SOFTBALL SENIOR DAY -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

Softball Seniors

Yesterday was the Senior Day celebration for UofL Softball, celebrating the collegiate career endings of 5 UofL seniors; Blaire Bass, a transfer from Auburn who hasn't played this year due to a back injury but has remained with the team; Darrianne Hale, a pitcher that transferred from Butler Community College; Madison Cousineau, a catcher that transferred in from Mississippi State; Megan Hensley, who has been the ace of the pitching staff, from Paul Blazer High school in Ashland, Kentucky; and lastly Sidney Melton, the anchor of the team at 3rd base, and currently locked in a battle for most stolen bases on the team.

Sidney Melton did red-shirt a year during her career at UofL due to an ACL tear, so she is in her 5th year of eligibility, which makes her the highest seniority member of the team.

The Senior Day celebration was a pleasure, as they always are, with the opportunity to see
embarrassing pictures from the player's childhood and early careers.  Occasionally you get see evidence of a player's early experimentation with other sports, as well, such as a picture of Sidney Melton in a swim cap and goggles.  Over the past several years, UofL has also included a quick honor of the seniors from the opposing team, in this case, UNC, which I think is always a nice touch, and I'm glad to see the practice carry over to the new staff.

Credit where credit is due, much of the organization and planning for events like this, and plenty more, throughout the season for any UofL sports team, is done by the various Directors of Operation, which is Casey Bonk in the case of UofL Softball.

The game, though?  Well, there are a couple of bright spots, including a season high 3 home runs, with Darrianne Hale - playing at designated player, Megan Hensley - split time between right field and pitching, and Kyra Snyder - at first base, all taking one beyond the fence.  Ultimately, however, UNC came away with the win 10-7.  The general consensus, including from Coach Holly Aprile, was that UofL played better yesterday than they did Friday, but still have a few things they need to tweak.  Of course, UNC is a quality opponent, holding in 2nd place in the Coastal division of the ACC (VT, UNC, GT, Duke, UVA, Pitt) and 3rd overall in the ACC.

UofL, despite what feels like a really hit and miss season, though with more hits than many expected from this team, is 3rd in the Atlantic division, and 5th overall in the ACC.

The Cards have one more chance against UNC today at noon, and then will head to NC State next weekend to close out the regular season (NC St. is 5th in the Atlantic division) with a typical Friday, Saturday, Sunday series.  After that, the ACC Championship tournament kicks of May 8th through 11th in Tallahassee, FL.

A great deal of love and gratitude for these five seniors who contributed what they could during their time as student-athletes here at the University of Louisville.

Here''s hoping the Cards complete the regular season strong and do well in the ACC Tournament to propel them to success in the NCAA Tournament



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POST GAME WITH HOLLY APRILE:  http://thecrunchzone.com/video-sb-holly-aprile-unc-post-game-two/


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(THANKS TO DARYL FOUST - THE CRUNCH ZONE  - FOR THE VIDEO FEED)

(PHOTOS FROM JARED ANDERSON)

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The Knucklehead Squad was in effect at the WCHQ studios, yesterday, with Case, Jared, Paulie, and myself reunited as a group for the first time in some time, as the "A" team.  Daryl was missed, but we did catch up with her later in the day at Ulmer Stadium.

As always, we had a great time covering the current news in the UofL women's sports world, and I even refrained from derailing the discussion completely with a discussion of soccer field drainage and heating technologies and techniques, though the temptation was very real.

You can check out the stream at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/419285678884953/

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JMcA