Saturday, July 22, 2023

Softball Brings in Transfer Infielder -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Bailee Richardson Joins Louisville in 2024


Daisy Hess will no longer be the only former Georgia State player on the Louisville softball roster next season. Hess's former teammate for the Panthers, Bailee Richardson, will join Louisville as a graduate transfer next season. Last season, Richardson led the team in RBIs (33), doubles (8), home runs (9), and slugging percentage (.551). She was 7 for 7 on stolen bases as well. The infielder joined Georgia State after winning back-to-back state championships in high school and being named the defensive player of the year in 2018. 

Similar to Hess, a lot may be expected of Richardson as a touted glove straight out of the gate. We'll have to see how that turns out, but Richardson will also look to give the Cards a boost in an offense that has more holes than expected after the end of last season. For her career, Richardson was a .310 hitter that totaled 29 home runs, 25 doubles, 107 RBIs, and 89 runs. Hitting for average should transfer pretty well across leagues in softball, and Louisville will definitely need some players that can make the most of their time at the plate after losing an OBP leader in Korbe Otis from last season and an RBI machine in Sarah Gordon. 

2022 GSU Softball with Hess (b. row, 3rd from
right) and Richardson (m. row, 3rd from right)
The addition of Richardson may give an indication of what Louisville intends to do about the catcher position. Richardson played some second base, but it feels safe to say Easton Lotus has that position locked down. Richardson's other regular position was the hot corner at third. Louisville has three players listed with catcher as one of their positions on the 2024 roster. Two are freshmen. The third is Ally Alexander, who has primarily played third for the Cards. Sliding Alexander 60 feet and inserting Richardson alongside her former teammate on the left side of the infield could provide the defense Louisville needs, but things might get thorny if one of the freshmen is a better fit behind the plate. The Cards will get one year of eligibility from Richardson before she and Hess graduate from UofL together.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast


We'll still be without Jared this week but we should have plenty of hands on deck to bring you a full show. We'll have some Globl Jam to talk about after missing last week as well as plenty of news and notes about the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics from the last couple of weeks. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case
at

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous7/22/2023 10:09 AM

    Didn't Alexander begin as shortstop, move to third when Hess came in and now, maybe a catcher/ That's either incredible dedication to the team or a decided lack of skill at an infield position by her,

    Blue Lou

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