Monday Cardinal Couple -- Softball, Lacrosse score wins

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Late rally saves softball

- Lacrosse demolishes Bearcats

- NCAA Women's Championship Game: What they wanted


Louisville Softball used a three-run top of the seventh to defeat USF 3-1 Sunday in Tampa and sweep the three game series. Freshman pitcher Maryssa Becker went the distance for the win...giving up just four hits and striking out seven to go to 10-3 on the season.

Louisville tried to strike early on Bulls pitcher Sara Nevins. Whitney Arion singled and Katie Keller doubled in the top of the first with just one out. A walk to Brittany Duncan got the bags full of Cards...but Nevins got a strikeout and popup to escape run damage. 

It stayed scoreless until the bottom of the sixth. With two outs in the inning...two infield singles by USF and a Cards throwing error produced the first run of the game.

Louisville started the seventh with a ground-out but Hannah

Kiyohara singled. Sandy Pearsall inserted Paige Alford to run and she scampered home on Kelsi Jones' double. Arion's single plated Jones to make it 2-1 Cards. Nevins hit Keller with a pitch and Duncan drew her second walk of the game to fill the bases for Becker...who singled home Arion for a 3-1 score. 

The Cards are now 23-15 overall and 5-4 in AAC play. 

Louisville returns home for a Tuesday night game against Evansville. First pitch is 6 p.m.

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With 13 players scoring, the Louisville Lacrosse squad dominated the UC Bearcats yesterday in Cincinnati 23-2. Recently awarded a top-20 ranking, the Cards scored 40 seconds into the game and had rolled up a 5-0 margin nine minutes into the contest...en route to a 14-2 halftime advantage.

Kellie Young played a bunch of Cards in this one...inserting Ashley Peacock in goal to replace Ashley Herbst...in the second half and the Cards continued to score with the reserves. 

Leading Louisville's offense explosion were Laura Patterson, Cortnee Daley and Hannah Koloski with three goals each. 

Louisville held a 44-6 advantage in shots and Kaylin Morissette broke her own game record by controlling 14 draws. The win keeps the Cards (8-3, 2-0) in a three-way tie for top spot in the BIG EAST with Villanova and UConn. 

Given the slaughter...maybe Louisville should have just stayed home and played Bellarmine. Gas is pushing $4 a gallon, after all.

The Cards take to the road again for their next one...a Friday BIG EAST tilt against Temple at 3 p.m. It'll be the fourth out of five straight away contest...Louisville will visit Villanova Sunday...before returning home for three straight. 

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There are two left in the NCAA Women's Tournament and it's the two all the pundits and talking heads wanted to see. Undefeated against undefeated. UConn and Notre Dame. Geno vs. the Muffet. Dogs and Shamrocks.

The Maryland Terrapins rolled over on their shells and stunk up Bridgestone Arena to start the night. Turtle soup. Notre Dame outrebounded them by 3,000 and Alyssa Thomas was sequestered by the suffocating Irish defense.

Thanks for participating Brenda. At least we think that was participation. We'll review it and get back to you. 

Not real happy that UM stole our 'party crashers' term...they didn't even get in the party...Notre Dame asked for ID at the door and turned the crabcake girls away. They also borrowed our 'Unfinished Business' theme. They failed to live up to either. 

UND doesn't seem to be missing Achonwa much at all. Would have Louisville fared better against the relentless Irish attack? Sadly, we'll never know...

At least Stanford put a little fight into the Huskies before booking their flight back to Palo Alto. Stewart and Mosqueda-Lewis woke up in the second half...though...and the Dogs soiled the Trees in the final 20 minutes.

Not even Condi Rice could have intervened and saved the girls from the Farm in this one. Cheney Ogwumike will make one fine WNBA star, though...

So, ESPN'S and a lot of the viewing public

wishes have come true. It'll be the first ever undefeated vs. undefeated ever in a title game. For the women or the men. 

Still thinking that if a certain, undeniable walk would have been called with nine seconds left in a certain game...maybe I'd been driving down I-65 Sunday afternoon to see Red vs. Green. 

I know...one missed call does not a game make. I think Louisville would have put on a little better show defensively and on the boards than Maryland offered, though...and Shoni, Nita and Tia would have opened up that tight Notre Dame defense with some long range bombing. 

Go Irish. I guess...

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THE LATEST BROADCAST OF CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO IS NOW ARCHIVED AND AVAILABLE FOR LISTENING. IT'S THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WRAP-UP SHOW FOR THE YEAR. IT'S A GREAT HOUR OF INTERNET RADIO. GIVE A LISTEN BY CLICKING THE WORDS BELOW. 

PAULIE AND JEFF LISTEN TO SOUNDBYTES AND ESPOUSE GLITTERING GENERALITIES


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If you need a hoops fix tonight, you can catch UK try and grab the NCAA Men's Championship Game against Connecticut. I know, the lesser of two evils here to root for...but I have more UK friends than UConn acquaintances....so....

GO BIG BLUE.  And it just might be the first time ever I've put those three words in print here at the website...

paulie