Softball Iced Out on Chilly Friday -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Gray Shelled Early in Loss to Illinois

Louisville softball, on the heels of a comeback win against South Dakota on the first day of the Cardinal Classic, handed the ball to the freshman wunderkind in the circle against Illinois (9-11 entering the game) to take care of business. Unfortunately, the early scoring bug bit the Cards again, and they were shut out for the first time this season as the game wore on. After giving up a four-spot in the first, Louisville would give up single runs on two more occasions before ultimately falling 6-0 to the Illini. 

There's a first time for everything, and I imagine that Brooke Gray did not have "give up three runs in 0+ innings" on her to-do list when she got up yesterday morning. In fact, I imagine it didn't even cross her mind since it has not happened to her in her career. That's the way it went yesterday evening, though, with Illinois jumping on her like a flea. A full-count triple opened the game (if you start with a 3-0 count bad things happen), and a single scored the first run. Another single on a bunt put two on and a double cleared the bases. Four straight hits was enough to end Gray's day, and Gabby Holloway took over. The Cards first out came on a caught stealing, and a pop-up gave the defense their second. Another single and double extended the lead to 4-0 before the inning finally ended. 

The Cards looked to have a chance to fight back right away. Chelsea Mack singled to open the inning and Daisy Hess walked to put two on with nobody out. The threat ended there, though, as three straight strikeouts ended the inning. Louisville did not put two runners on at the same time for the remainder of the game. Illinois threatened to have another big inning in the second, but a pair of strikeouts with the bases loaded made it so that the Cards needed just one to get out of the inning. A wild pitch scored a run to make it 5-0 and a hit that would have made it 7-0 was negated by a runner leaving early to end the inning. Illinois scored one more in the top of the 7th to set the final score at 6-0.

Louisville ended the first with an ERA of 28 and a WHIP of 6. Those are... bad. Louisville's first inning pitching has left a bit to be desired this season. The Cards have an ERA of 5.65 in the first inning and WHIP of 1.81. They've held the opponent to no walks, hits, or runs in just eight games so far. All eight of those games have resulted in wins. In games in which the Cards have given up a run in the first inning, only one of those was a single run. That came against Virginia Tech on what could have been a two-run homer but the runner that opened the inning was called out for leaving early. Louisville has just one win in games in which they gave a run in the first; it came against Bowling Green. 

Overall, Louisville's pitching is much better than in the first inning. Their ERA is 3.30 on the season and their WHIP is just 1.44. It's clear that the Cards are losing games as a result of slow starts in the circle and it's a problem that will have to get sorted out. This is a team that isn't doing a good job of playing from behind, so they need to stop getting behind. At 17-9, Louisville is still off to a good start. There is plenty of time to get on track and one of their biggest hurdles in the ACC is already behind them. The Cards get a rematch against Michigan this evening. Louisville won the first game between the two teams on February 17th in Boca Raton. It was a 2-0 victory for the Cards, and it was one of the games where Louisville blanked the opponent in the first. Head out to Ulmer at 6PM or tune in to ACC Network Extra.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're back with another episode this week and the show should return to it's live form on the YouTube channel. There will be four on the call, with Daryl out playing Pick-Up Sticks or something like that. We'll talk lacrosse and softball and likely make some predictions about Louisville's seeding in the upcoming NCAA tournament. 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