Taylor Roby Has a Day in Syracuse - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Softball Wins Both in Double Header

Holly Aprile's softball squad has had a number of players add to the success of the team in the past two years, as we've talked about names like Easton Lotus, Hannah File, Ally Alexander, Daisy Hess, and more.  But yesterday, they went a just a little bit old school in their double-header wins over Syracuse, 5-3, 8-0 (6 innings).  Taylor Roby, something of the grand dame of the current softball squad, hit for three home runs on the day, and accounted for seven RBIs, with six of those, a school record, in just the second game.  Meanwhile, she also pitched a complete game in the first.

CARDS 5 - ORANGE 3

Roby, fittingly, got the offense started in the second inning with a double and then was subbed out for Mia Forsythe to pinch run for her.  Mia would advance and score on a fielder's choice and benefited from a throwing error.

Korbe Otis started off the 3rd inning with a single and stealing second on a passed ball.  She was promptly brought home by Sarah Gordon's single to make the score 2-0.

It wouldn't be until the 5th inning until we'd see more scoring.  And as was the theme of the day, it started with Roby sending the yellow orb for a trip beyond the fence.  That would be followed up by a Makayla Hurst single playing as the designated player batting in place of Pickle Winkler.  Pickle and Hurst would swap spots on the base paths and let the faster Winkler do the running.  The swap paid off immediately with Pickle promptly stealing second, and then scoring thanks to a Easton Lotus single.  A solid lead for the Cards after four and a half innings with a 4-0 lead.

Syracuse took advantage of getting some runners on base, and a fielding error, and would score three in one play to get their scoring done for the game.

The final Cardinal run for the game was an insurance run in the top of the 7th.  It started with Hannah File doubling, getting to third on a Roby groundout, and scoring on a Daisy Hess at bat.  Hess reached first, but it was ruled a fielding error, so she didn't get credited with a hit.

Roby did pitch the complete game, and allowed six hits, only issued one walk, and, of course, gets the win.

CARDS 8 - ORANGE 0

In game two, Alyssa Zabala, quickly becoming a well-known name for those following UofL Softball, took the circle and had a fine performance, but this game was even more about Roby.

It starts early and is a simple recap.  After two outs, Hannah File drew a walk, and then Roby hit a home run.  Pretty simple, really.  That was Roby's second homer of the day, but the best was yet to come.

Moving forward to the 4th inning.  Another pretty simple one with Korbe Otis drawing the walk, and then scoring on a Sarah Gordon home run.  The only difference in this one was Otis stole second before having it effectively mooted by the home run.

And finally, in the top of the 6th, a similar situation starts to develop with Otis drawing another walk and stealing second again.  This time, however, Sarah Gordon also drew a walk.  After a pitching change... another walk, putting Hannah File on base, and loading them all up.  Oh look, who's coming up to the plate?  Why if it isn't Taylor Roby.  She takes two balls, and ahead 2-0 in the count, and says, "We're pretty much done, here."  A grand slam makes the score 8-0, putting the Cards in run-rule territory, only needing to blank Syracuse in the bottom of the inning to make it happen, which they do.

Zabala gets the win, going five frames and only allowing a single hit, and issuing only a single walk, while striking out three.  Gabby Holloway pitched the 6th inning and issued a walk, but got a pair of strikeouts to finish the game.

The action should continue today with the 3rd game of the series.  The start time has been pushed back a bit from the original due to cold weather in Syracuse.  They are aiming for a 2pm start, but that may be further altered depend on if the day warms up enough up there to play.  The ACC requires a 30 degree or higher "feels like" temperature to start a game.

Lacrosse Loses to Clemson

A rough outing for Teeter's squad in Clemson against a new Lacrosse program at Clemson.  A 9-0 mid-game run for the Tigers was responsible for most of the 8-19 advantage.

The scoring for the Cards was by committee, only Negai Nakazawa getting two goals in the game.  Joining the freshman in finding the back of the net were:  Rian Adkins, Alexa Steffens, Hannah Morris, Tiffany Natoli, Allegra Catalano, and Nicole Perroni.  Most are names that we regularly hear from UofL Lacrosse, but typically with more than a single goal to their tally.

The Cards played close with the Tigers through much of the first half leading to a respectable 6-7 score with under five minutes left in the half.  By the time Clemson finished their run, however, there were five minutes gone in the 4th quarter, and the score of 6-16.

Teeter on the contest:  

"The turning point came at the end of the second quarter. We made a couple of plays and turned the ball over to give up four late in the second quarter. Clemson made us pay for our mistakes. It just comes down to them making plays and us not." 

Clemson is 10-4 in their first season of DI lacrosse. The program does have 11 graduate students on the roster and 19 transfers from other programs, so the sport isn't exactly new to the players...although it is to the fan base and Clemson athletic department. 

(Finding any actual photos from the match was virtually impossible, so someone needs to inform the Clemson photographers that they have a D1 Lacrosse program) 

The Cards will take a bit of a break, with no mid-week game this week, and try to right the ship against a 2-4 Virginia Tech team on Saturday at noon.

NCAA WBB Championship Today

Just in case you forgot, Iowa and LSU will battle this afternoon to determine who will be the 2023 NCAA WBB champ. In our Pick 'Em contest, only five participants had LSU reaching the final game and just two had Iowa getting there. And only two had Iowa winning it all. 

Most are expecting a shootout with Caitlan Clark leading the way for the Hawkeyes and Angel Reese for LSU. There are some interesting subplots. What gaudy outfit will Kim Mulkey wear? Which fan base will be the loudest...the iowa group or LSU fans? Will the refs "let 'em play"...or will this be a whistle-fest? 

In our Pick 'em contest, four participants ( Wahoo Card, Joe Hill, Jared and Karen) tied for first with a 46-16 record and none of them have either LSU or Iowa to win in all, so it looks like first and second place will be determined by the total number of points in the contest that our participants predicted.  

3:30 pm on ABC. That's channel 4 on Louisville cable (WHAS). An hour long pre-game show begins on the network at 2:30. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

With Case out, and Daryl and Jared both having mid-day'ish commitments, the crew gathered early for the CCRHP yesterday.  Normally, we try to make sure we have updates ahead of time for time changes, but there was some scrambling to get this all put in place and get all the pieces moving two hours early aiming for a 9am start.  I slid in to my podcasting chair at 8:59am and was essentially the reason we didn't really get under way until 9:02.

Basketball, Softball, Lacrosse, and a touch of Volleyball and Field Hockey exhibition play discussions kept us busy with a fun show.

You can check it out at its home at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/April-fun-in-an-early-show-with-Basketball--Softball--Lacrosse--and-other-Exhibition-Play-e21hcld or any decent podcast directory, as always.

-- JMcA