SB Drops Game 1; LAX Senior Day -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Falls 5-2 at ND

In a game that wrapped up scoring early, Louisville was unable to keep their early lead against the Irish in the series opener. The Cards scored a pair in the first inning, but gave up five in the bottom of the second. Neither team crossed the plate for the remainder of the game. The two teams will be back in action today at 1PM.

Easton Lotus reached base from the second spot in the batting order before Bri Despines doubled her home. Camryn Lookadoo singled, and an error helped score Despines to give the Cards the 2-0 lead. Alyssa Zabala got the start for Louisville and had to walk a tightrope in the first inning. She gave up a walk and single to open, but managed to escape the inning without giving up a run. 

Louisville went 1-2-3 in the second, and ND was ready to pounce. Zabala got a fly out to open the inning, but ND would go on to pick up five hits and profit from two Louisville errors in the inning to score five runs. The Cards put a runner on base in the third, but couldn't bring her home. Zabala got two outs to open the inning, seemingly settling back in, but a four-pitch walk spelled the end of her day. Brooke Gray came in to relieve her. 

Gray was incredibly efficient. She pitched the remaining 3.1 innings (ND didn't bat in the bottom of the 7th) and gave up just three hits. She had one strikeout, and used just 38 pitches. Of those 38 (fewer than four per out), 27 were strikes. Gray gave the Cards a chance to get back into the game, but Brianne Weiss on the other side was too good. She threw 118 pitches in a complete game to ice the Cards. Louisville had just five hits and two walks in the game. Despines' double in the first was Louisville's only extra base hit. 

Lax Hosts Pitt for Senior Day

Louisville lacrosse has flagged a bit of late. They beat Cal to keep their ACC tournament hopes alive, then gutted out a 5-4 win over Vanderbilt, but a tough 10-12 loss to Virginia was followed by a 22-5 thumping at the hands of Stanford. The Cards will host Pittsburgh, ranked 25th in the country, today at noon for Senior Day. 

Ahead of today's game, Louisville will honor their seven seniors. Many are names with which we've become quite familiar. The others have given a lot to the program over the years, even if they haven't seen as much playing time. Honorees will be Rian Adkins, Aubrey Bagenstose, Karlie Harnischfeger, Sophie Macleod, Maggie McMahon, Erin Nicholson, and Cece Reilly.

After today's game, Louisville will wrap up the season on the road against Notre Dame on Thursday. With only eight teams making the ACC tournament, the Cards are just about officially out of contention. With two possible wins remaining, they'd need a pair of losses by Virginia to tie the Cavaliers, but they'd still lose the tiebreaker based on the head-to-head loss. A three-way tie between Louisville, UVA, and Pitt is possible, but I don't think Louisville comes out of that one favorably. Nevertheless, four wins would be a high-water mark for Scott Teeter in ACC play, and it would give the Cards an overall record above .500, so they'll still be motivated. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case