Greenwood Goes Pro -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Carmyn Greenwood Goes Pro with Florida Vibe

After a successful career with Louisville softball, Carmyn Greenwood has chosen not to hang her cleats up yet. She is headed down to Bradenton, Fla. (45 minutes south of Tampa) to play with the Florida Vibe.

The Florida Vibe is an independent professional softball team that has a schedule featuring opponents such as Team Canada, Team Mexico, Puerto Rico, Team Florida, Smash It Sports (SIS) Vipers, and the USSSA Pride, a former standout from the now-folded National Pro Fastpitch.

With only seven players listed on the roster on the team website, which has not been updated to add Greenwood yet, her signing should lead to an immediate impact to the team.

The 28-game schedule is slated to begin June 15 and will end on August 6. A majority of games will be held at the State College of Florida softball complex.

Other News

The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships are set to begin in Eugene, Oregon later this week. We will cover more on how the women student-athletes are doing as we get results.

On a non-women's sports related note, congratulations to Louisville Baseball on their win in the NCAA Regional yesterday. They now advance to the NCAA Super Regional against Texas A&M. I got a chance to talk to members on the Louisville volleyball and Louisville women's basketball rosters, as both had folks in the crowd cheering the baseball boys on.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Carmyn Greenwood All-American Honors -- Kelsi Worrell Dahlia Retires -- Lauren Hartlage -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning and Happy Thursday to all of our Cardinal Couple readers! After a brief hiatus I am back. Thank you to Daryl for filling in and taking over on Tuesday for me.

Katy and I made a road trip down to Fort Mill, S.C. to see her family and have our engagement photos taken. We also picked up our marriage certificate (we have roughly a year before the big day) so it was a rather eventful weekend and trip.

Carmyn Greenwood Named All-American

Louisville softball will have a new name and jersey to hang up at Ulmer Stadium. Carmyn Greenwood was named to the NFCA All-American third team. Greenwood is the first Cardinal to earn the All-American honors since 2013 when Katie Keller and Alicja Wolny were named to the second team. 

Greenwood wrapped up her time at Louisville with several notable statistics. She led the team with a .400 batting average, 14 doubles, seven triples, 70 hits, 54 rbis, 1.270 on-base + slugging percentage, and 54 runs scored. The seven triples was an ACC best while her total hits and her combined on-base and slugging percentage were second in the conference. Her runs scored ranked third and rbis ranked fourth. 

Greenwood also now holds the program record with a .408 career batting average. Her .657 career slugging percentage ranks second in school history. She also sits high in many categories such as career on-base percentage, single season batting average, hits, runs scored, home runs, and total bases.

Heckuva way to go out for one of Louisville's best.

Kelsi Worrell Dahlia Retires from Swimming

An absolute Louisville legend and multi-time NCAA national champion announced her retirement via social media this week. Kelsi Worrell, now Kelsi Dahlia has retired from swimming.

Dahlia spent the last several years with Team USA swimming and appeared in the 2016 Olympics. She won two national titles at Louisville in the 100m butterfly and was national runner-up her sophomore year. She also set an American and NCAA record during her Louisville career.

We would like to wish Kelsi Worrell Dahlia a happy retirement on a highly successful career.

Lauren Hartlage to Compete in 2022 US Women's Open

Following a successful career with Louisville women's golf, Lauren Hartlage is now enjoying her professional career and will compete in the 2022 US Women's Open.

The event is being held at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club from June 2-5. Her tee time is 2:46 p.m.

Hartlage qualified for the event after medaling in Columbus earlier this season.

We wish Hartlage the best of luck!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Accolades for Several Cardinals -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

No Daryl today. She's working hard running the show at Louisville Slugger Field and welcoming back a fan favorite Cincinnati Reds who is down in Louisville temporarily. You get Jared again, which means you'll get at leasti one "selfie" in today's photos. 

In the world of UofL sports, we have no results to report. But we get to happily brag on several student-athletes!

Volleyball- Anna Stevenson

We'll start with a recent Cardinal alumna. Louisville volleyball's Anna Stevenson has been named to the US National Team. Currently ranked #1 in the world, Team USA holds the 2020 Olympic gold medal and is the three-time defending VNL national champion. Stevenson is one of 25 players to make the roster.

Since her ACC title and Final Four appearance with Louisville, Stevenson has been enjoying the engaged life while playing for Aydin Buyuksehir Belediyespor in Turkey.

A total of 14 players will be selected to travel each week as they play in the Philippines, Canada, and Turkey.

Softball- Carmyn Greenwood and Kendall Smith

Louisville softball had a pair of players named to the College Sports Information Directors of American Academic All-District team. To be considered for the honor, players must be a start or key reserve, maintain at least a 3.30 GPA, and be of sophomore level or higher at their respective institutions.

Greenwood is a two-time All-ACC selection and has been on the ACC Academic honor roll twice. Greenwood has had an All-American caliber season so perhaps there will be more accolades on the way for her?

Smith spent her final year of eligibility with the Cards after transferring in from Western Kentucky. She sat second on the team in batting average behind Greenwood and holds multiple Conference USA awards.

Lacrosse- Hannah Morris, Nicole Perroni, and Caroline Blalock

For Louisville lacrosse, three players received honors.

Hannah Morris and Nicole Perroni were named to the IWLCA All-Region Second Team. Morris was top on the team with 56 goals scored. She scored in 16 of the 18 games this year. Perroni was second on the team with 50 goals scored. Her 28 caused turnovers was a team best.

Caroline Blalock was named a USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American Honorable Mention. She was all named to the All-ACC Second Team. Blalock was top three for Louisville in six statistical categories.

Guess The Athlete

We had some fun a couple weeks back with guessing a couple student-athletes that I had the chance to work with. I worked with another student-athlete last night so I figured we could play "Guess The Athlete" again.

Need a hint? She plays on Jeff's favorite Louisville team. She's a defensive specialist. She graduated high school here in Louisville.

Answer: Alexa Hendricks

We'll play again in the future as the opportunity to work with more of our awesome student-athletes presents itself.

                                                      *******************************

Don't forget to tune into our World Famous Cardinal Couple Radio Podcast tomorrow ay 11:00 a.m. ET. We are happy to be back after taking last week off in honor of the Kentucky Derby.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Falls in ACC Tournament -- Golf Ends Season in NCAA Regionals -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

We love to report the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics, but unfortunately we saw at least one Louisville team's season come to a close yesterday with another team's season hanging on by a thread following a loss.

Offense Goes Silent in ACC Tournament Loss

Irony struck yesterday as Louisville softball, a team known to produce runs at all at times throughout the year, was held scoreless and recorded just one hit in a 2-0 loss to 9-seed Syracuse.

The lone Louisville hit came from Jenna Servi in the bottom of the sixth inning. She would never advance past first in the inning. Hannah File reached base in the second inning on a throwing error, but would remain stranded at first.

With a 2-0 deficit and down to their final three outs, Taylor Roby reached safely on a field error to start the bottom part of the final inning. Her pinch runner, Mia Forsythe, would advance to second following a Kendall Smith walk. Sidney Bickel would go into run for Smith. With a pair of runners on with no outs, it appeared a Louisville miracle might happen. Sadly, a fly ball to right field would advance Forsythe to third, but a strike out and a ground out would end any chances of a rally.

Syracuse's damage came in the third inning with two outs. A well-placed bunt towards third base would place the final batter in the lineup on first. She would safely steal second before ending her trip around the bases on a home run ball to dead center by the Orange's leadoff batter.

Roby pitched a full game in the circle for Louisville, allowing two runs on four hits in 27 batters faced. She would suffer her 11th loss of the season to fall to 15-11.

For Louisville, an early exit from the ACC Tournament and a 27-25 record could be enough to end any hopes of hearing their name called this weekend for the NCAA Tournament. The Cards were already listed as a bubble team going into the ACC Tournament and their stock went south following the loss.

The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday at 7:00p.m. ET on ESPN2. We hope to hear Louisville's named called.

On a lighter note for Louisville softball, a few Cardinals received ACC accolades yesterday.

Carmyn Greenwood was named to the All-ACC first team. She leads Louisville in batting average. Greenwood is also top in the ACC in hits and runs scored and second in RBIs. She can finish high in the Louisville record books in terms of batting average and slugging percentage. This is her second straight All-ACC honor.

Taylor Roby was named to the All-ACC third team. She leads the team in home runs with 15, which is also a good enough mark for second in the conference. Roby has been the main pitcher for the Cards all season, tallying over 160 innings with over 100 strikeouts and totaling a career-high 15 wins. This is her second straight All-ACC honor.

Korbe Otis was named to the All-ACC freshmen team. She is third on the team in batting averaged and is the only freshman to start every game for the Cards. Otis transitioned to center field following an early season injury to Hannah File and has held that position ever since.

Golf Bows Out in NCAA Regional

Louisville women's golf saw their season come to a close yesterday. The Cards finished 21-over-par and tied with Sam Houston at seventh.

#2 Oregon, #28 Georgia, #13 Texas, and #33 TCU were the four teams to qualify for the NCAA Championships. #11 Florida and #23 Arizona were 'upset' and saw their seasons end in the fifth and sixth spots.

Kendall Griffin, Mairead Martin, and Lauren Thibodeau all finished in the top 30 of the individual scores. Carmen Griffith tied for 37th and Gabbi Bentancourt tied for 60th.

Louisville will begin their 2022-2022 season around mid-September.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Heats Up at UIC -- Kianna Smith Waived by Sparks -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Offense Gets Hot Against UIC

In their final regular season midweek game of the year, Louisville went to Chicago to take on the UIC Flames. Despite their nickname, it was actually UofL who was red hot as the Cards won 12-3.

Louisville wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. Carmyn Greenwood led off with a bunt. She was later called out at second on a fielder's choice that saw Korbe Otis safe at first. Otis reached second on a fielder's choice and raced home on a blooper single by Kendall Smith later in the inning.

The Cards added a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Dylann Cravens found a way to get on base, reached second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a single by Vanessa Miller, and scored on a wild pitch. Miller was able to take second on that same wild pitch and would touch home moments later when Jenna Servi sent a single to center field.

UIC was able to piece together a couple hits in the bottom half of the fourth inning to silence any talks of a shutout, but it seemed to have angered the Louisville offense.

The Cards blew this game open in the fifth inning with a four spot. Timely walks and hits loaded the bases in time for Miller to rope a hit down the right field line. It was officially scored as a three-run triple with Miller scoring on an error on the relay from the outfield to the catcher. It appeared she would've been safe at home either way, so it's an inside-the-park grand slam in my book.

UIC loaded the bases with two outs in the back end of the sixth inning but Louisville was able to limit the damage to just two runs and maintain a comfortable a 7-3 lead.

The Cards continued to pound on runs in the sixth inning. Smith was a few feet shy of a grand slam, but plated Greenwood and Otis.

Roby launched a three-run home run to dead center in the seventh inning. It was her 15th homer of the season, a team-high and a career-high. The three rbis gives her 45 on the season, also a team-high and career-high.

Sam Booe would close out the game in the circle in the final two innings without allowing a run. It was not a save situation.

Taylor Roby got the start in the circle and earned her 15th win of the season, a career-high for the senior. Her 46 career wins is eighth-best in program history. With three strikeouts in the circle, Roby now has 299 career strikeouts, eighth-best in program history.

Roby is also flirting with some season and career stats at the plate. The program record for home runs in a single season is 17. Roby needs to two to tie. The program record for career home runs is 42. She needs two to tie. She is eighth all-time in walks with 81. She was sixth in career program slugging percentage at .586 going into last night's game.

Greenwood is also on base for some high-ranking stats for UofL single season and career records. She has 17 doubles on the year, three shy off the single-season record. Going into last night's game Greenwood had a .415 batting average on the season and .415 average in her career at Louisville. If those hold true, she would finish fourth for batting average in a single season and first in career batting average. She also had an .868 slugging percentage on the year and a .668 slugging percentage in her career. Those would put her second in single season slugging percentage and first in career slugging percentage. She is also high up on the on base percentage record books.

To make sure I'm reading the correct records and to make sure my numbers are adding up on everything, I have a request in with the sports information director for softball, Lori Korte Harmon. The season also isn't over so things are subject to change. If and when some players set some records, we will gladly report on it here.

Next on the schedule for Holly Aprile's squad is a three-game series at #20 Notre Dame to close out the regular season. The Cards have clinched a spot in the 10-team ACC Tournament and currently sit seventh in the conference, but are considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.

( A special THANKS! to Ryan Greenwood, father of Louisville Softball student-athletes Carmyn and Cassidy Greenwood, for the Softball photos from the UIC game !) 

Kianna Smith Waived by LA Sparks

In a rather surprising move, the LA Sparks waived Kianna Smith yesterday. The Louisville alum was one of three players that saw their time with LA come to a quick end.

Smith joins Jazmine Jones as former Cards who were waived in the days leading up to the start of the WNBA.

With a limited budget and rather poor salary caps (compared to the NBA), teams are forced to make tough decisions that often leads to strong players and newly drafted players let go prematurely.

The WNBA season begins tomorrow.

Horserace Season in Louisville

Thurby and Cinco de Mayo falling on the same day is dangerous. Or a big money maker if you're Churchill Downs. The racetrack will certainly benefit from the alcohol sales as well as happy betters. Still not as big as the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks, Thurby has gone from a day for locals into another day into the stretched Derby season.

The Kentucky Oaks post time is set for Friday at 5:51. The Kentucky Derby post time is set for Saturday at 6:57.

We don't cover horseracing here at Cardinal Couple, but we do gladly participate in the seasonal celebrations.

 

If you're interested in betting, I highly recommend you check out Paulie's handicapping site this weekend (Paulie PICKS) . If you lose some money you can always send him the bill, but you might get an unkind gesture in return.

LINK TO PAULIE PICKS:  PAULIE PICKS

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Softball Faces The Flames -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL IN MID-WEEK MATCHUP AT UIC

The Louisville Softball team hits Chi-Town today for a softball matchup against University of Illinois-Chicago -- UIC as they're known -- for a 5:30 (CDT) game against the Flames. That's 6:30 here in the Louisville area, just in case this whole daylight saving vs. regular time in which time zone has you confused. 3:30 if you'ew reading in L.A.

UIC is a member of the Horizon League and has built a 11-30 record this season (8-14 in conference play). It'll be the fourth time the two squads have met -- they've battled to a 2-2 series record. Their last meeting was in 2020 in Stillwater, OK, where the Cards took a 10-2 contest. 

UofL will head to South Bend after this one for a regular and conference ending series against Notre Dame, so maybe a mid-week tune up will be beneficial for Holly Aprile's crew. A chance maybe to experiment with some of the other pitchers on the squad beside ace Taylor Roby.

 A chance for the Cards to maybe loosen up the bats a bit against a squad that started the season 3-12...in the Stanford, San Diego and   South Florida Tournaments. 

It is, of course, Derby Week in Louisville, and -- as in past years, Softball takes to the road for competition, instead of going head-to-head with the Kentucky Oaks and Derby. 

They'll no doubt look to the hot bat of Carmyn Greenwood, who was named ACC Player of the Week that ended 5/1/22. Greenwood was a flame herself...hitting .600 last week and .415 for the season. Greenwood has 14 home runs on the season (which ties her with Taylor Roby for team best) and she leads the ACC with 66 hits. She's also scored 52 runs on the season and has 52 RBI's. 

She's also banged out seven triples this season, second best in DI NCAA Softball. 

Holly Aprile's squad is 26-21 on the season and has a 11-12 ACC record. She's built a squad that combines a few Cardinals veterans (Greenwood, Jenna Servi and Taylor Roby), a strong group of freshmen (Dylann Cravens, Korbe Otis, Easton Lotus, Ally Alexander, Maddi Grant and Sam Booe) plus several key transfers in Hannah File and Kendall Smith. 

No free TV or internet is listed for this one, but it's listed to be shown on ESPN+, like a lot of the Flames games have been this season, the pay-by-view or month streaming service, of course. 

Losses this time of year can affect the RPI, so let's hope the Cards can grab the "W".and proceed to South Bend with a little steam. 

paulie 

 

Softball sinks Virginia on Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS SOFTBALL DOWN CAVS 9-4 TO TAKE SERIES

It was Carmyn Greenwood last appearance in Ulmer Stadium and she made the most of it. 

Starting the game with a home run, Greenwood went 3-3 on the the afternoon, adding a double and triple to her one-woman wrecking crew assault on the Wahoos. She scored three runs, drove in two and made a spectacular assortment of catches and throws in left field in the Cards 9-4 win. She probably even drove the UVA squad to the airport after the game and made sure they boarded the flight home safely

Louisville unloaded for ten hits against an assortment of UVA pitchers, including a three RBI, round-tripper from Korbe Otis in the fourth inning that put the Cards ahead to stay at 6-3. Doubles from Kendall Smith, Hannah File and Dylann Cravens also boosted the Cards attack, who go to 26-21 on the season and 10-11 in ACC play. 

It was "T-and-T" in the circle for the Cards -- Taylor Roby getting the start and going 3.2 innings before giving way to Taja Felder, who gets the win while allowing just three hits and one run in 3.1 innings of relief work. 

A fitting way to end the 2022 season ending home-stand for the Cards, who will travel to Notre Dame for three next weekend, after stopping off to play UIC on Wednesday. Louisville is currently in seventh place in the ACC and could, conceivably climb to sixth in the conference standings with a sweep of the Irish on Derby weekend and some losses by the teams above them in the conference race. 

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

POST GAME CARMYN GREENWOOD LINK:  https://youtu.be/uMyj7lphug8

POST GAME HOLLY APRILE LINK:  https://youtu.be/B8PKOdPG97c

JAZ JONES RELEASED BY FEVER

It's always a bit of sad news when any of our former Cardinals student-athletes get waived or released from a professional franchise, and we learned Saturday afternoon that Cardinal Forever Jazmine Jones was released from the Indiana Fever. 

One would think that a player like Jaz won't be on the sidelines long and get added to another WNBA roster.

We wish her the best of luck and feel certain we haven't seen the last of her yet. 

paulie

Softball Walks Off -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Beats Virginia in Game 1

In the opening game of Louisville softball's Senior Weekend, the Cards showed that they still have some fight as they try to finish the season with some momentum and potentially make enough noise in the ACC tournament to find an NCAA bid. A win last weekend would have gone a long way, but they came up just short on all three occasions against the Hokies. After a sweep against Syracuse and then being swept by Virginia Tech, the Cards found themselves two games below .500 in conference, but a big weekend against Virginia can put them in a position to finish .500 with a split against Notre Dame in the final series of the regular season next week.

All of those hopes and dreams depend on winning games this weekend, which Louisville did in dramatic fashion yesterday. The first inning started off pedestrian enough, with a pair of groundouts induced by Taylor Roby, but back-to-back singles gave UVA a chance at an opening frame run. Fortunately, Roby was able to get a popout to end the inning. Once the teams changed sides, Carmyn Greenwood worked a full-count walk to get on base as the leadoff. Korbe Otis made an out that I can't quite parse from the box score: "Otis grounded out to c unassisted (0-2)". I'm not sure if she bunted on two strikes or what, but I haven't seen a player ground out to the catcher and get tagged out and a popout would usually be noted. 

At any rate, Greenwood stole second with one out, and an errant throw sent her to third, putting the Cards in prime position. That would be where her trek around the bases would end, though, as Roby struck out and the passed ball wasn't enough to score the run, and Kendall Smith popped a foul ball to first base. Roby hasn't been missing many bats lately, and that came to pass again yesterday, as she finished the complete game without striking out any Cavaliers. Putting balls in play can be very beneficial for an offense, as Virginia showed in the second inning. A walk to open the inning was erased by a fielder's choice, but a runner remained at first. A slow grounder to third gave the Cards two outs, but they couldn't make the lead play at second. With a runner on second and two outs, a single to left seemed innocuous at first, but Greenwood booted it in the outfield and both runners advanced. With a run in hand, the next batter sent a single up the middle to score a speedy runner from second, and Louisville trailed 2-0. A flyout ended the inning.

The Cards didn't bite back immediately, as three fly/pop outs were split by a Vanessa Miller single to coast through the second quickly. Roby was much more efficient in the third inning. Despite still getting the ball in play, Virginia was able to only eke out a pair of groundouts and a popout. Jenna Servi opened the bottom of the third with a triple, and Greenwood made up for her error in the previous inning with a first pitch RBI single. After Otis flew out and Roby lined out, it looked like the Cards would only get one back, but Kendall Smith came up with her first big hit of the evening, a double that brought Greenwood around to tie it. Not content with the tie, Hannah File doubled as well and the Cards led 3-2 after a flyout ended the inning. 

Another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth brought Louisville back to the plate and they were handed a golden opportunity to extend their lead. Vanessa Miller reached on an error to open the inning, and Maddi Grant did the same, with both players advancing an extra base. With runners on second and third and no outs, Louisville promptly followed with two pop outs and a groundout to end the inning. That missed opportunity looked like it would immediately haunt the Cards as Virginia regained the lead in the fifth. A walk to open the inning seemed like it would be dealt with after two quick outs, but a steal and another walk set up a two-RBI triple with two outs. Down 4-3, the Cards really would have liked to score when given the chance.

The next four half innings seemed as though both teams had finally settled in, and Louisville's chances were dwindling. They sent seven batters to the plate and saw six of them sit down immediately, as a sacrifice bunt in the sixth didn't help to bring the tying run around. Virginia put a few runners on base, but didn't threaten as much as in previous innings, and Louisville was set up for one last chance in the bottom of the seventh. With the top of the order up, the Cards had the best chance they were going to get, and the leadoff group came through. Greenwood opened with a single and Otis followed with a four-pitch walk. Virginia changed pitchers with the tying run at second, and the new entrant induced a groundout from Taylor Roby. Though that gave them one out, it was a productive out, as it moved both runners up. Kendall Smith took advantage and her second big hit of the night won the game, as a single to left scored both runners.

Louisville will get a chance to move to .500 in conference this afternoon in game two of the series. The game will get underway at 4PM and is available to watch on ACCN if you don't want to get out into the beautiful afternoon at Ulmer. After yesterday's game, Jared got the opportunity to chat with the game winner. Check out the interview with Kendall Smith below. 

Kendall Smith Post-Game

(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON)

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour PODCAST

Another place to hear the interview should be today's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. I'm out this week, but the rest of the crew should bring a great show. As we wrap up the spring seasons, we are approaching the summer slump, but there's always something for us to ramble on about. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you! Paulie, Jeff, Jared and Daryl on board today for the podcast/ 

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Breaker: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Photos in today's article by Jared Anderson. You'll notice many of the players wearing purple bows and eye black. This is in honor and remembrance of the JMU softball player who lost her life recently. Her number is also honored in the batter's box this weekend. Hannah File transferred to Louisville from JMU.

Softball Wins Game One and Upcoming Events -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Scores Early and Often vs UNC

Louisville brought in the Tarheels for a weekend series, and I'm sure the team from southeast of here wasn't thrilled to arrive in mid-40s and wintry precipitation. The teams braved the weather for game one last night and they'll take the field again today and tomorrow, as long as rain doesn't make it unplayable. The Cards were a bit more prepared for the weather and a bit more rested after Wednesday's game against UK was postponed. That led them to a 9-4 win with offense coming from up and down the lineup.

Louisville fell behind to an unearned run in the first inning after an errant throw from third resulted in a three base error. A groundout scored the run, and the Cards trailed 1-0. The early misfortune didn't get them too out of sorts, though, as they turned around and took the lead after a full-count walk to Carmyn Greenwood was rewarded by a two-run bomb to Taylor Roby. Roby, as the starting pitcher, was probably more than happy to get herself off the hook for the unearned run.

The Cards would not relinquish the lead, as they held the Heels to just a single in the top of the second before extending their margin in the bottom half. Louisville used two doubles, a walk, a wild pitch, a single, and a sac fly to score four in the inning, led by Greenwood's two-run double. I should mention that Ally Alexander stole third in the midst of all of that, but it wasn't super relevant since Greenwood's double scored Jenna Servi from first behind her, so the extra 60 feet didn't make much difference.

It wasn't the smoothest of sailing for Louisville from there, as UNC wasn't quite ready to give up. The third inning saw a two-run double out of the Heels as well to cut the lead back to 6-3 before both teams' bats went cold briefly. The Cards came back in the bottom of the 4th with a two-out rally. After a fly-out and a strikeout opened the frame, Roby stepped in and knocked a double to right field. A pinch runner was brought on to up the odds of a run being scored, but Kendall Smith made the runner moot with a two-run blast to extend Louisville's lead back to five.

UNC got one back in the top of the fifth, but the Cards answered immediately to set the final score at 9-4. Taylor Roby had to walk a couple of tight ropes, stranding three UNC runners over the final two innings to wrap up her complete game win. Louisville also threatened in the bottom of the sixth, but left two on base. They, of course, didn't bat in the bottom of the seventh.

Roby's complete game was not the prettiest, finishing with three earned runs and only four strikeouts, but it was worlds better than her counterpart. Hannah George allowed two runs in the first inning before facing four batters in the second inning. She was pulled before securing an out, and all four runners scored. Not ideal. A complete game also relieves pressure on the rest of the team's pitching staff, and to do it in just 104 pitches is a relatively low number in softball. 

The teams will take the field again today at 3PM, which you can watch on the ACC Network Extra. If the Cards can put together a sweep, they'll move to 22-15 on the season and claw their way back to .500 in conference. There is a fair bit of softball left to be played, but Louisville will have work to do if they want to make the NCAA tournament. Of their four series remaining, only Syracuse is behind them in the ACC standings.

Other Events

Speaking of the remainder of the season for softball, the Cards have one more game remaining than they expected to at this point, after the game against UK was postponed earlier this week. That game has been announced for 6PM on Tuesday, April 12th. No word on if it will be on ESPNU, as the original was supposed to be, but it may be irrelevant as Tuesday is currently forecasted for a 57% chance of thunderstorms.

Another outdoor sport that gets to avoid the April snow (ew) is lacrosse. Scott Teeter and Company are up in Pittsburgh, where they aren't getting flakes but it is still in the mid-40s and raining. Louisville Lacrosse is on a three-game road swing, though they'll surely come home in between. After today's game against Pitt, the team is back on the road in upstate New York to take on Syracuse on Saturday the 16th and Niagara on the 18th. Louisville will wrap up their season on Saturday the 23rd against Notre Dame. At 6-7 overall right now, Louisville probably needs to win all four of these remaining games to have a crack at the NCAA tournament.

Volleyball continues their spring training today. Currently ongoing is the annual KIVA College Showcase. Our man Jeff is there, as always, and he reports that Sydni Schetnan has returned to the team as her duties with the basketball team have concluded and she is ready to play today. After the KIVA event wraps up this afternoon, the Cards will head over to Cardinal Arena where they will host the Volunteers of Tennessee at 6PM this evening. The team's final spring event is scheduled for next Friday, where they're set to take on Morehead State... in Beach Volleyball. An interesting wrinkle, so we'll see if we can get any more information after that one is played.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're without Jeff today, as he's at the aforementioned KIVA event, and Daryl, as the Bats have a 1:05 scheduled start. Paulie, Jared, and I will endeavor to bring you the best show we can as we turn fully from the close of basketball season to the heart of the spring sports calendar. We'll talk all the games that were and weren't as we bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville Women's Athletics. Without Jeff for the third week in a row, we'll be without the live stream, but we'll get the show started at around 11, like normal, so the show will be up before 1. There are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you. And be sure to subscribe to the Cardinal Couple YouTube channel for past and future shows and various interviews throughout the year!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Breaker: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Falls to Clemson; Sweet Sixteen Begins -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Loses Opener at 15/16 Clemson

Holly Aprile's squad hit the road for the first time in conference play for a weekend series at Clemson. Oddly, even though they play NC State next weekend, they'll travel back to Louisville on Sunday so they can host a midweek game and then head back that direction on Thursday. Don't look at me: I don't create the travel plans for collegiate athletics. At any rate, Louisville hung tough with the top-25 ranked Tigers, but they were ultimately upended by late inning defensive breakdowns that set the final score at 5-2.

Taylor Roby was in the circle for the first game of the series, and she was locked in a pitcher's duel for much of the game. Louisville offense was stifled completely by Clemson's Millie Thompson, who struck out five of the first six batters. The Cards finally got on base in the third inning, putting runners on first and third with two outs for Roby, but a high pitch enticed her on a 3-1 count and she popped out. The fourth saw Louisville return to a 1-2-3 inning with a hit being followed by a double-play and then another groundout.

On the other side, Roby was effective early. Though she wasn't striking out as many as her counterpart, she was getting through innings fairly easily. Clemson left one on base in each of the first three innings, but finally struck in the fourth. After a strikeout, a walk and a steal put a runner on second with one out. A grounder looked to at least keep the runner at just third with two outs, but a Louisville fielding error allowed the runner to score. A second consecutive error put runners on first and second before Roby induced a lineout and a foulout to end the inning.

As if Clemson scoring woke Louisville's bats up, the Cards immediately took the lead back. After a strikeout, Dylann Cravens reached on a single. Jenna Servi grounded out but moved Cravens up a base. This brought up Carmyn Greenwood with two outs, and she promptly swatted a go-ahead two-run homer. Ally Alexander walked to bring up Roby, but a strikeout ended the rally at just two.

With the lead, Holly Aprile made what I would consider a puzzling decision to pull Roby in favor of Chardonnay Harris. I have nothing against Harris, as she is a fine pitcher, but Roby was not struggling and the previous run scored had not been her fault. Harris picked up a lineout to open the inning then gave up a walk and a single. A strikeout gave the Cards two outs before a passed ball moved the runners to both in scoring position. An intentional walk set up the force out at any base, but an unintentional walk on a full count scored the tying run. Harris was able to force a popout to strand the bases loaded, but the game was back to square.

As if on cue, Millie Thompson turned it back on and sat down the Cards in order in the sixth. Harris came back in for the bottom half and gave up an inning-opening double before Aprile put Roby back in the circle. Again, why take her out in the first place? A sacrifice bunt put the go-ahead run at third with one out, but Roby got a strikeout to put the Cards back in the driver's seat. A full-count walk was followed by a steal, putting two runners in scoring position with two outs. A big showdown loomed and it was Roby that blinked. A single down the left field line scored both runners and gave Clemson the lead. An error on the following play would result in one more run scoring before a strikeout stopped the bleeding. It was too late, though, as the bottom of Louisville's order went 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh inning and the game was over.

Louisville fought hard, but ultimately couldn't string together enough offense and defense at the end to pull out the win. Chardonnay Harris finishes with the loss after it was her runner that scored the go-ahead (and winning) run, but the pitching decisions yesterday were odd. I don't know that Taylor Roby wasn't asking for a break, but to go out and back in seems like it is almost never a good idea from a flow perspective. The Cards will get two more chances to get a top-25 win, and if they can take the series, they'll move back to .500 in conference. Today's game is at 5PM, and tomorrow's is at Noon. Both are on the linear ACCN channel.

Exciting Day 1 of Sweet Sixteen

It was almost all chalk yesterday in the first four games of the Sweet Sixteen, but the games were all exciting nonetheless. Each was decided by fewer than ten points, but the bigger oddity is that the total range of scores in each of the four games was just 15 points. The lowest scoring game yesterday totaled 129, while the highest was just 144. That highest scoring game was also the only upset, as Creighton knocked off ISU to become just the fourth double-digit seed to advance to the women's Elite Eight in history. On the same night, the Peacocks of St. Peters became the not just the first 15-seed to advance to the Elite Eight on the men's side, but also the first team seeded higher than 12th to ever do so.

Across the other three games, chalk prevailed with top-seeded Stanford and South Carolina and second-seeded Texas advancing. While Texas and Ohio State were back and forth all game long in what was ultimately a three-point win for the Longhorns, a six-point win looked much different for Stanford. The Cardinal looked a lot like we've seen the Cardinals of Louisville look a couple of times this season, as they watched a massive lead slip away. Maryland outscored Stanford 30-13 in the fourth quarter to close what had been a 23-point gap entering the fourth. Maryland picked up 12 steals on their way to turning over Stanford 18 times, making the Cardinal look quite vulnerable.

It was a tough second quarter for UNC that saw the Tarheels fall to the hands of the overall 1 seeded South Carolina. The Heels led by one point after the first quarter before being held to single digits in the second quarter. The 17-8 quarter gave the Gamecocks an 8-point halftime lead, which would match the final deficit. UNC trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter and managed to win the final frame by three to close the gap once more, but South Carolina was too much. Strangely, South Carolina has now ended UNC's season in three different postseason matchups this year: football, women's soccer, and now women's basketball. While we were frustrated when Mississippi State kept doing that to the Cards, at least Mississippi State wasn't one of our major rivals.

The Cards get Tennessee today at 4PM on ESPN. It's the third of four games, as NC State and Notre Dame get things tipped off at 11:30. Following today's games, Jared will run the numbers on the bracket challenge, so be sure to check out Jeff's article tomorrow for a full update of the standings. My bracket went out the window quite some time ago.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Louisville Lacrosse hosts Virginia today at Noon, so we'll be without our resident photographer on the show as he braves what seem to be very unfortunate conditions. We'll also be without Jeff this week, as car troubles have him away. As such, we'll be without the live show this week, but we will still have the podcast available after we record. We'll get the show started at around 11, like normal, so the show will be up before 1. There are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Breaker: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case