Cards Softball to face IU in Bloomington -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Cards Look to Get on Win Streak with Visit to IU

Louisville Softball looks to end a four game losing streak this season and also a four game losing streak to Indiana when they visit IU for a Wednesday match up. 

It's a 6 p.m game, but will only  be available for viewing on the Big Ten Network Plus, unless you make the trip to Bloomington to watch it live. Big Ten Network Plus is a "pay for" channel and not automatically provided to Louisville viewers on cable or free on the Internet. . 

Louisville is 20-16 overall on the season and seems to be in a cycle lately where they win their non-conference matchups and lose their ACC games. UofL has lost four in a row to the Hoosiers, but won six in a row against them before that, and are 20-7 in the history of the series. 

IU enter the contest 26-10. 

Louisville had their two game series against Oakland cancelled due to expected (and received) inclement weather and the skies did unload on the Louisville area, with a lot of road and streets down by the Ohio River still unpassable. Schools in the Louisville area are still on "NTI"  as of Wednesday. The Cards did fall to UK 8-3 back on April 2nd in their last game. Games scheduled against Oakland were cancelled over last weekend and the kickoff to Derby festivities in Louisville, the huge fireworks and air show Thunder Over Louisville, was also canceled this year, since the Great Lawn, where any gather to view the event,  is still underwater. 

For Louisville on the softball diamond..., it seems to be a situation where the Cards can't get across the plate very well lately. Virginia Tech outscored Louisville 27-7 in their three game series back on March 14-16. UNC outscored the Cards 31-15 in the series at Chapel Hill, and UofL hasn't had a 10 run plus offensive performance since they bombarded NKU back on March 18th in Highland Heights. 

UofL isn't a team that is built on the long ball, either.  The have just 19 home runs on the season, while giving up 37. Char Lorenz is the only Card with more than five home runs on the season..,the redshirt freshman from Munster, IN. has six on the season and also leads Louisville in RBI's. 

Cards pitching isn't awful this year, but Holly Aprile has used seven pitchers in 36 games and they have a combined ERA of 4.37 per game. . Alyssa Zabala is still the "ace" of the staff, at 8-5...the other two regular starters are Sam Booe (4-3) and Brooke Gray (5-6). 

Lpuisville is currently tied for 12th place in the ACC Standings, at 20-16 and 3-9 in ACC play, tied with Boston College. 12 teams make the ACC  Tournament this year, a single elimination format. The CARDS have four (3) game series left against ACC opponents...at Boston College, at Virginia, hosting FSU and at Pitt, to end the regular season. 

paulie