Cards Fall to Noles, Henderson Qualifies -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Still Stumped by Florida State

After defeating Notre Dame on Thursday in a game that meant literally nothing to the outcome of the ACC tournament, Louisville fell to Florida State for the third straight game (over two weekends). Florida State jumped ahead early with two runs in the first and never yielded that lead. Louisville closed the gap to 2-1 and 4-2 at different points in the game, but were unable to get themselves going for much more. The final score was 6-2. Regardless of Thursday's outcome against Notre Dame, Louisville had to beat Florida State to advance to the semifinals because the Noles beat the Irish earlier in the week. Such is the nature of pool play, but I certainly don't like it. Perhaps the reason the Seminoles kept their mojo against the Cards is because they never actually left Louisville. Rather than fly back to Tallahassee after last weekend's series in Jim Patterson Stadium, Florida State's baseball team has been shacked up in the Seelbach Hotel waiting for the ACC Tournament to start. Savvy move, if you ask me. Keeping your team on the road can help them keep an edge they might lose if they head home. 

Despite the loss, Louisville still has an RPI of 5. RPI is usually the best indicator of how teams will be ranked by the selection committee, so there is a good-to-great chance that the Cards will earn one of the top 8 seeds. These top 8 host until the CWS (provided that they win), and Louisville has hosted super regional series in the last two years. Let's hope that they don't send us a California team if we do it again. The Cards will find out their fate soon enough. The NCAA Baseball Selection show starts at noon on Monday and will air on ESPN2. 

Emmonnie Henderson Moves On

Henderson threw discus yesterday better than everyone but 6 other people at the event. That was my
fun way of saying she placed 7th. Fortunately for her, 7th is good enough to advance out of the East Preliminary Event and move to the NCAA Track and Field Championships. This is her third straight year qualifying for the final event. She joins Holly Hankenson and Trevor Troutman, who qualified on Thursday. Also moving on are Martice Moore and Edwin Kibichiy who qualified in the Men's 400m Hurdles and the Men's 3000m Steeplechase respectively. Kibichiy placed first in his event. The Cards will hope to add to their qualifying total as the event wraps up today.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Returns

The guys will be back on the air today, likely replacing me with some sort of impostor. By the time you're reading this, I'll be headed north to watch fast cars drive around a circle a couple hundred times. Please think about me fondly and hope that the rain goes away. Tune into 100.9FM or the WCHQ app at 11AM to catch Paulie, Worldwide, and Mystery Player 3 talk about the joy and excitement of Louisville Women's sports.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

PS: Happy Memorial Day weekend. Take time to enjoy those around you and remember those we've lost. Celebrate their lives and sacrifices. Stay safe in your travels and revelries.