Softball travels to Notre Dame...THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

PEARSALL'S CARDS ENTER CRUCIAL SERIES VS. NOTRE DAME




           ****** Schedule Update******

Due to weather concerns in the South Bend area, the teams will try to get in a single game today at 6 p.m. and a double-header tomorrow starting at noon. 

The University of Louisville softball squad is in South Bend, IN today for a very important three-game series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish team that will have major implications on second place in the ACC.

Louisville (32-11, 13-5) are percentage points ahead of the Irish (36-8, 10-5) in the current standings. Notre Dame is ranked either 18th (ESPN/USA Softball) or 19th(USA Today/NFCA Coaches) polls, while the Cards are receiving votes but not ranked in the top 25 in either. 

Louisville enters the doubleheader today after a mid-week loss to Kentucky 2-1 Wednesday night at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards took a 1-0 lead into the top of the seventh in a contest that had a 54 minute rain delay...but the Cats capitalized on three Cardinal errors and got two hits to take the lead and win the affair. 

Notre Dame also stepped out of conference earlier in the week and shut out DePaul 8-0. Leading the way for UND is Karley Wester who has produced a .454 batting average and has scored 51 runs. She also has 36 stolen bases. Caitlin Brooks has slugged 10 home runs for the Irish. In the circle, Allie Rhodes has compiled a 17-5 record and averages a strikeout per inning. 

Pearsall will look for consistency and avoidance of late-game miscues from the Cards as they look to maintain their second place status in the ACC.

The contests will be on ESPN 3. First pitch today is 1 p.m. and the second game will be shown about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener. Sunday's single game starts at noon. We'll offer a preview of the games today on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR and a full recap of the action in our Sunday column. Go Cards and stay away rain! 

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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

WE have a wonderful broadcast lined up for you today on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR starting at 11 a.m. this morning. While Worldwide Jeff McAdams completes his boat tour of Europe...Sam Draut, our CARDINAL COUPLE intern and sports editor for THE CARDINAL student newspaper will be in studio with me as we review softball, lacrosse and comment on the nearly 30 minute Jeff Walz press conference from Thursday.

Sam also stars in a moving YOU TUBE parody that covers the end of his reign as sports editor at the newspaper. Based on the Derek Jeter farewell tribute...Sam covers the UofL campus in one final lap and some pretty interesting things develop.


LINK BELOW

https://youtu.be/ae1HOwaXmXY 


We'll also air the final segment of the Churchill Downs Derby picks from some of the most astute and knowledgeable handicappers under the Twin Spires. 

You'll want to have your pen and pad ready to take down what these eight prognosticators think will happen on the first Saturday in May. We had a little fun with them and assigned each of them an alias. There is some very revealing information here as we are now eight days away from the fastest two minutes in sports.

The replay is up...listen to it here at the link below

LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR REBROADCAST 4/30/16

paulie
xxxxx

Another rain delay...another loss....Louisville Lacrosse falls to Notre Dame. Walz press conference -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

IRISH TAKE DOWN LOULAX 12-10

Louisville Lacrosse battled back from a 9-3 halftime deficit and a hour and seventeen minute rain delay that caused an evacuation of Lane Stadium on the Virginia Tech campus and relocation of the match to an indoor practice facility but could not catch Notre Dame in a 12-10 loss Thursday night. 

Louisville Softball went through a rain delay Wednesday night in their loss to Kentucky. April showers, right? 

Louisville scored first in the match 2 1/2 minutes in when Kelli Gerding connected on a Kaylin Morissette feed but the Irish countered with two goals. The Cards tied it at 2-2 when Heidi Smith found the back of the net but Notre Dame went on a 7-0 run until the UofL's Hannah Koloski stopped the Cardinal dry spell with a score 1:42 before halftime. The Cards trailed 9-3 and needed to find some offensive punch. 

As the second half was scheduled to begin, lightning and rain started the rain delay which eventually caused the match to be moved to Virginia Tech's multi-purpose indoor facility. 

The Irish struck first in the second half but the Cards fired back with a 5-0 run that featured goals from Cortnee Daley, Koloski, Morissette and two straight scores from Gerding to get the Cards within two at 10-8 with 14:24 to play. The Cards could get no closer that that, unfortunately...trading goals with Notre Dame the rest of the way and falling 12-10.

Louisville head coach Kellie Young spoke of the effort: 

"I was disappointed in our first half effort. Our second half showed who we are...fearless and attacking the game. That is how you have to play for a full 60 minutes when you play at this level." 

Louisville will now wait for the NCAA Selection Show to learn their NCAA fate. The show airs Sunday, May 8th at 9 p.m.

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WALZ EXCITED ABOUT THE "NOW" AND THE FUTURE

Jeff Walz sat down with the media Thursday morning and reviewed the season that was, the current and the future. His mood was bright and upbeat...in contrast to another certain coach's demeanor from Wednesday...and he is pleased and proud of the current and some former players that are Cardinals. 

Monique Reid led her Bulgarian team Montana 2003 to the championships this spring. Shawnta Dyer also had a successful season overseas in Eurobasket competition over the winter. Sara Hammond had a strong season in Spain The WNBA training camps have four former Cardinals competing for roster spots with Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel (Atlanta), Asia Taylor (Indiana) and Jude Schimmel (Dallas). 

Walz was proud of the way the squad came back from the slow start in the 2015-16 season but felt they fell short of the expectations of the coaches, staff and squad -- to reach the Final Four and contend for the National Championship every year. 

He talked of the improvement of Sam Fuehring and Erin DeGrate during the individual instruction drills after the season ended and is looking forward to the five freshmen joining the program this summer...speaking highly of each of their skills. 

Walz also hasn't quite closed the book on whether Dakota Weatherford will play for the Cards next season or not...if a scholarship is available, she would definitely be considered and would be welcome to assume walk-on status...if not. 

CHARLIE THE HANDICAPPER

We'll play the entire 28 minutes for you on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR this Saturday with commentary. 

We'll also have our second and final segment on handicapping tips for the Kentucky Derby. It should be an action packed show! 

JESSICA LAEMMLE TO WALK ON WBB TEAM

Word is that Mercy (Louisville) High School point guard has committed to the Louisville women's basketball team as a preferred walk-on. 

Jessica Laemmle, a 5-foot-4 guard from Mercy Academy, has committed to the University of Louisville’s women’s basketball team as a preferred walk-on.

Laemmle was a second-team All-Sixth Region selection last season after averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She shot 80.2 percent from the free-throw line and 25.9 percent from 3-point range as the Jaguars finished 22-12.

At 5'4" ...she qualifies for our "attack yorkie" status and we're sure she'll be a tenacious one for the Cards! 

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Softball falls to UK 2-1....Walz press conference Thursday...Lacrosse faces Notre Dame -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

AFTER RAIN DELAY, CARDS GO ASTRAY IN LOSS TO UK

One out away from victory, the UofL softball team self-imploded upon itself after a 54 minute rain delay Thursday night at Ulmer Stadium...giving up a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning to Kentucky and losing 2-1.


As the teams took to the field after the delay, the stadium P.A. system blared the AC/DC song "Thunderstruck". Eerily, it was a foreshadowing of what was about to happen to Sandy Pearsall's squad. 

When lightning halted the action, the Cards were in a prime position to add to the 1-0 lead. Pinch-runner Tiarra Sanabria occupied third base...subbing for Maryssa Becker who had reached base on a walk. Pinch-runner Jessica Adell stood on second...running for Megan Hensley who had smashed a double to right-center. There was one out and Nicole Pufahl stood at the plate working the count on UK pitcher Kelsey Nunley. It was looking very promising for UofL...but facilities manager Ray Bronger called a conference with the coaches and umpires to inform them of a lightning strike seven miles away from the stadium. Out came the tarp, out of the seats went the fans and the rain delay began. 

When action resumed, Nunley got Pufahl to line out to UK shortshop Christian Stokes but Brittany Sims drew a base on balls to load the bags full of Cardinals. Nunley got out of the jam by getting Jordan McNary to ground out. 

It had been McNary, in the bottom of the second, who had driven in the lone run of the game...tripling to right-center to score Sims. 

The Cards took the field in the top of the seventh needing just three outs to end the contest. Three UK hits and a couple of costly Louisville fielding errors allowed the Cats to put up two runs and send the Cards to the bottom of the seventh down 2-1. 

A dropped throw with two outs...blowing a routine step-on-the-base put-out and game ending play. A passed ball that allowed the eventual winning run to advance to third. Crucial errors that gave UK's Brooklin Hinz the chance to get an RBI single.

Such is the game of softball. Such is the heartbreak of athletics at times. 

The Cards went down in order in the bottom of the seventh and just as suddenly as it seemed the Cards would take a win...it was over and the Cats (40-11) were headed back to Fayette County with the "W". Credit Nunley with a strong effort in the circle...allowing just four Louisville hits while striking out seven. Hats off to Becker for pitching out of jams in the third and sixth innings when Cats were perched and second and third. She struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth when danger presented itself.

Lament the costly miscues from a nervous Cardinal squad one out away from a win.

And, as if tears from heaven were being released in sorrow and frustration over the Cards loss...the rain came in with a driving frenzy a mere few minutes after Sandy Pearsall explained to the media how this one got away. 

"We made mistakes and mental mistakes and that's what cost us the game," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "We just didn't make the plays that we needed to make and that's something that has plagued us all year. I thought Maryssa Becker did a good job out there, she may have allowed some hits, but she got some crucial outs when we needed her to."

Coach also had a few other comments about the loss that we'll play on our highly acclaimed radio show...THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR on Saturday.

Win some, lose some...sure...but the Cards gift-wrapped and put a bow around this one for Kentucky Wednesday night.

The Cards (32-11) will find a way to put this one behind them...they must...with two series awaiting with top 20 foes Notre Dame and Florida State and the ACC Tournament.

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WALZ TO ADDRESS MEDIA TODAY AT 11:30

Louisville head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz will hold a press conference to review the 2015-16 season tomorrow on the UofL campus. 

We'll have the report on it in the Friday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE and play the audio in it's entirety on our Saturday broadcast on WCHQ 100.9 FM -- THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. 

We expect the Coach will cover a few other things as well...

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LACROSSE FACING NOTRE DAME IN ACC TOURNAMENT TONIGHT

Kellie Young's LAX squad has the final game in the first day of action for the ACC Championships in Blacksburg, VA on the Virginia Tech campus.

Louisville, the #6 seed, faces #3 seed Notre Dame. The Cards defeated the Irish during the regular season 10-9 at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. 

The Cards (12-4) go into the tournament with two straight losses...both close games...to Virginia and at Syracuse. 


UofL will look to seniors and All-ACC selections Kaylin Morissette and Cortnee Daley to get them back on the winning track and to the semi-finals of the championships.

Game time at (or around) 7:30 p.m. and it can be watched on ESPN3.

paulie
xxxxx

Cards v. Cats in Softball Tonight...Congrats Angel McCoughtry...What up, Matty? -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#11 KENTUCKY FACING CARDS AT 6 P.M.

The in-state rival between Louisville and Kentucky switches to softball and takes place tonight at Ulmer Stadium. ESPN 3 will air the ball game (Don Russell and Stephanie Cantway are the talking heads). This one will cost $5 if you decide to go. 

The Cards enter the contest at 32-10. UofL bested Syracuse in a three game series 2-1. Louisville recently gained control of second place in the ACC with a 13-5 record.

Kentucky (39-11) enters after a 1-2 series against #4 Alabama. The Cats are third in the SEC with a 14-7 conference mark. 

The two foes were scheduled for an early April game this season but the contest was cancelled due to weather concerns in the Lexington area. With a 60% chance of rain today in the Louisville area...both teams will have their eyes to the skies as game times approaches today. 


Louisville won the last outing between the two...knocking down UK 8-0 in Ulmer Stadium. The all-time record favors the Cats 19-17.

Old foe Kelsey Nunley (18-5) and Megan Prince (17-4) share the pitching duties for Kentucky. At the plate, Sylver Samuel is batting .370 with 19 stolen bases and Abbey Cheek hits for .329 and leads the Cats with nine home runs and 48 RBI's. 

Louisville counters with the pitching duo of Maryssa Becker (19-6) and Megan Hensley (13-4). Becker is the leading swinger for Sandy Pearsall with a .425 batting average and Hensley is batting .372 and leads Louisville with 13 over-the-fence shots. Sidney Melton has had a successful sophomore campaign with a .342 average and has scored a team-high 40 runs. 

Fun times at the ball park tonight (rain, rain...GO AWAY !) when the Cats and Cards step in the circle for softball! 

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MEANWHILE...IN LEXINGTON...

The beleaguered Kentucky women's basketball program has had their share of body punches recently and Matthew Mitchell has called a press conference today at 1:30. 

He will probably announce that he's hired Kyra Elzy, who Tennessee recently dismissed, as an associate coach. How much further he goes is anyone's guess.  

With five transfer announcements, one dismissal, two de-commits and three coaching changes in the last six months...one would assume he might also want to discuss the state of the program. 

Cardinal Couple will be sending Bill The Goat to cover the presser and (probably) disrupt the proceedings. 

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CONGRATS TO ANGEL!!

The USA Olympic women's basketball squad has been announced and Louisville's Angel McCoughtry is one of the 12 headed to Rio for Geno Auriemma.

She joins Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Brit Griner, Breanna Stewart, Elena Della Donne, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles on the roster.

Five UConn players. No Candace Parker. Not throwing stones or anything...but Tina Charles over Parker? 

Let's face it...you could probably take 12 of the McDonald's All-American players down there and win the Olympics...but leaving Parker off the squad is just wrong...

paulie
xxxxx

GOING THROUGH THE E-MAIL FOLDER -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

YOU SEND 'EM...WE'LL ANSWER THEM

One of the many fun things about running a website and doing a radio show is that we get e-mails from a vast array of people about a variety of subjects. Every once in a while, I like to post a few up (names ALWAYS withheld) with my reply. Snark and sarcasm sometimes come into play  

We joke on The Right Side Of The Site that the staff chimps print each one out, cover it in banana pudding and feed it to Bill The Goat after replying to you...actually, that isn't true...ol' Paulie adjusts the spectacles and sends a garbled response to each sender after mas tequila and a trip to the Oasis. 

What is going on with Dakota Weatherford?  We've received several inquiries about "the attack Yorkie" who shone so brightly throughout the 2015-16 WBB season. It seems her name is no longer on the WBB Roster over at gocards.com according to a few of you. I had CoCo the Chimp verify that (and, yes, it's true...she is no longer listed on the roster) so I sent several bloodhounds to the Belknap Campus to see if they could track her down. They came back with Sidney Melton and several unpaid parking tickets. 

Calls to Walz resulted in discussions of iambic poetry, the Derby contenders, a challenge to see who could hit the most free throws blindfolded and a lengthy review of the Keynesian economics platform. 

We expect the mad scientist will divulge more on this later when he feels it's time to do so and...on a personal note...c'mon people, it's not even May yet! Channel some of that women's basketball energy over to softball and lacrosse for a few weeks for ol' Paulie and the squads. OK? 

Is anyone else leaving the UofL WBB Roster? 

I get speculation on this from people who put way too much thought into it. I've heard, from a few of you, a varied range of possible departures...from Erin DeGrate to Brianna Jones...with a dash of Arica Carter and Sam Fuehring thrown in for seasoning. 

Let's turn this around. Let's play this game. Who else is leaving the UK WBB Roster? With the recent announcement of 6'2" freshman Batouly Camara and assistant coach Tamika Williams-Jeter jumping off the ship...UK has had six departures since the fall. For you conspiracy theorists out there among you, that's a much better story. 

Players come, players go. It's a fact of life in women's college basketball these days. Don't lose sleep over it.

WHY DIDN'T CANDACE PARKER MAKE THE OLYMPIC TEAM?

This one is puzzling to all. The roster will be announced Wednesday and the over/under on UConn players that'll go to Rio is currently at 5 in Vegas.

Personally, I think it's a shame.

Parker still has game and she is a great ambassador for women's basketball. Geno will formulate some type of response, he may have already....but as I tweeted out when I heard about her omission: 

" Leaving Parker off the USA team is like not inviting LeBron James to a dunking contest. Incredulous."

IS KELSI WORRELL THE BEST WOMEN'S ATHLETE TO EVER PLAY AT LOUISVILLE? 

That's a tough one. She certainly would rank in the top three, in my opinion. If I was forced to give you a "top five" of UofL women's athletes...she'd be in there with Angel McCoughtry, Lola Arsenbekova, Aja Sherman and Nikki Boltja. What say you? Is Kelsi top of the list? 

So...keep those e-mails coming. We relish your opinions, feedback and commentary. 

paulie
xxxxx 

SOFTBALL SENIORS CINCH SERIES SUNDAY VS SYRACUSE -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SIMS, SMITH WITH 5 RBI'S IN 6-2 WIN

It is only fitting that on Louisville Softball Senior Day, two of the three seniors provide the offensive punch for the Cards in a 6-2 win over Syracuse Sunday at Ulmer Stadium.

Brittany Sims, Hailey Smith and Mo Hart got the starts as Cardinal seniors and provided much of the offensive spark for Louisville in the win. 

This contest started out as a pitcher's duel...with neither squad finding a way to push a run across the plate until the bottom of the fourth...when Louisville erupted for three home plate trips. Nicole Pufahl got the party started with a double and Sims sent her home with a single. Jordan McNary worked a walk off Syracuse starting pitcher AnnaMarie Gatti to set the stage for a two-RBI double from Smith.

The Cards added to the lead in the fifth when Sims belted her second double of the game...bringing pinch-runner Jessica Adell and Megan Hensley home. Louisville was leading 5-0 and all five scores had been driven in by seniors Smith and Sims. 

Syracuse would counter with two runs in the top of the sixth but the Cards would load the bases in the bottom half of the inning....and getting a Maryssa Becker RBI single to set the final score 6-2. 

Becker notched her 19th. win of the season, going the distance and allowing two runs on seven hits. 

UofL (32-10, 13-5 ACC) steps out of conference next with a Wednesday evening hosting of arch-rival Kentucky. The first planned game between the two was rained out back on April 6th. in Lexington and the three day weather forecast for the Louisville area might have these two dodging raindrops again. 

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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...fear not. The SoundCloud re-broadcast can be heard at the following link: 

LINK: https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20160423


A fun broadcast where Jared Anderson and I discussed Louisville softball, lacrosse, hoops and track and field in the first half of the broadcast. You won't want to miss our Derby Preview in the second half of the broadcast with the excellent handicapping views of Tom, Scott, Dave and Charlie for the first Saturday in May race.

The boys are giving out sage advice and predictions on what might happen Derby Day and whether you're a novice bettor or seasoned race-goer, you'll glean quite a bit from their analysis.

paulie
xxxxx

Daley's five not enough in LAX...Softball bookends with Syracuse...E wins discus..THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR REBROADCAST AVAILABLE. -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LACROSSE FALLS 13-10 TO SYRACUSE

The road woes continued for the Louisville Lacrosse squad yesterday with a 13-10 loss to Syracuse in the Orange Dome.

Cortnee Daley did all she could to get Louisville their 13th. win of the season but Louisville could never gain the lead aagainst the #4 Orange. She tallied five goals, including two when the Cards stormed back from a 10-7 deficit to get within one...but the regular season ends with UofL posting a 3-4 record in ACC Conference play. 

That record will land the Cards a six seed in the upcoming ACC Lacrosse Tournament and first round action against #3 Notre Dame Thursday, April 28th. at 7:30 p.m. in Blacksburg, VA. The Cards did defeat the Irish earlier in the season 10-9 at the LLS. 

Yesterday, # 8 Louisville fell behind early to SU and trailed 3-0 after 12 minutes. Daley's first score got UofL back to a 3-2 deficit but the Orange countered with two quick scores and went in at halftime holders of a 8-5 lead...which was actually 9-5 for a few minutes during the break before the officials conferred and took away a Syracuse score at the buzzer.

Down 11-10, the Cards had several attempts to knot the match in the final eight minutes but Allie Murray made several key stops in goal and the 'Cuse added a couple of scores for the final outcome. Hannah Koloski and Madison Hoover netted two goals for the Cards...the Syracuse defense held Kaylin Morissette in check throughout the afternoon...the senior finished with no scores and only captured four of the 25 draw controls in the game. Louisville ended up with nine draw controls to Syracuse's 16.

With a 12-4 overall record, the Cards should be safe in getting an NCAA at-large invite...if they don't win the ACC Tournament. North Carolina took the conference crown with a 7-0 ACC performance and Syracuse finished in second by going 5-2 in ACC play. 

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SOFTBALL WINS 4-0, SOFTBALL LOSES 4-0

Saturday at Ulmer Stadium was a mirrored performance for Louisville...winning the first game 4-0 and losing the second contest 4-0. 

LOUISVILLE 4 - SYRACUSE 0

Maryssa Becker controlled the circle in the opener and a three-run fourth inning propelled the Cards to their 31st. win of the season. Becker tossed a five-hit shutout while striking out three Orange stick-swingers and the Cards pieced together two walks and four hits to push a 1-0 advantage to the 4-0 cushion...Megan Hensley's two RBI single providing a crushing blow to the ACC foe.

Louisville had ample opportunities to add to the scoreboard total...leaving the bags full of Cards in the second and fourth innings and a total of 12 runners left on base. 

SYRACUSE 4 - LOUISVILLE 0

The Cards ran into Syracuse's AnnaMarie Gatti in the nightcap...who tossed a two-hit shutout at the home team and a costly third-inning for starter Hensley was the difference in Louisville loss. Nicole Pufahl provided UofL's only two hits in the contest.

The Orange touched Hensley for five hits in the third...including a three-run double from Hannah Dossett...to do the damage in the third. Two singles and a mis-fielded pop fly filled the bases for Dorsett, who delivered the game-changing double. 

The teams will square off again today for a noon contest in Ulmer...if you can't go, ESPN3 will provide coverage.
  
Louisville hosts Kentucky next...for a 6 p.m. Wednesday contest...then it's a couple of road trips for Sandy Pearsall's hit-and-pitch Cards...with visits to Notre Dame and Florida State to end the regular season.

Louisville is currently in third place in the ACC with a 12-5 conference record. The road trip will pit Louisville against the top of the conference in first place Florida State (15-1) and the Irish (9-3). 

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EMMONNIE HENDERSON DOMINATES IN DISCUS SATURDAY

The Road to Rio continued for Emmonnie Henderson yesterday in the discus event at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational at Cardinal Park. Her winning toss of 52.69m/172-10 was over nine meters (or 30 feet) better than the nearest competitor. 

Louisville's women's track and field squad picked up several other wins in the event. Kelsey Cramsey took the 1500m run and the Cards got a 1-2 finish in the 3000m with Lydia Mato and Adair Gennocro leading the way. UofL's Halee Hudson and Emily Bryan were the top two javelin throwers and the 4x400 relay team of Sydney Hall, La'Bianca Frazier, Kayla Tyson and Bre'Yana Wash crossed the line first for the Cards. 

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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...fear not. The SoundCloud re-broadcast can be heard at the following link: 

LINK: https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20160423


A fun broadcast where Jared Anderson and I discussed Louisville softball, lacrosse, hoops and track and field in the first half of the broadcast. You won't want to miss our Derby Preview in the second half of the broadcast with the excellent handicapping views of Tom, Scott, Dave and Charlie for the first Saturday in May race.

Good stuff and a incredible wealth of knowledge for you to contemplate as you prepare for for the 'fastest two minutes in sports'...which is only 13 days away.  

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Softball and Lacrosse both face Syracuse today...Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

TWO DIFFERENT CITIES BUT SAME FOE

Louisville faces Syracuse today. Squared. While the lacrosse team takes to the road to face #4 Syracuse at noon in the Carrier Dome (yes, you read that right...lacrosse in the Carrier Dome)...the Syracuse softball team has made its way to Louisville to face the Cards in the KFC YUM! Center.

(Just kidding...the softball double-header today will be at Ulmer Stadium!) 

**SWING AND HIT CARDS LOOK TO HOLD ON TO 3RD PLACE**

Louisville (30-9, 11-4) begins action at noon in the first of two against a Syracuse squad that is nestled in fifth place in the ACC with a 24-19 overall record and 8-9 conference mark. 

It is Pink Out Day to promote breast cancer research and awareness and the Pearsall Cards will be in custom-made pink jerseys which will be auctioned off with proceeds being donated to the Livestrong Foundation through the YMCA. If you go, don that pink T-Shirt! 

Louisville enters the contest on a five-game win streak...sweeping North Carolina Central last weekend and defeating IU and Virginia Tech previous to that. Maryssa Becker leads the way for the Cards in the circle and at the plate with a .446 batting average and 17-6 pitching record that sports a 1.84 ERA. 

Megan Hensley was recently named a top 25 finalist for the Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year. The Ashland, KY native is hitting .383 and has compiled a team leading 13 home runs. In the circle, she's produced a 13-3 mark. 

Hit the ol' ballpark today for two! Be advised with the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Track Invitational taking place next door at Cardinal Park...traffic on the north end of Floyd could be rather congested and slow. ESPN 3 will also have the broadcast with Don Russell and Stephanie Cantway discussing the swings and misses in case you can't root, root, root for the home team. 

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   ****LACROSSE ENDS REGULAR SEASON AT SYRACUSE****

Louisville Lacrosse will also be on ESPN 3 today at noon with their regular season finale against the Orange in the Carrier Dome. 

Louisville comes into the contest #8 in the nation with a 13-3 overall and 3-3 ACC body of work...having recently lost a tear-jerker on Senior Day to Virginia 10-9 last Saturday at the LLS. 

Loucrosse has never defeated Otto the Orange's laxers in six attempts. The #3 Syracuse squad stands at 13-4, 4-2 and won a close one against the #16 Cornell Big Red on the road Tuesday 9-7. (Why would you nickname your school after a soft drink, I ask you?) 

An interesting scout by the Louisville Sports Information department on the upcoming match...indicating that sophomore Brittany Read will be in goal for the Cards. We had received reports last week that her season is done and she didn't participate against Virginia. We suspect that the information may just need updating in the files and that recent arrival Kelli Gielner will be between the pipes. 

Or maybe it's the fastest ACL recovery in modern medical history. These doctors these days...

The scoring foursome of Hannah Koloski (36 goals) Kaylin Morissette (34 goals) Cortnee Daley (32 goals) and Kelli Gerding (23 goals and a team-high 21 assists) will most likely need to put up double-digit numbers on the scoreboard if the Cards are to put this one in the "W" column. Last year, the Orange squeezed out a 16-8 victory in the LLS. 

The Cards need a solid ACC win after losses to the Cavs, Blue Devils and TarHeels. Today would be an ideal day to get it. The road trip = loss scenario that has bugabooed the Cards lately could play a factor in seeding for the NCAA Tournament. Go take care of the roadwork, Loucrosse! 
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                    ****HELLO, RADIO-LAND!**** 

The CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR will occupy the airwaves on WCHQ 100.9 FM today for our weekly look at the events and results of Louisville women's Athletics. The show is also available on the mysterious world of the infinite Internet at www.crescenthillradio.com for 60 minutes (or 3600 seconds) of the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports.

We've got a couple of great treats for today's broadcast (which starts at 11 a.m.) which will stumble through somehow without WorldWide in the chair to the left of me. He's floating down a lazy river in Hungary or something like that this week...but we'll have BIG RED LOUIE'S sportswriter Jared Anderson in studio with us for the first half of the show and then an exclusive look at the Kentucky Derby from four of Churchill Downs most respected handicappers  to close the show in the final half hour. You'll want to hear what Tom, Scott, Dave and Charlie have to say! 

It should be a real special broadcast today and we invite you to grab your notebook and write down the words for your Derby dossier. 

DISCLAIMER STUFF: The opinions expressed by the handicappers are in no way associated with the official viewpoints of the staff or management of WCHQ 100,9 FM Crescent Hill Radio. The broadcast is for entertainment purposes only and we make no claims of guaranteed success of the opinions expressed.

LINK: HORSES, HOMERS AND LAX...OH, MY!


paulie
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