Softball Slide Continues -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Lose to IU 8-3

Louisville softball canceled their ACC bye week double-header against Oakland due to weather, which meant they entered last night's regional rivalry game with the taste of last week's unfortunate loss to Kentucky still in their mouths. Whether that played a part in their undoing in last night's game is hard to say, but it seems fair to assume they would have liked having the get-right opportunity to split the two difficult outings. As it was, Louisville saw an early lead disappear before the opposing offense opened it up for the second game in a row. 

Char Lorenz returned to the lineup for this one and immediately got back to her strong offensive ways. After Easton Lotus walked to open the game, her steal was rendered moot by Chelsea Mack walking behind her. Lorenz stepped in with a runner in scoring position and smacked a single up the middle. The hit was too shallow to send Lotus home, though, and the bases were loaded with nobody out instead. Bri Despines kept the bases loaded but failed to drive in a run when she grounded into a fielder's choice force out at home. Ally Alexander also grounded out, but hers was more productive. Shockingly so, in fact, as she earned a two-RBI fielder's choice. Her grounder to short was thrown to second to get the first out while a run scored, but instead of eating the throw to hold the runner at third, the second baseman threw to first to try to get the double play. Alexander beat the throw and Lorenz came home in the meantime. Taylor Monroe hit the third straight ground out and the inning ended with Louisville holding a 2-0 lead.

Alyssa Zabala got a ground out to open the game but found herself in a slight pickle after giving up two straight singles. A foul out put Louisville in a two-out situation and a grounder to Alexander at third gave them an easy third out when she stepped on the bag for the force out and an unassisted fielder's choice. 

The Cards threatened to score again in the second, with an error on a throw behind Camryn Lookadoo at second base allowing her and Easton Lotus to move up a base to put runners on second and third with two outs. A full-count strikeout ended the opportunity. Zabala gave up a walk to open the second and IU tried to employ some small ball. A sacrifice bunt put Indiana's potential first run in scoring position, but Zabala responded with two strikeouts to maintain the Louisville lead. 

Again the Cards put a runner on base early in the third, with Lorenz reaching on an error and advancing to second. She advanced to third on a one-out sacrifice bunt, but she was stranded there for Louisville's fourth runner left on base. Those runners would prove to be costly. IU greeted Zabala in the third with a first-pitch home run. Slightly rattled, Zabala played with the corners a bit too much and walked two straight batters on five pitches each. In a jam, she earned a foul out and a fly out to put the defense back on level footing with two outs and runners still only on first and second. A single up the middle tied the game at two before a ground out ended the inning. 

Entering the fourth, it was a new ball game, so Madison Pickens responded to IU's third inning homer with one of her own. It was the only run Louisville would score, as they stranded another runner at first base, but they had retaken the lead 3-2. Their newfound lead was short-lived. 

A pair of singles opened the bottom of the fourth, and Zabala heard her name called from the bullpen. Sam Booe entered and immediately made her job more difficult by walking the first batter she saw on four pitches. Bases loaded, nobody out. Worst spot to be in for a defense. A strikeout improved the situation slightly, but a full-count single on the 12th (!!) pitch of the at bat erased the Louisville lead and gave them a deficit for the first time. A steal put runners on second and third with one out, and IU laid down a squeeze bunt. Squeezes don't really work in softball since the runner can't leave early. The result of the play, since Louisville didn't want to give up a run for an out, was a bunt single, and the bases were reloaded with one out. Another two-strike single, this time only on the ninth pitch, scored another run and a fly out to center worked as a sacrifice with IU's sixth run tagged and scored. A strikeout mercifully ended the inning, but Louisville trailed 6-3. They would not recover.

The Cards had one runner reach in each of the final three innings, but they did not earn another hit. The runners came on an HBP, a walk, and an error. The seventh inning saw IU pick up the dreaded four-out inning (with three strikeouts), as Lorenz reached on an error after her third strike was dropped. The middle of the order struck out behind her and that was that. IU had poured it on against Booe in the fifth with a single and a homer before Izzy Harrison relieved her. Louisville's defense got to flash in that inning, with a one-out fly ball resulting in a double play. Runners stood on first and second, and a ball high and deep to left gave IU the chance to tag and attempt to advance. Lorenz made the catch and fired to Alexander, though, and the runner was tagged out to end the inning. Harrison returned in the sixth and gave up a single and walk before Brooke Gray came on to close the game in a desperate situation for the Cards for the second week in a row. 

Overall, Louisville managed just three hits, five walks, and reached on an HBP and two errors. They struck out six times and stranded eight runners on base. Meanwhile, IU benefitted from no Cardinal errors, but they had eight hits and seven walks. They struck out just five times and they managed to score eight runs while leaving 10 on base. Yes...  it could have been worse. For the second midweek rivalry game in succession, Louisville pitching wasn't up to the task. All eight runs were earned and the Cards offense, while not spectacular, had put the team in a position to win twice. It is what it is. 

Louisville returns to conference play this weekend, but they remain on the road. The Cards will head to Chestnut Hill for a three-game set against Boston College starting tomorrow at 4. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case