Softball and Lacrosse Open Seasons -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

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Louisville softball got their season started in Ft. Myers, Florida yesterday with games against Long Island University and Georgetown University. The Cards got ahead early in both games and held on to win the pair. The offense wasn't stellar, with Louisville scoring just six runs across the two games, but the defense and pitching gave up just one run in response. Louisville walked away from yesterday morning's game against LIU with a 2-0 victory and they carry a 4-1 win over Georgetown into this evening's rematch against the Hoyas. 

In the top of the first against LIU, Easton Lotus moved into the lead-off spot and walked to open the game. She then stole second. Kylie Goff, in her first game as a Cardinal, batted second, and also drew a walk. A wild pitch moved the two runners to second and third, so Daisy Hess, who took over the third spot in the order, decided to also take a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Another newcomer, Riley Frizell, held the cleanup spot and promptly singled in the first run of the season. LIU finally got their first out when Bailee Richardson grounded out, but it was a fielder's choice to third and Goff came home on the play. Paige Geraghty reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases again when LIU couldn't get an out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat. Louisville led 2-0, and that would be that. 

Alyssa Zabala got the start for Louisville in the first game, and she finished with three hits and a walk given up over four full innings. She struck out one batter but gave up no runs. LIU's biggest threat came in the third, when two singles and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out. Zabala was able to induce two pop-outs to preserve the shutout. Sam Booe took over in the circle after the fourth, presumably just to rest Zabala's arm. Zabala was effective in the fourth, allowing one hit but otherwise getting three quick outs, but the Sharks were finding the ball with their bats, which isn't usually good for keeping scoring down. Booe came in and struck out five over three innings, but also gave up a hit, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch. Not the cleanest, but not the end of the world. The runners were scattered, with just a walk and the HBP coming together in the sixth. A strike out and a grounder straight to third took care of it.

Offensively, Frizzell was the only player with multiple hits for the Cards. Hess, Richardson, and Chelsea Mack (the UK transfer who has taken over in CF), were the only other players to reach base more than once, with a walk and a hit each. Mack and Richardson answered the defensive questions that were outstanding. With Zabala in the circle, the defense went Goff (C), Frizzell (1B), Lotus (2B), Richardson (3B), Hess (SS), Geraghty (LF), Mack (CF), and Vanessa Miller (RF). Gabby Holloway got a hit as a pinch hitter and Maddi Grant was the designated hitter.

The second game saw a bit more offense out of the Cards, who took a 1-0 lead in the second and went on to win 4-1. The second game saw a change to the lineup, with Ally Alexander taking over at third and Richardson moving to DH. Gabby Holloway had the start in game two and pitched very well, but it was Brooke Gray who earned her first collegiate win in relief. Izzy Harrison came on to close the game out and, while she gave up two walks in the seventh, she struck out the side for the save. 

Like the first game, Lotus reached first in her first at bat, this time on a single, and stole second. Her steal came after Goff had struck out, but Hess walked to backfill at first. A strikeout and a line out ended the inning. Holloway, who gave up a hit in the first, played with fire a bit in the second, as she gave up back-to-back singles to open the inning. She followed up the hits with a pair of strikeouts split by a ground out to end the threat, and the Cards rewarded her.

The bottom of the second opened with a Paige Geraghty triple, and she came home two batters later on an Alexander single up the middle. That 1-0 lead held through the fourth, despite Georgetown loading the bases with nobody out. An uncharacteristic error by Hess opened the inning and a single put two on. A bunt that was probably intended to be a sacrifice was beat out and the bases were loaded. A pop up got the first out of the inning and a sharp ground ball to Easton Lotus was smartly played. Double plays are difficult to turn in softball because of the larger ball and the shorter base paths. Rather than try to get the 4-6-3 double-play, Lotus fired the ball to Goff for the force out at the plate. The bases remained loaded, but the run didn't score. A ground out to Hess, who calmly rectified her prior error, ended the inning.

Louisville would put two runners in scoring position in the bottom half, but nothing came of it. The fifth brought the end of Holloway's season debut. A walk to open the inning turned into a runner on third with one out after a sacrifice and a steal. Holloway picked up a strikeout to make it one on with two outs, but a single tied the game. With a tie game in the fifth, Coach Holly Aprile turned to the young starter in Brooke Gray. Gray got a fly out against her first college batter (excluding fall ball) and Louisville took over. Hess opened with a walk and advanced despite Frizell's grounder being right at second base. A foul out meant there was just one out to bring the run around, but an error gave the Cards a freebie. Paige Geraghty singled to third, who was thrown off by the advancing Hess. The Hoya 3B airmailed the throw to first and both Louisville players advanced, with Hess coming home for an unearned run. Cards regained their lead 2-1.

Another fly out opened Gray's first full inning of work, and it was followed by a double. She picked up her first strikeout on the ensuing pinch hitter, and the pinch runner was thrown out at third on an attempted steal. Three up, three down... kind of. Maddi Grant came on to pinch hit for Alexander to open the sixth and tripled to right. Chelsea Mack singled her home and stole second. Easton Lotus singled through the middle and Mack's counterpart in center couldn't get the throw home in time. Lotus advanced to second on the throw and then a bunch of weird stuff happened. Georgetown made a quadruple change and the new pitcher plunked Kylie Goff. Hess then popped up, and Lotus somehow advanced on the play. Frizell grounded to second, where Goff was out, and Mia Forsythe was caught stealing after coming on to pinch run. Nevertheless, Louisville led 4-1.

Izzy Harrison came on to close out the game, with Gray in line for the win, and walked the first two batters. You already know how this ends, so I'll spare you the dramatics. The ball was never in play in the seventh, with the two walks being followed by three strikeouts. Ball game, Cards. Easton Lotus and Paige Geraghty were the only two Louisville hitters with multiple hits in this one. Goff reached twice as the result of an HBP, and Hess was the only other Cardinal to reach base more than once. Hess walked three times, a very Joey Votto-esque performance in the 3-hole. 

Louisville is back in action at 5PM this evening with a rematch against Georgetown, which will be immediately followed by a game against FGCU (scheduled for 7:30). The Cards will take on FGCU again tomorrow at 12:30PM to close out the event. Both games against the hosts will be available on ESPN+.

Lacrosse Falls at Denver

The Cards made a game out of it against the Pioneers, but the final score doesn't quite reflect the threat. Louisville cut Denver's lead to 11-8 entering the fourth quarter, but 5-0 quarters bookending the game set the final score at a lopsided 16-8. The Cards were competitive in the mid-game but were unable to match pace with the offensive output of a Final Four team from last season.

As you might expect, after the rules changes this offseason, the penalty summary is nearly as long as the goal summary. Ten cards were issued in this one, with Louisville picking up seven of them. Playing with fewer players on the field is a good way to give up power play goals, as you might expect. No Cardinal was carded more than once, which is good, but we'll have to see if they can clean things up as the season progresses.

On the offensive side, Louisville was led by Kokoro Nakazawa's three goals. Kylea Dobson, Tiffany Natoli, Nicole Perroni, and Negai Nakazawa scored one apiece. The Cards only had two assists, with one coming from Negai, and the other coming from Izzy Seikel. Louisville converted 8 of their 14 shots on goal, and those 14 shots on goal came on just 23 shots. The Cards were competitive on draw controls, as well, losing that battle just 12-14. Louisville recovered more ground balls and had more clears. Denver's offense was just overwhelming. Sara Addeche played the entire match and finished with 14 saves. A herculean effort against 30 shots. 

The Cards have today off before they head to Boulder to take on Colorado tomorrow at 2PM. There is a lot to learn from this game, despite the outsized deficit at the end, as Louisville led the middle portion of the game 8-6. They'll have to score in the first and fourth quarters to win going forward, though.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're without Jeff this week, as a road trip to see former Louisville players in the PVF takes him away. We'll have Jared, Daryl, and myself, as well as another week with Paulie, to fill the show. We'll talk big WBB games and the opening of the spring sports seasons. There won't be any live stream of this week's episode, but you can check out the podcast as always. The show officially starts at 11 AM Eastern, and 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