Softball Looms -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Freshmen Honored in Preseason

Believe it or not, we are less than a month away from the start of softball season. The weather may have played tricks on us last week, but as is typical, Louisville will start on the road for the first three weeks of the season before opening the home slate on February 24th. Coach Holly Aprile is starting her 8th season at the helm of the Louisville Cardinals, and she'll look to have this team back on track after a slight dip followed their 2023 NCAA tournament appearance. Louisville followed up the 2023 season by missing the ACC tournament in 2024 and went one-and-done last season. The Cards showed promise at times in each season, so we'll look for improvement this year. 

Part of that improvement could come from a couple of the newcomers on this year's squad. Softball America certainly thinks it's a possibility, anyway. Two freshmen, Jayden Gohs and Addyson (Addy) O'Dell, have been added to the SA Freshman Watch List. 

Jayden Gohs (l) and Addy O'Dell (r)
image courtesy of gocards.com

Jayden Gohs is a right handed pitcher, who will try to step into the third spot in the rotation that Louisville has been looking for over the last couple of years. She'll be in the pitchers room alongside senior Alyssa Zabala and junior Brooke Gray, along with junior Madi Reeves and sophomores Anna Wise and Ryann Sanders. Gohs will also work to fill a position left open by Taylor Roby, as she was one of the top two-way players in the country. Her junior season saw her throw 339 strikeouts with a .454 ERA while she hit .528 at the plate and knocked in 66 RBIs and 18 home runs. The freshman from Goodrich, Michigan was a two-time all-state selection and an NFCA High School All-American. 

Addy O'Dell is on the roster as an INF/C so we will see how Aprile chooses to deploy her. O'Dell hails from Newton, Illinois, where she was a three-time all-state selection. O'Dell has elite speed, which is probably why Aprile elected to pursue her, as she'll look to keep Louisville as one of the top base-stealing teams in the country. As a freshman, O'Dell stole 37 bases. She followed it up in her sophomore year by setting a school record 39 steals. That record came while not being thrown out a single time. O'Dell, who has been recognized by Extra Innings as one of the Top 50 Softball players since playing the 12U league, showed her chops as an all-around athlete by also lettering in basketball and being a three-time state qualifier in track and field. 

When Louisville announced a freshman signing class of just two last year, Holly Aprile called the class "small but mighty." Both players in that class being named by Softball America to the Freshman Watch List backs up that claim. 

Louisville opens the season on February 6th at the Felsburg Invitation hosted by Florida International University in Miami. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case