Cards crush Panthers 8-5, 15-0

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-# 8 Cards score 23 runs in double header to beat Pitt

The University of Louisville softball team, after a slow start, pounded Pitt pitching for 23 runs in a doubleheader Wednesday at Ulmer Stadium. Kasey Kasem would have referred to it as a "solid gold hit parade"...Louisville getting three home runs in the 12 inning attack against the Panthers 

Louisville 8 - Pittsburgh 5

The Cards took awhile to warm up in game one on a beautiful, low 70's clear day at Ulmer Stadium...the game scoreless and the Cards hitless after three innings. Pitt grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the third inning off starter Caralisa Connell and pushed that to 2-0 in the top of the fourth. Savannah Hill was looking good in the circle for the Panthers.

Then the Cards did their version of Thunder Over Louisville.

Jordan Trimble started the bottom of the fourth with a single, which was also Louisville's first hit of the game. After getting retired at second on a Alicja Wolny fielder's choice, Mags Ruckenbrod singled and set the plate for Whitney Arion's two RBI double. Hannah Kiyohara followed with a single to score Arion to make it 3-2 UofL. Taner Fowler followed with a two-run blast to left-center that gave Louisville a 5-2 lead. Jasmine Smithson-Willett drew a walk next...and scored on a Katie Keller single and throwing error. Trimble batted for the second time in the inning and singled again to score Keller and Trimble reached the plate on a throwing error following a Wolny grounder.

All of a sudden, it was 8-2 Cards.

Pitt chipped away at the lead with two runs in the sixth and a score in the seventh...but it wasn't enough to catch the Cards.

Carl gets her 24th. win of the year...allowing five runs, eight hits and striking out seven in seven innings pitched.

Louisville 15 - Pittsburgh 0

The Cards got off to a much earlier offensive attack in the second game...placing a run on the board in the first an threatening for much more. Trimble and Wolny singled with one out. Ruckenbrod received a base on balls to load the bases. Whitney Arion walked next to force in Trimble...but Pitt starter Alexa Larkin got out of the jam by getting out the next two Cards at the plate.

Sandy Pearsall's charges added four runs in the second. Katelyn Mann started a two-out charge with a home run. Keller and Trimble followed with a single and double and both scored on Wolny's double. Ruckenbrod followed with a single to plate Wolny. It was 5-0 Louisville after two.

The Cards put on another fireworks show in the third. 10 runs on 10 hits. Alicja Wolny's three-run homer was the event of the inning...but Mann had a two RBI double that almost got out of the park, Wolny added a two RBI double her second time up in the inning and Arion produced a run-scoring double also. RBI singles from Ruckenbrod, Brittany Sims and Ally Vaughn put Louisville ahead 15-0 after three.

The Pitt outfielders must have thought the heavens were raining softballs.

Rachel LeCoq pitched a strong five innings with four strikeouts and just two hits allowed to improve to 15-4.

On a day where the Cards beat the eventual rain, they filled the skies with their own falling objects. The air traffic controllers at nearby Louisville International Airport were probably going nuts with all the unidentified flying object to the north of them...

In the "Tell your statistics to shut up" department...nine Cardinals are batting over .300

Katie Keller         .432         Jasmine Smithson-Willett  .333 
Alicja Wolny        .424         Katelyn Mann                    .319
Maggie Ruckenbrod  .386     Whitney Arion                   .315
Jordan Trimble    .361         Hannah Kiyohara               .314
Kayla Soles          .337


Home run Derby leaders:

Keller   10
Wolny    9
Fowler   7

Hits parade:

Keller   63
Wolny   56
Ruck     51

Driving them in (RBI's):

Keller   45
Wolny   42
Ruck     35

Getting home (runs scored)

Keller   52
Wolny   36
Trimble 35

Louisville has scored 315 runs this season and allowed just 104. As a team, they are batting .345 and opponents just .220.

The Cards are #8 in the nation with a 39-6 record and tied for least losses in the BIG EAST with a 12-1 mark.

USF              13-1
Louisville    12-1
Notre Dame 10-1
DePaul         10-1
Georgetown  7-6


-Paulie