Softball Falls in Walk-Off -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Drop Heartbreaker 3-2

Louisville softball saw their season come to a sudden and somewhat surprising end yesterday when they were walked off by Virginia in the seventh inning of a tightly contested ballgame. The Cards took an early lead and added insurance late before ceding the tying runs in the sixth and the walk-off winner in the seventh. The loss knocked Louisville out of the ACC tournament, and they would need an absolute miracle to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at 26-25. 

Louisville got the game off to an auspicious start, which may have been an omen for how the rest of the game would go. Easton Lotus sent a ball to left field to lead off and the Virginia left fielder was charged with a fielding error. Rather than have the leadoff runner on first base and nobody out, though, Lotus was thrown out at second trying to extend the advantage on the error. The Cards have been aggressive on the base paths all season, and it is frequently beneficial. Not this time. Hindsight is 20/20, but considering the fact that Louisville would strand two runners on base in the inning after Bri Despines and Maddi Grant each singled, it would have been nice to have Lotus's speed on first to start things off. 

Alyssa Zabala took the circle in the must win game and turned in a very quality start. She turned in three quick outs in the bottom of the first with a fly out, a foul out, and a groundout to bring the Cards back up to the plate. Unfortunately, Louisville's early success in getting the bat on the ball dried up slightly in the second, as a pair of strikeouts preceded a groundout and the Cards went down 1-2-3. UVA came to the plate with their second opportunity and earned their first hit when the second batter of the inning dropped a single into right center. After a groundout back to Zabala opened the inning, the runner on first with one out wasn't terribly threatening as Zabala forced back-to-back foul outs to first base to end the inning. 

Virginia turned to the bullpen early, making a change in the top of the third inning with the 9-hole hitter at the plate for the Cards. Chelsea Mack welcomed the new pitcher in maybe the worst way possible. Obviously a towering home run would be a rough outcome against your first batter, but how about a Little League home run instead? Mack bunted down the third base line and was very nearly thrown out at first. The closeness of the throw, though, worked in Mack's favor, as the first baseman couldn't make the catch as the two had a minor collision. Mack stayed on her feet as the ball sailed past first, and she took off for second. With the first baseman and right fielder both chasing the ball around in the foul area in short right field, Mack was waved all the way around to score and crossed the plate standing up. Louisville would put two more runners on base with Char Lorenz taking a hit by pitch and Despines singling for the second time in as many at bats. A strikeout and a fly out stranded another pair, though, and Louisville came back out on defense with a 1-0 lead. That's four stranded, two in scoring position, in three innings. Surely that won't haunt later...

Zabala responded to the Cards taking the lead by forcing another quick three-up, three-down inning before Louisville answered UVA in kind. Madison Pickens took a hit by pitch to open the fourth, but the next three batters went down in order. Louisville likes to play small ball and practices it a lot, so the first out of the fourth inning being a pop out to the pitcher on a sacrifice bunt attempt is definitely painful. Zabala came out in the bottom half, though, and put in another solid inning. UVA started to get the bat on the ball a bit more in the inning, with two fly outs opening the inning before a double. With two outs, Zabala stayed calm and forced a ground ball, which led to another one of those ominous moments. The ground ball went to short, but rather than throw to first for the force out with two away, the ball went to third to get out the lead runner. An odd choice, to be sure, since it wasn't a force at third. Louisville found themselves dealing with a pickle situation, which they ultimately completed by getting the out, but it was a strange choice given the options available. Louisville still led 1-0, but the defense was beginning to look skittish. 

The top of the fifth saw the top of the order step up again, but for the third time, they didn't do much. Lorenz, the recently named second-team All-ACC player, dropped a one-out single into left field, but she became the sixth Louisville runner to be stranded after a strikeout and a groundout ended the side. Virginia got their best chance to date with a single to open the fifth followed by a hard liner to left center. Lorenz was on hand to make the catch in left, holding the runner at first base. UVA batters thought they saw their opening to get more contact against Zabala, which ended up working out in her favor. The next two batters struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Camryn Lookadoo opened the sixth inning with a single and Pickens bunted her over to second with a sacrifice. Like I said, Louisville likes small ball. Lookadoo advanced to third on a productive groundout and Katie Thatcher stepped in to pinch hit for Taylor Monroe. The pinch hit call was a successful one, as Thatcher sent a ball between first and second to bring Lookadoo home to score. Monroe replaced Thatcher on the base paths, and Mack laid down another successful bunt single to put runners on first and second. In a game Easton Lotus might like to forget, she lined out to continue an 0-4 day and end the top half of the inning. Louisville extended their lead to 2-0, but stranded their 7th and 8th runners on base and their third in scoring position. 

Zabala returned for the bottom of the sixth and got a flyout to open the side. A single followed before a grounder to third turned into a bit of a mess. The groundball was too slow to third to think about a double-play, but Ally Alexander still tried to get the lead runner. Her throw was a bit errant, though, and the fielder's choice attempt was charged an error to Alexander with both runners safe. No big deal, said Zabala, as she forced a liner to left field and both runners were forced to hold. Another grounder, though, led to another misplayed fielder's choice. No error was charged this time, but the result was the same. Louisville failed to get the out (this one would have been the final out of the inning) and instead the bases were loaded. The defensive miscues came home to roost on the next batter, when a single into left scored an unearned run (remember the runner on third was only still on base because of an error). That wasn't all, though, as Lorenz booted the ball in left, earning herself an error and giving Zabala a second unearned run. With the go-ahead run at third, Zabala forced a ground out to end the inning.

Louisville entered the seventh facing a new ballgame. There was no time to dwell on having squandered a hard-earned two-run lead. It was now time to put up or shut up, as the season was on the line. With Lorenz due up to open the inning, Louisville couldn't ask for much more in the way of a chance to retake the lead. Unfortunately, Lorenz and Despines went down quickly. Maddi Grant doubled to right center and Riley Janda replaced her on the base paths. Janda's speed came in handy when she advanced to third on a wild pitch, but she was stranded there (9, 4 in scoring position) to end the inning. 

Zabala returned for the seventh, and many at home may question the decision given the outcome. Zabala had plenty of gas in the tank, as she has shown her ability to pitch extended outings, but Virginia seemed to have dialed in on her. A single to left opened the inning, but a fielder's choice made it one on with one out. Zabala yielded her first walk of the game at an inopportune time, putting runners on first and second with just the one out. That set up a difficult position for the defense, as Virginia just needed to move the runner 120 feet to win. They did it all in one go, as a double to left center brought the run in to score. Cards lose 3-2. 

Louisville was facing a top-25 team for the umpteenth time this season, and they had them right where they wanted them... until they didn't. Yesterday's game was a bit of a microcosm of the season at large, with things going well at times but head-scratchingly overall. In the end, it was a Louisville defense that has not been nearly as sharp as in recent seasons that came unglued. Pitching was good but not quite nails, and a questionable management decision may have cost the Cards an opportunity to win. At the end of the day, though, you'd like to see a team that is six outs away from continuing their season be able to convert a 2-0 lead into a win. 

Zabala was pretty good in this one, despite potentially being left in the circle an inning too long. She finished with 6.1 innings pitched, giving up seven hits, three runs (one earned), one walk, and she struck out two. If she had been replaced after six innings, her line goes to five hits, two runs (none earned) and no walks. You'd like to think a start like that would lead to a win, but so it goes. I'm certain Zabala was confident in going back out for the seventh, and I think if she twirls another solid inning then no one is talking about it. But, to me, you have to enter the bottom of the seventh as if it's a new ball game. Without the lead, you're guaranteed to need at least six more outs. Was the plan to leave Zabala in for the eighth, as well, or would we have seen a cold pitcher trying to protect a lead if Louisville could take it? 

It's a decision that can be argued for the entire offseason, since Louisville played their way straight into an early end to the year. Officially, it isn't over yet. The Cards will head home and await the decision of the selection committee to determine if they'll sneak into the tournament. Given that they started the ACC tournament not even on the bubble, though, I'd say the team won't be holding their collective breath. There were plenty of bright spots, so we'll see if Holly Aprile can keep the core of this team together to build on for next season. 

Until next time, Go Cards

Case