Golf and Baseball Result - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Golf Leaderboard

After two days of play, Louisville Women's Golf sits in 10th place of the preliminary rounds.  The initial winnowing of the field, which will happen after today's action, will take the top 15 teams on for another day of play.  The top 9 individuals not on advancing teams will advance as well.

Molly Skapik had a good day of golf, leading the Cards in the clubhouse with a 1 under par for the day, for a total 3 over for her two days.  Lauren Hartlage stuggled through much of the teeing off on 18 for +5, but hopefully pulled herself out of the doldrums with the eagle that she got on the last hole of the day.  While the other members of the team, Delaney Shah, Olivia Cason, and Kristin Engle all ended up back in the clubhouse with +5s for the day.

Again, the consistency across the team is serving the Cards well, putting them in solid position to be able to advance to at least another day of play on Monday with a solid round today.  The squad will also be looking to put themselves in the best possible position to advance beyond Monday's play.  They will need to at least maintain the status quo to do so as a team, as the top 10 teams advance beyond Monday.

Baseball Rounds Out the Season With a Win

Louisville Baseball has Notre Dame's number, winning the last 16 meetings between the teams, but
sometimes the wins are a bit nerve-wracking.  Yesterday's come from behind win wasn't the soothing romp we would've like it to be, but the Cards got the job done, finally taking the lead in the bottom of the 8th with 4 runs in the frame for the 10-7 win.

The Cards were powered largely by Josh Stowers, with 2 touch-em-alls in the game with 6 RBIs, including a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th.

The win to close out the season lands UofL in the 5th "seed" for the ACC tournament, putting them in the D pool with #4 Duke and #9 Wake Forest.  The Cards will have to win both games in the pool play to advance to the four team single-elimination bracket for the championship.

The other accomplishment with the finale game win was to reach 40 wins on the season for the Dan McDonnell squad.  That is now 7 consecutive seasons with 40 wins, and for the last 6 of those, they reached the mark during the regular season.

The Diamond Dwellers will not just be looking to advance from pool play in order to win the ACC championship, there will also be an eye towards their rankings as they have made a late season run up the ladder.  If they can, with potentially 4 games in the ACC tournament, climb to the Top 16 vicinity (they're currently 25th ranked, so this is a long-shot), they then stand a chance to host a Regional in the NCAA tournament.

A Moment of Commentary

Who, on earth, could possibly think this ACC Baseball tournament format is a good one?  First you have a pool play format that results in many of the 2nd games for teams being played with no mathematical chance of advancing.  You have to go 2-0 in pool play to advance, unless you're the top seeded team in the pool, in which case you can potentially drop one of the games.

OK, I'm not a huge baseball fan, in general, but I enjoy following Dan McDonnell's squad late in the season after other UofL Athletics have wrapped up...and then every year, this monstrosity of a tournament format is foisted upon us.

Ultimately, this is a week that I have to figuratively grit my teeth and get through, to get to the more sane NCAA tournament format.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

 The four knuckleheads were all re-united in the studio for the first time in...months?  Merriment was
had, and I think we even managed to convey some useful information for those listening.

A special "Thanks!" to Arica Carter for the interview with us.

Check out the fun with the Facebook Live video at https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2038248432865096/

--
JMcA

Omaha Bound

Baseball Punches The First Ticket to Omaha

I hope Peyton Manning wasn't in town yesterday, because he would've been one very confused person with so many people talking about Omaha.

The Baseball team punched their ticket to Omaha, with the 6-2 win over Kentucky.  Brendan McKay with 6 2/3 innings in the win, with Sam Bordner coming in for relief.  The scoring was didn't come in overwhelming waves, but rather slow, but steady progress throughout the game.  OK, well, it did get started with a bang, with Drew Ellis ripping a solo shot, scoring a touch-em-all in his 2nd straight game, in the top of the 2nd inning.  (Due to NCAA rules, Louisville, despite being the host school, was the "away" team in this game.)  The Cards put up another in the 5th, when Logan Taylor collected a walk to get on base, advanced to 3rd on a Colby Fitch single out to right, and tagged for the score on a Devin Mann sacrifice out to right center.  Kentucky would claw one back in the bottom of the 5th.

In the 6th, and Drew Ellis comes back to up to bat.  Again?  Sure, why not.  Solo shot to left, that I thought might've gotten caught by the firefighters on the overpass 500 ft beyond left field.  Devin Hairston picked up a walk and scored on a Josh Stower triple down the left field line making it 4-1.  The Cards would load the bases up again, but a double play at 1st and home got the BatCats out of the inning.

UK would get one more back in the bottom of the 7th, but UofL would come back and put 2 more up on the board in the 8th.  Tyler Fitzgerald walked, and scored on a Logan Taylor double.  Taylor would then score on a Colby Fitch single to right center.  That gets you to the final 6-2 score, and it was just a matter of getting through another inning and a half before the dogpile and celebration.

Huge credit to Kentucky as they played extremely well this season, and have a huge potential in front of them.  This was their first trip to a Super Regional, but it certainly won't be their last.

E Ends in 14th

We spoke, yesterday, on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour about Emmonnie Henderson's last hurrah as a Cardinal Thrower on the Track and Field Team.  After climbing to a 2nd place finish in shot put on Friday, "E" would end up in 14th in the disc throw yesterday.  That may be a little bit of a disappointing finish, but it's truly an amazing accomplishment for Henderson to have advanced this far in her throwing career.  We hope she can continue her training, maybe find a few sponsorships to help her along, and perhaps make a 2020 Tokyo Olympics appearance.

She does have another year of overall eligibility left in athletics, but we don't expect to see her back out on the hardwood again.

The Summer Slump Has Arrived

Case, Julie "JC" Sullivan, and myself were in the radio studio again yesterday.  It's always great to JC with us, and it's particularly great to have folks that can carry on a great conversation as we head into the summer slump with so little on the schedule to talk about.  We digressed a bit, but we did get some good discussions in about Cardinal Baseball; Track and Field, including the latest UofL NCAA Championship, Edwin Kibichiy's win in the 3000m steeplechase (like hurdles, but with traps!).  We also got to hear a little about Case's adventures in Tough Muddering (that's a word, now), including some electroshock therapy?  You'll have to check it out, for all the gory muddy details.

-- JMcA

Who's Turning Left This Weekend?

Emmonnie Henderson Takes 2nd

Emmonnie Henderson's outdoor shot put career with the Cardinals is over, but she went out with a bang...well, maybe a thud of a heavy metal weight landing in grass, but the thud was a long way away!

With her best ever throw, at 17.92 meters (59 feet 9 1/2 inches), she took second place at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Eugene Oregon.  That finish also earns her a first team All American honors, and a spot in the UofL history books with the best ever women's finish at the NCAA Championships.

Many of the Cardinal faithful, of course, remember Henderson's contributions on the hardwood as part of Coach Walz's basketball squad.  She does still have a year of overall NCAA athletics, should she wish to return to Walz's squad and patrol the paint some more, but I suspect that is not in the plans.

We here at Cardinal Couple, will certainly continue to watch E's career, and hope for a continued arc of success and perhaps an appearance in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo?

Congratulations and good luck, E!

Baseball

It's time for some more left turns around the basepaths for the UofL Baseball squad.

Kade McClure will take the mound just hours from the time of this writing, with the Cardinals Ace, Brendan McKay being held for his normal rest, likely for tomorrow's game.  There's been a lot of tongue wagging in the sports media about Dan McDonnell's decision to go with McClure for the first game, rather than the staff ace, although UK has made basically the same decision, to give the extra day of rest to their ace and high altitude weatherman, Sean Hjelle.  At 6'11", I'm sure he never hears the end of the "How's the weather up there?" comments.

Perhaps the biggest matchup in the NCAA Super Regionals, the Cards and Cats were inexplicably given a noon start time by the worldwide leader in sports layoffs.  Tickets have been sold out for this one, both chairbacks and berm space.  If you want to see this one in person, perhaps you can join the Louisville Firefighters out on the overpass beyond left field.  Give them a hat-tip for their selfless work and efforts, they certainly deserve it.  This one is televised on ESPN2, or you can enjoy the aural delight of Sean Moth on 93.9FM.

Belmont

We do have some more horses turning left this weekend in a major event.  With the possibility of a triple crown already off the table for the year, the Belmont does lose a little bit of it's luster, but the Belmont is always a well-done event.

Anyone that has followed Cardinal Couple over the years, and particularly listened to the radio shows, knows of my epic lack of horse handicapping skills.  Head over to Paulie's site for his Belmont picks.

Hippy Hippy Shake

Finally, best wishes to Paulie as he undergoes a hip replacement and will be spending a little bit of time on the IR list.  I know we were all looking forward to an anesthesia powered Paulie article, but it's not to be.  Let's hope Sonja at least gets some audio recordings for posterity.

Good luck to Paulie, and let's hope he's not stuck with a hip that makes him always turn left.  Rest up, recover, and come out and show us that Hippy Hippy Shake.

-- JMcA

Hittin' and Pitchin'...Baseball Takes Over Louisville again this weekend -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NCAA REGIONAL AT PATTERSON THIS WEEKEND

The ping of the bat, the pop of the mitt. The chants of the crowd and the conferences at the mound. It's the big show in town this weekend and Cardinal fans of all ages, interest levels and occupations will flock to Jim Patterson Stadium this weekend to watch UofL try to best their three guests and advance to the Super Regionals. Hats on backwards and inside out. Al Greener playing the organ. Beautiful weather...something the ACC Tournament would have loved to had on opening day. Keep your eyes open if you go...you'll see plenty of UofL women's student-athletes out there cheering on their classmates. 

NCAA Baseball Tournament time is big time on the corner of 2nd. and Central for the next couple of days. It's pretty much the only Cardinal Athletic event going on this weekend...so let's take a look at it. We know, and I know I'll hear about it. We're a women's sports site. Why are we covering this? We know that plenty of women's sports fans will be there. We're not so narrow-minded and "blinkers-on" that we can't appreciate and laud Dan McDonnell's guys for a few days. 

1) McKay can play. The junior left-handed pitcher and first baseman has been named National Player of the Year for NCAA College Baseball. It's the first time the honor has been bestowed on a Cardinal baseball player. 

He's pretty good. He batted .363 for the season, had 17 home runs and 52 RBI's. On the mound, he went 9-3 with a 2.37 ERA and 124 strikeouts. He was also ACC Player of the Year. He'll be appearing soon in a minor league city for a brief while before donning a major league uniform. Is it too much to hope he ends up in Wrigley Field? Hope springs eternal for us Cubbie fans, you know...

Lincoln logs....saves. 

2) He's got company.  Also named to the First Team All-American squad with Brendon McKay are Drew Ellis and Lincoln Henzman. They're both juniors as well and are probably donning their Cardinal uniforms for their last times.  

Ellis, a hard-hitting infielder who leads the Cards with a .376 batting average. He's got 17 fence-clearers and 18 doubles...so outfields are best served by not playing shallow on him. He's a local kid...from Jeffersonville, IN. You can put him at first or third base when the Cards take the field...usually first when McKay's on the mound...he was first-team All-ACC as well. 

Henzman hails from Lexington, KY and is the door closer. The stopper. The relief specialist that led the nation with 16 saves. Only 32 innings on the season for the righty...who sports a 1.41 ERA. Opposing batters offered a weak .157 batting average against him. his brothers play the game as well....Dalton at MTSU and Cameron at Centre. 

Hiya, Highlander !!

3) First up? Louisville (47-10) will face Radford (27-30) at 6 p.m. tonight. An earlier contest (Oklahoma vs. Xavier) will take place at 2 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPN3. Limited single game tickets ate still available. Free parking at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium with shuttle services available to the ball pack for the fans. If they win against Radford, the Cards would advance to the winner's bracket to face the winner of the Sooners and Muskies. That game would go at 7 p.m. Saturday...the loser's bracket to play at noon.

Cade McClure will get the start against Highlanders. An unlikely participant for baseball's big dance...Radford had to win four games in the Big South Tournament to get the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. They're one of only three teams with a losing record in the field. 

Certainly, there will be a lot of activity around the south end of the Louisville campus both today and tomorrow. One scheduled event, however, will not be held. It leads to the question...

4) Why Did They Cancel the Women's Football Clinic? 

The annual women's football clinic...scheduled for Saturday, June 3rd. from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Thornton's Center For Academic Excellence....on the south side of Papa John's Stadium has been cancelled. 

We'll bring in #1 Cardinal fan and the revered "Bird Lady" Julie "J.C." Sullivan for our Saturday radio show to take a further look at this announcement. Parking issues? One would think not. They got a lot of asphalt for parking out there at the corner of Floyd and Central.

Join us at www.crescenthillradio.com WCHQ 100.9 FM tomorrow at 11 a.m. for the story and speculation...plus much more on The CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. 


paulie
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