THE SLEEP-DEPRIVED SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE COLUMN
Sometimes it feels like there just isn't enough hours in the day to fit all of the sports events in. And that's before we did the "Spring Forward" thing for Daylight Savings Time last night that really did cut an hour out of the day. Hopefully you've been able to make the switch, and maybe you got to bed an hour earlier last night to make the transition easier. But let's get to it before we dive into another busy day of sports.
Softball
It was a busy day at Ulmer Stadium yesterday with three games played. Two of them involved Holly Aprile's squad. The first game started even before we finished the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. The 11:30 first pitch pitted the Cards vs the Valparaiso Crusaders.
The Cards won in what can only be described as a surprise run rule win in the 6th inning.
UofL did get on the scoreboard quickly. In the 1st inning, Carmyn Greenwood got a hit, then scampered around the basepaths on a Taylor Roby double to centerfield. Then things went quiet.
The next four innings were a pitcher's duel with freshman Gabby Holloway going the distance and keeping the Crusaders off the scoreboard. Caitlyn Kowalski would do most of the work for Valparaiso and should get a lot of praise for keeping the Cards quiet for much of the game.
Things fell apart for Kowalski in the 6th inning, however. Taryn Weddle started off with a double for the Cards, but Valpo would get a couple of outs before the wheels really fell off. Four straight singles, along with some associated fielding errors to advance some runners would score four for the Cards. Kowalski took a seat, but things wouldn't go much better for Taylor Knight. She was a bit unlucky with the first batter she faced being Taylor Roby who convinced Mr. Spalding to visit the berm. The next two batters would both double, scoring the first, pushing the lead to 8-0, which of course triggered the NCAA Softball run-rule, which is a lead of eight or more after five innings.
The Cards got to take a breather while Valpo would contest against Western Kentucky, before the Cards got their chance with the Hilltoppers starting a bit after 5pm.
Taylor Roby and Jennifer Leonhardt would split the time in the circle for the Cards. Roby getting the win, and Leonhardt a well-deserved save.
All of the scoring action in this 3-0 victory happened in the bottom of the 3rd inning. A single, a walk, and a couple of fielder's choices would load up the bases before, you guessed it, Taylor Roby came to the plate. Roby ripped a shot out to the center field fence, scoring all of the base runners and ending her running on 2nd base.
That's all it would take for the Cards to get the win in this one.
Head Louisville Softball Coach Holly Aprile discusses the wins with Paulie at the link below:
While there will be softball today at Ulmer Stadium, it won't involve UofL as Valpo and WKU will have a rematch before heading home. The Cards will be back in action Friday, kicking off a four game series with Clemson at 7pm.
(Thanks to Jared Anderson for today's Softball photos. Imagine doing those, practicing the euphonium, setting up for a bachelorette dinner and cutting up pineapple all in the same day...he is truly a renaissance man...)
Field Hockey
Just down the block, Justine Sowry's Field Hockey squad, with new Associate Head Coach Hannah Price, got conference play underway against Virginia with a noon first pass back.
A win in ACC conference Field Hockey is a statement, and UofL gets one with the 2-1 victory over the Cavaliers.
Charlie van Oirschot got the first goal about 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter. A penalty corner for the Cards results in the rebound shot for van Oirschot. The commentators live credited the shot to Mercedes Pastor, and watching the video, it's easy to see why. Closer examination shows the block and the rebound shot by van Oirschot however.
Pastor would get her chance to score, however. With just under two minutes left in the game, Pastor was awarded a rare penalty stroke. When the whistle blew, Pastor immediately snuck it into the right edge of the cage past the UVA goalkeeper.
Head Louisville Field Hockey Coach Justine Sowry discusses the win with Paulie at the link below:
Field Hockey gets a long week to celebrate, heading up to Oxford, OH to play Miami (OH) on Monday the 22nd at 3pm.
Volleyball
Another Covid altered weekend for the Cards this weekend, with the venue for yesterday's match getting switched. Originally the Cards were going to be heading to Clemson for matches against both Clemson and Duke this weekend. Clemson got hit with Covid testing and tracing issues, so the Cards redirected to Durham and will play 2 against Duke.
Yesterday's match was the official conference match, and it looks like Duke just got caught off guard with it. The Cards take the match 25-6, 25-16, 25-21.
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| "Claire In the Air" |
Claire Chaussee and Nena Mbonu led the Cards in this one. Chaussee landed 12 kills on .294 hitting, Mbonu finished with 11 on .333 hitting. The A-team was less of a factor in this one, though Aiko Jones did get 9 kills on an efficient .400 hitting. Anna Stevenson with 5 and Amaya Tillman with a pair in the middle spots. Anna DeBeer did play in all three sets, but only got a single kill.
On the defensive side of the A-team, Alexis Hamilton did get 10 digs with Alexa Hendricks jumped into the A-team role and joined DeBeer with 9 digs apiece. The team leader in digs, however, was Tori Dilfer with 13.
The biggest story in this one was that first set score. I'm trying to recall if I've ever seen a set played with fewer points scored by a team, and I don't recall ever having done so. I have seen a team only score six points before, and I've seen a few seven point sets. Give Duke credit, however, they bounced back in the 2nd and 3rd sets a bit. The 3rd set, in particular had a bit of a late rally to get it to 25-21. Duke faced several match points before finally succumbing.
The Cards will be back in action today, in what should've been a game against Clemson, instead they'll play Duke again at 2pm. This one is on ACC Network Extra, and hopefully it'll be a bit higher production effort than yesterday's match which was just a single camera on the court with no commentators. The camera did at least move and zoom in on the action reasonably well, and given the hero efforts various athletic department staff's are putting in with so much Covid shifting of schedules and times, you'll hear no real complaints from these quarters.
On Today's Schedule
In addition to what we've covered above, Lacrosse is in action today against a continually improving Marquette squad in Milwaukee. That one starts at noon and can be watched at
Marquette is still a relatively new program, only about five or six years in existence, but they have quickly become a quite competitive team.
Tennis also gets started at noon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. Wake Forest is the opponent here. Bass-Rudd isn't really set up for televised coverage but you can check out the action today at
I believe this page will have several links to watch the various courts in action. Probably best not to hold your breath waiting for any commentary or play-by-play.
Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast
It was an old school CCRH yesterday with just Paulie and I on the show. Case was off supporting his wife and her family in the loss of a loved one, while Daryl and Jared were down in the Floyd St area pushing buttons to help bring you the best in pictures and video of Cardinal Athletics, Daryl in her duties at UofL's ACC Network Studio setup, sneaking off for banana milkshakes, and Jared with his trusty Nikon.
My apologies in advance as the audio from my mic decided to do....something, I'm not really sure what. That. coupled with Paulie having to resort to doing Skype on his phone, made it interesting.
We did a whirlwind tour of Cardinal sports action through the week and managed to cover just about everything we hoped to.
JMcA
Hello Friends!
ReplyDeleteArthur Here !
Well, it looks like it's going to be a good softball battle next weekend with my 15-2 Clemson Tigers, who are on a 12 game win streak, coming to visit the Cards. We were out-of-conference yesterday, too, and handled Furman 5-0.
Looking forward to Selection Monday, to see where the WBB Cards get seeded. I know it'll be a year without my Tigers dancing, and that's a shame, but the rebuild still continues down here. I trust and pray Amanda can get us competitive in the ACC, we had some nice wins -- twice over Notre Dame, beat FSU, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Duke -- and I think we return a very strong and capable roster for next year, but the ACC is so tough and 11-13 and 5-12 (ACC), isn't exactly what we're proud of down here.
In my circle of friends, there are some grumblings about Amanda and what to do if next year is another losing season? As for me, I am paitent enough to give her a few more years to make the Tigers an above .500 team on a consistent basis, but if it isn't happening by then -- I think we need to renew the search for a head coach, I will say I love what Becky Burke is attempting to do at Upstate and if she can turn them into a competitive squad, I'd be pleased if our A.D. paid her a little attention.
I was curious how you Louisvillians think the Monday Madness will go.
I've seen the Cards mostly as a #2 seed in the projections I've looked at. I wonder if Wake and Notre Dame will get it the Big Dance? And, someone PLEASE beat loudmouth Wes up at NCST !!
Your Friend
#1 Clemson Fan
Arthur
Greer, SC
Our congratulations to Sydni Schetnan, who made it a pair of state championships on Saturday for future University of Louisville women's basketball players.
ReplyDeleteThe 6-foot-5 Schetnan guided Sioux Falls, S.D., Washington High School to the Class 2-A state championship in South Dakota on Saturday night.
Sydni had six points and seven rebounds in a low-scoring game as Washington beat Rapid City Stevens 43-26 in the title game.
She had 13 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals as Washington beat O'Gorman 55-49 in Friday's semifinals.
Congratulations Syd and can't wait for your arrival this fall!
paulie
Congrat.Syd,Glad we're getting some more height Cards are going to need it.We cannot afford to lose post players that's why I think Ramani needs more PT so she won't get discouraged.
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