CARDS CRUMBLE IN QUARTERFINALS TO PACK
Lack-a-bat-ities picked a rotten time to reappear in the Louisville softball dugout.
Louisville fell to NC state in the opening round of the ACC Tournament 5-2 yesterday in Chapel Hill, NC. to the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Cards could only muster two runs and six hits against Pack pitcher Peyton Silverman...while allowing NC State to touch starter Megan Hensley for four runs on nine hits and reliever Maryssa Becker for a run and five hits. The Pack put up a run in the first inning on the Cards and added another to go up 2-0 in the third inning. Louisville got one back, largely due to the efforts of Jordan McNary, who reached on a fielder's choice and then went from first to home on Morgan Meyer's bunt and a throwing error.
Things got worse for UofL in the top of the fifth. NC State pieced together five hits and a Cardinal fielding error contributed to three runs and a 5-1 lead. "Mike" Szydlowski tried to get the Cards back into the contest with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth...but the Cards could not piece anything together offensively in the final two innings and took a 5-2 loss. Sandy Pearsall on the loss:
"I felt like our team didn't play defense toward the end and we were trying to hit it out of the park instead of doing what we did last weekend against them, which was hit the shots that we needed to hit, just keep the ball in their outfield and we didn't do that well today."
The Cards now await their fate for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show will be on Sunday, May 14th. at 10 p.m. on ESPN 2. 64 teams will be selected. The guess here is that Louisville will be picked to go to one of 16 regional sites...where action will take place May 19-21.
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LACROSSE BEGINS NCAA TOURNAMENT TONIGHT
The Cards and Dukes have never met in Lacrosse. Young was the head coach at JMU before accepting the Louisville job in 2006.
The #18 ranked LaxCards will seek their first-ever NCAA Tournament win against a #16 James Madison that prides themselves on presenting a stingy defense. The Dukes (13-6) allow just 8.58 goals per contest...which ranks eighth nationally. They won the CAA title with wins over Delaware and Elon...who both made the tournament as well.
Louisville (11-7) will look their own defensive stopper, goalie Brittany Read..who allows just 9.58 goals per game. She was the ACC Defender of the Year. On the attack, senior Hannah Koloski leads a talented group of scorers with 60 goals. Sophomore Meghan Siverson complied 52 scores on the season. You can catch the action on the Penn State athletics website live stream. Link below:
LOUISVILLE VS JAMES MADISON
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MOORE JOINING MOORE AT USC.
There was speculation a few weeks ago that Minyon would be leaving USC and Mariya did make a visit to Cal recently...but it now looks like the sisters will be reunited on the Trojan campus. Mariya would have to sit a season before playing her senior year with Minyon...who would be a junior then.
The move to Los Angeles for Mariya makes it possible for her parents to have the chance to see both girls play together and more frequently. The drive from Richmond, CA to L.A. is about five hours down I-5 and is also serviced by Amtrak.
It's always been a dream of mine to play basketball with my sister again. Congrats on your commitment to USC! 
#weback @Riyabelikeee
#weback @Riyabelikeeepaulie
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Definitely agree with Coach Pearsall about the lack of small ball play. If you can't get all the runs back at once, just take what you can get. Deficits get more manageable with each run you pick up. Guess we'll see what they get now.
ReplyDeleteDon't know much about USC so I'm not sure about the fit for the Moore sisters there, but at least the 5+ hour drive is much more manageable for the family than the 6 hour flight from San Francisco to Louisville. I wish her the best!
Here's hoping for a breakthrough for the Lacrosse team this evening!
I think it's fine that Moore is gone. If she doesn't want to be here after all of the stunningly unconditional love ULWBB fans gave her over three years then she's best off somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteThat said she was an important part of Walz's West Coast / national recruiting footprint followup to the big win with the Schimmels that made ULWBB a truly national program. With the recent WCBB quality improvement in the Pac 12 it's feeling like ULWBB will probably have to be more regional until they can make another legit national statement. It's too bad as the potential combo of Moore and AC from the West Coast had a chance to make ULWBB a destination landing spot for high potential West Coast recruits. Maybe losing the West Coast is OK given how Moore laid down on us. Plenty of other talent out there.
Mariya needed a fresh start. Playing w sis will be a great experience for both of them though PAC 12 won't be a picnic
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind Burn Retta is a west coast recruit but I think your point is a good one about her leaving possibly slowing down the the west coast connection that was gaining credibility. A commitment from DeCosta would make this a moot point
ReplyDeleteI think UofL will still get West coast recruitment,however Texas is a different story.
ReplyDeleteWe had three good years with Mariya Moore,but family comes first!Go Cards also go USC M&M girls!PS I'm no hater.
MLW
It's AC'S turn to run the show West coast style baby!
ReplyDeleteMLW
I'm no hater either.. but it's getting a little old about Mariya leaving to be closer to home to play with her sister again yada yada yada...IMHO if the lime light was still on Mariya she wouldn't be going anywhere....But since her freshman year others have stepped up and are getting recognized...She wasn't the go to girl any more and if you think that had nothing to do with it...your sadly mistaken....And again not a hater just not a big fan of quitters! I will focus my comments to the girls committed 💯 to the cards program. Also the M&M comment was puzzling since it was started for Mariya and Myisha....And as far as a fresh start...She will be done and gone in one season after sitting a year.... scratching my head on that one... Good luck to our ladies who are committed to the Cards program next season!
ReplyDeleteWell Played
DeleteOops the New M&M girls!
DeleteMLW
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ReplyDelete