Softball clinches Senior weekend series

Softball Run Rules UVA

Everyone hit and everyone scored in the Cards 2nd game of the series vs UVA in the 11-3 run-rule win.

The first inning looked like we might be in for a pitcher's duel with Megan Hensley in the circle for UofL.  No one was making solid contact on the ball, but later in the game, the offense started settling in, perhaps figuring our the pitchers a bit, and we started to see more base runners and scoring.

The Cards would get the scoring started in the 2nd inning, with Megan Hensley taking a plunk to the ankle, which looked like it probably would've hurt, but she showed no evidence of any discomfort in the trot to 1st base.  Jenna Jordan got the first solid contact of the game with a double to right center.  Hensley, not particularly known for speed on the basepaths, but no slow-poke either, stretched it around from 1st to home.  The throw from the 2nd base cutoff hit her helmet as she slid into home safe.  A rough round of the bases for the sophomore, but the Ashland native wasn't concerned about it once she touched home and put the first score up on the scoreboard.  Jenna Jordan would subsequently score on a fielding error.

UVA juggled their fielding arrangement in the third, bringing their right fielder in to the pitching
circle, and sending the previous pitcher out to right field.  It didn't help.  Moe Meyer got hit by a pitch, Nicole "Poof" Pufahl doubled out to left field, scoring the speedy Meyer.  Maryssa Becker singled, scoring Poof, and then advanced to 2nd on the throw.  She got to third on some gutsy running on a wild pitch.  The pitchers stuck together with Hensley doubling to bring Becker home.  Hensley would get tagged out at 2nd when a fast grounder to the short stop from Jamie Soles left her scrambling to get back to the base, and didn't get there in time.  With two outs, Tiarra Sanabria ripped her 2nd home run in two games, lifting this one to the fitness track in left.  The yellow shirts had to retrieve it from the FirstBuild parking lot across Brandeis.  Alison "Mike" Szydlowski would eventually get tagged out trying to get home on some aggressive base running.  Don't blame Mike for that one, Coach Pearsall, in the post-game interview took responsibility for sending her, thinking it was a good bet with a solid lead already in the board.

UVA would score 2 in the 4th, and then in the bottom half of the inning would switch their pitchers back to their original fielding locations and had good success.  Two foul fly balls caught, and a fly out to center would sit the Cards down in order.

The Cavs would put another on the board in the 5th, bringing the score to 7-3.  The Cards were looking for a quick exit on the warm day, and they would have it.  Jamie Soles would get to first on a single up the middle, surrounded by a pair of pop outs.  So, with 1 runner on 1st, and two outs, the Cards went to work, though to be fair, some of the credit goes to the UVA pitcher.  Sanabria got to take a stroll, then Mike got hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Jordan McNary got to take a stroll, scoring Jamie Soles.  Moe Meyer singled up the middle then advanced on the throw, scoring Mike and Sanabria, while moving Mike to 3rd.  UVA, looking for answers, switched their pitchers again, and again it didn't really help.  Poof got to take a stroll, and then Becker smacked a single to center which scored McNary.  If you've been keeping count, that puts the score at 11-3 in the bottom of the fifth, resulting in a run-rule win for the Cards.

The Cards hope to be back in action today at noon, weather permitting (your correspondent is looking out of the window at a solid rain at the time of this writing), for a Senior Day celebration.  The Cards will be honoring Maryssa Becker, Moe Meyer, Tiarra Sanabria, and Jordan McNary.

LINK: POST GAME SANDY PEARSALL

LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 4/29/17

-- JMcA

Softball Opens Series with Win -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Two Big Innings Lift Diamond Cards

Louisville opened a weekend series with Virginia yesterday afternoon trying to beat the rain. After failing to close any of the three games against Florida State last week, Louisville needed some conference love this week. Last night, the offense was able to make it happen. The Cards trailed twice yesterday, and twice they were able to string together enough offense to take the lead. 

With all of the solo shots, yesterday's game felt like an
exhibition of power.

Virginia opened the scoring with a bases loaded, two run single in the second inning. The Cards were unable to answer immediately, but put together a three run third inning, highlighted by a Tiarra Sanabria solo homer to jump out in front. Virginia, not to be outdone, hit solo home runs in each of the next three innings. Fortunately, Louisville pitcher, Maryssa Becker, was able to limit the damage to just those dingers and Louisville trailed 5-3 in the sixth. What followed was a combination of small ball, grit, and luck. Louisville put together a 4 run bottom of the sixth using no more power than a one out double. They trailed 5-4 with runners on second and third and two outs. Three straight two out singles (with a couple of errors) plated unearned runs to put the Cards up 7-5. Becker opened the seventh inning by allowing the first two runners to get on base before Coach Pearsall put Megan Hensley, the starter of yesterday's game, back in for the save opportunity. Hensley made short work of the three batters she faced and that was the game.

Louisville now sits at 27-17 and 10-7 in conference play. They're fourth in the conference, just a game and a half behind third place Boston College. The Cards are actually even with the Eagles overall with BC having played two more games. Virginia, at 8-14 is fourth from the bottom in the conference and Louisville desperately needs this sweep to keep the gap behind BC minimal. Boston College is currently playing Georgia Tech, the second to last place team in the league. Barring any rain difficulties, Louisville and Virginia will continue their series today at Ulmer at 1PM.

Radio Heads

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is back again, unable to be scared off by storms that wake up the entire city in the middle of the night. Paulie, Jeff, and I will talk softball, postseason play for lacrosse and tennis, what new things we know about men's and women's basketball, and anything else we can fit into the hour. Tune into 100.9 WCHQ FM, download the WCHQ FM app, or hit up Crescent Hill Radio's website at 11AM to get your fix of the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics live on the air.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Lacrosse, Kakala, Expansion and Papa....FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LACROSSE FALLS TO VIRGINIA 13-12 

A heart-breaker last night in Richmond Virginia...Louisville Lacrosse going to sudden victory against the Virginia Cavaliers in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Richmond, VA. and losing 13-12. 

The Cards came out strong and led 2-0 in the early going. Virginia regrouped, though, and rolled off three straight scores to take the lead. UofL roared back with a 3-0 run their own and led 5-3 after 10 minutes of exciting, bang-bang action on the pitch. 

Louisville led 7-5 with nine minutes remaining in the half but went scoreless the rest of the way and the Wahoos tied it up at 7-7 as the teams took the midway break. The Cards were controlling the draw control 10-5 and Brittany Read was defending the net with all her skills...with eight saves in the first 30 minutes. 

UofL took the early lead in the second half when Meghan Siverson got her third score but Virginia came back with three straight goals to go up 10-8. With 20:22 to play, an unfortunate and controversial second yellow card was awarded to Siverson and the Cards leading scorer for the game and draw control specialist was disqualified from the contest. It gave the Cards something to rally around...and Louisville scored four straight goals to take a 12-10 lead with 9:40 to play. Kellie Young's squad was still up 12-11 with 1:16 to play...but UVA managed the tying goal and held the Cards scoreless over the next 76 seconds to force the extra session. 

Virginia won the overtime draw control and 47 seconds later, Kasey Behr fired a steamer from the left side of the net past Read to give the Wahoos the victory.

Kellie Young: 

"We left our hearts on the field but needed a little more grit to secure the win."  

The Cards now await their fate in the NCAA women's lacrosse selection show Sunday at 9 p.m. Louisville looks to be on the bubble for making the tournament. 26 teams, including 13 conference champions, will take place in a single elimination process...the six top-seeded getting a first round bye. 




RETTA KAKALA NAMED TO CA ALL STATE TEAM

2017 Cardinal signee Loretta Kakala was named to the 2016-17 All - California Girls All State second team. The 6'3" center from Manteca High School comes to Louisville as the #2 ranked post in the nation by ESPNW and has impressed the coaches with her football, rebounding and aggressiveness in the paint. 

On coming to Louisville...Retta K had this to say: 

" I want the Louisville fans to know I am excited about coming there and will work hard to make everyone proud of me and be a part of a great group of teammates." 

She'll get that chance right away, it would appear. She'll be the only center listed on the roster and the second tallest player on the 2017-18 team...only Kylee Shook at 6'5" is taller. With Shook being projected as a possible high post player or wing, the Cards will need someone besides Myisha Hines-Allen to bang the boards. Sam Fuehring and Bionca Dunham round out the projected front line for the squad. 


EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENTS

UofL plans to construct an $8 million TV projection studio as part of the ACC Network. The new facility will be home to video control rooms, studios and editing rooms. The facility will have the capabilities to host live shows at all venues for games and have access for live player and coaches interviews. 

New balconies and bleachers are scheduled for Cardinal Arena...where Volleyball will play their 2017 home games. The women's basketball team will move to the "Little Yum" and expansion and remodeling is scheduled for that facility. New turf is coming for the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium and the Trager indoor facility. 

A video wall and ribbon board has been approved for Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and a private donation has funded a $9.5 million dollar expansion and renovation at baseball's Jim Patterson Stadium.

Good things on the way. Tom keeps building. 



SOFTBALL STARTS THREE GAME SET WITH VA.

Louisville Softball starts their final home game series today against the Virginia Cavaliers. First pitch for today has been switched from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m...the stated reason was concerns with expected rain this evening. Louisville (26-17, 9-6) 

The Cavs (21-19, 8-13) come in fresh off a win at George Washington and a three game sweep over Notre Dame at South Bend. They are on a seven-game win streak...tops in the ACC right now. 

Louisville is a perfect 6-0 against UVA since joining the ACC. 

Jordan McNary has reached base for Louisville via a walk or hit in 26 or her last 28 games. She is a perfect 12-12 in stolen bases this season. 

Nicole Pufahl leads Louisville in hitting with a .372 average and has reached base safely in her last 17 games. Last year, in Charlottesville, the Cards swept the Wahoos 2-0, 7-2 and 2-1. 
PAPA JOHN LEAVES BOARD

"Papa John" Schnatter has resigned from the University of Louisville's athletic association board . The announcement was made at yesterday's board meeting..where athletic direction Tom Jurich and athletic financial director Kevin Miller outlined what was going on with the athletic department and fielded questions...also with President Greg Postal. 

One thing that wasn't revealed was why Papa decided to withdraw from the board. The resignation comes a couple of weeks after he accused the athletic department of being "invisible" and needed to solve their crisis for the good of the University. 

Papa did not elaborate on what items the athletic department needed to work on or what they needed to do to become more visible. Making a sweeping statement like that and then not explaining it leads to a lot of speculation and media questioning. We won't get into the speculation here...only Papa can explain what he said and that may never happen...but the athletic department has been far from being "invisible" and Jurich showed once again yesterday that he is committed and continuing growth for the programs and facilities at Louisville. Jurich commented: 

"I wouldn't trade my staff for anyone in the world and I most certainly would not replace any of my head coaches for anyone in the world...they're the best in college athletics." 

His viewpoint seems pretty viable and visible to me. Always has. 


paulie
xxxxx 

Lacrosse opens ACC Tournament against Virginia -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#6 Seeded Cards face the Cavs at 8 p.m. 

Kellie Young's Louisville Lacrosse squad begins ACC Tournament play tonight in Richmond, VA at Sports Backers Stadium. The Cards (11-6, 3-4) are #18 in the nation. They face the #3 seed Virginia (10-7, 4-3) which is #12 in the nation. 

Louisville visited Virginia earlier in the season on April 15th and fell to the Cavaliers 11-7. The Cards had a 6-5 lead at halftime but a strong second half defense from UVA limited UofL to just one second half score.

For the Cards, Hannah Koloski leads the offense with 58 goals and two assists in 2017. She, along with Brittany Read made the 2017 All-ACC First squad. Meghan Siverson was selected for the second team. Koloski, a senior from Lakeville, MN leads the nation in free position goals with 1.53, is second in shots on goal with 6 a contest fourth in goals scored with 58. Coach Young on the trio: 

"Hannah, Brittany and Meghan have been such significant parts of our success. Hannah has faced the top defenders from every team...game after game...she has battled face guards and double teams and still fond a way to score."  

Read, a junior from Gibbsboro, NJ has been stellar in goalkeep after returning from a season ending injury last year. She's fourth in the nation with 10.06 saves per game and stops 51.7% of the shots she faces. She leads the ACC in saves, save percentage and saves per game. Read also owns the school record with 300 career saves. 

Siverson has been a pleasant surprise this season. After a freshmen year of limited playing time, she stepped into center midfielder spot and produced 51 goals and eight assists. Another "Jersey girl" ...from Morristown...she averaged three goals made per game.

Madison Hoover (18) and Ashley Lynch (17) led Louisville in assists this season. Freshman McKayla Conti has also been a valuable contributor in the attack and senior Stephanie McNamara is one of the best defensive players in the nation. 

All games today will be shown on the ACC Network Extra and action gets started at 11 a.m. when #1 seed North Carolina faces #8 seed Duke. #4 seed Notre Dame will face off against #5 Boston College at 2 p.m. #2 Syracuse goes against #7 Virginia Tech at 5 p.m.

25 teams participated in the 2016 NCAA women's lacrosse tournament. With a current rank of #18 or #19 (depending on which poll you look at) in the nation, you have to like Louisville's chances of getting a bid...but a win or two in the ACC Tournament would certainly secure the Cards a spot in the bracket. 

Seven of the eight ACC schools are in the top twenty. The Cards RPI is #27. 

Finish might be the most appropriate word to use when assessing the Cards chances over the next several days. Young's squad has held first half leads over five of the seven ACC schools they played this year (Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Syracuse and Duke). They lost three of these games (Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina). The Cards trailed Boston College at halftime and lost. Against Virginia Tech, Louisville was tied at the half and went on to win. 

60 minutes. Finish as strong as you start. That is the key, if LouLax wants to pile up a few wins at the end of the season. That quest begins tonight, in what could possibly be the final game of the year for Louisville...if they fall. 


paulie
xxxxx

Boo Williams Girls Nike Invitational ...Top KY Seniors...Paulie College-- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

96 TEAMS IN U-16 Division

One of the premiere event in spring girls basketball takes place this weekend in Hampton Roads, VA when the Boo Williams 2017 EYBL and NIKE Invitational takes place over a three-day period. College coaches will flock to two different areas to watch the best and the brightest 16 and under high school girls hoopsters do battle. Seven divisions, 200 teams descend upon the Boo Williams Sportsplex (8 courts) and Hampton Roads Convention Center (12 courts).

The major AAU program in Kentucky is Kentucky Premier. They'll be sending four squads to Hampton Roads to compete and they're sending eight squads to Murfreesboro, TN. this weekend to take part in the NEB Spring Invitational.  

You can be assured that the Louisville coaching staff will be in attendance in Virginia. Walz, Purcell and Norman all making the trip to the Boo Williams. Sam Williams is headed to Texas to view the Heart of Texas Showcase. 


TOP 10 KENTUCKY GIRLS 2018 SENIORS

In our "much too early" look at some of the top girls' high school senior for next season...we'll present this list. 

Seygan Robins - Mercer Co.  5-8         Emmy Souder - Mercer Co. 6-2
Macey Turley - Murray 5-7                   Lindsey Proffitt - Perry Co. Central 5-9
Ally Niece - Simon Kenton 5-8             Jaela Johnson - Manual  5-5
Blair Green - Harlan 6-1                     Tyrah McClendon-Engleman - Holmes 5-8
Grace Berger - Sacred Heart 5-11       Molly Lockhart - Butler 6-1


PAULIE COLLEGE TRANSFER SQUAD

With all the transfers this spring of college basketball players...let's have a little fun here. 

I am pleased to announce that Paulie College will participate in 2018-19 NCAA Division I women's basketball. My small, liberal-arts and preparatory law school should be a great success and I've decided, in addition to being the founder, I'm going to be the head WBB coach as well. 

I think Jeff Walz has taught me enough over the last ten years (or, at least he has tried) to handle the job. If I need further schooling I'll call Quentin Hillsman.

I'm going to build this initial roster with eight transfers and six freshmen. I'm pretty sure the NCAA won't allow me to offer 14 basketball scholarships in one year...so a few of these will be on academic scholarship and also various state lottery winners.

TRANSFERS IN:                                     PREVIOUS SCHOOL 

Mariella Fasoula                                     Boston College
Destiny Slocum                                     Maryland
Erin Boley                                             Notre Dame
Mariya Moore                                        Louisville
Minyon Moore                                        USC
Beatrice Mompremier                             Baylor 
Tori McCoy                                            Ohio State
Brenna Wise                                          Pittsburgh


My six freshmen: 

Olivia Nelson-Ododa (VA), Aquira DeCosta (CA), Seygan Robins (KY), 
Emmy Souder (KY), Honesty Scott-Grayson (VA) and Queen Egbo (TX).

As far as an assistant coaching staff, I'm going to make offers to Sam Purcell (Louisville), David Stallings (Bullitt East), Chris Souder (Mercer County), Cortnee Walton (WAVE TV) and Becky Burke (Emery Riddle). 

If I can't get three out of that bunch...I'm going the media star, "I played a basketball coach in the movies" route and ask Gene Hackman, Nick Nolte and Samuel L. Jackson. If I can't fill my three slots after that...I'll ask the nice lady who cuts my hair, my favorite bartender in Churchill Downs Gold Room and my co-hosts on the CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR Jeff "Worldwide" McAdams and "Best" Case Hoskins.

Sports Information Director has to be Howie Lindsey. He knows everything and can talk all day. 

We will be known as the Paulie Peccadilloes and our mascot a huge question mark. I'm shooting for the Big East as our conference affiliation...but I'll settle for the AAC or C-USA. If I can get Syracuse thrown out of the ACC, that would be another option. We'll play our games in our spacious, newly constructed Baskerville Holmes Athletic and Convocation Center. 

Season tickets on sale now. Call my secretary Gladys C. Hughes for pricing levels. If one of the staff chimps answers...either hang up or be prepared to wait on hold for over an hour. They go at their own pace...


paulie
xxxxx  

FSU nips Louisville Softball 5-4...TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

7th Inning Score Gives Noles win over Louisville Softball

Another close game against FSU Softball Monday night for Louisville at Ulmer Stadium...the Noles getting the 5-4 win with a run in the top of the seventh inning and then keeping Louisville at bay in their final at-bat. 

Another rough start for the Cards to begin this one...the first five batters in the FSU lineup reached base against starter Megan Hensley and FSU built a 3-0 lead with three singles and two walks in the top of the first. 

Louisville did not give up the battle, though. Hensley powered a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the second to cut the deficit to 3-1. Three walks and a single gave FSU a 4-1 advantage in the top of the fourth...but the Cards rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning to tie it up at 4-4. Singles from Nicole "Poof" Pufahl , Hensley and "Mike, Mike, Mike" Alison Szydlowski loaded the bases for the Cards with no outs. Jenna Jordan grounded out to score Pufahl and then "The New Pride of New Egypt" Jamie Soles belted a double to deep center that brought "Szyd" and Hensley to the plate. 

Meghan King had replaced Noles starter Jessica Burroughs in the circle after the Cards fourth inning outburst and kept the Cards at bay offensively the rest of the way. Coincidentally, Burroughs had been named the first draft pick during the fourth inning in the NPF (National Pro Fast Pitch) softball league. Hensley had settled down and kept the Seminoles from getting any further runs over the next two innings.

The teams entered the top of the seventh deadlocked at 4-4. FSU got a single from the speedy Cali Harrod, she stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. That set the stage for a Zoe Casas single which scored Harrod.

Pinch hitter Lillie Goetz drew a walk for the Cards in the bottom of the seventh but was unable to advance to the plate and FSU got the one-run win and a sweep of the series. Sandy

Tough losses in two of these...a mere run...against #3 in the nation. Our own Jeff "Worldwide" McAdams was on-site for last night's game and got comments from UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall after the contest: 

LINK: POST GAME PEARSALL WITH CARDINAL COUPLE


******************************************************************************

The NPF is a five-team, professional softball league that fields teams in Akron, OH, Chicago, Texas and Florida. Besides Burroughs selection, FSU first baseman Alex Powers was selected in the second round. No other ACC teams had a draft pick in the five rounds...there was a possibility that UofL pitcher Maryssa Becker might get selected, but it didn't happen. Arizona has it going on...four Wildcats were picked in the draft. 

Several former Cards have played in the league in past years but there are currently no Louisville softball players on the rosters.  

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Softball drops two to Noles...More on the transfers -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS SWEPT BY FSU

#2/3 Florida State took two against the Louisville Softball team on Sunday. The Noles were dominant in the opener, run-ruling the Cards 11-0 in the first and then coming back to win the second 4-3 in ten innings. 

The less said about the first contest the better. FSU jumped out to a 5-0 first inning lead that Louisville contributed to with four errors. Three Seminole singles and a walk also contributed to the early hole that the Cards dug for themselves. 

Maryssa Becker and the Cards did settle down in the circle and on the field for a couple of innings after that but couldn't find any batting success against FSU hurler Jessica Burroughs. FSU added three runs in the top of the fourth and three more in the top of the fifth to hold the 11-0 lead as UofL approached the plate in the bottom of the fifth. Burroughs was three outs away from a no-hitter and got two of those before Morgan Meyer connected on a double to bust up the attempt. 

Coach Pearsall on the run-rule: 

"We started off on a bad note, with an error, and...unfortunately, that set the tone for us. That first inning hurt us. After that, we settled down but you can't make those kinds of mistakes against a team like Florida State. We knew they were going to hit the ball...so we can't give them runs." 

The second contest was a pitcher duel that was a battle of the Megan's. The Cards' Megan Hensley FSU's Megan King kept the zeroes piling up until Louisville broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Singles by Meyer and Jordan McNary and an error that allowed Caitlin Ferguson to reach first loaded the bases for Becker. She responded with a 2 RBI single to give Louisville the lead. 

FSU would not be denied and countered with two in the top of the seventh. Louisville went down in order to bring on bonus softball. After a scoreless eighth, the Noles Carsyn Gordon blasted a shot to left center to make it 3-2. The Cards used a double play to get out of danger and tied it back up in the bottom of the ninth when Nicole Pufahl singled and eventually scored on an Alison "Mike, Mike, Mike" Szydlowski single.

Louisville was in a great position to win the contest as the inning went on when Meyer reached on a two-out error to seemingly load the bases...but Szydlowski was caught in a rundown between third and home and the final out was recorded when she tried to slide into home. 

The Noles put together two hits to regain the lead at 4-3 in the top of the tenth. Louisville would counter with runners at first and third with two outs but could not push across the tying run. 

Sandy Pearsall was proud of Hensley's effort: 

" This was Megan's best effort since she returned from her injury. I was pleased that she was able to throw that many innings today and thought she did a good job. The outcome was not what we wanted...but we fought and dug and kept coming back." 

The two squads will complete the series tonight at Ulmer with a first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. ESPNU will provide coverage. 


*******************************************************



CARDINAL TRANSFERS 

We've received a lot of e-mails, messages and phone calls about the three transfers from the Louisville women's basketball squad over the weekend. People wanting to know "What's the real story behind Mariya Moore leaving?"... "Why would she want to go with one year left?"..."Why is Ciera Johnson going when it looked like she was going to be the starting center for next year?..."Will there be more transfers?" 

And so on and so forth...

Most everyone seemed to think that it was a good move for Brianna Jones "Jonesey" to go to a place where she could get more playing time. Cardinal fans will miss that bright smile and she seemed to be a great teammate to all. Here's hoping she can find the time she desires at Georgetown and she lights up the Big East. She goes to a roster that currently listed eight players for 2017-18 and five of them are seniors. So, after sitting a year, she'll have a shot to compete for a starting role on a squad that just might need some quality, experienced players. 

The Ciera Johnson situation stemmed from her desire to play closer to her family after trying a season away from them. She's has a great family and will be missed...but players make decisions and hers was to try her fortunes hopefully somewhere in the Lone Star State. The Duncanville, TX center had some bright moments for the Cards...in my personal opinion, though...and mirroring what some of you have mentioned to me...she could stand to lose a few pounds and develop better hands. We're not exactly sure which schools Ciera will be contacted by or will contact. If she's is Big 12 bound...she'll need to use that season of sitting to get ready for some very tough post-players in the conference. 

Mariya Moore was the first to announce and was the one who, by far, caught the vast majority by surprise. Mariya expressed a desire to play her final season closer to her home in Hercules, California (a suburb of San Francisco) where her parents could make more games.  The decision to leave after three successful seasons as a Cardinal had to be a hard one...but college is a time where a student-athlete has a limited window to acquire a degree and perform. Moore's decision also coincides with her younger sister (Minyan) and her decision to leave USC. Is there a plan for them to play together somewhere? Is it because of the coaching change at USC? California or maybe even the University of San Francisco would appear to be logical possibilities if this was the motive and driving factor. As far as any other reasons for Mariya leaving...we won't play conspiracy theorists here. 

As we have stated before, the success of a unit depends on its core and unity. The Cards will have plenty of strengths on their (as of now) 12 player roster. Some of you have even started discussing starting line-ups for 2017-18. We won't go there just yet. Coach Walz and staff still have Hines-Allen, Durr, Shook, Jazz Jones, Fuehring, Carter, Zambrotta, Dunham and Laemmle on the roster and add Duvall, Evans and Kakala. That's a very strong roster of 12.

Will there be more attrition? Any add-ons? Not that we know of as of this morning. Anything, of course, is possible in the world of college basketball. Everyone was ready to hand UConn the 2017 NCAA women's basketball crown. Transfers much large than the trio of Cards leaving have already occurred this spring. 

We will follow women's college basketball with a dutiful interest the rest of the spring, through the summer and the rest of the year. But, we will also explore the end of softball, lacrosse and the other spring sports currently taking place on campus. 

There's a lot of joy and excitement still to report. We're on it!!

paulie
xxxxx

Transfer News and Lacrosse

As we always say, all about the joy and excitement of UofL Women's sports, so we tend to like to put positive news at the top of our articles to celebrate the successes of the programs, but sometimes, the magnitude of the news and the relative popularity of the sports wins out.  So it is today.

Basketball Transfers

Brianna Jones

We've gotten word of two more transfers from the Women's Basketball program.  We have received word that Brianna Jones is leaving the program, again with the idea of being closer to home to be able to more easily have family in attendance.  She will be transferring to Georgetown.

I've always admired Brianna's hardwork and seemingly positive attitude towards playing on the UofL squad.  She frequently faded into the background, but continued to work hard, and apparently maintained a good attitude.  That hard work started to show dividends this past season as she started seeing more meaningful playing time and contributed valuable minutes, ball handling, and passing skills in several games.

If Jones continues to develop as she has, I expect her to make a real impact and become a strong foundational play at Georgetown.

Ciera Johnson

We have also heard word that Ciera Johnson will be departing the program, though I have not as of
yet received word of her destination.  Any program will benefit from having her size and presence in the paint, of course, but she does have some parts of her game that need further development, as any freshman will.  If she can gain better control of the ball in the scrum of rebounding, she'll become a very valuable player.  As it is, her size is a presence, but I feel like she struggles to get the handle on the ball frequently.

Johnson wanted to play closer to home. We would expect there would be several DI programs in Texas that would be interested in having a conversation with her. 

I don't envy these players their decisions.  These are hard decisions to be making, doubly so for 18-22 year olds to be making them.  It is important that they find a place where they can be happy with the whole package.  Sometimes that can mean a degree of proximity to home.  As always, we here at Cardinal Couple wish the best for these young women, and as with many other transfers, we'll keep an eye on their future successes and cheer for them, even if it is from a bit of a greater distance.

Lacrosse Makes Syracuse See Red

As with every team in the ACC, Syracuse Lacrosse is a very accomplished team, but Kellie Young's squad was able to put together just enough offense to edge out the Syracuse team in a 9-8 win at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.  This is being hailed across the ACC and in sports media as a rather large upset.  Syracuse is 8th ranked in both major Lacrosse rankings, and was 5th in the RPI, so without a doubt this is a great win for the Cardinals.  It is also UofL's first win over Syracuse Lacrosse, so that's another hurdle cleared.

One of the sensational sophomores, Meghan Siverson, got a hat trick in the game, with one coming from a free position shot, and the other two on assists from Madison Hoover.  The scoring was generally fairly well distributed, Jillian Balog put a pair in, both accounting for Siverson's two assists.  Hannah Koloski, Emily Howell, Elise Koehl, and McKayla Conti all got a goal.  Brittany Read had 9 saves between the pipes.

The Cards got off to a 2-0 lead in the game approximately 10 minutes in, but 10 minutes later Syracuse would score two quick ones to tie the game up.  UofL put up another pair over the next couple of minutes on consecutive possessions before Syracuse would claw one back with 4 1/2 minutes left in the 1st half.  In the waning 2 minutes of the half, Emily Howell got her score on a free position shot to set the 5-3 halftime score.

According to Young, the team was fired up and motivated for the second half, vowing in the halftime
locker room "We're going to get that first goal." of the second half.  Indeed they did.  Less than 2 minutes into the second half, Balog took one of her assists from Siverson and slipped the ball in from an extreme angle to give the Cards the 6-3 advantage early in the 2nd half.  The Cards would score again, in the 24th minute before Syracuse would rally from a 7-3 deficit to close the lead to only 1 with a 3-0 run.  Opponent runs have been dangerous for this Cardinals team, but this one got shut down on the next possession with Koloski getting control of the ball out of the draw, sprinting down field, and dishing to Hoover, who found Siverson for her hat trick.  The Cards made it a 2-0 run with just under 8 minutes to play in the game when Hoover found Conti to make the score 9-6.

Syracuse put on another rally, scoring the final two with just over 2 minutes left and only a minute and a half left in the game, but the Cards would hold on for the 9-8 win.

In the ACC standings, the win leapfrogs UofL over Virginia Tech into a tie with Boston College for 5th place.  Since BC has the tiebreaker of the Cardinals, however, UofL will be in the 6th seed for the ACC tournament.  On the other end of things, the loss drops Syracuse out of a 1st place tie in the conference with UNC.  Syracuse had the tiebreaker over UNC with the win against them, so the loss drops them from the 1st seed to the 2nd seed in the upcoming conference tourney.

The Cards will be back in action in the conference tournament on Thursday against the 3 seed Virginia in an 8pm matchup.  The game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra.



THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

We had big fun in the studio yesterday discussing UofL sports on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Paulie, Worldwide and Case discussed transfers, WBB, softball, baseball, lacrosse and more!

Here's a link to the rebroadcast:  The CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 4/22/17

-- JMcA

Thunder (and Lightning?) Over Louisville Edition -- Walz on Moore... SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

JEFF WALZ ON MOORE TRANSFER

A early morning chat with Jeff Walz on Mariya's transfer. Coach is in Dallas, waiting to fly to the west coast for recruiting.

Excerpts from our conversation below:

"Mariya is leaving the program to play her senior year closer to home. The main thing here is the happiness of the individual. We bring in young student-athletes, we try and prepare them for life after college and we are responsive to their needs. Mariya's happiness is priority #1. College is a learning experience and the student's opportunity to set the ground work for later life is so very important. Mariya is an incredible young women who contributed greatly to our program and I'm sure she'll be a successful and vital part of wherever she decides to continue her education and athletics. In the final analysis, it's not about the points or the wins...it is about what motivates these individuals to be the best they can be and succeed in the world, plus their comfort and happiness in daily life. I wish her all the best in her new directions and we are grateful to her for what she brought to Louisville basketball.  The heart wants what the heart wants, she'll be fine and this program will continue to achieve and build upon the successes we have had in my time here."  

So...Moore is gone. A bit surprising, yes. But it goes to show the quality and sincerity of the man guiding the Cards WBB program. What kind of coach would Jeff be if he didn't back and support the decision a young women makes about the rest of her life. What kind of fans would we be if we didn't wish her the best of luck and success? One player does not make a unit, It is the total of the players.

Players come and go. Coaches deal with a myriad of emotions, personalities and issues. The key, the constant is the program. The unit. Although Moore's departure is news, it will not slow down this team's goal to work hard every day and achieve success. We at CARDINAL COUPLE wish Mariya the best and hope she excels wherever she lands. The unit will carry on.

paulie
xxxxx


RAINY DAY FOR THUNDER





Though the forecast for today has settled a bit with rain clearing
out this morning and returning mid-day, I don't expect to see any record breaking crowds at the opening event of the Kentucky Derby Festival. The threat of being wet and cold all day, combined with the huge negative impact the low cloud ceiling will have on the airshow, have made many, including myself, change their plans about heading down to the waterfront this year. It's unfortunate that we've had nearly perfect weather for almost two weeks just to have the weather be this crappy on the one day we want it to be nice. Oh well, such is life in the Ohio River Valley. Rain may hinder some from camping out on the Great Lawn all day but it won't hinder our love of Cardinal Sports!

Cards Struggle on "Duke Day"

A couple of weeks ago, you may remember that the University of Louisville and the University of Notre Dame had their own College Olympics, facing off in three sports in the same day. The same thing happened with the Cards and the Blue Devils of Duke yesterday as the two schools faced off in baseball and men's and women's tennis. It was an unfortunate day for all three squads, and at least two of the matchups had surprising results. The baseball team squared off against a Duke team that was barely above .500 overall and well below that mark in conference and promptly put up a honker to start the series. Coming off of the 11-7 thrashing in Lexington on Tuesday, you might have expected the Cards to show a little more fight, but they went down 3-0 in the first two innings before ultimately losing 5-3. It was an uncharacteristically bad night for the Cardinals' Ace, Brendan McKay, but even the best pitchers in The Show struggle from time to time. Drew Ellis seemed to be the only one trying support McKay with some offense, homering twice in the loss.

A sad but accurate description of yesterday's results.

The surprising tennis result came at the hands of the women's team. You might remember that the Cards started the season extremely hot, winning match after match. Such was not the case yesterday in Durham, as the fifteenth ranked Blue Devils swept the Cards 7-0. Yikes. The men's team fared better than the women's, to be sure, but were ultimately unable to secure a win. They fell 3-4. 

The Diamond Cards will get another couple of shots at Duke this weekend as they hope to continue their series winning streak, and both tennis teams will look to bounce back during their matches on Sunday.

Senior Day for Louisville Lacrosse

Senior Hannah Koloski

Another top ranked opponent for Louisville Lacrosse today, as they host number seven Syracuse in their regular season finale. In order to have postseason aspirations, Louisville pretty much has to win this game and the ACC tournament in my opinion to have a shot at making the small field. The game will begin at 1PM (around the time the rain is set to start back up), and the senior day ceremony will take place pregame. Seniors Stephanie McNamara, Hannah Koloski, Anne L'Heureux, and Heidi Smith will be honored. The team is likely to miss Koloski the most after this year, as she leads the country in free position goals per game and shots on goal per game and is second in the country with goals scored at 57. Youth on the team has showed that they can score, but let's enjoy the offensive dynamo as much as we can for the rest of the year.

WBB Lands Huge Commitment

With a video on its way to potentially going viral in CardNation, Mykasa Robinson verbally committed to Louisville head coach, Jeff Walz, by lifting her warmup jersey to reveal a Louisville Cardinals shirt at the GNBA Spring Invitational. Robinson, a point guard in the 2018 class, was previously committed to Colorado, where her sister is a sophomore, before reopening her recruitment at the end of March. Robinson is ranked the 13th overall player in the class and the number 4 point guard, which only serves to bolster Walz's ever increasing beast of a backcourt. Some digging showed that Robinson's decommitment from Colorado did not follow a coaching change, so this one will be interesting to watch, and we'll be anxiously awaiting Mykasa's signing. Nonetheless, this is a huge grab for the Cards and a great start to Walz's 2018 class.

Return to the Airwaves

After a holiday break last week, Paulie, Worldwide, and I will be back in the studio to bring you up to speed on all of the happenings that we can fit into an hour. Many of the things you hear on the show have been mentioned previously on the site, but our banter and Paulie's technical goofs are often enough to entice listeners to the show. Tune into 100.9 WCHQ FM or on the WCHQ app to hear us bring the joy of Louisville women's athletics to live radio from 11-12 today!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Court in session....how will they judge? Friday CARDINAL COUPLE

******BREAKING NEWS******

MARIYA MOORE LEAVING LOUISVILLE WBB

Sources close to the UofL WBB program have confirmed that junior Mariya Moore has decided to leave the Cards. She will leave the program at the end of the semester and return to California. Her hopes are to play her senior season closer to home. It is also being reported that her sister Minyon Moore is leaving USC. The news on Minyon comes from her father's Instgram page. 

Moore was a second-team All ACC selection in the 2016-17 season and averaged 12 points a game for the Cards. A check of the 2016-17 roster at gocards.com still has Moore listed...but several reports on Moore leaving Louisville began to surface last night and it has been confirmed that she won't play for Louisville in the 2017-18 season. 



LOUISVILLE PRESENTS CASE TO NCAA COMMITTEE ON INFRACTIONS.

Back on the popular 1960's television show LAUGH IN, there was a segment called "Here Comes Da Judge". The late Flip Wilson was "yer honor". The skit also produced a song by Pigmeat Markham called....wait for it...Here Comes Da Judge. 

SONG LINK: HERE COMES DA JUDGE!

I'm pretty sure I've still got a t-shirt somewhere with that saying on it...unless Sonja has donated it to one of the thrift stores she likes to give old stuff to. 

Yesterday, in Cincinnati, the Cards faced the judge...or, in this case, an 11 hour session in front of members of the NCAA Committee on Infractions to present their side of the prostitute/sex scandal that stunned the campus, community and college sports back in October 2015.

Nothing like swift justice, right? 

Decisioning should come in 6-8 weeks on the series of incidents where Andre McGee allegedly paid for women's to "entertain" in Billy Minardi Hall. 

The Cards went to these hearings and told the truth, according to athletic director and vice-president Tom Jurich (which is always a good thing to do...in court and in all other aspects of life, as well).  Chuck Smrt, Tom and Rick Pitino were on hand to answer questions from the committee...along with a few lawyers...and offer rebuttals. Also there was acting UofL President Dr. Greg Postel and former program assistant Brandon Williams, accused of a major program violation in the original charges and guy who refused to give up his cell phone. 

Andre McGee was not present. I wonder if he's still driving for Uber? 

Details of the proceedings are confidential. UofL officials are prohibited by the NCAA from answering questions about the proceedings. There was even confusion on where the proceeding were going to take place...some local television stations were headed to Indianapolis to cover the event (home of the NCAA) when they found out it was Cincinnati and a ballroom at the Hyatt. A quick right-turn at Columbus, Indiana ("Take a right on 46 and head to I-74, boys!") and off to Ohio. 

At least the Cards were at a hearing and not up in front of Judge Smails from the movie Caddyshack...as for Cincy as a locale? Maybe they had tickets for the Reds and Cubs...

Some say Pitino didn't speak about the hearings after all was said and done yesterday. Some say Jurich likes the new interim President Postel and thinks they'll get along fine. We'll come back to that.  All are wondering how this thing is going to turn out. Six weeks can't go by fast enough. Let's hope an organization that usually moves at a turtle's pace can proceed on this issue like Julian Leparoux guiding a horse down Churchill's stretch to the wire. 

-- Take a vacation, Rick...A lot of observers are speculating that Coach Pitino will be suspended for a few games next season. How many and when during the season is the big question. Three games at the start of the year? Sure no problem. Seven games during ACC Conference play? Could be a big problem. 

-- Take down the 2013 National Championship banner and vacate the title? That probably won't happen. A penalty too harsh for what happened. 

-- Monetary fines? Yeah, probably so. The NCAA loves to levy fines. 

Let's not forget that the Cards reported the violations on their own and took measures against themselves....sitting out the 2016 NCAA Tournament. There's been a board upheaval and former president James Ramsey is gone. 

Most Cardinal fans just want this chapter to be finished and the whole episode to come to closure. Other schools have "allegedly" done much worse, didn't self-report their actions and still haven't gone to trial yet. We want to be done with it.

Tom Jurich on his Thursday in Cincy: 

“It was a long day, but very productive,” Jurich said. “We said from Day One that we’d tell the truth, and we’ve done that. I was extremely impressed, this was my first time, really, to be around Dr. Postel, certainly in a very challenging environment. I couldn’t be more proud of him and look so forward to working with him now in the future. I always say to my staff, you like to evaluate people when you’re going through adversity. Well, this is adversity. Seeing him stand up for our institution and for our athletic department, and to stand for what is real, I was so impressed. So I look forward to (that) with Dr. Postel. I think our university is in great hands. And I can’t say that enough.”

On the subject of the hearing, Jurich, continued, “We exchanged all of our information and the enforcement staff gave all of their information. The committee on infractions listened, they asked questions when they felt were needed. I think it was very, very thorough, and I think it goes without saying that I can’t wait to get this behind us. I’ve been told, in there, that we are not allowed to answer any questions, I’m told that until this is resolved, the thing it looks like it could be resolved in 6 to 8 weeks.”

Well? We're waiting !

It seems this has been going on for way too long, in my humble opinion. The NCAA is a huge and ponderous entity that moves at their own slow and lumbering pace and reacts slowly, if not deliberately, on infractions. Let's go back to horse racing, everyone wants to see the results of the race posted as soon as possible...especially if a horse you liked might be involved in them.

 This whole Louisville vs. NCAA episode is like running the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May and then informing the attendees and watchers that the posting of the official results will be on the Fourth of July.

Well? We're waiting...

What say you, readers? 


*****************************************************


DID YOU NOTICE? 

Last night I was flipping around the cable channels looking for something to watch when I landed on the NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers. During a crowd shot, who do I see but UofL head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz and his lovely wife Lauren watching the contest...center court and about five rows up from the action.  

Although Walz wasn't there scouting potential players for the Cards...he'll get back to that this weekend...he did get to see an exciting contest (for some) where the Cavs overcame a 25-point halftime deficit to rally and beat Indiana. 

Lebron James. Wow, just wow. 

Not a bad Thursday night date, Coach. 
paulie
xxxxx