International Softball, USA U 19 with the win and The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

International Softball

As I was travelling to and in Canada for the latter half of the week, I'm in a bit of an International mood.

And so it is that we're going to explore the summer of a former Cardinal in international competition.

Alicja Wolny, a standout first baseman at UofL has been competing this summer with the Great Britain National Softball Team.  Wolny competed with the Cardinals from 2010 through 2013, and since graduation has maintained her skills and athletic conditioning.  She was also one of the principals of 502 Softball Academy in partnership with Katelyn Mann.

Wolny put some extra effort to get into peak form earlier this year to take one more trip around the basepaths with the British National Team.  While she came to Louisville from California, she does hold a British passport.

The British Team, with Wolny, has had something of a whirlwind, Cinderella story, of a summer.  Not known on the International stage for high level softball competition, Britain put together a good team and started down the path to Olympic Qualifications by entering into the European Women's Championships earlier this summer.  The 3rd place finish at that competition qualified them to enter the Europe-Africa Olympic Qualifier event.

In the qualifying event, the Brits went undefeated through group play against Spain, South Africa ,and a quite good Netherlands team.  Advancing to the Super Rounds, they met the Czech Republic, the team they beat in the 3rd/4th place game at the European Championships.  With a 4-2 win over Czechia, they advanced to meet Italy in the final game.  This game was for the Olympic marbles, a win here, and GB goes to Tokyo for the Olympic games.

Alas, it wasn't to be, Italy took the win 5-0, and along with it, the Olympic qualification berth.

Wolny is officially hanging up her cleats and presumably returning to Louisville.  Will we find her in the dugout at Ulmer Stadium on the Cardinals coaching staff?  There are no current vacancies, there, but I would be glad to see it happen someday in the future.

It has to be a wonderful feeling to compete on such a high level in a sport, and Wolny and the rest of the GB team has every reason to be proud of the run they made representing a country that traditionally has not been a softball powerhouse.  They upset a few international powers along the way, and fell ever so short of their goal of qualifying for Tokyo 2020, there's nothing to be ashamed of, there.

I like to keep up with the ongoing exploits of former players at UofL, and I'm amazed at how often I find myself feeling some amount of pride at how they represent in the wider world.  I acknowledge that I haven't really done anything individually to share in any of the glory except to sit on the sidelines as a cheerleader, but I am glad to see these young men and women step out into the world and be great people, and yes frequently great athletes as well, but first and foremost great people.

They represent their hometowns (El Dorado Hills, California, in the case of Wolny), the various schools from different stages of their life, and even their adopted hometowns (as Wolny has seemingly adopted Louisville as home, now) in addition to their country.  We're all better off for having the presence of people like Alicja Wolny in our communities.

I look forward to seeing "The Big Wol" around Ulmer this spring, cheering on her Cardinals, some of which she has mentored, coached, and served as a role model.

Thank you, Alicja Wolny for a wonderful career in softball, and thanks to you, and all of the Cardinal sports alumni, for making the world a bit better place through your efforts.

USA gets the win

The USA FIBA U 19 USA women's basketball team, coached by Louisville head WBB coach Jeff
Walz,  took the gold early this morning in Bangkok, Thailand with a overtime, 74-70 win over Australia. A tight contest throughout all four quarters and the extra session.

The Australians led 23-22 after one quarter ans still held that lead, at 40-39 at the half. The "Land Down Under" women were shooting a sizzling 57% in the first half and used threes in the final minutes of each of the first two quarters to gain those leads. Aliyah Boston and Paige Bueckers were the key components keeping USA in the game.

USA fought back to a tie to end the third at 53-53 but the Americans looked to be in trouble when Australia forged ahead to a 64-59 lead with 2:39 to play. USA got a huge three from Hailey Van Lith, though, to get within two and Van Lith's jumper tied it a 66-66 with 12 seconds to play in regulation.

USA took the lead for good at 72-70 with 2:40 left in the extra session  on another Van Lith jumper. Rhyne Howard and Fran Belibi added baskets to give Walz's club a 74-70 lead late and that's how it ended.

Bueckers, who is headed to UConn,  was named the tournament's MVP. She and Howard (Kentucky) were named to the All Star Five team.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

I wasn't able to be in studio this week, but there was a full house there, with Paulie parlaying with Jared, Daryl and Case. Colin Trask came in to handle engineering duties, and let Case shadow him on the board side of the desk.  I was able to listen in, thanks to the wonders of the modern Internet, even as I was driving across southern Ontario.

The discussion included topics around Softball, Soccer, and plenty more. A CARDINAL COUPLE thanks to Colin Trask for admirably handling and teaching Case the board operations. 

The Cardinal Couple Summertime Quiz was on the topic of Jeffrey Jacob Walz, I was able to best the score of the in-studio folk, but was in turn bested by my mother who was in the car with me.

EDITOR NOTE: We'd need to see an official, authorized and notarized scorecard on the above claim here at the Cardinal Couple Worldwide Corporate Headquarters before we'll acknowledge the win. 

The Cardinal Couple Radio is on weekly on Saturday at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM here in Louisville, KY area. It can also be viewed on Facebook Live, accessed at the stations website  www.wchqfm.com and you can download the WCHQ app there, so you can take the station with you wherever you go.

You can check out yesterday's fun and see how you do on the quiz via the Facebook Live link, at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/746822729105560/

-- 

JMcA

Jared's Weekly Edition of the history of UofL women's sports -- USA U 19 over Canada 81-46 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SOFTBALL -- A HISTORY OF -- by JARED ANDERSON

Louisville Softball was founded in 2000 as part of a mass addition of sports programs shortly after Tom Jurich took over as athletic director in 1997. They prepare to enter their 20th season this upcoming school year.

Sandy Pearsall had been a head coach at Miami (OH) for the previous six seasons and was brought in to build the program from the ground up. And she did just that. Pearsall built a strong program that saw plenty of time nationally ranked and commonly appeared in NCAA Tournaments. The Cards won several championships during her reign and spent time in the Big East, AAC, and ACC. Pearsall recently retired following the end of the 2018 season. She finished her time at UofL with 718 wins.

Holly Aprile came in from Pittsburgh for the start of the 2018 season. She is only the second head coach for the softball team. During her first year as head coach the Cards upset rival Kentucky and took down Florida State twice in a three-game series. She prepares for her second season as head coach.

Softball has had one home in it’s entire history. Ulmer Stadium is part of Cardinal Park and was constructed solely for softball. When the Cards played their first home game it was the first UofL event at any part of Cardinal Park. The stadium has a capacity of approximately 2500 people and has been the host site for conference and NCAA Tournament games. Ulmer Stadium has also played host to high school softball events as well.

There have been seven All-American selection at UofL. Alicja Wolny and Katie Keller are the most recent with their selections in 2013. Wolny is a favorite to make the Great Britain Olympic team.

Louisville’s first win was a 1-0 victory against Western Illinois in their second ever game. They got wrecked 10-2 by Alabama in their very first game but finished the year with a winning record. 2002 and 2003 would end up being the only losing seasons in program history. The 55-5 record in 2012 has been the best season to date.

The Cards return a solid lineup for the 2020 season, despite graduation of "do-it-all" star Megan Hensley and Sidney Melton at "the hot corner". They return the NCAA leader in triples last season -- Celene Funke -- and eight starters. The pitching staff loses just Hensley and the incoming freshmen and transfers will create a  spirited competition to gain playing time. 

Even in their short history the Cards have faced a great deal of opponents. Their 27 wins against USF is the most against an individual opponent while their 25 losses against DePaul is the most losses. Their head-to-head record with rival Kentucky is even.

You can catch Paulie and Worldwide in the press box, often accompanied by Cardinal Couple friend Daryl Foust. You can find myself somewhere near the field taking pictures or cheering in the stands. Admission is usually free to softball games....the UK matchup  and NCAA Regional play would be exceptions to that. 

USA 81 - CANADA 46

Jeff Walz has always placed great emphasis on the squads he has coached playing solid defense. He got that early this morning when his FIBA USA U 19 squad crushed Canada 81-46 to advance to the semifinals in World Cup action.

USA held the Canadians to 16 first-half points.

"We did exactly what we have to do in order to win" Walz commented after the win.

After falling behind early 4-2, Walz's squad took control of the action and led 26-9 after the first quarter. They continued the defensive pressure and took the next ten minutes 24-7 over Canada. The Canadians shot just 30% from the floor for the game -- USA went 36-72 for 50%. Walz's squad had 13 steals and forced 22 Canadian turnovers.

Rhyne Howard rediscovered her shooting touch after an off-night against Germany with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. She hit two of her three trifecta attempts. Queen Egbo recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. USA out-rebounded Canada 52-29.

The USA U 19 squad advances to play Belgium...who knocked off Japan this morning 63-43. The other two semifinalist squads are Spain and Australia .  

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Time for Softball to start a win streak -- Alicja Wolny Named to Great Britian National Team -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS LOOK TO START A WIN STREAK 

Winning games is essential in any sport. Winning games at the end of the season is even more important, because it means your team is still alive and competing for a national championship.

Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz is fond of saying that only one college women's basketball team can produce a six-game win streak at the end of the season. Louisville Softball looks to go on a win streak starting today in Tallahassee when they face North Carolina in game four of the ACC Softball Championships. 

This one won't be easy. UNC came to Louisville to face the Cards in Ulmer Stadium two weeks ago and took two of the three games the squads played.  Tar Heel pitcher Brittany Pickett (19-11) had the Cards number in the first game, tossing a 6-0 shut out. The good news is that Louisville got to her in in the third game of the series, pounding out a 6-1 win. If North Carolina head coach Donna Papa (who has been at UNC 33 years) decides to go in a different direction, she can bring Hannah George (13-4) into the circle

The Cards are the #5 seed in the ACC Tournament, UNC the #4 seed. Both teams come into the championships on losing streaks...the Cards dropped all three in the regular season series final against NC State and the Tar Heels dropped their final game (surprisingly) to NC Central. 

it will be essential for the Cards to find the bats that didn't make much of an appearance in Raleigh, NC. With a hitting core of Celene Funke, Sidney Melton, Taylor Roby, Megan Hensley, Kyra Snyder and Rebecca Chung...Louisville is certainly capable of putting runners on the bases. The key is getting them to home plate. UofL stranded 10 runners in the 2-1 loss in the final game against NC State, and "touching home" has been a bit of a problem all season. 

When it comes to entering the circle, Louisville head coach Holly Aprile has Danielle Watson, Taylor Roby or Megan Hensley to call on. All three have been brilliant at times this season...but, consequently, the trio has also had outings they'd prefer to forget. 

A 1:30 start for this one is scheduled. The skies in Tallahassee are clear, the forecast is for no rain until Sunday, and the temperature expected to hit the high 80's all three days. It'll be shown on the RSN Network, here locally that means Fox Sports South. Yesterday, I had to watch the opening round on my laptop at Fox Sports Go -- since the Spectrum TV version of Fox Sports South chose to show other stuff.  

Speaking of yesterday, in first round action -- #8 seed NC State struck early against #9 seed Syracuse and held on to advance 5-4 and will face #1 seed Virginia Tech today at 11 a.m. #7 seed Georgia Tech had no problems with #10 seed Virginia with a 8-0 win and gets #2 seed Florida State tonight at 7:30 p.m.  

Best of luck to the Cards today! 


ALICJA WOLNY SELECTED FOR GREAT BRITAIN SQUAD

Cardinal Forever and UofL Softball great Alicja Wolny has been named to the 2019 Great Britain National Team. It's the second time Wolny has been selected for the squad, that will compete this summer to try and qualify for the European Cup, World Championships and the Olympics. Her previous honor came in 2013. 

During her four year career as the Cards fist baseman, she gained top five all-time standings in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI's and walks. She was a four-time (2010-13) All-Big East Selection. Seeing Wolny at first base became as common as seeing traffic on I-65 during rush hour. 

Born and raised in El Dorado Hills, CA. (about an hour from Sacramento, CA), Wolny remained in Louisville after her playing days and is part of the staff at fiveOtwo Softball here in town as one of the founders and a hitting instructor. 

She remains on Paulie's "Top Five Cardinal Softball players of All-Time" list and can be seen from time to time at Cardinal softball games...prowling the right-center berm in the outfield with her dog Kona May.  

My favorite Wolny memory is from 2012. The Cards were hosting Valparaiso in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It looked bad for the Louisville nine going into the bottom of the seventh, trailing 4-3. But, the Cards got two on base and with two outs, Wolny came to bat. She absolutely crushed one to deep right that won the game. I remember watching from the Cardinal press box and wondering if it would hit I-65. That ball was GONE! 

Another side of Alicja that probably a lot of you don't know... 

She was in attendance at the horrific 2017 Las Vegas shooting during the Jason Aldean concert. For a revealing glimpse on what she went through, see the link below: 

Wolny and Roberts Survivors


Best of luck to "the Big Wol" in merry ol' England! We anticipate that there will be a lot of fences in danger at British and European ballparks with her on the scene. 


WOMEN'S GOLF SEASON ENDED

Although the Cards did not qualify for the NCAA Championships, they still had a good third day in East Lansing's Regional to finish 11th of out 18 teams. The top six advanced. 

Louisville shot a 293 for the final 18 holes, after two days of plus 300 scores and Lauren Hartlage led the way with a one-under-par 71. She finished tied for 23rd. place overall. 

Louisville went in as the 11th seed and that's were they ended up. The Cards lose just one senior for next year (Olivia Cason) and have a couple of talented freshmen coming in for the 2019-20 season. They'll lose head coach Courtney Trimble, who is retiring...but the program is in good shape for recently named head coach Whitney Wade Young. 

Have a tremendous Thursday! 

paulie
xxxxx

Saturday Cardinal Couple

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- WUGS win, Aussies next

- Dunbar on a lot of radars

- Corral stays hot for Mexico WUGS

- Big Wol carrying the hot bat for Great Britian

- Radio Today!

( Paulie is back from the woods! A great time with family and friends...got some trout fishing and rest in and really hated coming back...thanks to JEFF and JENNY for carrying the ball in my absence!)

The USA women's basketball WUGS ran over Sweden after a close beginning 103-72. Gotta wonder what is up with Shoni Schimmel...Sheri Coale played her a scant seven minutes (lowest on the team for the game) and she gathered just one assist and no points in the win.

WUGS take on the Aussies today at 1 p.m. Louisville time in semifinal action.

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We mentioned Kortney Dunbar a few days ago and her blip on the college recruiting radar is getting bigger all the time. The senior-to-be at Edwardsville, IL and former teammate of Emmonnie Henderson gets a great write-up at the link below. Give it a read. WE love this quote:

"That's why I like talking to Emmonnie. When we went to Louisville as a team for workouts I asked her about the workouts and how she narrowed it down."

Let's hope the conversations continue as teammates beginning in 2014.

LINK:

KORTNEY DUNBAR

(Due to my techinal maladies, the link doesn't take you directly to the article. Just type in Kortney Dunbar in the search engine for the site and it'll show up...)

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Charlyn Corral continues to get her kicks with the Mexico WUGS soccer team. She had two goals in Mexico's 3-0 win Thursday over Korea. She has seven goals so far in four matches and is the leading scorer in the entire tournament by two goals over the rest of the WUGS soccer players.  

Mexico faces South Africa in the semifinals Saturday.

Lookin' good for Karen Ferguson Dayes and the UofL Women's soccer team! Keep shooting and scoring Charlyn!

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Alicja Wolny may have graduated from Louisville, but she's still swinging the bat like she did for the softball squad last season. In the European Softball Championships, she led Great Britain to the playoffs and helped the squad to fifth place.

In eight games, Wolny hit a blistering .529 and drove in 11 runs while scoring nine. She also drew five walks.

Great Britian finished 6-2 and just missed the opportunity to go to the 2014 World Championships. Their losses came against Russia and Italy.

The Big Wol still has it...we're pretty sure most of Europe will be glad when she gets back stateside...they probably haven't seen a bombardment like that since WWII. 

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CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO Saturday morning (today!) at 11 a.m. on Crescent Hill Radio. Since Jeff and Jenny have been running the website most of the week, I'll be leaning heavily on them to get us through the show.

That'll probably please a lot of listeners who think I talk too much on the broadcasts.

Should be fun. Drop in and join us, won't you?

www.crescenthillradio.com

-Paulie

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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Wolny selected for Great Britain Softball

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Alicja Wolny to play for Great Britain in European Women's Fastpitch Championships.

-Boltja receives BIG EAST award


Louisville softball first baseman Alicja Wolny has been selected to play for Great Britain's squad in the European Women's Fastpitch Championships. The games will take place in Prague July 7-13.

No language barrier here for the hard-hitting UofL graduate...one of 17 named to the squad. Mind you, Wolny is from El Dorado, CA., not Liverpool or London, but her mother is a native of England...so she was eligible to try out and will join the Brits against over 20 teams. The top four finishers in Prague will then go to the Netherlands for the International Softball Federation World Championships that will be held in August of 2014. Great Britain has finished second and third in the last two European Championships.

Wolny is understandably excited about the chance:

" I am honored to have the opportunity to compete for Great Britain. I wasn't ready to quit playing softball when my college career was over, so I'm really excited to continue playing the sport that I love. This is a dream come true for me." 

Alicja was a NCFA second team all-American selection after leading the Cards with a .423 batting average. She started all four years at Louisville and finished her career ranked in the top five in all-time hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, walks games played and started.

She can also hit a softball from Fern Creek to Fairdale. The chaps over in Merry Ol' England better make sure they warn residents surrounding their practice facilities that car and house windows could be in for a pounding.

Congrats to "the Big Wol"! Bring us back a picture of the Queen and a European Championship stuffed in your softball bat bag... 

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Louisville lacrosse star Nikki Boltja has other skills beside scoring on the field. She recently won the BIG EAST Conference Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award for Lacrosse. Boltja has a 3.62 GPA with a major in health and human performance.

She follow Katie Oliverio from UofL, who won the award last year.

Boltja is an All-American and finished her junior season with 63 goals and 11 assists. Unfortunately, she was not on campus when I interviewed Lacrosse head coach Kellie Young Thursday. The interview was a very good one and will
be played on  CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR on Crescent Hill Radio from 11 am - noon Saturday.

Coach discusses Lacrosse camps, her team and the transition ahead for Lacrosse...as well as giving me a great
description and demonstration of what is considered an illegal lacrosse stick.

No, she didn't pound me over the head with it. I was invited to one of the camps, though...so they probably have other torture methods planned for me...

Make sure and catch Coach Young's conversation with Paulie on Saturday...or in the archives at Crescent Hill Radio.

-Paulie

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Thursday Geography Lesson

 

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Jeff McAdams with the Thursday Edition of Cardinal Couple. He looks at Alicja Wolny and her geographical duality, Kendall's big toss and CARDINAL COUPLE'S involvment with NASCAR.)

 

California?  Or Great Britain?

Alicja Wolny, who just completed her NCAA eligibility playing first base for UofL Softball has been
selected to play for the Great Britain National Team this summer in Prague in the European Softball Championships.  This competition is a qualifying event for the 2014 World Championships and will take play in mid-July.

Here, all this time I thought Alicja was from California, and it turns out she's really from Great Britain.

Of course, Alicja is actually from California, but apparently her mother was born in Great Britain, which is apparently enough to qualify her to play for the GB National Team.  Regardless, this is a great opportunity for the 5'9" first baseman and we here at the Cardinal Couple wish her well.

( EDITOR'S NOTE : Wolny told us in an interview earlier this year that we played on CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR that her Mom's favorite song was "Hey, Jude." by the Beatles. At the time, I figured it was because of the superlative work on the court the junior from Oregon was turning in for Jeff Walz. This makes it much clearer, now. Cheerio, then...Big Wol! We'll have a spot of tea, some fish and chips and then watch you shatter windows in merry old England with deep fly balls off your bat. Tally Ho!) 

Track and Field

Congratulations to Amashi Kendall of the women's track and field team in earning All-American (no, not the conference, the real All-American honors) in the shot put after her 22nd place finish in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene Oregon.  This is the second time Amashi Kendall has collected All-American honors.

NASCAR on the Cardinal Couple?

Brian Vickers will be driving a car in the Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway on June 29th that will be paying tribute to the 2013 Men's National Championship.  The car will be red and white, and will sport a Louisville Cardinal emblem on the hood with the 2013 Men's Basketball Championship logo.  Brian will also be wearing a fire suit emblazoned with much of the same imagery and "Louisville" and "Cardinals" down the side of the legs of the suit.

This does sort of stretch the mission here at Cardinal Couple, of sharing the joy and excitement of UofL Women's Athletics, but it was just too cool not to mention.  With the year that UofL athletics has had, you have to think this boosts Michael Waltrip Racing's chances of getting in the winner's circle.

(Another Editor's Note -- CARDINAL COUPLE has often thought about sponsoring a car and driver in NASCAR. The major drawback is that we have a combined $4.32 between me, Jeff and Jenny. WE have found a driver, though...and think that Jeff Walz's recent performance in GRAND THEFT AUTO V would make him the perfect candidate to put in one of our souped-up golf carts and turn loose at Daytona, Talledaga or Indy. Left turns, Jeff. That's the ticket!)


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Six University of Louisville athletic teams posted a perfect score in the most recent single-year Academic Progress rate (APR) data released by the NCAA.

The six UofL sports with a perfect 1000 APR score for 2011-12 include men's basketball, men's cross country, men's golf, women's golf, women's lacrosse and women's tennis.

Getting it done on the field and in the classroom. All part of the Tom Jurich philosophy and that of the coaches that serve the University of Louisville.

If we're not careful, UofL just might turn into one of those "Academic colleges" that Milt Wagner spoke of many years ago.

Congratulations to all the hard working, on and off the court student athletes that make the campus off I-65 the reason why Louisville is the best college sports town in the USA!

-Jeff McAdams

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Cardinal Couple Thursday

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-WCWS KICKS INTO GEAR IN OKLAHOMA CITY

-WOLNY AND KELLER NAMED ALL-AMERICANS

(Columnist Jeff McAdams isn't talking about Julie Hermann today. He looks
at the Women's College World Series today. Just as well, some journalist
in Jersey will probably break news that Julie Hermann puts strawberries in her
bowl of Cheerios or she refused the automatic transmission fluid check eight
years ago when she had the oil changed in her car. Play Ball!)




As we reach the end of May, topics in women's athletics are getting to be slim pickings.

No, I won't be writing another opinion piece about whether Rutgers should stand by their hiring of Julie Hermann, or whether its reasonable to expect someone to remember being in a wedding from 15 years ago of someone that long ago ceased being a part of one's life.  Frankly, my interest in this as a media story has waned far faster than, it seems, the media's has.

There is, however, a women's athletics event that I will be trying to keep track of that starts today.  The Women's College World Series (WCWS) kicks off today in Oklahoma City with four games on the schedule.

Women's College World Series

The WCWS is played as two separate, four team, double-elimination brackets, then a best of three series between the two winners of the brackets.  This somewhat mirrors the Regional and Super-Regional structure of the broader portion of the overall tournament where four teams compete in a double-elimination bracket to advance to a Super-Regional with another Regional winner in a best of three series.

Play kicks off at noon between 11th seed Washington taking on 14th seed Nebraska.  Both teams upset higher seeds in their Super-Regionals to advance to the WCWS, which means they both spent the past weekend on the road.  The winner plays tomorrow in the 7:00pm game against the winner of the 2:30pm, #7 Tennessee vs #2 Florida game.  Both Tennessee and Florida were the higher seeds in their Super-Regional (Florida beat UAB who came out of the Louisville Regional), so they have the benefit of having played at home the past weekend, and as such may be slightly better rested.  The losers of these games move to the elimination half of the bracket and will play each other Saturday at noon.  Other games in this bracket include another elimination game (winner of the Saturday noon game, vs the loser of tomorrow's 7pm game), the winner of that game meets up with the remaining undefeated team Sunday at 1pm, and if the team that came from the elimination half of the bracket wins, the "if necessary" game will be Sunday evening at 7:00pm.

The other bracket starts this evening with a 7pm game between #5 Arizona State (who defeated UK 2-0 in the Super-Regional matchup) with #4 Texas.  The nightcap is at 9:30 between 8 seed Michigan, and top seed (and prohibitive favorite) Oklahoma.  All of these teams were the higher seed in their Super-Regionals, so all got to sleep in their own beds last weekend.  The winners of these two games play Friday at 9:30pm.  The first elimination game would be Saturday at 2:30pm.  The second elimination game will take place Saturday evening at 9:30pm.  The elimination side of the bracket meets back up with the undefeated team Sunday at 3:30pm.  The "if necessary" game is scheduled for 9:30pm, though one wonders if the "if necessary" game would go at 7:00pm if the other bracket didn't need to play its "if necessary" game.

The winners of these two brackets, will then play a best of three series with games on Monday and Tuesday, and an "if necessary" happening Wednesday.

All games are on ESPN and ESPN2.

After this is all over?  Well, its a long time until mid-August when volleyball gets into pre-season matches.

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Alicja Wolny and Katie Keller have been recognized for their contributions to Louisville
Softball by being named to the NFCA All-American second team. They are the seventh and eighth
players in Louisville Softball history to receive such an honor. Lacy Wood (2006), Kristen Wadwell (2009) Melissa Roth (2009, 2010) Tori Collins (2012) and Taner Fowler (2012) are also alumnae of
this prestigious award.

The Big Wol ready to send
one over the fence.

Wolny, a senior first baseman from El Dorado Hills, CA. led the Cards with a .423 batting average this season and had 11 fence clearer's. Keller, a junior second baseman...led the Cards in batting most of the season before finishing with a .402 average. She did lead the squad with 12 round-trippers.

Louisville (47-13) ended up #12 in the ESPN.com/USA Collegiate Poll and in the USA Today/NFCA coaches' poll.

Louisville has Keller, Taner Fowler, Hannah Kiyohara, Kayla Soles, Maggie Ruckenbrod, Ally Vaughn, Brittany Sims, Whitney Arion and eight talented new Cardinals arriving on campus this fall, Jordan Trimble is listed as a red-shirt junior as well, so I'm under the assumption we'll see her in centerfield next year. Still no word on the official status of freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett.

Louisville looks well-positioned to compete as a conference leader next year. Pitchers Caralisa Connell and Rachel LeCoq, who had all 47 wins between them, also return for duties inside the circle.

-Jeff McAdams


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Cardinal Couple Softball report

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Jeff McAdams with the recap of Louisville Softball's Saturday games in the NCAA
Regional. A disappointing way for the Cards to end the 2013 season.) 



Well, that certainly wasn't the Saturday I had hoped for.

UofL vs UAB

In the afternoon matchup, UofL fell in a hard fought game against UAB.   Starting off with 2 runs in the first, I thought this might be the return to the hard hitting bats that we have seen from The Cards in the past, and Alicja Wolny did oblige with a shot that pinged off the light poll in right field, but most of the rest of the game was small ball.  It was small ball that was working fairly well, however.  With a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, it started to look like another Cardinal success was in the makings.

It started to become clear, however, that Rachel LeCoq was running out of steam in the circle.  Caralisa Connell came in for relief in the 5th inning.  Six pitches later, all balls, LeCoq returned to finish out the game.  Unfortunately, with a bit less effectiveness the rest of the way.  UAB would score four in the 5th inning, and two in the 6th to reach the winning score of 7-4.

UofL vs UCLA

In the late game, UCLA was to be the opponent.  Unfortunately, it really wasn't much of a game.

Caralisa Connell took the pitching duties most of the game, but her troubles with control continued.  Numerous walks, and plenty of base hits, and a couple of home runs came from the UCLA bats, handing UofL one of the worst losses in program history at 19-2.

The Cards just ran out of pitching.  We've talked about "Good Carl" and "Bad Carl" over the course of the season, and "Good Carl" has been missing in action for a couple of weeks now.  Rachel LeCoq tried her best to pick up the slack, but ultimately she just couldn't keep it going and the number of games took their toll on her.

What's in Store For the Future

Its hard to find much positive to say about these games, but I think you can look to the future and find, like so many sports at UofL, that the future is bright.

We knew all season that pitching would be the big question mark for this team due to circumstances that were largely impossible to predict, and for the bulk of the season they were able to overcome the marginal pitching situation with good fielding and absolutely phenomenal hitting.  This problem gets solved by recruiting good pitchers.  Its not an immediate solution as you likely aren't going to expect incoming freshmen to be star pitchers, though you might get lucky and find one that will be.  Over the course of a couple of years, though, you develop your pitching staff and solve the problem.

The other bright spot was Jasmine Smithson-Willett, who came in to pitch in the 5th inning.  While she didn't wow the crowd with incredible pitching, she held her own with a great hitting UCLA team.  JSW has potential in the circle.  Maybe she'll get to develop it, maybe there will be new pitchers that arrive through the recruiting process.  Alas, we don't have a Jenny for Softball to keep us informed on the recuit pipeline for Ulmer.  Regardless, we know that the cupboard isn't empty.  Both Rachel and Carl should be back for their senior seasons, JSW will be a sophomore and perhaps will develop her pitching skills some more.

Let's Get Some Perspective on the Season

Its hard to be happy about a season ending like this, but I think, if we take some time and look back over the season that Louisville Softball had, there's a whole lot to be proud of.  Wins over Top 10 teams, including an Oklahoma team that sat in the #1 spot the whole season.  Phenomenal hitting, great fielding, and some just generally fantastic athletes.

I'll be back at Ulmer next year, and I truly believe that this team will be even better.

-Jeff McAdams

( Editor's Note -- With LeCoq suffering from hand-swelling and Connell having control issues...the normally strong Cardinal pitching obviously wasn't at their best today. Head coach Sandy Pearsall mentioned to me in our pre-season interview that pitching was the question mark on this team. And, for 90% of the year..it was solid, impressive and maybe third best in the BIG EAST behind USF and Notre Dame inside the circle. Injuries, fatigue and being a bit off one's game can play a major role in the post season...and it did Saturday. Like Jeff, I'll recall this season very fondly, though...and hope that the two UofL hurlers can come back strong next year. I also hope my favorite player...freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett...can earn a chance to be the Cards third producer of strikes and shutouts. We'll also look to see if there are any pitchers coming in for 2014. Coach Pearsall told me that you have to get in on the really good hurlers early...two or three years before they ever get to college. We hope the getting has been good for Sandy and the staff.  -- Paulie)

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Friday Cardinal Couple -- Cards hope third time is charm

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball faces IPFW in Louisville NCAA Regional

-Three named to NFCA All-Great Lakes Region team

-Cameron Newbauer named Belmont head coach


Julie Hermann was fond of speaking about a sense of urgency around the UofL campus when it came to sports. Sandy Pearsall is a firm believer of taking games one at a time. So, can you combine urgency and systematic approaches when it comes to advancing in the NCAA softball tournament?

For Louisville, hopefully the answer will be yes. The Cards begin their quest to get to the WCWS (Women's College World Series) tonight when they take on the Mastadons of Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne at 7:30 p.m. in Ulmer Stadium.

The regional also represents the third title that the Cards will try for in the 2013 season. Louisville appeared to be in the driver's seat for the BIG EAST regular season crown...but a rough weekend in South Bend to end the regular season left the Cards in third place in the regular season standings. UofL came into the BIG EAST Tournament in Tampa, FL last weekend looking for redemption and blasted Syracuse over into the Gulf of Mexico briny deep with a 12-3 shellacking. The homestanding Bulls thwarted the Cards chances of getting to the title game, though...blanking the Louisville bats in a 3-0 win en route to the BIG EAST Tournament title.

Round three approaches. The Louisville lineup, filled with powerful hitters from leadoff to ninth batter, will look to bombard Brandeis Avenue behind the left field fence as they try to advance to a 2 p.m. semifinal date Saturday.

If you're sitting out on the grassy knoll behind the outfield, a hard hat or motion sensing device might not be a bad idea. Louisville led the BIG EAST in home runs and with fence swingers Maggie Ruckenbrod, Alicja Wolny, Taner Fowler, Katelyn "Mannie" Mann and Katie Keller capable of saying goodbye to Mr. Spalding at any time...the Mastadons might need radar tracking devices to keep sight of the flights and the Cardinals' ability to clear the bags.

UAB and UCLA start it off at 5 p.m. Louisville is offering a free shuttle bus from Papa John's Stadium to Ulmer Stadium for fans from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m....in case you're looking to avoid the $5 parking fee closer to the stadium.

See you at Ulmer.

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Alicja Wolny and Katie Keller were named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team yesterday and Maggie Ruckenbrod received second team honors.

What Louisville and its' vicinity to the Great Lakes have in common is anyone's guess...but it's still quite a huge honor for these three softball Cards.

ALICJA WOLNY, a senior from El Dorado Hills, CA., was also selected for the first team last year. She's been a four-year starter and four-year member of the All-BIG EAST Conference team. Wolny led the Cards with a .417 batting average and had 10 home runs, 52 RBI's and scored 39 runs. If Katy Perry had been a Cardinal Softball season ticket holder, Wolny probably would have batted .600 and had 30 fence clearers. The steady first baseman for the Cards is also the team leader when it comes to advice, confidence and style.

KATIE KELLER, a junior second baseman from Livermore, CA. is also a two-time All-Great Lakes Region selection. She hit for .412 in 2013 and set a school single season record with 54 RBI's. Her 12 home runs led Louisville this season and she was selected as the USA Softball National Player of the Week this year as well. "Killer" Keller also plays a mean second base defensively and it's also reported that the Louisville International Airport air controllers have requested that special tracking devices get implanted in the softballs when Keller comes to bat....so they can identify the moon shots and not get them confused with meteors...

MAGGIE RUCKENBROD, a junior hailing from St. Louis, MO. is batting .349 in 57 games and has seven home runs, 40 RBI's and 35 hits. "Large Marge" also knows a thing or two about catching and baserunners who think about stealing on her usually regret the decision if they attempt it. She has thrown out 15 thieves this season and picked off 10 slow-to-react base dwellers. She holds the school record for season and career pick off and stealers retired. We're not sure if it's true or not, but it is rumored that the Louisville Metro Police Department anxiously awaits her graduation so  they can add her to the Crime Prevention Unit. No one steals when Large Marge is around.

In this columnist opinion, center fielder Jordan Trimble should have been the fourth Card to receive NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honors. She's a prime-time, tournament star...however and you can expect her to rattle some fences and shake the confidence of a few pitchers over the weekend.

Congratulations to our Softball stars!! Keep it up, ladies.

Readers, please try to get out to Ulmer tonight and this weekend to cheer on your softball Cards. One of the most common themes I've run into when talking to these incredible ladies that make up the UofL Softball team is the joy, excitement and delight they feel when they see the seats and outfield watching areas packed with red-clad fans.

You help them be what they are.

Make them great this weekend.

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Louisville assistant women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer is headed to Belmont.

No, not the third leg of horse racing's triple crown. The university in Nashville, Tennessee. As the head coach.

Cam was a Louisville assistant for one year under Jeff Walz before taking the plunge and accepting the head position at Belmont University.

Cam is a rising, young star of women's college basketball coaches. He was instrumental in getting the University of Louisville women's basketball team to the National Championship game in 2013. His knowledge of skills, defense and fundamentals were a great help to the Cards in his one season here.

Another success story springs from the coaching tree that is Jeff Walz. We figured his time here at UofL was limited, at best....a man with so much talent and expertise doesn't stay un-recruited and ignored for long.

The wheels got into motion when Belmont head coach Brittney Ezell resigned April 28th. after three seasons to take the East Tennessee State head coaching job. Newbauer was an obvious choice and accpeted yesterday. A press conference is scheduled for Monday.

We have a feeling it's not the last stop on Cam's rise to head coaching. Recognition of talent and skill is always rewarded.

We wish Cam the best of luck with Belmont...he was always a great interview and know he'll be successful in this...his first head coaching opportunity.  



-Paulie


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Proposed basketball rule changes

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Staff Columnist Jenny O'Bryan alerts us in today's column about a possible rule change being considered for womens college basketball. It could have a pronounced effect on the game...)



-Rule change could greatly alter WBB

-Rutgers finally decides on vote for AD: Julie Hermann

-Media Tuesday for Louisville Softball

If you have listened to Paulie, Jeff and I on Crescent Hill Radio on the Cardinal Couple radio hour you have likely heard us reference NCAA and their affinity for rules.  There are so many rules and regulations that it makes my head spin just thinking about it. 

However, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee made a recommendation for a rule change at their annual meeting in Indianapolis.  This is one rule I can get behind. 

The committee is recommending that a 10-second backcourt rule be implemented in the women’s game.   In order for this to become a rule for the 2013-14 season the Playing Rules Oversight Panel must approve it.  They will convene June 18  in a conference call.

Below is an excerpt from the NCAA website regarding the recommendation:

Women’s 10-second backcourt rule

In women’s basketball, committee members added the 10-second rule in the backcourt for the first time since the NCAA began administering women’s championships in 1981-82.

Previously, teams could take as much time off the 30-second shot clock as they wanted before crossing the mid-court line.

Officials will use the shot clock to determine if a 10-second violation has occurred.

Committee members believe adding the 10-second rule will increase the tempo of the game and create more offensive scoring opportunities.

Women’s intercollegiate basketball is the only level in the sport throughout the world that does not have a backcourt rule in place.

If this rule is adopted by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel, the committee is also recommending that the closely guarded rule in the backcourt be eliminated from the rules book.

The closely guarded rule in the frontcourt would read that a player holding the ball for five seconds with a defender not exceeding six feet will be a violation. Previously, the defender had to be within three feet of the offensive player with the ball to force a 5-second violation.

“Given feedback from stakeholders through the years, this is the right time to approve the rule,” said Barbara Burke, Women’s Basketball Rules Committee chair and director of athletics at Eastern Illinois. “Overall, we discussed pace of play, creating scoring opportunities and flow of the game. Adding the 10-second backcourt rule adds another element of strategy, and this rule fits into the concepts of growing the game.”

I have to say this is one NCAA rule I welcome.  Not only will it increase the pace of the game and provide more scoring opportunities, I believe it really works to the advantage of a team like Louisville that likes to play pressure defense.  The thought of some combination of Bria Smith, Tia Gibbs and Jude Schimmel wrecking havoc in the backcourt with pressure has me bemoaning the fact that basketball season is 6 months away!

While this rule is not a done deal, yet, it does sound like the support is there pretty unanimously.  We should know more in late June. 

For more about proposed rule changes check out the full article (mentioned above) at:

RULE CHANGE

-Jenny O Bryan

( One thing that we should see here at CARDINAL COUPLE if this rule goes through is our readers won't be bemoaning the fact the Louisville guards are taking 10-15 seconds to get the ball across the timeline on occasions. We'll follow this proposal with interest...the  CARDINAL WBB full court press was very productive at times last season.  -- Paulie)


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The search for an Athletic Director at Rutgers University had come down to Frazier and Hermann. The six-member committee couldn't decide, though. Until today.

Word is...that a vote last night resulted in a 3-3 tie on who will become the new AD for the Scarlet Knights. There are three men and three women on the committee.

They tried again, today, through the eleven member Board of Governors, to break the deadlock. Julie wins! Julie wins! There are only three schools in Division I athletics with a female Athletic Director...California and North Carolina State...and now Rutgers. 

Sean Frazier is the deputy athletic director at Wisconsin. It's widely known that Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez lets Sean handle most of the day-to-day operations. Julie Hermann supervises 20 of the UofL sports and also keeps tabs on marketing at UofL.  Frazier would probably mutter that getting close only matters in horseshoes and hand grenades.

WE have to ask the question...why didn't they appoint seven (or five) people to the first decision-making committee?  

Good luck, Julie! Rutgers has a whole bunch of issues to resolve...one of them being how to break a tie...We're going to miss you!

Be sure to catch the Thursday editon of CARDINAL COUPLE...Jeff McAdams will review Hermann's appointment.


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I had a blast down at Tuesday's Media Day for the UofL Softball team. Got there a little early and learned quite a bit watching practice...the Cards do a full field  and full speed drill where they put the team in situational aspects of a game and see how they perform. Two outs, bottom of the seventh inning Alicja Wolny at bat and Rachel LeCoq on the mound....as an example. Even though the wind was blowing straight out of the ball park, I didn't see any home runs today. I'm guessing their saving those for IPFW, UAB and UCLA.

I also got some great interviews for our Saturday radio show on Crescent Hill Radio. Without giving anything away...here are 10 teasers you can listen for Saturday (or on the archived broadcasts that stay up on the site for several weeks...) You can listen to Crescent Hill Radio 24/7 if you wish on the internet. The station is applying for a low wattage FM license that will dramatically increase the "over the airwaves" broadcast area and hopes to obtain the permission to being this in November.  You can listen to Crescent Hill Radio at the link below

CRESCENT HILL RADIO

Here's your teasers:

1) What do geese and a certain UofL softball player have in common?
2) Who is the best stand-up comic on the team?
3) One of the players reveals her most embarrassing moment on the field.
4) Just how many dogs is Coach Pearsall keeping track of these days?
5) Does a certain Cardinal softball player accept my challenge to a 60 yd. race?
6) How does Coach Pearsall feel the Cards have done with "small ball"?
7) Which Cardinal softball player is a big fan of THE WALKING DEAD?
8) Which softball player defeated Shoni Schimmel in a game of "HORSE"?
9) Who picked whole wheat bread over white and rye bread?
10) Which player prefers Katy Perry over Pink, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars?

See you Saturday 11 a.m. for CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO on Crescent Hill Radio!

-Paulie

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