Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Cards will face Temple in AAC Softball Tourney today

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville swept Owls two weekends ago at Ulmer

- If you are not busy...

The AAC Softball Tournament gets underway in Houston this morning at 11 a.m. when third seeded Louisville (33-20) will face Temple (15-29) in the opener.




The Tournament seedings:

#1  UCF                     #5 Rutgers
#2  USF                     #6 Temple
#3  Louisville             #7 Memphis
#4  Houston               #8 Connecticut

Cincinnati and SMU do not field softball teams.


If the Cards take care of business, they'll get the winner of the USF vs. Memphis game on Friday at 5 p.m. The Tournament final is scheduled to take place Saturday at 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.

All of today and tomorrow's games will be shown at the American Digital Network.  It can be found at:

http://www.theamerican.org/DN


The Cards swept the home regular season finale against the Owls 14-6, 5-0 and 11-3 over April 26-27. They looked very impressive in doing so. Taner Fowler went 8-10 over the three games and the Cards got good pitching out of Caralisa Connell, Rachel Le Coq and Maryssa Becker. 

Louisville finished the remainder of the regular season 2-2...losing to UK but taking 2 out of 3 in Memphis on Derby weekend.


Some final regular season stats (Worldwide loves these!)

- Louisville batted .302 as a team. Leading the way was Katie Keller (go vote for her!) at .384. Five Cards batted over .300

- Kelsi Jones was the home run leader with 11. She also led the Cards in RBI's with 36. She also scored the most runs with 44. Rumors that the team is changing their nickname to the "Kelsi's" is unconfirmed.

We owe the University of Missouri a large "thank you" for letting her hone her skills there two years before transferring to "the Ville".

- Freshman pitcher Maryssa Becker went 12-7 on the season. Caralisa Connell finished 10-5. Rachel LeCoq was 11-8. Both are seniors.

The University of Louisville place five players on the American All-Conference Softball teams as announced at the league banquet Wednesday, May 7. Seniors Katie Keller and Taner Fowler earned first team honors while juniors Whitney Arion and Kayla Soles and freshman Maryssa Becker were named to the second team.

This award recognition is great for the five that got selected but it also provides indisputable evidence that the selection committee is dumber than a box of cereal. How do you leave Jones off the list?

One of the many reasons that make me sooooo very happy UofL is dropping an "A" and adding a "C" next season. ACC...we're on the way. AAC? Thanks for the invite...time to go now. Prosper in your mediocrity.

We'll have a full report on the action in the Friday edition of Cardinal Couple...plus a preview of The BIG EAST Lacrosse tournament. 

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Lacrosse is headed to Evanston. This from the UofL SID office:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville women's lacrosse team is inviting the public to a send-off for the program's first NCAA Tournament in school history on Thursday just outside the Yum! Center, adjacent to the UofL Lacrosse Stadium, on Floyd Street at 10:20 a.m. ET.  The Cardinals will face Ohio State in a first-round game on May 9 in Evanston, Ill., with the winner playing No. 5-seed Northwestern on May 11 on the Wildcats' home field. The Buckeyes earned one of the 13 at-large bids.  Louisville (15-3) secured the BIG EAST's automatic berth after beating Georgetown on Saturday for the first conference tournament title in school history. Winners of 11 straight, Louisville rolled its way also to the school's first regular-season crown

paulie
                 

Monday Cardinal Couple --- Softball completes the sweep...Cards 11 - Owls 3

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Cards improve to 12-6 in AAC with Temple win

- Vote for Katie!

The Louisville Softball team has found their bats and used them to bombard the Owls again Sunday. Spotting the Owls an early 3-0 advanage...Louisville proceeded to score the final 11 runs of the contest and sweeps the series on Senior Day at Ulmer Stadium.

The fans said an official goodbye to Taner Fowler, Hannah Kiyohara, Caralisa Connell, Katie Keller, Maggie Ruckenbrod and Rachel LeCoq yesterday (they actually will have one more home game Wednesday when they host UK) and then proceeded to say goodbye to several softballs and Owl pitchers.

After a three run homer in the top of the first put the Cards and Caralisa Connell behind, UofL wasted no time in putting some numbers on the left field scoreboard. The Cards got one back in the bottom of the first when Kelsi Jones doubled and scored on a Brittany Duncan sac fly.

The fourth inning proved to be fruitful for the Cards offense...five runs on five hits...and Louisville led 6-3.

Maryssa Becker went fence with Brittany Duncan onboard in the fifth to increase the lead to five at 8-3. By then, Caralisa had given away to Becker in the circle.

The Cards ended it in the sixth when Jones led off the inning with her team-best ninth home run of the season. Four singles from Jordan McNary, Kristina Dillard, Autumn McDuffie and Taner Fowler produced the final two runs to stop the game at 11-3.

Cats Wednesday. This one will cost you $5 to watch inside Ulmer, but free seating will be available on the outfield berm.

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Vote for Katie Keller! The senior and nine other softball players are in competition for college Player of the Year. You can vote once a day and Katie could use your help for the Senior Class Award title.

Link below:

VOTE FOR KATIE EVERY DAY!

( UNFORTUNATELY, YOU'LL NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THE LINK WHEN YOU GET OVER THERE . I VOTED OFF THE LINK ABOVE EARLIER AND IT WOULDN'T LET ME VOTE AGAIN WHEN I WENT BACK A FEW MINUTES LATER TO TEST IT)

Katie Keller

School

Louisville

Position

Second Base

Major

Communications

 

Classroom

Katie Keller currently carries a 3.118 overall GPA and has had solid performances in the classroom throughout her career. The communications major has been named to the Athletic Director’s honor roll (3.0 or higher for the semester)three times and was a member of the Dean’s List. Following her junior season, when she earned All-America honor on the field, she was also selected to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team.

Character

Katie Keller is a leader both on and off the field. As a freshman, she stepped into a starting role at second base and gained the respect of her teammates and coaches with her communication skills. Her work ethic has never been called into question. She is dedicated and determined to improve herself and her teammates. Over the years, she has grown into a leader off the field as well, giving encouragement to teammates. Katie is always able to lighten up a tense moment with her sense of humor, but knows when to be serious. She is an intense competitor and a great teammate. We are fortunate to have Katie as a member of our team.

Community

Katie Keller has dedicated community service hours to several organizations including: Dreams with Wings, the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk, the Humane Society, and the Hunger Walk. She has donated her time to help carve pumpkins with special needs children and assisted with a dance for people with disabilities who are residents of the Douglas Community Center in Louisville. Keller has also spent hours working with the Fit4Me program, in which UofL female athletes work with middle-school girls to improve their nutrition and fitness and encourage healthy habits,

Competition

Katie Kopeeller was recently named to the Top 50 Watch List for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She earned NFCA All-America second team honors in 2013 after registering a .402 batting average and 54 RBIs and belting out a team-best 12 home runs. She was also named to the All-Great Lakes Region and All-BIG EAST first teams as a junior. In 2013, Keller was one of the Top 25 Finalists for the 2013 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

The three-year starter and three-time All-BIG EAST selection became the first player in program history to sweep Louisville Slugger/NFCA and USA Softball National Player of the Week honors on March 5, 2013. She is also two-time All-Great Lakes Region selection. She has an innate knowledge of the game and performs well under pressure.

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Our latest broadcast on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is now available on the SoundCloud. Several of you have e-mailed me about not being able to find the archived broadcasts. I hope the link below helps:

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO 04-26-14

Let us know...

WE will be out of the studio Derby Day...and back live again on 5/10/14.

We have (5) different Lacrosse interviews to hear on the 4/26/14 broadcast...two with Coach Kellie Young, two with Faye Brust and one with Kay Morissette. 

paulie

Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Softball Cards fly past Owls 14-6 and 5-0

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Cards improve to 11-6 in AAC with sweep

-  Downs After Dark 


Softball the way we're used to it at Ulmer Saturday. Louisville unleashed the bats against the Owls and Carl
found her groove again in the sweep against Temple.

Cards 14 - Temple 6  (five innings)

Louisville put together 14 runs and 13 hits in the opener...three from Taner Fowler in the drubbing of Temple. After a scoreless first inning, Louisville went to work in the second frame...a two RBI single from Kelsi Jones and two run double by Fowler doing the major damage.

Maybe just as impressive...Brittany Duncan scoring from first on a Kayla Soles two RBI double. Make it 6-0 Cards after two. Call her "wheels"?

After Temple went fence on Rachel LeCoq in the third, Fowler returned the favor...pounding one over the left field fence and doing irreparable harm to the maple tree on the berm. Louisville added two more runs to make it 9-1 after three.

Temple countered with three runs off of LeCoq and Tierra Sanabria in the fourth to make it a five run Cardinal lead...but Louisville responded with four runs...on four singles to give Temple a 13-4 deficit to overcome. The Owls did score twice in the top of the fifth...forcing Louisville to bat in the bottom of the inning...but walks to Soles and Maryssa Becker and a double from Fowler ended the game.

LOUISVILLE 5 - TEMPLE 0

Good Carl is back.

The nightcap belonged to Caralisa Connell. 12 strikeouts and just two hits allowed gave the senior her eighth win of the year.  We got to see the pitcher that we knew from last year and 2012...mowing down batters like a weed-eater attacks clumps of grass.

And, in a rarity for the second game of a UofL double-header, the bats backed her up.

The Cards scored three in the second inning...singles from Soles, Fowler, Maggie Ruckenbrod and Hannah Kiyohara doing the damage and added two in the third inning. Becker's double off the centerfield fence drove in Whitney Arion and Keller to give Connell a five run lead to work with. 

Tomorrow is Senior Day and the Cards will honor Fowler, Keller, Kiyohara, LeCoq, Connell and Ruckenbrod. They've won 170 games as Cardinals, played in two conference title games and played in three NCAA Tournaments.

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I've posted the second of my articles about Derby Week over at paulsykes.com

This one isn't roses and champagne toasts. Yeah, I'm a little edgy about the $hur$hill Down$ gouging.

This piece probably won't endear me to John Asher or Darrin Rogers, the communciations brain-trust on Central Avenue.

The new projection screen, though...is totally awesome.

LINK:

DERBY TRIAL AND DOLLARS AFTER DARK

paulie

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Softball stumbles @ IU...Lacrosse today!

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Hoosier rock Softball Cards 8-3

- Lacrosse final home game today vs. Marquette



The University of Louisville softball team played their final non-conference game of the season at Bloomington, IN on Wednesday evening against the Indiana University Hoosiers and the results were less than desirable against the BIG 10 foe...Louisville falling 8-3 to IU.

A rocky start for the Cards...allowing three runs in the first inning...two more in the third and two in the fourth before plating three runs in the fifth to avoid the five inning, game ending rule.

Coach Pearsall used all four pitchers on the roster in the event but Caralisa Connell saw 0.1 innings of action before being replaced and the Hoosier batters teed off on Maryssa Becker, Rachel Le Coq and Tiarra Sanabria.

The Cards return home to host AAC foe Temple for three games this weekend...first pitch is Saturday @ noon.

The Cards need to take care of business to have any shot at contending for a conference title. Standings below:

                               Conference            Overall
     Team                   W   L   T   Pct       W   L   T   Pct
     UCF.................   9   3   0  .750      33  15   0  .688
     Houston.............  11   4   0  .733      28  15   0  .651
     Louisville..........   9   6   0  .600      28  17   0  .622
     USF.................   7   5   0  .583      33  13   0  .717
     Rutgers.............   5   7   0  .417      21  16   0  .568
     Temple..............   5   7   0  .417      15  20   0  .429
     Memphis.............   4  10   0  .286      20  26   0  .435
     UConn...............   3  11   0  .214      12  31   0  .279

Louisville also needs some losses by UCF, USF and Houston...plus a sweep of Memphis next weekend @ in Elvisville to be top-ranked for the AAC Conference tournament in Houston....which begins May 8th.

Maybe not the season we hoped for....Louisville pitching has been marginal at best despite two returning starters. A pleasant surprise from freshman Becker...but less than spectacular results in a conference that isn't all that strong.

If it wasn't for transfers Kelsi Jones and Brittany Duncan, one wonders if this team would actually be that close to the leaders in conference.

 Saturday’s games will honor the military and on Sunday, Louisville will honor seniors Caralisa Connell, Taner Fowler, Katie Keller, Hannah Kiyohara, Rachel LeCoq and Maggie Ruckenbrod.

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Lacrosse puts their undefeated conference record on the line today against Marquette at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium at 4 p.m.

This should not be a problem for the Cards. Marquette is in their second season of Lacrosse and they are mired at the bottom of the BIG EAST conference standings with Cincinnati.

One can expect the scoring juggernaut of Boltja, Brust, Daley and Morissette to provide plenty of chances for Al Greenert and the pep band to play the Louisville Fight Song.

Hats off to one of my favorite Lacrosse player to interview....Faye Brust...for the award below:

April 22, 2014
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Faye Brust, Louisville, Jr., A
Brust registered a pair of five-goal games last week, beginning with a crucial showing against Connecticut on Thursday before duplicating the performance against Rutgers on Saturday. After the Huskies started off with a 1-0 lead, Brust provided the game-tying score before adding the go-ahead tally two minutes later as the Cardinals never lost their lead from that point forward. The junior’s five goals against the Scarlet Knights came on five shots. She also picked up a pair of ground balls last week as the Cardinals remained undefeated (6-0) in BIG EAST play to clinch the top seed in the upcoming Championship.

All the way, Faye !!! (or 'Fabian'...as some of the other Lacrosse players instructed me to call her Saturday)


Come out and support your University of Louisville lacrosse team today as they try to run the BIG EAST table !!

Louisville	6-0	1.000	98	43		12-3	.800	226	125
Georgetown	5-1	.833	77	47		8-7	.533	176	154
Connecticut	4-2	.667	72	59		9-6	.600	166	149
Villanova	3-3	.500	57	68		8-7	.533	144	149
Temple	3-3	.500	63	63		6-9	.400	139	164
Rutgers	2-4	.333	65	71		8-8	.500	132	162
Marquette	1-5	.167	51	62		5-10	.333	129	171
Cincinnati	0-6	.000	30	100		6-10	.375	131	207

Friday Cardinal Couple --

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Shoni wins women's 3-point contest and Battle of the Champions

- AAC softball no walk in the park for Cards


SCHIMMEL MAGIC...SHONI BEATS THE GIRLS AND THE GUYS

Shoni Schimmel won the State Farm 3-point shooting contest Thursday night in Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus...defeating the seven women contestants in her bracket and then taking  on and beating the guys in the Battle of the Champions against the winner of the men's division.

All this just 48 hours after scoring 31 points in the NCAA Regionals.

The "Umatilla thriller" made it into the round of four with a first round score of 14. The total was tied for the lowest of the four qualifiers...Jordan Hooper (Nebraska) had 14 also...while Tricia Liston (Duke) had 19 points and Odyssey Sims (Baylor) scored 20 points.

Shoni started to heat up in round two. She was second best but advanced to the finals with 22 points. Tricia Liston recorded the best score in the semifinals with a 24.

In the championship round...Shoni matched her 22 from the previous round and Liston fell short with 16.

Brady Heslip (Baylor) was the foe in the the Battle of the Champions. He went first and recorded a 17. Would Shoni stay hot?

You bet!

Shoni hit her last eight shots in a row and finished with a winning score of 22 again.

Sho-time in Dallas...as Shoni adds two more Bears (Sims and Heslip) to her defeat list. Add the win over Griner last year in the NCAA...the UofL star has now eaten all Three Bears porridge and Louisville's finest showed the nationwide ESPN audience what Card fans have known for four years...

Thrrrreeee Shoni rhymes and the words go quite well together. About the only thing she didn't shoot in Dallas...was J.R. Ewing.

They should have let her participate in the dunk contest, too. OK...maybe on a 9-foot goal.

Louisville MBB Luke Hancock participated in the men's 3-point division but failed to advance out of the first round...ruining any chances of an All-Louisville Battle of the Champions.

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CARDINAL SOFTBALL OFF TO SLOW START IN AAC PLAY

The AAC has begun conference softball play...something we apologetically haven't been keeping the closest eye upon over the last couple of weeks. There was some hoops going on we were watching...

Eight teams are in the conference...Cincinnati and SMU not fielding the sport. As of March 30th...here are the standings


Houston       6-0        19-10
UCF                3-0        24-11
USF                3-0        29-8
UConn          2-3         7-20
Louisville    2-4         20-14
Rutgers        1-2         13-10
Memphis     0-5        13-20
Temple         0-3         7-14

Three of the losses Louisville has had in conference play came against Houston over the weekend on the Cougar campus. The Cougars are that good...a perennial powerhouse in previous conferences they've participated in.

Louisville heads to Tampa to take on the USF Bulls beginning on Saturday, April 5th. for three games. Saturday they'll play a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m. E.D.T.

The Cards Maryssa Becker was Pitcher of the Week last week in the AAC...she won two games against DePaul...pitching 12 innings of shutout ball. For the week, she struck out 18 batters.

The freshman has been a pleasant surprise in a surprising season for Cardinal softball. Other newcomers to the Cardinal roster that are providing big numbers are junior transfers Brittany Duncan  (AAC Honor Roll) and Kelsi Jones.

With a solid returning lineup and these three solid newcomers...plus a stellar incoming freshman class...we expected the UofL Softball team to be pretty much unbeatable. At times, though...returning pitchers Caralisa Connell and Rachel LeCoq have faltered and the Cardinal bats fall strangely silent...especially in the second game of double-headers.

Don't get me wrong...20-14 is better that 14-20... but I didn't see the Cards in double figures in the loss column as conference play began...quie honestly.

Wednesday's shutout loss to UK is a head-scratcher as well. Is all going smoothly at Ulmer? Has the loss of graduated Alicia Wolny and Jen Esteban really set Louisville back that much? Are Connell and LeCoq still on the mend from injuries that beset them at the end of last season?

Time will tell. Plenty of conference games to go. It's strange not to see Pearsall's club in the top 25, though...and one has to wonder if Becker has become the ace on the pitching staff as a freshman. Still time to put a few win steaks together for the pitch-and-hit crew, though... and with warmer weather ahead...let's hope April brings many Cardinal wins and few showers.

paulie
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Friday Cardinal Couple --Altered schedule for Softball

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Changes in the Cards softball visit to Jacksonville

-  Tell your statistics to shut up: UofL softball stats  

-  Shoni picks up another honor


Louisville softball is making their way to Jacksonville, FL for the Jacksonville University Tournament. In case you haven't heard...the southeast got slammed by an ice and snow storm that has caused travel nightmares and mucho inclement weather.

Louisville was scheduled to face the Missouri Tigers to open up today. UM has backed out of the event because of the slip-sliding away conditions. (Jacksonville itself is fine...with weather in the mid-fifties and temperatures rising). Getting there is the issue facing Louisville, Notre Dame and North Carolina...other participants in the three-day event besides the Dolphins.

So, here's the update (as of 7 p.m. Thursday night)

Louisville will play their first game Friday at 4 p.m. against Jacksonville. The Cards take on Notre Dame at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and North Carolina at noon. UofL will play Notre Dame again Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Dogsleds and parkas optional.

It's a good early season test for Pearsall's pulverizers. The #23 Cards are seeing two future ACC opponents and Jacksonville is no slouch...going 3-2 in the FIU Tournament last weekend with a win over DePaul and two wins against Maryland.

The Dolphins have a force in pitcher Victoria Brown, who went 2-0 in Miami and belted three home runs. She had six RBI's and her ERA was 0.00 with ten strike outs in 14 innings.

The Cards are 2-0 lifetime against JU. They knocked the Dolphins out of the water last year in this tournament 9-0.


We'll do a preview of UNC and Notre Dame in Saturday's CC.

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Hard-hitting Katie Keller has been named to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. The senior second baseman has also been selected to the preseason All-AAC squad. So far this season, KK is batting .333 in five games...fourth best on the Cards squad.

Keller has six hits in 18 at bats...two of them doubles...and has scored four runs and driven in two. She's started all five games.

Newcomers are at the top of the UofL hitting stats. Missouri transfer Kelsi Jones is 7-16 (.438) with two home runs and has scored seven times. Freshman Jordan McNary follows at .400 and Valpo transfer Brittany Duncan gets show money at .364.

Hitting hasn't been much of a problem for UofL. Getting around the bases has...so far. Louisville is batting .252, which is about average...but has only managed to score 19 runs on 34 hits and 20 walks. That's still seven runs better than the opposition...but slightly less that four runs per game.

Three pitchers have thrown out of the circle so far. Caralisa Connell sports an impressive 0.93 ERA, Rachel LeCoq with a 2.84 earned run average and freshman Marissa Becker checking in with 3.15. The hurlers do have 35 strikeouts combined...Cardinal batters have walked back to the dugout on K's 21 times.

Good luck Cards in J'Ville and show the ACC what's on tap for them!

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Awards and noninations for Shoni Schimmel seem to be as commonplace as varieties of green beans in the canned goods aisle of the grocery store....but the Umatilla Thrilla has picked up another one. Here's the release on the latest:

Senior guard Shoni Schimmel was named one of the Top 30 midseason candidates for the Women's Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T. Schimmel joins four UConn players, giving the American Athletic Conference five players on the list. Schimmel was also named to the Wooden Midseason list in January.

The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T is awarded annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year. The voting academy bases its criteria on player performance throughout the season. The Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors narrowed the 50 pre-season watch list down to a midseason team comprised of 30 candidates. From there, four finalists will be selected to the final ballot in March. The Naismith Award winner will be announced on April 7, 2014.

Schimmel was named to the preseason list after being a key player in the Cardinals' success last season. She was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Oklahoma City Regional. She also earned WBCA All-Region honors and first team All-BIG EAST honors.

This season Schimmel is leading the Cardinals in scoring with 17.7 points per game. She also leads the Cardinals in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 38.8 percent. She ranks fourth in the conference in scoring. She leads the conference and ranks second in the nation in three-point field goals made with 3.5 per game. She currently ranks second on Louisville's all-time scoring list with 1,971 points.

Needless to say, we approve of this message and have just one more request for #23...help get this group of Birds a National Championship trophy that Coach Walz can sit in his office next to his jar of Geno's spaghetti sauce.   

paulie
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Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Softball ranked 19th in USA Today Preseason poll

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Cards, USF only AAC teams in top 25


The USA Today/Coaches poll was released a couple of days ago and the University of Louisville softball team has been ranked 19th. The poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches...one from each conference.

Louisville finished the 2013 season with a 47-13 record and went to the NCAA Tournament for the tenth season in a row. The Cards were a #18 preseason selection last year and were ranked as high as eighth in the regular season.

Louisville also hosted regional action in the tournament last year but was sent to the sidelines by UCLA in a game most Cardinal softball fans would like to forget...the Bruins putting a 19-2 pasting on UofL. The Cards went 18-4 in their final season in the BIG EAST Conference but got eliminated in the conference tournament by USF.

USF is the only other AAC team in the preseason top 25...sneaking in at 25th. They are a dangerous bunch and talented pitcher Sara Nevins returns for them.

As for Sandy Pearsall's sluggers...plenty of talent returns for the 2014 season. All BIG EAST team members Whitney Arion, Caralisa Connell, Hannah Kiyohara, Caralisa Connell, Rachel Le Coq and Maggie Ruckenbrod will suit up and take the field. 2012 All-American Taner Fowler is back also.

Oh, yeah...some kid named Keller is returning. It's said she can hit a bit. She was also on the 2013 All-American team.

Louisville adds 10 newcomers to the lineup and the pitching staff that fell apart at the seams because of injuries at the end of the 2013 season gets Connell and LeCoq back and is bolstered by the arrival of two highly heralded freshmen flamethrowers.

One other team from Kentucky was selected in the top 25...that school located in Lexington. They check in at 12th.

UK will be on the Cards schedule again this season twice and Sandy's squad will also face in-state schools EKU, WKU, and NKU. The Cards will also go up against preseason ranked #5 Michigan and get a rematch against #16 UCLA.

The Top Ten in the poll?

1) Tennessee              6) Alabama
2) Oklahoma               7) Arizona State
3) Washington             8) Oregon
4) Florida                    9) Nebraska
5) Michigan                 10) Texas

The Cards get it started on Feb. 7th. in Boca Raton, FL. at the FAU Kickoff. UofL's first home game will be in the Cardinal Classic against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 21st.

Louisville will play 56 regular season games before American Athletic Conference Tournament action starts on May 8th. in Houston, TX.

Softball in Louisville in late Feburary...

With the current arctic blast encompassing Louisville today on Jan 23rd...it sounds foreboding. We all know how weather can be around this region, though, in late Feb.-early March. T-shirts and shorts one week and parka and gloves the next.

UofL staff underlings duck and cover as Paulie takes a
photo of Coach Sandy Pearsall and Sonja

With the returning crew and a cast of talented newcomers, it looks like Pearsall has plentiful and powerful players to punish the patsies in AAC play. USF will be a threat. Houston got a couple of "others receiving votes".

As we've said in several sports this year...we're not looking to buy, we're just renting for a year before moving into the mansion...when it comes to the AAC. It is interesting to note...however...that only (1) ACC school got top-25 recognition. Florida State landed 15th. in the poll.

Ulmer Stadium is undergoing a facelift/renovation and the press box is being enlarged. That's good...means I won't have to sit on milk crates or in the utility closet this year.

Maybe...

Chalk up the baselines, warm "Marge-Peg's" arm up and stock up on the Texas Roadhouse peanuts. The annual ding of the bat and bombardment of the grassy knoll at Arthur and Brandeis streets is less than a month away.

paulie
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Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Soccer hits the road...Softball releases schedule

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Temple awaits Kickin' Cards

-Softball releases schedule


The Owls.

Again.

Seems like Louisville athletic squads have been in  battles with the Philadelphia school a lot lately. Karen Ferguson-Dayes' soccer team gets their turn in the birdbath today with a 3:00 p.m. start against Temple in Philadelphia.

It'll be the first match in history between the two in soccer.

Temple comes into the contest with a 6-7-1 record and 1-4 in the AAC. They fell the last time out to UConn 3-1...a team Louisville will face in Storrs, CT on Sunday.

The Cards, who at times this year have been scoring-challenged, will face the AAC leader in shutouts in sophomore goalie Shauni Kerkoff...who has seven "no soup for you" efforts on the season. Against UConn, she an amazing night with 15 saves.

UofL, who is 9-4-1 overall and 5-1 in the AAC, fell 1-0 to UCF on Sunday. It was the first time the Cards had been blanked since Labor Day weekend. Another goalie of note, Louisville's Paige Brown, had eight saves against the UCF Knights.

This one could very well be decided a lone score. The question is...which team will kick it?


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The 2014 Cardinal softball schedule has been released and it looks to be a challenging one for Sandy Pearsall's sluggers


12 participants from the 2013 NCAA tournament are on the docket. #8 Michigan, #11 Missouri, #14 Kentucky and #21 UCLA will all do battle with the BatCards.

Things get underway Feb 7-9 in Boca Raton, FL. Louisville plays in the FAU Kickoff Classic and will get their swings in against Ohio St., St. John's, Northern Illinois and host FAU.

The Cards will head to Jacksonville the following weekend for another four games...facing Missouri, Notre Dame, UNC and host Jacksonville.

The home opener will take place Feb. 21st. when the Cards
host the Cardinal Classic. EKU, IUPUI and Central Michigan lace them up in Ulmer to challenge Fowler and company.

A trip to California ends Feb. and ushers in March where the Cards will participate in Cal State-Fullerton's Mayfair Tournament. UCLA, Oregon State, Northwestern, UC-Santa Barbara and host Cal State Fullerton will also swing for the fences in this one.

Louisville returns home for 10 straight games beginning March 7th. after the west coast jaunt...the Red and Black Classic brings UMass, Ohio U., Illinois State, and THE OHIO STATE University. The following weekend...The Louisville Classic will pit the Cards against Michigan and Wisconsin.

Louisville will travel to Bowling Green for a March 19 battle with the WKU Hilltoppers and then start AAC play three days later when Rutgers visits. Former BIG EAST for DePaul comes to town on the 26th. Louisville hits the road to strike out Houston and USF the next two weekends.

Louisville battles UK in Lexington this year.
The game goes down on April 2nd. Louisville will get a return match in Ulmer on April 30th.

Other foes include UConn @ Ulmer, at UCF, Temple @ Ulmer and a trip to Memphis winds up the regular season May 3rd-4th.

The AAC Championship Tournament is at Houston and will take place May 8-11.

We'll have all the action and results here at CC. Hard to believe the season starts in less than four months!

 

Season2013-20142012-20132011-20122010-20112009-20102008-20092007-20082006-20072005-20062004-20052003-20042002-20032001-20022000-20011999-2000 2013-2014 SCHEDULE Overall 0-0 Conf. 0-0 Home 0-0 Away 0-0 Neutral 0-0 Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result FAU "KICK-OFF" Classic 02/07/14 vs. Northern Illinois Boca Raton, Fla. 4:00 p.m. ET vs. Florida Atlantic Boca Raton, Fla. 8:00 p.m. ET 02/08/14 vs. Ohio State Boca Raton, Fla. 1:00 p.m. ET vs. Tulsa Boca Raton, Fla. 4:00 p.m. ET 02/09/14 vs. St. John's Boca Raton, Fla. 9:00 p.m. ET Jacksonville Softball Tournament 02/14/14 vs. Missouri Jacksonville, Fla. 12:45 p.m. ET vs. Jacksonville Jacksonville, Fla. 3:00 p.m. ET 02/15/14 vs. Notre Dame Jacksonville, Fla. 9:30 a.m. ET vs. North Carolina Jacksonville, Fla. 11:45 a.m. ET 02/16/14 vs. North Carolina Jacksonville, Fla. 9:00 a.m. ET Cardinal Classic 02/21/14 vs. Northern Kentucky ULMER STADIUM 2:00 p.m. ET vs. Eastern Kentucky ULMER STADIUM 4:00 p.m. ET 02/22/14 vs. IUPUI ULMER STADIUM 2:00 p.m. ET vs. Central Michigan ULMER STADIUM 4:00 p.m. ET 02/23/14 vs. IUPUI ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET MAYFAIR Tournament 02/28/14 vs. Northwestern Fullerton, Cal. 4:30 p.m. ET vs. Cal State Fullerton Fullerton, Cal. 7:00 p.m. ET 03/01/14 vs. UC Santa Barbara Fullerton, Cal. 12:00 p.m. ET vs. UCLA Fullerton, Cal. 5:00 p.m. ET 03/02/14 vs. Oregon State Fullerton, Cal. 2:15 p.m. ET Red and Black Classic 03/07/14 vs. UMass-Boston ULMER STADIUM 2:00 p.m. ET 03/08/14 vs. Ohio ULMER STADIUM 2:00 p.m. ET vs. Illinois State ULMER STADIUM 4:00 p.m. ET 03/09/14 vs. Ohio State ULMER STADIUM 2:00 p.m. ET vs. Ohio ULMER STADIUM 4:00 p.m. ET Louisville Classic 03/14/14 vs. Kent State ULMER STADIUM 4:30 p.m. ET 03/15/14 vs. Michigan ULMER STADIUM 4:00 p.m. ET 03/16/14 vs. Michigan ULMER STADIUM 2:00 p.m. ET 03/17/14 vs. Wisconsin ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET vs. Wisconsin ULMER STADIUM 2:00 p.m. ET 03/19/14 at Western Kentucky Bowling Green, Ky. TBA 03/22/14 vs. Rutgers # ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET 03/23/14 vs. Rutgers # ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET 03/26/14 at DePaul Chicago, Ill. 2:00 p.m. ET at DePaul Chicago, Ill. 4:30 p.m. ET 03/29/14 at Houston # Houston, Texas 12:00 p.m. ET at Houston # Houston, Texas 2:30 p.m. ET 03/30/14 at Houston # Houston, Texas 12:00 p.m. ET 04/02/14 at Kentucky Lexington, Ky. 6:00 p.m. ET 04/05/14 at USF # Tampa, Fla. 12:00 p.m. ET at USF # Tampa, Fla. 2:30 p.m. ET 04/06/14 at USF # Tampa, Fla. 12:00 p.m. ET 04/12/14 vs. Connecticut # ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET vs. Connecticut # ULMER STADIUM 2:30 p.m. ET 04/13/14 vs. Connecticut # ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET 04/18/14 at UCF # Orlando, Fla. 12:00 p.m. ET at UCF # Orlando, Fla. 2:30 p.m. ET 04/19/14 at UCF # Orlando, Fla. 12:00 p.m. ET 04/23/14 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. TBA 04/26/14 vs. Temple # ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET vs. Temple # ULMER STADIUM 2:30 p.m. ET 04/27/14 vs. Temple # ULMER STADIUM 12:00 p.m. ET 04/30/14 vs. Kentucky # ULMER STADIUM 6:00 p.m. ET 05/03/14 at Memphis # Memphis, Tenn. 2:00 p.m. ET at Memphis # Memphis, Tenn. 4:00 p.m. ET 05/04/14 at Memphis # Memphis, Tenn. 1:00 p.m. ET

-Paulie

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