Tuesday Cardinal Couple - WCWS Reflections on Pitching

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( IN TODAY'S TUESDAY EDITION OF CARDINAL COUPLE, WORLDWIDE JEFF MCADAMS DECIDES TO LET HIS GALL BLADDER WRITE THE COLUMN...A CONCILIATORY GESTURE...SINCE IT MAY NOT BE AROUND MUCH LONGER. WE'RE ALL ABOUT OPPORTUNITY HERE AT CARDINAL COUPLE...JEFF AND "Gallie" DISCUSS THEIR RECENT OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH THE WCWS)  

WCWS Softball Binge Watching

If you listened to Saturday's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on Crescent Hill Radio, you heard that I've been dealing with some gall bladder issues and have been a bit under the weather since about Thursday and have largely been laid up on my couch.

Conveniently, the Women's College World Series, the NCAA championship event for Softball, also started Thursday.  To say that I've watched a lot of softball over the weekend doesn't really capture it.  In fact, I've probably watched just about every pitch of the WCWS...minus those where I dozed off thanks to the Percocet...and I continue to watch it right now as I write this article.

I've noticed something, and this isn't just based on the observations of the eight teams in this year's world series, but they have certainly brought it into sharper focus.  The common thread among these eight teams, and in teams in the WCWS in years past, has been pitching.  We've talked about pitching woes here on Cardinal Couple in the past as well as on the radio show, and I think Paulie and I disagree in some of this, but I'm starting to worry that UofL Softball is still not going down the right path in the pitching staff area.  The thing I've noticed, though, is that these teams have one primary pitcher that seems to pitch most, or even all, of their games.  In softball, its feasible to have one pitcher take you through most, if not all, of the season and post-season, and all of the teams that seem to make it deep into post-season show this pattern.

Torrid Tori Collins and DEX

There are exceptions, and there are certainly example that can be pointed to for when you need to be prepared to replace a pitcher that is just out of gas...the most recent example of that is UK's loss in the WCWS when it was clear to all that Kelsey Nunnley was just exhausted, but no substitution was forthcoming.

A couple of years ago, UofL had a fantastic pitcher, Tori Collins, who pitched most of the season and
it was one of the better seasons Louisville has had in softball.  As an aside, Tori went on to marry former UofL Football player Dexter Heyman and the two have an absolutely adorable child, now.

Last season, UofL really only had two pitchers, Caralisa "Carl" Connell and a transfer Rachel LeCoq.  Carl started out the season quite well, and Rachel struggled a little early.  As the season went on, however, Carl...well...there's no nice way to put this...she just fell apart as a pitcher.  This left Rachel picking up the pieces, which she increasingly did as the season went on.  When the NCAA Regionals came around, UofL had done well enough to host, but eventually, with one loss in the bag, came up against a very good UCLA team on Saturday night.  I remember that night well, though I wish I didn't.  Let's just suffice it to say that everyone was glad when that game was over.  The verdict?  Rachel was worn out and developing blisters on her pitching fingers, and Carl just wasn't getting the job done - UofL just ran out of pitching.

It should be noted that Jasmine Smithson Willett was a freshman pitcher on the squad who could hit as well...but saw little action in the circle in the 2013 season and decided to transfer after one year. She did occasionally play outfield for Louisville on occasion and actually came in to finish the UCLA game...whether her skills were good enough to possibly contend for a more active role is something we'll never know.

So what's the response?  Go recruit more pitching, right?  I thought so too, and that's what has happened (it should be pointed out that our freshmen pitchers this year, Maryssa Becker, and Tiarra Sanabria, were already signed by this point), Coach P and staff went and recruited a couple of more pitchers to join the Cardinals pitching staff.  Rachel LeCoq and Caralisa Connell have now both graduated, leaving Maryssa and Tiarra.  Next year Bridgette Flaherty, a southpaw, and Madi Norman will be joining the pitching staff, bringing the stable back to four.

So, where's my concern?  Well, I'm excited about having a leftie in the mix, for sure, and Maryssa Becker certainly showed this year that she has the potential to be a real go-to pitcher.  My concern is the approach to the pitching staff...if you don't do well, you're going to get pulled and someone else put in your place...may be counterproductive.  It certainly doesn't give the pitcher the confidence to pitch through struggles and back to success.

Ex-Cards pitcher Aja Sherman
was the first UofL hurler to
throw a perfect game.

I just worry that we're not developing a pitcher that can reliably close the deal.  Logic says a staff of
multiple good pitchers is better, because just have to find the one that is "on" at that moment and let them take over the game.  But you may have already done too much damage as you cycle through pitchers that are "off" before you find one that's "on" and you're in too deep of a hole for the offense to dig out of.

I'm not a softball expert by any means, but my observations from watching a whole lot of the WCWS suggests that maybe a different strategy should be in order.  Maybe our coaching staff are thinking largely the same way, but they just don't know which of the four pitchers in our stable (two freshmen and two sophomores, so plenty of youth) will develop into a real go-to pitcher.  I don't know.

I just know that despite numerous bright spots in our pitching the past couple of years, it hasn't been adequate for getting to the next level of play in the NCAA....that being the Super Regional and ultimately the WCWS.

JMCA


(EDITOR'S NOTE: HERE'S A FOLLOW UP ON JASMINE SMITHSON-WILLETT)

The decision to transfer from Louisville to Oregon was simple for Smithson-Willett. After suffering a stress fracture her freshman year, Smithson-Willett wasn’t satisfied with her results. Naturally, when she heard of an opportunity to play for Oregon as a pitcher — a position she’s always wanted to play at the college level — Smithson-Willett made the move.

“I didn’t even get a chance to suck (at Louisville),” Smithson-Willett said. “So, I really wanted to make an impression this year. It’s all about chances and when I was looking at schools, I asked who would give me a chance. Coach White really took me under his wing and I appreciate that.”

Since arriving to Oregon, Smithson-Willett has smoothly transitioned back into her role as a pitcher and gained the respect of her teammates in the process. Smithson-Willett, the hardest-throwing pitcher for the Ducks, adds another dimension that every team wishes it had.

Smthson-Willett was 4-1 for the Ducks in five starts. She made 20 circle appearances in 2014. Oregon was eliminated from the WCWS on Sunday by Alabama 2-0.
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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Lacrosse takes BIG EAST, Softball splits

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Brust's six goals lead Louisville to 9-8 win

- Softball splits in Memphis


The last time we interviewed Faye Brust, she assured us the team was ready to take care of business in D.C. and bring back the BIG EAST Lacrosse Tournament trophy. She failed to mention, though, that she'd account for the first half offense in the championship game. Thanks to her six first half goals and some clutch Cardinal defense at the end of the game, Louisville downs Georgetown 9-8 to take the tournament championship.

It is the goal that the team had been working for all season and Brust was the scoring offense for the Cards in the first thirty minutes as Louisville held a tenacious 6-4 lead over the Hoyas.

Kaylin Morissette picked up the scoring for the Cards in the second half...getting two of Louisville's three goals. Her consecutive scores gave Louisville a 8-5 lead and Nikki Boltja made it 9-6 with 9:29 to go.

Georgetown drew within one late but the Cards defense held solid and Louisville was able to hang on for the 9-8 win.

Named to the All-Tournament team were Boltja, Morrissette, Monica Negron and goalie Ashley Peacock. Brust received Most Outstanding Player selection.

Louisville finds out today where they'll be going in the NCAA Tournament. The conference tournament title clinched a berth for the Cards to make their first trip to the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.

UofL improved to 15-3 and has won their last 11 games.

Brust describes the final sequence:

"It's just special. This is what we've been working for all season. I had the ball with 4-5 seconds left in the game and just threw it up it the air and we all dogpiled. It was the most amazing feeling."

Amazing is the perfect word to describe this team this year. We hope the amazement continues in the Big Dance.


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Softball got a four-hit shutout from senior Caralisa Connell yesterday to win the second game in softball action against Memphis 6-0, but dropped the first contest 3-2 to the Tigers

MEMPHIS 3 - UOFL 2

The Cards took an early lead in game one when Brittany Duncan belted a solo home run over the right field fence. Next inning saw Whitney Arion follow suit to make it 2-0 UofL.

The Cards could find no other scoring opportunities, though and Memphis scored a run in the fourth and two in the bottom of the seventh to win against Maryssa Becker. A two-out bases loaded single was the deciding factor.

UOFL 6 - MEMPHIS 0

In game two, Louisville got busy in the top of the first to grab a 2-0 lead. Duncan's double plated both Kelsi Jones and Whitney Arion.

The Cards increased it to 3-0 in the fifth, a fly ball with the bases loaded by Katie Keller got Hannah Kiyohara to the plate. Kayla Soles went fence in the sixth and Louisville had a 4-0 advantage.

The Cards finished with two runs in the seventh...Taner Fowler delivering a double that scored Jones and Arion for the final 6-0 win. The split gets Louisville to 32-20 on the season and 13-7 in the AAC.

It was a "good" Carl sighting in the circle for Louisville...the senior tossed all seven innings and struck out three to go to 10-5 for the season.

The schools end the series and the regular season for each today at 1 p.m.

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Finally, congrats to venerable trainer Art Sherman...a winner in first attempt to win the Kentucky Derby. California Chrome got the job done with ease...a classic ride from Victor Espinoza in a rather slow 2:03:33 time.

Will CC be a triple crown winner? We'll find out whether he can complete leg two in two weeks up in Baltimore in the Preakness.

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

Monday Cardinal Couple -- A great day to be a Cardinal fan!

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It was a big weekend for Louisville Women’s athletics, and my how they responded. 

Softball went 4-1 at home this weekend to get back above .500.  Lacrosse won two on the road putting up big offensive numbers and the women’s basketball team defended home court and swept Rutgers on the season.

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A-Tayy gives us that beautiful smile
(Photo by Charlie Springer - UofLCardGame.com)

A career performance by Asia Taylor led the team to 73-58 win over the Scarlet Knights.  The win ties a school record of 17 home wins in a season and guarantees the Cardinals no less than second place in conference play in their sole season in The American. 

The Cardinal faithful came out to support the women today, topping out at 14,327, to celebrate the annual pink game and get their fix of this team, and seniors, as the season rapidly winds down.   

Robbie Bartlett got things started for the day by singing the National Anthem.  We were just talking about Robbie, and the lack of her Ballgame National Anthem apperances, on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday.  It was nice to see a local favorite back out on the court getting us all ready for the opening tip.  Robbie sings the opening and closing music for our show each Saturday.

Julie Hermann was back also in town...seated behind the Rutgers' bench to see how her new university would do against her former school. Julie in a skirt...not a bad sight to see at all...

Bria attemps inside (Photo by Charlie Springer)

The Cardinals played a very good game against a young and very tough Rutgers team. This is an exciting and talented team.  Tyler Scaife, the freshman who lit us up in Piscataway, had another dominant performance for the Scarlet Knights, but it was not enough to tip the balance in their favor.  17 points Sunday.

Rutgers is also leaving The American at the season’s end, to join the Big 10.

With a poor shooting performance for several Cardinals, it is heartening to see a double digit win in a tournament like atmosphere.   Sara Hammond went 3-10, Bria Smith went 1-6 and Antonita Slaugher  went 0-5 behind the arc and the Cardinals were still able to win going away. 

 The Cardinals started a little slow offensively, with Rutgers taking an early lead. Hammond missed 3-4 early chippies under the basket before she stepped back and sank a three.   Slaughter, who had an off shooting night, was able to affect them defensively hustling on several key plays keeping the Cardinal ball alive. 

Breast cancer survivors help lead a cheer

While there were many contributions from varying players throughout the game to change and shift momentum, there was no bigger player today than Asia Taylor.  She flat out balled.  Taylor left nothing on the court, and in doing so, had a career performance of 25 points, 15 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals.   Taylor played like the 5^th year senior that she is taking full advantage of her last year in a Cardinal uniform. 

The Cardinals have two games left.  Next Saturday in Cincinnati and the final game of the regular season back at the Yum Center against #1 ranked Connecticut.  Monday, March 3, against Connecticut, is your last time to see this team, and these seniors, in their final regular season game.   With hard work and a little luck, we may just get to see them return to the Yum for the regionals of the NCAA tournament.

Future prospective LadyBirds and Cheerleaders lead the crowd

March 3 will be a celebration of the seniors, Asia Taylor, Tia Gibbs, Antonita Slaughter and the always interesting Shoni Schimmel.  It is also Native American Appreciation day.  The lower bowl of the arena is sold out, but there are still seats to be had.  $5 is a bargain to see this game. Get your seats folks and get there early.  It is going to be an exciting finish to the season. 

Call (502) 852-7254 or e-mail johnathan@gocards.com to get your seats!


EDITOR'S NOTE:

NOT ENOUGH CAN BE SAID ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE OF A-TAYY TODAY. THE 'LOOK' WAS THERE TODAY. SHE GETS THIS LOOK (sometimes) DURING GAMES...LIKE A HAWK GETTING READY TO SWOOP DOWN ON AN UNSUSPECTING PREY...OR A SLEEK, SLIM PANTHER ABOUT TO RUN DOWN AND DISABLE A GAZELLE.

 A LOOK OF INTENSITY. OF CONFIDENCE. A LOOK OF CLARITY AND UNDERSTANDING. WE LOVE IT WHEN A-TAYY COMES OUT WITH 'THE LOOK'. YOU KNOW ALL IS GOING TO BE OK...

A LOOK THAT SAYS...WINNER.

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Softball finished a weekend of play against Northern Kentucky University winning 8-0.  The Softball Cards got out to a quick lead by scoring 4 in the first inning.  While that is all they would need to win for the day, the game officially ended in the bottom of the sixth due to the run rule.  (The run rule is in effect when a team leads by more than 8 runs after the 5^th inning.) 

Freshman Tiarra Sanabria got her first official start on the mound and went two innings giving up one hit and striking out two.  Sanabria was relieved by Caralisa Connell, who fanned 4 in two innings, and Maryssa Becker closed out the game and got the win on the day. 

The softball team heads to the west coast next weekend to participate in the Mayfair Tournament in Fullerton, CA.   They will return home the weekend of March 7-9. 

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Lacrosse finished their Virginia road trip at William & Mary on Sunday and won in a dominant performance, with a final score of 18-5.

Nikki Boltja had a season-best 7 goals to lead the Cardinals.  The Cardinals had a 21 minute stretch in the game where they scored 14 unanswered goals.  This was the 4^th best unanswered stretch in school history. 

Coach Kellie Young had this to say about her teams performance on Sunday:
 

"This was one of the best overall efforts of my college coaching days," head coach Kellie Young said. "End to end, every player gave their best effort and showed incredible attention to detail."

Sounds like a great win and great team play for Lacrosse.  Next up for the team is a return home for a match up on Saturday, March 1 against Denver.  With very few home gams on the schedule for the team this will be a rare opportunity to see a game.  

jenny obryan
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Saturday Cardinal Couple ---Softball splits on Friday...Lacrosse downs ODU

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Softball splits in Day One of Cardinal CLASSIC

- Lacrosse wins @ ODU

Louisville Softball (5-6) split in action on the opening day of the Cardinal Classic at Ulmer Stadium Friday. The Cards run-ruled NKU in their first game 11-2 but fell to EKU 4-0 in the nightcap.

Louisville jumped on the Northern Kentucky squad early...scoring four runs in the first inning and steadily increased the lead...ending the game in the bottom of the fifth with a Maggie Ruckenbrod double driving in two runs to take a nine-run lead and end the game. 

A shame that they couldn't have transferred five of those abundance of  runs to the next game. A season high 16 hits for the Cards in the win.

As strong as the Cardinal bats were against the Norse, they virtually disappeared in the contest against Eastern Kentucky.  Colonels pitcher LeAnna Pittsenbarge tossed a one hitter at Louisville and EKU got two home runs after two outs in the top of the seventh inning to break wide open a scoreless contest. Brittany Duncan delivered the sole hit for Louisville...a double in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Caralisa Connell got the win in the first contest, Rachel Le Coq took the loss in the second game.

Louisville plays two again tomorrow...facing IUPUI at 3 p.m. and Central Michigan at 5:30 p.m.

Something we're unaccustomed to in regards to Louisville softball. Struggling early and being below .500. Surprising when one looks at the talent-laden roster and veteran pitching staff.

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Lacrosse improved to 2-1 on the season with a hard fought win at Old Dominion Friday evening. 'Kellie's heroes' downed the Monarchs 15-12...getting five goals from Nikki Boltja and four scores from Faye Brust.

After ODU took an early lead 2 1/2 minutes into the game, the Cards responded with four straight scores...three of them from Boltja. The Cards never relinquished that lead and went into the half ahead 8-7.

ODU scored just 50 seconds into the start of the final half to tie the contest...but once again, the Cards responded with four straight goals...two from Faye Brust...to grab a 12-8 lead with 22:11 left. The Cards still led 14-10 after Cortnee Daley scored with 12:57 remaining and Daley added Louisville's final goal with 5:11 left to make it 15-11 Cards.

Louisville had a commanding 35-18 shot advantage...in fact, they dominated all the offensive stats against the Dominion bunch in grabbing their first road win of the season.

Ashley Herbst had two saves in goal in fifty minutes of play...the 'other' Ashley (Peacock) had ten minutes between the pipes and allowed just one goal.

Lacrosse continues the Virginia road trip with a Sunday game in Williamsburg against William & Mary.

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CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO today should be a busy affair...with reports on basketball, softball, lacrosse and whatever other sports we can squeeze in. We've also got comments from Kellie Young on the lacrosse win against Detroit and WBB players Shoni Schimmel and Sara Hammond on the Wednesday win over Houston.

11 a.m. Listen in at www.crescenthillradio.com


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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