SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE
-Softball slugs past UConn 3-2 and 8-0
-Lady Cards WBB at Spring Game
-Walz offered OSU job
-Lacrosse at UConn today
CARDS 3 - HUSKIES 2
Louisville's bats made a late appearance yesterday in the first game...kept silent and scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning. Trailing 2-0 at their final at bat, Louisville got a double from Jordy Trimble and scored on a single from Kayla Soles to draw within a run. Soles was lifted for pinch runner Katelyn Mann and she tied the contest on a wild pitch by UConn.Caralisa Connell held the Huskies scoreless in the top of the eighth and Alicja Wolny singled in the home half of the inning to give the Cards the potential game-winning run on base. She won it for UofL when Taner Fowler singled.
"Carl" went all eight innings for the Red and Black, giving up two runs, six hits and striking out seven. She improves to 22-2 on the season.
CARDS 8 - HUSKIES 0
After a scoreless first inning, the Louisville softball team put up four runs in the bottom of the second. Whitney Arion began the attack with a double and scored when Trimble reached on a UConn fielding error. Taner Fowler got Trimble to the plate with a single and Jasmine Smithson-Willett cleared the bases with a double to make it 4-0Louisville increased the lead to 6-0 in the third with doubles form Maggie Ruckenbrod, Trimble and Fowler.
The Cards ended the contest in the sixth...JSW pummelled her second homer of the year to left to give the Cards a seven-run advantage. After a Wolny walk, Chrisanna Roberts came in to run, advanced on a Ruckenbrod single and made it home on a wild pitch.
Rachel LeCoq pitched six innings of scoreless ball, allowing six hits. The teams go again today at noon at Ulmer.
The top of the BIG EAST standings have four teams with just one loss each. USF is 12-1, DePaul 10-1, Louisville 9-1 and Notre Dame 8-1. After them, Georgetown follows at 6-5.
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The University of Louisville women's basketball team made an appearance at the Football Spring Game yesterday...signing items for a long, long line of fans prior to the game and then taking the field at halftime for recognition with the men's team.
Camera hogs? Yeah, you bet...as the Lady Cards mugged and postured for the PJCS camera while Sean Moth tried to interview a giggling and happy Bria Smith. It was also Sara Hammond's birthday and after interviewing the buoyant and smiling Hammond...Sean Moth led the 35,000 fans in attendance in a rousing version of Happy Birthday.
"Seeing the girls like that really makes you so happy and proud of them. All that they have accomplished and I think the best may be yet to come!" Tony Wilson told Paulie, as the proceedings took place.
Louisville is already being mentioned as one of the top four teams in next years' NCAA womens' basketball wars...along with UConn, Notre Dame and Stanford.
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When rumors started surfacing a week or so about Ohio State University being interested in Jeff Walz...including a $1 million dollar a year contract, a rumor ( from a VERY reliable source) let us know about a contact with Walz to ask about the alleged offer. Walz said he knew nothing about 1 mil, but added that the amount sure would be nice. Didn't exactly confirm or deny the rumor. Just the dollar figure.
1 large would buy a lot of checkered, tablecloth style shirts. It would keep the man in Cool Ranch Doritios for a pretty long time. He could even work part-time at Geno's restaurant.
Ohio State apparently did make contact with the Louisville womens' basketball head coach but was turned down in their attempt to sway him away from Belknap Campus. Terms of the offer have not been released and Walz has come out publicly with comments that he is staying at Louisville.
And, that makes sense. Ohio State is in the B1G Ten, a conference that is mid-level and the Buckeyes were a mid-level team in the 2012-13 season. Their 18-13 record got coach Jim Foster fired. A second round BIG 10 Tournament loss to Penn State probably was the deciding factor in the Buckeyes not getting an NCAA bid, despite the fact that 1st and 2nd round NCAA Womens' Tournament games were being played at their St. John's Arena.
Why would Walz want to pull up anchor and leave the National Runners Up and a squad that has all but two players returning...plus several talented recruits.
Except for money. (Not Monny...)
The prevailing opinion is that more offers will be sent Jeff's way. And, Tom Jurich will simply open up the Cardinal financial vault and toss whatever it takes to keep Walz in place.
Trading Columbus's arena for the YUM!? Trading the rabid Louisville WBB fan base for the Buckeyes? The Cards will serve a 12 month sentence in the AAC before getting parole and leaving for the ACC. A conference that will be just as strong as the current BIG EAST, maybe stronger. Would Walz consider leaving all that to go to a place where they pack in 100,000 for football but barely 1000 for women's basketball? Not gonna happen.
Maybe OSU could look 80 miles east of Louisville and throw cash at a certain Matthew Mitchell's doorstep. Wouldn't hurt our feelings one bit...
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Lacrosse swings into Storrs, Connecticut today to face the Huskies in a noon match. At 8-5, Louisville is having a resurgence under the auspices of a talented mix of freshmen and veteran players and Kellie Young's instructions.Against UConn, they'll face one of those dreaded "east coast" schools that Jeff, Jenny and I talk about when it comes to lacrosse hot beds.
UConn has lost once in BIG EAST play...to Syracuse, who dispatched a 19-7 thumping on Louisville Friday.
Maybe the Cards can deliver a second one today.
-Paulie
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Jasmine Smithson-Willett with two base clearers? When I saw that, I knew Paulie was a happy camper.
ReplyDeleteRuckenbrod gets credited with thwarting another stolen 2nd base attempt. When are these teams gonna learn not to try to steal on The Ruck?
Yup! JSW playing like a senior in her freshman year. I remember how Coach P. raved about her before the season began. Afer a leg injury has her on the bench for a few games...she's been on fire since returning. Primarily a pitcher in high school with a strong batting skill set...her only appearance in the circle for Louisville was pretty disasterous...but she had staked a claim on left field since Jennifer Esteban went down with a leg injury.
DeleteThe logjam atop the BIG EAST is pretty interesting...only one of the four top teams will be in the BIG EAST next season...DePaul.
The traditional powers of the past few seasons...Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse and USF all exiting.