Softball splits, Hoops tonight Part Deux

(We thank you readers for patiently awaiting the daily CARDINAL COUPLE dribble and drool for Monday, Feb 28th. Gremlins are gone...)

-Sandy Pearsall's UofL women's softball team went 1-1 in the final day of the Red & Black classic at Ulmer Stadium on Sunday. A tough outing against the Miami of Ohio RedHawks in the first contest...leading 3-0 early, seeing Miami grab a one run lead and then the Cards battling back to tie it up at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh. Couldn't prevent the RedHawks from putting two on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth due to a UofL fielding error and had a chance to win it in the bottom half of the inning with a run in and Taner Fowler at first...but Miami's Jessica Simpson retired three in a row to shut down the Cardinal rally. Carlisa Connell (2-2) with the loss and two hits each from Fowler, Maggie Ruckenbrod and Katie Keller (way to represent freshmen!) in a 6-5 losing effort.

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The Cards jumped all over second game opponent Wright State early and led 2-0 after one when Alicja Wolny's double scored Chelsea Bemis and Keller. It went to 3-0 when Bemis single and scored on a Wolny double. The bombs continued when Louisville plated seven runs in the bottom of the sixth...keyed by a three run Fowler fence clearer and a three RBI double for Bemis. Tori Collins pitched the 10-0 shutout for Louisville, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. Collins (6-3) has four shutouts so far this season.

The Cards head to Cookeville, TN this weekend for action in the Tennessee Tech Combat classic.

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The charter has landed and Jeff Walz's Lady Cards are in Providence, RI for tonight's 7 p.m. game against the Friars in the Dunkin Donuts Arena.

(Homer Simpson would approve...donuts....yuuummm.) This is far from a pastry puff for the intrepid Cards, though....despite Providence's 5-10 BIG EAST record and worst shooting percentage in the league. Providence can rebound with anyone in the nation and Teya Wright is first in BIG EAST in offensive rebounds and Mi-Khida Hankins second in defensive grabs. They also prevent the three really well. Scoring isn't one of their strong suits...they average 57 points a game, compared to Louisville's 72 a contest. They do hold their opponents to 59 a game, though and Louisville gives up 59.8 on an average..so let that tell you whatever you need it to. They probably won't overflow the court if they win and decide to storm it...the Friars average a woeful 404 fans per game...worst in the league.

We see it and a case of Louisville needing to do several things well tonight to avoid the upset. They must go to the boards well against the Friars and block out on both ends of the court. The three point specialists on Louisville's roster need to find a smooth shooting game outside the friendly confines of the KFC YUM Center and the Cards absolutely, positively need Reid to show interest in this one and create in 'inside the paint' wizardry. Will the road (where Louisville rarely plays well) and the board prowess of Providence paint a portrayal of punishment for the power-challenged Cards? We can see a win here...not by much...but we can also see the Cards throwing in a clunker as well...CARDINAL COUPLE will review the action upon the completion of the game tonight. Tip-off is 7 p.m. and Matt Andrews and Liz Sherwood (yikes... two freshmen!!!) will have the call on 790 AM/101.7 FM WKRD...Cards Radio.

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The jumble for fourth place in the league standing comes down to the final night of regular season league play and the picture is a bit clearer. If Marquette wins and Louisville loses, the Golden Eagles get fourth because of the head on win by Marquette. A Louisville win and Marquette loss give it to the Cards. Rutgers could sneak up and grab fourth if they beat Seton Hall tonight and Louisville loses. They own the regular season win over Marquette. If Louisville, Marquette and Rutgers all win...call in the chimps and let them slug it out..because:

Louisville beat Rutgers and lost to Marquette

Marquette beat Louisville and lost to Rutgers

Rutgers beat Marquette and lost to Louisville

Joanie loves Chachi and I Love Lucy.

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(Who's on first?)

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What about the end of the Cards vs. Pitt men's game yesterday? It's overtime...Cards up by three late, grab a missed Pitt shot and Peyton Siva finds Kyle Kuric for a pass and dunk. Five point lead with 0.03 on the clock. But, the now infamous male cheerleader runs onto the court, tosses the ball up in the air with a sissified two-handed, underhand toss and.....BOOM!...technical foul on Cards for delaying play. They reset the clock to 0.05 (still don't understand that...) give Gibbs and Pitt two free throws...which he sinks....and the ball out of bounds. Fortunately, the desperation three falls short and Cards win by three. If it had been good (to tie it) and Louisville had gone on to lose in the second overtime...there'd be one less male cheerleader on the UofL squad most likely. If Pitino didn't get him...a fan would have.

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