NCAA Soccer Rule Changes

Sticking with women's soccer for the moment, the NCAA announced some rule changes earlier in the week that will take effect this fall.

There will be no overtime during the regular season. If the two teams are tied following the full 90 minutes then the match will result in a draw. Previously, teams would go into a pair of 10-minute sudden death overtime periods. The golden goal concept could end a match within seconds of overtime beginning if the ball bounced the right way. Teams would then finish in a draw if the score remained tied after overtime. With the rule change, you can expect shorter regular season matches as well as more ties.

The postseason overtime rules will now follow the professional layout. Gone are the days of golden goal. In postseason, if overtime is needed, then the two teams will go into a pair of 10-minute overtime periods. So, if a team scores multiple goals during the overtime period then all goals will count. If the teams remain tied following both overtime periods, penalty kicks will be the deciding factor.

There was also talk of revising the substitution rules, especially in the second half to prevent re-entry after exiting, but those discussions have temporarily been put on hold.

These rule changes will better reflect the FIFA rules when it comes to regulation and extra time as well as international events like the one Denton will be playing in this summer. Now, if only NCAA soccer would change their clock to count up to 90 minutes, following suit with all levels around the world...

Guess the Athlete

These continue to draw some interest and participation. Between graduation picture season and running into UofL student-athletes at various sporting events, we will do a twofer today.

Athlete #1

I had a blast working with this student-athlete for her graduation photos. Do you recognize her?

Here's some hints: She plays on a spring sports team. Her head coach is Scott Teeter. She wears #9.

Figure it out? The answer is Kristen Pezzullo on the Louisville lacrosse team. Despite graduating this spring, she will return to Louisville next year as she has a couple more years of eligibility remaining.

Athlete #2

I run into this student-athlete quite often at baseball games. Obviously she is not on the baseball team. Do you know who it is?

Hints: She went to high school here in Louisville. You can catch her in uniform in the fall. Jeff followed her and her team to Columbus for the Final Four last year, where she was the starting libero.

Figure it out? The answer is Elena Scott on the Louisville volleyball team. Scott still has three years of eligibility remaining for the Cards.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Nick Evans -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NICK EVANS TAKES ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AT UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE POSITION.

Nick Evans is moving on from his position with Louisville Athletics as an assistant sports information director for women's basketball, women's soccer and lacrosse to a new position with the University...where he'll now be an associate director of communications for the Development office. 

Nick, a Louisville native, came to  the University of Louisville in August of 2017 from Morehead State University, where he was the sports information director. 

Although we are very happy to see Nick grow and prosper within the University of Louisville, it is with sad regret that we see him leave the Athletic Department, For us, Nick was the "go to" guy anytime we had a question about WBB, WSOC or LAX and he was always eager to set us up with interviews with coaches, staff, players and trainers for his three programs. 

I spent a lot of hours in the press boxes for Lacrosse and Women's Soccer with Nick over the past five years and also at the KFC YUM! Center covering women's basketball. He always made sure I was doing OK, had everything I needed and got the Cardinal Couple staff and I interviews, post game press conference information , as well as insights and reports on whoever the Cards were playing. 

It became a tag line, of sorts, when we weren't sure of something in his sports...to say "Lemme ask Nick, he'll know." and he always came through. Of course Lori Korte Harmon does the same for us in the sports she covers and the S.I.D.'s at UofL have helped us so much since we started Cardinal Couple. 

I knew of Nick before he ever got to Louisville or Morehead through his work with the Louisville Bats. I also know his dad back from the days when I would hire him for Christmas Party dance music and frivolity at Sportsmen Supper Club. 

He was never too busy to spend a few minutes with you in his office in the Student Athletic Center building or pre or post game at a UofL sporting event. 

Like the other S.I.D.'s his job and responsibilities went through a lot of changes in the COVID period, when attendance was limited, media was masked, spaced and moved to "safe" areas of coverage and tele-conferences were the way post game remarks and comments were handled. 

Sonja was fond of Nick also, he grew up right down the street from where Sonja's mom lived and Sonja grew up. 

Communications and development are two areas he's always excelled at, so I have no doubt he'll excel in his new position. It'll be hard to replace him and what he did, but, as the saying goes: "You can't keep a good man down." .and Nick is one of the best. 

I hope to see my friend around campus still and at sporting events...as a fan...and will always be grateful for all he did to aid and assist us knuckleheads here at Cardinal Couple in reporting about the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports. 

We won't say "Goodbye" to Nick, just "see ya further on down the road"...and a big thanks for what he did as a member of the sports information department and us at Cardinal Couple. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARYL !!

Please join me and the Cardinal Couple crew in wishing Daryl Foust a Happy Birthday !  Daryl has been an integral part of the various Cardinal Couple Radio Shows and Podcasts over the years and writes a Friday column at the website here.

We're honored and proud to have her as a part of the Cardinal Couple gang and so proud of what she has accomplished so far in life and look eagerly to what she'll do next. We're glad to have her on board, and...remember Daryl....you don't get older, just better.

 

paulie

No News? -- Season Recaps -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ALL QUIET ON THE CARDINAL FRONT

With Louisville softball not being named to the 64-team NCAA Tournament, only Louisville track and field has anything remaining on their schedule this season. They will begin the NCAA Outdoor Championships beginning next Wednesday, May 25.

So, for the next week, we don't have enough games or meets to report on. Summertime arrived quite fast for us here at Cardinal Couple.

What do we talk about now? Well, whatever we want.

Before we eagerly look ahead to the 2022 fall sports seasons, we should take a moment to reflect on the spring sports.

Lacrosse

Still tapping on the door of a breakout season, Louisville lacrosse went 7-11 on the year with an early exit in the ACC Tournament. The Cards won one ACC game on the year, matching the previous year's total.

The Cards lost four matches by one goal each as well as one loss by three goals and four goals each. The difference in all of those games was the winning mentality that is still being established at Louisville. Turn those six losses into wins and it was a remarkable season.

The Cards relied on a pair of inexperienced goalkeepers that were near the bottom of the conference in goals allowed per game. With a full year under the belts, both keepers should be on pace for big seasons next year.

On the offensive end, seven Cards totaled double-digit goals with two scoring 50+ on the season. Three of the top five scorers were recognized at senior day, but Hannah Morris hinted on social media that she might return for her COVID year of eligibility. Bringing back last season's top scorer would be a major boost.

Where Louisville needs to focus on in the offseason is transition defense and draw controls, both categories that hurt the Cards throughout the season, especially in late-game situations.

Softball

Injuries and a few players with an early exodus from the program proved to be the Achilles Heel for Louisville softball. The Cards lost Charley Butler before the start of the season and Chardonnay Harris midway through the season. Easton Lotus went down halfway through with a knee injury and Hannah File nursed a leg injury on and off throughout the year. Gabby Holloway also ended her season early in the circle with a chest and arm injury.

There were positives, however. Holly Aprile had a fairly young squad. All six freshmen on the roster played key roles at some point throughout the year. Two of the four freshmen were key contributors or starters with the other two sophomores being the top pinch runners.

The supposed return of Taylor Roby next year is a giant plus on both sides of the ball. Roby was the top pitcher by more than 100 innings and led the team in home runs while standing top three on the team in RBIs, slugging percentage, walks, and plate appearances.

The Cards had a strong offense for much of the year, but went cold over the final four games of the season, scoring a combined two runs in those outings. Louisville batted .278 on the year and outscored opponents 276-260.

A 27-25 overall record and first round exit from the ACC Tournament left them on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. Based on the teams that made the field, the Cards were presumably a first four out or next four out team.

With several pitchers slated to return next year and an expected healthy roster, the 2023 team has the potential to make some noise and get to the mid-30s in win total.

Tennis

Louisville tennis has had a love-hate relationship with their season. The Cards went 0-14 in conference play but had an incredible 8-1 non-conference outing for a grand total of 8-15 this season. The ACC is another dominant force in tennis and the Cards suffer from that.

Titiana Simova was the only player above .500 in individual matches with a 12-8 record. Andrea Di Palma went 9-11 and Chelsea Sawyer went 8-13 while the rest of the team combined for 15 wins.

Minus the shortened COVID-19 season, Louisville has not had a winning season since 2016-2017 and has plenty of work to do to get back to that point.

Rowing

We were able to go over the season for Louisville rowing on our podcast over the weekend in depth. The Cards have had a slow, but steady climb over the last several years.

While program bests and stronger finishes continue to become more common, there remains a noticeable gap between the Cards and the top teams in the conference.

Patience might be the biggest key for Louisville rowing in the next few years.

Golf

Without a doubt having the best spring season of the recognized Louisville women's sports, Louisville golf had another great season. The Cards went to an eighth straight NCAA Regional.

They had a pair of wins in the Illinois Invitational and The Club at Olde Stone Intercollegiate. The Cards then sat in the middle of the pack going into the final day of the ACC Championships before struggling on the final day and dropping down. They wrapped up the season finishing tied for seventh in the NCAA Regional behind all higher-ranked teams.

With the exception of Kendall Griffin, Louisville can bring back the rest of the team in terms of eligibility as Mairead Martin and Lauren Thibodeau both have a COVID year should they choose to use it.

Track and Field

Their season isn't quite done so we won't recap their season yet, but they had a strong outing at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a plethora of individual honors and podium finishes. Could the Cards bring home some hardware from the NCAA Championships? Absolutely.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball does not make NCAA Tournament -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SIX ACC PROGRAMS MAKE ACC TOURNAMENT -- LOUISVILLE LEFT OUT. 

I guess... (and we correctly guessed on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast)... the Cards Softball season  is officially over, The ACC got six schools into the 64-team tournament (FSU,VT, Clemson, Duke,ND and GT), four of them are hosting regionals but Louisville did not get their name called.

I know, we are the website that stresses the joy and excitement of Louisville womens' sports. Every once in awhile, though, there is not so joyful or exciting news that needs to be reported on. 

Maybe ending the season 3-8 and bowing out in the first round of the ACC Tournament had a bit to with that. Maybe the committee saw losses (some of them five-inning blow-out losses} to tournament squads Kentucky, Ohio St., Florida, Arkansas and Illinois and that probably figured into the omission scenario.. 

Despite a season endeing RPI of 44, the 27-25 overall and 10-14 ACC record probably held more weight with the selection committee. As of a couple weeks ago, some bracketologist had the Cards "in" but that changed when the Cards stumbled  over the last 1/4th of their season. 

It was a season, though, that brought a lot of joy and excitement to the crowds that gathered at Ulmer Stadium. Louisville did go 16-8 in the ballpark that sits on the corner of Floyd St. and Brandeis Ave. We'll start with the wonderful hitting of Carmyn Greenwood and Kendall Smith, who both batted over .300 on the season. How fortunate we were to see Carmyn become the best hitter in the league and patrol left field.

Let's also recognize the pitching job Taylor Roby turned in as the ace of the staff. at 15-11. She'll have an additional season for Louisville also, a very good thing.  The Cards started the season with six pitchers, but a season-ending injury to Gabby Holloway and Chardonnay Harris deciding to leave the squad left the Cards with Roby and three rather unproven hurlers in Felder, Booe and Hudson to enter the circle. Still, they survived and should all improve next year with a season under their belt. Holloway returning would be a plus as well. 

There is an old baseball ditty that went "Spahn and Sain, then pray for rain." back in 1948 when Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain pitched for the Boston *(now Atlanta) Braves. Yes, Boston had both American an National league team back then. This year, Louisville could have gone with "Roby and who?...Felder or Booe? and, hopefully, a rain-out or two." late this season .  

Louisville played as many as three freshmen in the infield at times -- Ally Alexander taking over at shortstop, and with Jenna Servi back at third base, it's an experienced infield, Hannah File returning could be huge as well. The outfield loses just Greenwood, but Korbe Otis, Vanessa Miller and Easton Lotus should all make for a solid grass-patrolling crew. 

Behind the plate would appear to be the Cards only major need. Kendall Smith, Cassidy Greenwood and Rebecca Chung all graduating leave no experienced catchers on the squad for 2022-23. Fortunately, freshmen will come in, and the transfer portal could possibly bring in a couple. Remember, Greenwood and Smith were transfers-in. 

Plenty of time for that, though. Those that are returning (we hope) will dedicate themselves in the off-season to getting stronger, more skilled at their respective positions and hone those batting skills. 

Nicole Pufahl and Sandy Pearsall

They have a solid coach in Holly Aprile, very capable assistants, a great facility and supportive fans. We hope they can return to the heydays of Louisville Softball (2016 and earlier) when the Cards had players like Wolny, McNary, Becker, Hensley, Pufahl, Jordan, Fowler, Keller, Bemis, Collins, Roth and Trimble.  

Their names should be on the outfield fences of Ulmer, along with several more. Some recognition also needs to be at Ulmer for Sandy Pearsall.  So should Greenwood's and eventually Roby's names be on that outfield fence. 

 You listening, athletic department

paulie

Conference Championships Results - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Rowing

With all of the entrants in the ACC championships for the Cards in Rowing advancing to the Grand Finals, Louisville had a chance to put up a decent showing in the overall standings.

OK, 6th place overall may not be something to do backflips over, but it's not bad in the ACC field.

Virginia took the top spot with 98 points, and in similarly shocking pronouncements, grass is green, and something about bears in woods.  The second place finish was a tight one, with Syracuse edging out Duke with 83 and 82, Clemson got the 4th spot with 60 points.  Miami was 5th with 52, and Louisville tallied 43 for the 6th spot.

The rest of the field was Notre Dame - 29, Boston College - 26, and North Carolina - 21.

The NCAA Selection for Rowing will be Tuesday, and UofL will await their fate.  The Cards, and Clemson, are the top two teams in the "Receiving Votes" section of rankings.  Rowing ranks 20 teams, and the NCAA championship takes 22 teams with 10 being automatic qualifiers.

To me, that looks like a stretch for Louisville to make it, but I'll remain hopeful.  The Championship competition will take place May 27th through 29th in Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, FL.

Track & Field

Congratulations to Emily Scott, who gets to claim two ACC Championships in the same academic/sports year, in two different sports.  Not too many people get to make that type of claim.

Emily, of course, claimed an ACC Volleyball ring by being part of the undefeated-until-the-Final-Four volleyball squad.  After volleyball was done, and she had made the decision not to come back for her Covid year and...she thought she might try her hand at high jump.

Turns out she's pretty good at that, too.  Scott was the only competitor to clear 1.82m (5' 11.5"), and did so on her 3rd attempt.  She gave it a go at 1.85m, because why not at that point, but wasn't able to clear.  At 1.82m she, as mentioned, won the event and her 2nd ring of the academic/sports year, but also set a facility record and personal record in the process at Morris Williams Stadium at Duke University.

In other Track & Field action, Katie Martin set a school record, good for 2nd place in the competition in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.57 seconds.

Overall, the Women's Track & Field squad finished out in 6th place.

The assumption is that Scott, along with other top Cardinals finishers such as Gabriela Leon in Pole Vault, and Synclair Savage in Long Jump will get bids to the NCAA Championship Preliminary meet, but we'll have to wait for that selection to be sure.

Presumably Louisville athletes would compete is the eastern preliminary meet in Bloomington, Indiana instead of the western one in...Fayetteville Arkansas?  Is that right?  I'm not sure I call Arkansas "West"...but hey, this is the NCAA we're talking about, here.

The prelims will take place May 25th through 28th, with the Championship meet in Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, June 8th through 12th.

Louisville Softball

We find out tonight whether Louisville Softball will receive a bid to participate in the 2022 NCAA Softball Tournament.  64 teams will hear their names called tonight

The selection show will be tonight on ESPN 2 at 7 p.m.

The Cards (27-25) are ranked 44th in the NCAA DI Softball RBI numbers. Checking a couple of NCAA DI Softball Tournament Bracketology sites (yes, they do exist for softball) both have the Cards as being 'out' of the tournament. and six ACC squads (FSU, Clemson, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Duke and Georgia Tech) as "in". Georgia Tech with a #24 RBI...so the Cards are hoping for a record seven ACC schools getting invites and them being one of them...but it has to be considered a definite longshot   

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We were a threesome for yesterday's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Jared, Paulie, and I on the call yesterday.  Daryl was busy with the Bats, and Case is moving house, both worthy endeavors and understandable absences.

Plenty of good discussion with just the three of us, though.  Softball being the biggest subject, with a big look ahead to next season.  Basketball news, Rowing updates, some Track & Field...we go where the sports take us.

You can check it out on the Youtube replay at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3pmzBU0c-U

JMcA

ACC Championship Season -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Track Enters Final Day

Duke is playing host to the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships this season, and Louisville is doing pretty well at the event. Heading into the final day, the women's team currently sits in fourth place overall. They're just half a point behind Virginia Tech and 1.5 points behind Notre Dame in second. Duke leads the way with 49.5 points, 11 ahead of Louisville.

The Cards picked up a couple of top ten finishes in the triple jump yesterday to add to their score, but most of their gains were made on day one when they led at the end of competition. Louisville snagged three of the top five positions in the pole vault, including Gabriela Leon standing on the top step of the podium with an ACC Championship. It was her second straight outdoor title. Leon was joined by Aliyah Welter on the podium in third, and Auriane Viola took fifth. 

Also earning a championship was Synclair Savage, who took first in the long jump. Her jump currently ranks 8th nationally, as other conferences continue their competitions this weekend. Savage was joined by Brook Weimar in fifth and Ariel Lawrence in seventh. Katie Martin picked up the fourth podium of the day, though it was only a prelim, when she won her heat in the 400m hurdles with the second fastest preliminary time overall.

The competition concludes today with almost all of the track finals on deck this evening. A few more field events continue through midday, with men's discus kicking off at 11AM. Track events will begin at 5PM. Keep up with the Louisville Track and Field Twitter account for more.

Louisville Makes Grand Finals Across the Board

For the first time since 2018, Louisville rowing has qualified all of its boats in the Grand Finals of the ACC Championships. The top three finishers from each preliminary qualify for the Grand Final while the other three take part in the Petit Final just before the Grand. Louisville snuck into third in all four of their events. There are five total events, but Louisville competes in just four. Clemson, Duke, Syracuse, and Virginia put boats in all five Grand Finals, with Louisville coming in ahead of Miami and Notre Dame who qualified three and two, respectively.

Syracuse, Duke, and Virginia comprise the ranked ACC teams in rowing at 11th, 14th, and 15th. Louisville and Clemson are 21st and 22nd, though that puts the in the "also receiving votes category" as the rowing poll is just the top 20. This morning's finals are on from 8-10:30 AM on ACC Network Extra, and there will be a two-hour recap show on the linear ACC Network on May 24th at 8PM.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Daryl and I are out this week, but Jared, Jeff, and Paulie will have plenty to discuss. With the wrap-up of the softball season (presumably) and all of the other seasons coming to a close, they're sure to find a way 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

Breaker: 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

Accolades for Several Cardinals -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

No Daryl today. She's working hard running the show at Louisville Slugger Field and welcoming back a fan favorite Cincinnati Reds who is down in Louisville temporarily. You get Jared again, which means you'll get at leasti one "selfie" in today's photos. 

In the world of UofL sports, we have no results to report. But we get to happily brag on several student-athletes!

Volleyball- Anna Stevenson

We'll start with a recent Cardinal alumna. Louisville volleyball's Anna Stevenson has been named to the US National Team. Currently ranked #1 in the world, Team USA holds the 2020 Olympic gold medal and is the three-time defending VNL national champion. Stevenson is one of 25 players to make the roster.

Since her ACC title and Final Four appearance with Louisville, Stevenson has been enjoying the engaged life while playing for Aydin Buyuksehir Belediyespor in Turkey.

A total of 14 players will be selected to travel each week as they play in the Philippines, Canada, and Turkey.

Softball- Carmyn Greenwood and Kendall Smith

Louisville softball had a pair of players named to the College Sports Information Directors of American Academic All-District team. To be considered for the honor, players must be a start or key reserve, maintain at least a 3.30 GPA, and be of sophomore level or higher at their respective institutions.

Greenwood is a two-time All-ACC selection and has been on the ACC Academic honor roll twice. Greenwood has had an All-American caliber season so perhaps there will be more accolades on the way for her?

Smith spent her final year of eligibility with the Cards after transferring in from Western Kentucky. She sat second on the team in batting average behind Greenwood and holds multiple Conference USA awards.

Lacrosse- Hannah Morris, Nicole Perroni, and Caroline Blalock

For Louisville lacrosse, three players received honors.

Hannah Morris and Nicole Perroni were named to the IWLCA All-Region Second Team. Morris was top on the team with 56 goals scored. She scored in 16 of the 18 games this year. Perroni was second on the team with 50 goals scored. Her 28 caused turnovers was a team best.

Caroline Blalock was named a USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American Honorable Mention. She was all named to the All-ACC Second Team. Blalock was top three for Louisville in six statistical categories.

Guess The Athlete

We had some fun a couple weeks back with guessing a couple student-athletes that I had the chance to work with. I worked with another student-athlete last night so I figured we could play "Guess The Athlete" again.

Need a hint? She plays on Jeff's favorite Louisville team. She's a defensive specialist. She graduated high school here in Louisville.

Answer: Alexa Hendricks

We'll play again in the future as the opportunity to work with more of our awesome student-athletes presents itself.

                                                      *******************************

Don't forget to tune into our World Famous Cardinal Couple Radio Podcast tomorrow ay 11:00 a.m. ET. We are happy to be back after taking last week off in honor of the Kentucky Derby.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Falls in ACC Tournament -- Golf Ends Season in NCAA Regionals -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

We love to report the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics, but unfortunately we saw at least one Louisville team's season come to a close yesterday with another team's season hanging on by a thread following a loss.

Offense Goes Silent in ACC Tournament Loss

Irony struck yesterday as Louisville softball, a team known to produce runs at all at times throughout the year, was held scoreless and recorded just one hit in a 2-0 loss to 9-seed Syracuse.

The lone Louisville hit came from Jenna Servi in the bottom of the sixth inning. She would never advance past first in the inning. Hannah File reached base in the second inning on a throwing error, but would remain stranded at first.

With a 2-0 deficit and down to their final three outs, Taylor Roby reached safely on a field error to start the bottom part of the final inning. Her pinch runner, Mia Forsythe, would advance to second following a Kendall Smith walk. Sidney Bickel would go into run for Smith. With a pair of runners on with no outs, it appeared a Louisville miracle might happen. Sadly, a fly ball to right field would advance Forsythe to third, but a strike out and a ground out would end any chances of a rally.

Syracuse's damage came in the third inning with two outs. A well-placed bunt towards third base would place the final batter in the lineup on first. She would safely steal second before ending her trip around the bases on a home run ball to dead center by the Orange's leadoff batter.

Roby pitched a full game in the circle for Louisville, allowing two runs on four hits in 27 batters faced. She would suffer her 11th loss of the season to fall to 15-11.

For Louisville, an early exit from the ACC Tournament and a 27-25 record could be enough to end any hopes of hearing their name called this weekend for the NCAA Tournament. The Cards were already listed as a bubble team going into the ACC Tournament and their stock went south following the loss.

The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday at 7:00p.m. ET on ESPN2. We hope to hear Louisville's named called.

On a lighter note for Louisville softball, a few Cardinals received ACC accolades yesterday.

Carmyn Greenwood was named to the All-ACC first team. She leads Louisville in batting average. Greenwood is also top in the ACC in hits and runs scored and second in RBIs. She can finish high in the Louisville record books in terms of batting average and slugging percentage. This is her second straight All-ACC honor.

Taylor Roby was named to the All-ACC third team. She leads the team in home runs with 15, which is also a good enough mark for second in the conference. Roby has been the main pitcher for the Cards all season, tallying over 160 innings with over 100 strikeouts and totaling a career-high 15 wins. This is her second straight All-ACC honor.

Korbe Otis was named to the All-ACC freshmen team. She is third on the team in batting averaged and is the only freshman to start every game for the Cards. Otis transitioned to center field following an early season injury to Hannah File and has held that position ever since.

Golf Bows Out in NCAA Regional

Louisville women's golf saw their season come to a close yesterday. The Cards finished 21-over-par and tied with Sam Houston at seventh.

#2 Oregon, #28 Georgia, #13 Texas, and #33 TCU were the four teams to qualify for the NCAA Championships. #11 Florida and #23 Arizona were 'upset' and saw their seasons end in the fifth and sixth spots.

Kendall Griffin, Mairead Martin, and Lauren Thibodeau all finished in the top 30 of the individual scores. Carmen Griffith tied for 37th and Gabbi Bentancourt tied for 60th.

Louisville will begin their 2022-2022 season around mid-September.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Begins ACC Tournament today -- Ahlana Smith to Miss. State -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SOFTBALL CARDS FACE SYRACUSE TO OPEN ACC TOURNAMENT

 

Louisville Softball opens ACC Tournament play today as the #8 seeded team and will face #9 Syracuse in Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. The contest will be shown on the ACC Network.  

For the Cards, it comes down to three simple thinhs -- three of the major tenants in softball or baseball

1) Get runners on base  2) Get those runners across the plate to score runs 3) Do that more often than Syracuse does. 

They weren't able to do much of those three in their season-ending series against Notre Dame, scoring just two runs in three days against the Irish, but, Louisville plated 15 runs against the Orange in a three-game sweep of them at Ulmer Stadium a few weeks ago-- 8-0, 4-1 and 3-2.

The Cards have the power and hitting ability to do it again. Carmyn Greenwood, Taylor Roby, Kendall Smith and Korbe Otis have led the offense most of the season and have accounted for 167 RBI's and 117 Runs scored for the Cards in 51 games and the Louisville squad outscored opponents 276-258 on the season 

One of the keys, tomorrow is going to be limiting the number of runs the Orange are going to be able to push across the plate. And, obviously, good pitching and accurate fielding are the major factors involved in keeping foes from touching home plate. The "ace" of the staff -- Taylor Roby -- has shown in the past she can deliver the effective pitching to limit opponents from tallying up runs scored. Let's hope she's "on" again tomorrow. 

An interesting philosophy was tossed my way earlier today, when someone expressed the hope that Roby WOULDN'T start today and Taja Felder would be given the assignment of containing Syracuse. that way, you could sane Roby for #1 seed Virginia Tech, who would be the Cards next opponent, if they get by Syracuse. An interesting thought, since Felder and Sam Booe split and shared strong performances in a win over Syracuse in the middle of April.. 

You must win today to play tomorrow, though, and Roby probably gives you the best chance of doing that, She had two wins over the Orange earlier in the season and I think you go with your strengths in "the second season".

Good luck to the Cards tomorrow ! Survive..and advance. .

(Thanks to Jared Anderson and Ryan Greenwood for the softball photos used in the article)  

AHLANA SMITH TO MISSISSIPPI STATE

When Ahlana Smith entered the transfer portal, the gang at Cardinal Couple discussed the possibility of her joining up again with Sam Purcell -- at Mississippi State. 

It has come to pass. 

It'll be her fourth school in her time as a collegiate student athlete. Her journey began at aT UCLA,, then Gulf Coast, two years at Louisville and now at MSU. 

Purcell gets a capable guard who scored 4.3 ppg at Louisville last season in 32 games, which was seventh-highest on the team. She was a reserve who usually entered if Kianna Smith, Chelsie Hall or Hailey Van Lith needed a rest or got into foul trouble.  A very capable ball-handler with much better than average speed and a decent three-point shot. 

The thing is, with both Kianna Smith and Chelsie Hall graduating, you just couldn't see Ahlana as a starter. Too much incoming talent, the development of Payton Verhulst and Kasa Robinson returning seemed to indicate that Ahlana would keep the same role, only with a different cast of starters to spell. 

So, she's off to a fresh start with a head coach who she's familiar with (and who recruited her out of Gulf Coast) -- in a situation where an experienced guard just might help Purcell fill one of the gaps in defining capable players for a Bulldogs team that went 15-14 overall, 6-10 in the SEC and lost their last six games. 

She's the sixth guard listed on the latest 2022-23 MSU roster.

Wishing Ahlana a lot of luck under Sam with the Bulldogs. Beating UK twice would be a great start. 

(WBB photos of Ahlana from Jared Anderson) 

Have a wonderful Wednesday

paulie