Cards blank St.John 8-0

The rains eventually came to Ulmer Stadium Saturday but not before Chelsea Bemis slugged three home runs against the Johnnies in the first of two scheduled games. Game two was postponed until 10:30 Sunday morning when the teams will pick up action in the second inning and they'll play the final game of the series after that.

Louisville put five Spaldings over the fence in the contest and jumped on St. John early with a three run first inning. Melissa Roth led off with a deep centerfield blast over the fence and after a Jennifer Esteban walk, Bemis connected with a base clearer. The Cards went on to load the bases after that with no outs but St. John's got out of the inning without allowing any more runs.

Louisville (30-15, 9-5) struck again in the bottom of the third. Jordan Trimble reached first on a error and scored when Alicia Wolny doubled. Wolny found the plate when Kristin Austin tripled and the Cards led 5-0.

Bemis went to work again in the bottom of the fourth with a solo blast and Trimble connected for a tater in the alley also in the inning to put Louisville up 7-0. Bemis got her third of the game in the 7th for the final run in the 8-0 win. Tori Collins went the distance for Louisville on the mound, scattering three hits and getting her first complete game of the year.

The last Louisville player to hit three home runs in a game was Melissa Roth, back in 2009.

The Cards started the second game is fine fashion, jumping out to a 3-0 lead on St. John before the rains came.

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While softball is playing at Ulmer, the Louisville lacrosse team finds itself needing a couple of wins to close out the season and make the Big East Tournament. #11 Syracuse visits today and the Cards go to Rutgers Friday and Villanova on Sunday.. A win over the Orange would help their chances to sweep the final three and end the season with five wins in a row.

Th Big East lacrosse tournament will be held at Rutgers beginning May 6th. Louisville is 9-5 on the season and 2-3 in the Big East.

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We told you about Bob Baffert's HURRICANE IKE yesterday being a horse to watch in the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs and Calvin Borel got the job done, winning easily on a sloppy track and paying $13.80.

Cool Cal won five races yesterday on opening day for Churchill. He took the Derby Trial in typical Borel fashion, stalking the pace and zipping up the rail in the stretch to storm by the competition. AIKENITE, another one we loved, ran second...about three lengths back...making for a very nice exacta payout in the feature race. Neither AIKENITE or HURRICANE IKE will head on to the Kentucky Derby but trainer John Sadler says a run in the Preakness is a definite possibility for HURRICANE IKE.

Congratulations also to regular guy and trainer superb Paul McGee who saddled FOREST WARFARE to a very convincing win earlier on the card. In a driving rainstorm, FOREST WARFARE contested the early pace, drew clear and won for fun, skipping down the spashy Churchill stretch 10 lengths in front of the nearest competitor.


A great afternoon at the track despite the wet weather. Prowling the bricks by the paddock and meeting the fans were such notables as Chip Wooley, trainer of last year's Derby winner MINE THAT BIRD and TVG expert anaylist Frank Lyons.

Lyons genuinely seemed to relish the fan appreciation and held court in front of one of the Churchill concession stands...grinning broadly, posing for photos and offering his unique and colorful advice on racing and handicapping.
Written by Paul 4/25/10