Clemson takes series against Louisville Softball with Sunday Win -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TIGERS ROAR IN SUNDAY SERIES FINALE 11-5

Not a lot to smile about in the Sunday series finale with Clemson at Ulmer Stadiun if you are a Cards fan..., except for the nice, sunny weather and clear skies. Louisville Softball saw the Clemson bats finally awaken and they took it out on Louisville pitching with 11 runs and 11 hits in the 11-5 win. 

The action did't get started until the second inning, after a scorless fiirst inning. .Clemson used a walk and a single to plate a run on the Cards, all,with two outs already recorded in the inning.. Meanwhile ,in the home half of the inning, UofL was retired 1-2-3 for the second time in a row

It looked like the Cards might escape the top of the third without any serious damage, recording two outs iand allowing the Tigers just a single, but Clemson responded with  four more hits... and a Cards fielding error allowed the visitors to put up four runs and grab a 5-0 lead. They were able to chase Cards starter Alyssa Zabala from the circle. and Gabby Holloway was broight into the circle to finally stop the Tigers attack. 

Louisville got a run back in the bottom of the third on a Clemson error and Cardinals single, but UofL only managed one hit on Clemson starter Reagan Spencer. It was 5-1 and the Cards needed to put on a hitting show like they did on Saurday, But, neither team could plate a run in the fourth or fifth innngs...the Cards leaving two on base in the bottom of the fifth.. 

Both teams exploded in the sixth. Clemson used three hits and a three-run home run to add six more runs and threaten Louisville with a run rule end to the game, Sam Booe was the unfortunae victim in the circle to receive the Clemson hitting attack. Louisville did respond with four runs in the home half of the inning to make it 11-5, but that effectively ended the scoring for each team 

A tough loss in front off a huge Cards crowd to lose the series 1-2 to Clemson.and drop the Cards overall record to 26-23.

Louisville returns to action Derby weekend with three up at Boston College to end the regular season..The ACC Softball Tournament  begins May 8th.  

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

paulie

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WBB to Canada, Reid to Bellarmine and Roby to Clemson -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 A TRIFECTA of th8ngs to hit you with this Wednesday -- with a Cardinal great returning back to the city, a softball star heading south and the Cards WBB squad participating in the Globl Jam. A nice bit of news to burst open the "summer slump" of no relevant sports stories for the Cards women's sports squads. Let's have a look,,,

TAYLOR ROBY HEADING TO CLEMSON

One of the greatest pitchers to ever step into the circle in Louisville Softball history, Taylor Roby will continue in softball -- down at Clemson University. Not as a pitcher... that eligibility has already bee used...but as a Graduate Assistant to the Tigers softball program. 

Roby will be one of three members of the Tigers staff that are in new or upgraded positions. Head coach John Rittman is also promoting Jessie Harper, a volunteer assistant last year, to a full-time assistant coach and Alyssa Bilodeau moves from graduate assistant to director of player development. 

For Roby, her career-long double-threat capabilities from the circle and in the batters box will serve her well with the Tigers. Roby had been playing professionally this summer with the USSSA Pride. Graduate assistants traditionally help the coaches run drills for the players, assist i and teach the players in hitting, fielding and pitching, and monitor the players' practice and performance skills. They report the results to the team's coaches and also educate the squad on league rules and regulations. 

It's a great chance for Roby to get her feet "wet" in being a staff member on a college team and Clemson is certainly a class and quality program to start with. Clemson was 49-12 last season, 20-6 in the ACC and went to the NCAA Super Regional, where they were defeated by Oklahoma. 

MONIQUE REID TO JOIN BELLARMINE WBB COACHING STAFF

The Cardinal great from 2008-13 joins the Bellarmine WBB staff after a long and illustrious pro career overseas that saw her play for teams in 10 different countries  Reid was a sophomore on the Cards roster when Jeff Walz arrived to take over the program and scored 2,666 points during her high school years at Fern Creek. She averaged 30.9 ppg in near the end of her career overseas (in Turkey) and was on two Final Four squads at Louisville in 2009 and 2013. 

The story goes that Reid and Bellarmine head coach Chancellor Dugan met last summer at the dedication of the renovated basketball courts in Shively Park. Reid had expressed a desire to get into coaching then to Dugan and when Reid announced she wqs home to stay this summer, the two got together and Reid got the assistant coaching job. 

Reid on joining Bellarmine: 

"The timing was perfect because I did want to retire, and to have a plan after retirement is always good," the 33-year-old Reid said. "My goal always was to play professional basketball. Coming out of college, I was told not to play because I had a knee injury (my senior year), but I wanted to take playing basketball as far as I could. I just thought it was a good time to retire because I was beginning to miss home a lot, and I want to settle down and start my family. One thing I always wanted to do is step away from the game walking and not get pushed out of the game because I'm old or anything like that. I wanted to go out on my terms. I won a championship in Lux (Luxembourg), so I think that's the perfect way to leave."

We wish "Mo" the best at Bellarmine and certainly couldn't be much luckier than to begin her coaching career under one of the finest head coaches i DI WBB in Chance Dugan. 

CARDS BEGIN GLOBL JAM

 

The Cards WBB squad begins Globl Jam play tomorrow in Toronto with an 11 a.m game against Puerto Rico. They'll follow that up on Thursday with a 5 p.m. contest against hosting Canada. After a day off, they Cards get Team Africa Saturday and then compete in either the Championship or Third Place rounds on Sunday, depending on what their three-game record is. The championship game is at 5 p.m...,the third-place game is at 11 a.m.

From what we have heard, the game tomorrow will be shown on the Cards Twitter account  (@LouisvilleWBB) and the same goes for the Saturday game. The Thursday and Sunday contest will be on the CBS Sports Network, unless Louisville is in the Bronze game Sunday, then that switches to the Cards Twitter account again. I do know that the CBS Sports Network in on channel 531 if you have Spectrum, and sources tell me the network is on channel 158 on DISH, channel 221 on DIRECTV and channel 643 on ATT U-Verse. 

 

It'll be interesting to see what kind of starting lineup Walz comes out with and how his substitution patterns develop in this first outing for the Cards. I've had several people tell me who they think should be starting...none of those people were named Jeff Walz, though, so we have no firm list of starters.

Go to: https://twitter.com/i/status/1678887136773169154 for a fun vid on the Cards WBB squad visiting the CN tower in Toronto. 

paulie

  

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Softball at Clemson -- WBB in Sweet 16 ; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Back to the cold temps here in the Ville but I still get the warm fuzzies for a Sweet 16 berth! It was great to see two solid wins for the WBB squad last weekend.   Coach Walz has officially found himself on to my UofL Mount Rushmore... Sweet 16 is no longer a huge feat for this program, they smell blood.  Now, lets get these next 4 wins! 

SOFTBALL 

Louisville vs #16 Clemson 

Friday 6 P.M.

ACCNX

After 5 days off, the UofL softball team will hit the road to face #16 Clemson in a three-game series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra.  The teams will meet again in an ACC Network-televised game Saturday at 5 p.m. The Cards and the Tigers will wrap up the weekend Sunday at 12 p.m. on ACCNX.

The Cardinals bring a 17-10 overall record and a 1-2 mark in ACC. Clemson brings a 19-9 overall and 1-5 mark in ACC play.

WBB

#1 Louisville vs #4 Tennessee

Saturday 4 P.M.

ESPN2

Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran & Adrienne Johnson on the call)

Last Meeting: W, 75-64 (March 20, 2017 in NCAA 2nd Round)

Series History: 2-2 (1-1 home, 0-1 away, 1-0 neutral)

This pic is from the 3/18/2017 edition of CC, I'm pretty sure Paulie took this from his seat on the sidelines. 

Series History - UofL is 2-2 all-time against Tennessee and 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals won 75-64 on March 20, 2017 at the KFC Yum! Center to advance to the Sweet 16. Louisville upended Tennessee 86-78 on April 2, 2013 in Oklahoma City, Okla., to advance to the Final Four. On Nov. 11, 2010, Louisville fell 63-50 to Tennessee in the first ever game at the KFC Yum! Center with a program-record 22,124 fans in attendance.

In 2017, Asia Durr led the way with 23 points, while Myisha Hines-Allen finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists as Louisville rallied from a point down entering the fourth quarter to a 75-64 win to advance to the Sweet 16.

Key Matchups to watch

Olivia Cochran & Liz Dixon rotation vs Tamari Key.  Olivia is averaging more than 20 minutes a game and Dixon averages 15 minutes on the floor.  This should work to the Cardinal's advantage as Key carries most of the load underneath for Tennessee.  

I think Emily Engstler will do some heavy battles with Alexus Dye and try to take the ball away from her.  With the absence for Jordan Horston for Tennessee (elbow injury), Dye is the second leading rebounder for the Vols behind Key and third in scoring averaging double digits.  Emily is 6'1 with a 14 foot wingspan.  It will be important to limit her ability to score.  She's had a double-double in Tennessee's last four games. 

Kianna Smith vs Rae Burrell should be the anchor of this game.  The ability of these two to guard the other and run an offense will likely dictate the flow and final outcome.  Finger's crossed its Kianna's night!! 


WGolf

Louisville women's golf will compete at The Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic beginning Friday morning at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
A field featuring eight top-25 teams will play in the 50th edition of the tournament on Friday-Sunday.

#3 Wake Forest is the top-ranked team in the tournament along with #4 South Carolina, #11 Texas, #12 Alabama, #13 Southern California, #16 Texas A&M, #17 Arkansas and #22 Ole Miss. Rounding out the competing squads are Charleston, Georgia Southern, Houston, Mercer, Mississippi State and a Georgia "B" team.

Kendall Griffin leads the Cardinals into the tournament after posting three top-five finishes in the last four events. Carmen Griffiths, Mairead Martin, Hana Ryskova and Lauren Thibodeau will also take the course for the Cardinals this weekend.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast - As far as I know, the whole gang should be present for this week's recording.   We will have some softball to recap as well as a HUGE matchup with Tennessee to preview.   

As always, 

Go Cards!! 

~Daryl 

Softball falls to Duke 4-3; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good Friday morning Louisville fans, 

It sucks to be the one to report the season ender for any of our favorite programs at UofL... yesterday was a looooooong day out at Ulmer stadium.  But at least it was a gorgeous sunny day for everyone to enjoy at the ballpark.  A quick recap of the day's games before getting into Louisville's heart breaker. 

CLEMSON 2 - GEORGIA TECH 0 

The day started out with a great pitchers duel between Clemson/Georgia Tech that ended in a 2-0 win for the Tigers.  Made possible only by sending the ball yard twice into right center field, redshirt Junior Cammy Pereira did the damage at the plate for Clemson.  Freshman, Valerie Cagle got the win moving her record to 25-4. The ACC Player of the Year, threw her 10th complete-game shutout and matched her career-high 14 strikeouts as the Tigers advanced to the ACC semifinal.

VIRGINIA TECH 4 - NOTRE DAME 1 

Game two played host to the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Irish swept the Hokies in the 4 game regular season series and the Hokies got revenge on Thursday afternoon, ending Notre Dame's 14 game win streak.  Winning pitcher, and ACC pitcher of the year, Keely Rochard threw a four-hitter, striking out seven and walking three. She pitched out of bases-loaded jams in the fourth and fifth innings. Tech committed two errors Thursday — both by third baseman Cameron Fagan. The one run Tech allowed was unearned. The Hokies will face 13th-ranked and top-seeded Clemson (41-5) in a semifinal at 1 p.m. Friday. Virginia Tech won two of three games at Clemson in February.  It will be a pitching showdown between the two programs, I'm sure! 

FLORIDA STATE 2  - NC STATE 0 

Game three of the day featured the Florida State Seminoles and NC State, who advanced with a 4-2 win over UNC on Wednesday. Again, it was the homeruns that made the difference in the game. FSU's redshirt freshman, Devyn Flaherty, sent the ball into right center field for the solo HR and the game winner in the bottom of the second, her fifth HR of the season. NC State’s only two hits of the evening came from redshirt senior right fielder Tatyana Forbes during the second inning and redshirt senior center fielder Angie Rizzi during the third. Kathryn Sandercock, started and pitched her sixth complete game of the season.  Sandercock only faced 24 batters and threw a total of 77 pitches, including 5 strikeouts, against the Wolfpack.

And now for the day's finale... game four.

DUKE 4 - LOUISVILLE 3 

It looked like it was going to be a short night for the Cards as they were the away team in this game, Duke got off to a hot start with what looked like to me, an obvious homerun shot to left field by Junior Kristina Foreman in the bottom of the first inning.  The 2nd baseman trotted around the base path before attempting to round third, she was tagged by the Louisville defender and called out by the umpires.  The ball ricocheted off the camera operators scaffold and back into the playing area which prompted a review by the umpires.  It was later determined that it was indeed a homerun and Foreman rightfully took her trot across the plate and the Blue Devils took a 3-0 lead.

The Cards responded in the top of the second to load the bases.  But not without another review and overturned call by the umpires on (what looked like an obvious call to me in live play) a play at 1B where Cassady Greenwood beat the throw by a half a step.  Senior centerfielder Celene Funke found herself with bases loaded and no outs.  The struggling senior poked one over the defense to centerfield to score a run and keep the bases loaded with nobody out.  A fielders choice would give Duke their first out of the inning on the force at home by Vanessa Miller.  Carmyn Greenwood singled on a hit to third base and everyone advanced.  Maddy Newman was able to send one to deep right field which allowed speedy Celene Funke to score and tie it up on the SAC FLY.   Taylor Roby ended the offensive spark with a strikeout.

The two early half innings combined for the most runs in a game all day. 

Duke was able to secure the victory in the bottom of the fourth when Foreman, again, scored for the Blue Devils.  She was walked before scoring from first base on a double by senior first baseman Rachel Crabtree.   Duke then had a stellar defensive play in the top of the fifth to kill all momentum by the Cards' bats.  Maddy Newman saw a serious left field shift that featured 2 short stops but was able to find the gap for the single.  However a mistake on base-running ended the threat for Louisville.  Roby got out on a diving catch by the catcher at the away dugout, who then immediately popped up and put Maddy in a pickle where she was tagged out attempting to reach back to first.  

The Cards left runners on in the fifth and the sixth to end their season and hope for an ACC championship.  In a shocking turn of events, Celene Funke led the Cards at the plate going 2-3 on the day.  Roby takes the loss moving her to a 12-14 record this season.  UofL finishes the season with a 21-28-1 record.  The roster featured seven seniors this season. 

Like I said, it was a long day out at Ulmer and the Cards just ran out of gas.  I hate that we had to see tears from a couple of Cards, but that just shows how passionate they are about this program.  Even if they don't see it now, they did push this program a little further in the national softball realm.  Congrats to the seniors on their careers here at Louisville.  We, at Cardinal Couple, will always cheer for your successes!  

(Louisville Softball photos by Jared Anderson) 


WOMENS SOCCER

Former University of Louisville women's soccer midfielder Emina Ekic has been named a United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-American.

In addition, she was also named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region First Team.

It marks the third straight season that Ekic has been named a USC All-American, as she was named a Second Team All-American following her sophomore and junior campaigns.

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

I will be out for radio this and next week as i am wrapping up the ACC tournament with the championship game Saturday at noon and vacation next weekend. Case will also miss the broadcast due to a wedding.  But i do believe the rest of the gang will be in tow! Be careful out there and don't forget to wear your sunscreen! 

Go Cards 

~Daryl