Cards down DePaul in Softball 5-0 -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

BECKER FANS 10, HITS HOME RUN IN WIN

If Cardinal softball pitcher Maryssa Becker doesn't have a favorite saying, she might well consider the adage "A job done by yourself is usually a job with an excellent supervisor and dependable labor force." 

Sophomore Maryssa Becker registered a career-high 10 strikeouts and hit a home run to help lead the University of Louisville softball team to a 5-0 win over host DePaul Wednesday afternoon at Cacciatore Stadium.

The Cardinals(23-12) jumped to a 2-0 lead first inning. Whitney Arion reached on a fielder's choice and scored on Hailey Smith's double. Smith crossed the plate on a hit by Kayla Soles.

The Blue Demons (13-17) threatened to push a run across in the third. Ali Lenti beat the throw on a bunt single and Morgan Maize followed with a hit to place runners on the corners. Mary Connolly walked to load the bases with one out, but Becker delivered back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam.

Becker took the first pitch of the fourth inning over the left centerfield fence for her team-best sixth home run of the season to give Louisville a 3-0 lead.
Kelsi Jones led off the fifth with a shot over the left field fence for her third home run of the season to make the score 4-0.

The Cards added another run in the sixth when Sims doubled and took third on a single by Sydney Benz. Brittany Duncan walked to load the bases for Jones who drew a walk to plate Sims.

Becker (9-4) struck out 10 and scattered four hits in the complete game shutout. Jones went 2 for 3 with two RBIs to lead Louisville at the plate. Soles and Sims also had two hits apiece.


Louisville will return to action this weekend when the Cards play host to No. 8/10 Florida State in a three-game ACC series at Ulmer Stadium. The teams will play at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday with Sunday and Monday's games being televised on ESPNU.

It's good to see the Cards putting out a little offense firepower again. They're going to need it in the rest of April...

Speaking of April...our APRIL CARDINAL COUPLE CONTEST is predicting the total number of runs UofL Softball will score in the remaining 11 games this month. You have until Friday 7 p.m. to get us your entry. You can leave it in the comments section or e-mail your number to Cardinal Couple. It's a free contest and you could win an absolutely fabulous CARDINAL COUPLE Tee-Shirt! As a bonus, if you pick the EXACT number of runs, we'll toss in a $25 gift card.


(Thanks to Louisville SID Lori Kotre for her information we used on today's article)


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In what many consider a surprising move, Notre Dame junior guard Jewell Loyd has declared for the WNBA draft.


It's not the first time this has happened ( Remember Candace Parker and Brit the Grinder?  Griner played all four years at Baylor, thanks to you eagle-eyed readers for pointing it out)...in fact, she's the second underclassman this year to do so...Minnesota's 6'5" sopomore center Amanda Zahui B. has also made herself available. In "B's" case, it is a bit different, she's 22 yrs. old and from Stockholm, Sweden. International players have no restrictions on when they can toss their hat into the ring for consideration.


It is a trend? Probably not...at least not to the extent it is men's college hoops. It is big news? Probably so in South Bend...where Muffet McGraw will now look for someone else to lead the Irish in 2015-16.



paulie

xxxxx

Cards crush Orange

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Early production, Trimble's blast send Cards to the semifinal


Sandy Pearsall may have said it best. In an interview that we'll play on the Saturday Cardinal Couple Radio Show, I asked Coach P. about the overall power of the Louisville batters..

" I was talking to the assistants about that the other afternoon. I said to them...what if we were the opposition and had to look across the diamond and see what Louisville had coming up to bat against us. Holy cow! We're scary..."

Louisville was scary, indeed on Thursday...pounding Syracuse for 12 hits and 12 runs in a 12-3 win.

Louisville wasted no time in unpacking the hitting sticks. In the bottom of the first, Katie Keller led things off with a single, moved to third on a Jordan Trimble bunt and scored when Maggie Ruckenbrod reached on a grounder to second.
Katelyn Mann cleared the bags with a triple to make it 3-0. Hannah Kiyohara's single brought Mann in and Kayla Soles smashed a triple to score Kiyohara. 5-0 Cards before the chalk dust on the first base line had settled.

Syracuse tried to make a contest of it. They settled down and got the Cards retired in the second with two hits but no runs. They cut the gap to 5-3 in the top of the third with a pair of home runs.

Louisville was nowhere finished with the offensive firepower, though.

Soles started the home half of the third with a two out fielder's choice. Taner Folwer took one deep to left that appeared to be caught at the fence...but the umpires ruled it a trapped ball and Fowler was awarded first base. After Keller was plunked by a pitch to load the bases, Trimble emptied the bags with a blast to left-center. It was her sixth homer of the year and second grand slam. 9-3 Louisville.

The Cards added three more in the fourth. Kiyohara scored when she reached on a fielder's choice and Soles singled. That set the stage for Fowler's two run blast to left that made it 12-3 Cards. The game was ended after five innings because of the eight-run rule.

Rachel LeCoq went three innings, allowing three runs on five hits. Caralisa Connell was "good Carl" in the final two...holding the Orange scoreless and striking out three.

Louisville advances to play #2 seed South Florida today at 6:30 p.m. The Bulls handled Providence 3-0 in the final game of the day.

In earlier action, #4 seed DePaul won a pitcher's duel with Georgetown 1-0. #1 seed Notre Dame shut out Seton Hall 6-0.

On a opening day of BIG EAST Tournament play where five teams managed a total of only four runs combined, Louisville showed why they were the offensive leader in just about every imaginable offense stat in the BIG EAST this season.

May the bats be with you again tomorrow...Cards!

-Paulie

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Friday Cardinal Couple - Cards advance to BIG EAST Softball Semis.

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


CARDS DEFEAT DEPAUL 2-0


More tomorrow...but Louisville gets a two-hit shutout out of torrid Tori Collins and beats DePaul to advance to the Big East finals. Kayla Soles delivers a two run double for the runs. L1C4 !!


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-Softball downs UConn 8-0...DePaul next


-Cardinal Twilight in track and field today


-Cletus qualifies for State in Discus and Shotput


-Twilight racing at Churchill Friday

The University of Louisville softball team improved to 51-3 on the season with a first-round blanking of Connecticut 8-0 in BIG EAST Tournament play at Notre Dame yesterday. The Cards "run-ruled" the Huskies and the game was stopped after five complete innings. 


The win is a testament to the teamwork, motivation and never-say-die attitude this softball team has displayed all year along. Louisville, as they've done most of the season, jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first. Kristin Austin and Katie Keller scored on hits from Alicja Wolny and Taner Fowler.

In the bottom of the third, Wolny made it 3-0 with a bomb to left-center that bounced off the scoreboard. Let's hope there was no damage and Jurich doesn't get a repair bill. NASA was able to track the moon-shot by the junior first-baseman briefly from Houston. She crushed it ! 


Caralisa Connell got the start and had no trouble with the Huskies through three innings. The top of the fourth, though...found her in a bit of a jam. With one out...a fielder's choice, single and hit batter filled the bases with Huskies. Sandy Pearsall and Courtney Scott decided to go to the bullpen and bring in super-reliever Chelsea Leonard. She donned the cape, stepped inside the circle and got the first batter she faced to weakly pop up to her. She struck the next Husky out to end the inning. Threat over, no runs and the skies over South Bend were safe again. 

Louisville was tired of toying with the Connecticut pups...so they decided to end it early. 


In the bottom of the fifth, the Cards started the game-ending assault with two outs in the inning. Katie Keller drilled a shot back at starting UConn pitcher Kiki Saveriano that was mis-handled and Keller was safe at first...foiling UConn's attempt to get out of the inning unscathed.  Wolny worked Kiki for a walk. UConn's coach had seen enough and went to his bullpen. 


Sometimes, you just shouldn't go there. 

Taner Fowler greeted UConn's new hurler Ali Adelman with a single...scoring Keller. Jordy Trimble singled to load the bases. Kayla Soles drew a walk, scoring Wolny to make it 5-0 Louisville. Maggie Ruckenbrod stepped to the plate and ripped a drive down the right field line that scored Wolny and Trimble. UConn tried to throw out Soles as she went to third on the hit, threw badly and Soles just kept going...getting home safely and ending the game with the Cards fifth run of the inning and eighth of the game. 


Bye-bye Huskies. Thanks for playing. Pick up your parting gifts at customer service. 

Today is DePaul for the Cards. They surprised South Florida by pounding USF ace hurler Sara Nevins for four runs yesterday in a 6-0 win. #5 seed beats #4. 


Another upset later in the day, too...as #3 seed Syracuse fell to #6 seed St. John's 2-1. It's single-elimination...Orange and Bulls. Be safe on the way home and bye-bye, farewell, adios Syracuse. No three-peat for you in the BIG EAST Tournament. Enjoy the ACC. You deserve each other. #2 seed Notre Dame handled #7 Rutgers without any trouble in the night-cap 5-0. 

Back to DePaul...they are the demons that dealt Louisville their only two conference losses of the regular season. It was a out-of-sync weekend for the Cards in Chicago in late March and April Fools Day. They dropped two out of three on that trip to the home of the Bears, Bulls and Cubbies and got pounded for seven runs in their first loss of the year. 

We're guessing the Blue Demons will have to deal with the wrath of Louisville's Tori Collins today...but we guessed wrong on the starting pitcher yesterday...so who knows? 


Collins would probably like to forget March 31st, 2012. 


DePaul rocked her for four runs and four hits in four innings. Blue Demon left fielder Katelyn Braget sent two over the fence against Tori. 


Time to settle old scores today, Cards. It's survive and advance time. 


Louisville plays at 4 p.m. and BIG EAST TV will show it free again today. No TV commercials...gotta love that. 


You can catch it at the link below:


Cards vs. DePaul 4 p.m.


We'll drop in with an update after the game. Be sure to check back tonight and...thank you for reading CARDINAL COUPLE. 


Go Tori
Go Taner
Go Maggie
Get that Banner! 


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Track and field hosts the Cardinal Twilight at Cardinal Park today. It's a last-chance meet for athletes to achieve national qualifying standards and try to get in the NCAA Championships. 


Louisville will have quite a few ladies trying to better their season marks today. The Cardinal throwers will be out in full-force...Amashi Kendall in the shot put, discus and hammer throws. She's going to need a shoulder massage after all that. Khadija Abdullah, Patrice Gates and Hannah Baker will also be out there tossing heavy and flat things around. 


Field events go at 10 a.m. Go CARDS! 


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Speaking of throwers...a big congratulations to our folk hero and all-around good guy Michael "Cletus" Stewart. He competed in the Kentucky Track and Field Class 3-A, Region Four Regionals at North Oldham High School Thursday and won the shot put. He also finished second in the discus (by two inches). 


That gets him into the State Championships in both events that will be held at Cardinal Park next Saturday. 


Michael's tosses were 44-10 in the shot put and 128-06 in the discus. He'll attend the University of Louisville in the fall and be a preferred walk-on with the football team. 

Sounds like UofL head track and field coach Ron Mann might also want to introduce himself to the 6'5", 280 Seneca strongman, too. Stewart has participated in discus and shot for just two years and was "self-taught" in both events. Some recent training, coaching and adjustment on his throwing styles has paid dividends and he's really just beginning to reach his full potential. 


Also, Fern Creek's Billy Reid (Monique's little brother) won the 110 and 300 hurdles at the North Oldham events. Well done, Billy! 


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Churchill Downs offers Twilight Racing today for you thoroughbred fans. First post is 2:45 p.m. Live music in the paddock area and 11 chances to pick winners. We love Henny's Hurricane in the featured 10th. race along with Street Storm for the exacta play of the day. 


We'll try and catch a couple races before heading home to watch Softball on-line. Great weather for today, skip out of work a couple of hours early (it's Friday!) and take advantage of the food and drink specials available during Happy Hour. Gates open at 1:30 p.m. and Happy Hour is actually three hours, starting at 4 p.m.


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Final set for NCAA WBB...Bears vs. Irish

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-UofL Softball falls to DePaul 3-0


-Notre Dame, Baylor to play Tuesday night for title


-CARDINAL COUPLE Pick 'Em Contest has a couple of scenarios left. 


-Chunky Monkey and other assorted Lady Cards cinema


The University of Louisville softball team finished their three game series against the DePaul Blue Demons with a 3-0 loss Sunday afternoon in Chicago. Kirsten Verdun was the only pitcher to beat Louisville (29-2) this year and she duplicated the feat again Sunday...limiting the Cards to just two hits. 

This one was decided early. By Verdun. After two DePaul players reached on a walk and error in the bottom of the first inning, Verdun cleared the bases with a bomber over the left field fence. 3-0 DePaul. 


Louisville would put their two hits together in top of the sixth when Whitney Arion and Maggie Ruckenbrod started the inning with singles. Verdun, though, retired the next three Cardinal batter to eliminate the threat. 

The Cards return home and will host the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday. Tickets are $5 and available at the UofL Ticket office. CARDINAL COUPLE will be there to cover the game and even offer to take a turn at the plate and see if they can help shore up the absent offense of late.


Louisville managed just one run against the Wildcats last week and scored just six runs in three games vs. DePaul. It's obvious to us that the competition level Louisville has been facing has taken a step up...as has the pitching.


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The NCAA Womens' Basketball Championship Game will take place Tuesday night in the Pepsi Center in Denver and the participants will be Baylor and Notre Dame. 

The Irish survived a frenetic final minute against UConn last night to stagger into overtime. Notre Dame broke open a 70-70 tie in the extra session, though, with some timely threes from Brittany Mallory and Natalie Novosel to send the Connecticut Huskies home 83-75.


Have to wonder...if Step Dolson hadn't been saddled with four fouls most of the second half...could the Huskies have continued the dish and paint play that led them to a three point half-time lead? 

Notre Dame returns to the final game to take care of some unfinished business. They were there last year and lost to another BIG 12 school in Texas A&M. They get the Baylor Bears (39-0) Tuesday. 


Baylor took control midway in the first half in their game against Stanford last night and despite the double and triple teaming of Brittany Griner by the Cardinal defense...Odyssey Sims and teammates were able to step up and win 59-47. 


Tuesday night will be a re-match against two schools who met earlier in the season. Baylor won that one 94-81 in Waco. 


We'd also like to extend our congratulations to the KENTUCKY WILDCATS for their Saturday win over UofL and wish them the best of luck tonight against the Kansas Jayhawks this evening in he NCAA Men's Final game.

Act like you've been there before, Wildcat fans, regardless of the outcome. 


Burning couches and automobiles are bush league. Celebrations are meant to be such that, not random acts of violence and destruction. Moderation is the key.

Our second nominee for the "What was I thinking?" award goes to former UofL and current Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino, who dumped his motorized hog in the streets of the Razorback State Sunday. Petrino was hospitalized but is not in serious condition. 


WE say...seriously? Especially to the governing board of Razorback sports. You're paying HOW MUCH? a year to this guy to guide your football team and there's no codicil in his contract that prevents him from being Easy Rider? 


And, to you, Mr. Bob...pretty silly behavior for someone in your position, sir. Or...is this your next job-jumping career move...leaving college coaching to become the next Evil Knievel? Cue up the Steppenwolf golden oldie Born to be Wild.  


Whatever...


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Speaking of final match-ups and destructive behavior...we get a report from Commish Mark on the CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Womens' Basketball Pick 'Em Tournament. 


Going into the final game the top five are:


Paul's Experimental Bracket (which does not count) 148 
stark61 142
PDX Phil 131
Marks on Walz 127
LouavulFan 126


Lady Cards bracket (Commish Mark) is 12th with 112 points BUT CAN STILL WIN. 


SOME NOTES, SCENARIOS and OBSERVATIONS

-Looks like the P.E.B. (Paul's Experimental Bracket) "WINS" regardless of how anyone else or how the Baylor vs. Notre Dame game ends up. This bracket, which came out of the highly secretive CARDINAL COUPLE Think Tank and Sandwich Delivery Division deep in the secret lair of CARDINAL COUPLE far below the Parrish House facilities, was constructed by some of the world's most brilliant and "out of the box" (more like out of the "Ha-Ha" hotel) thinkers, dreamers and dissidents. 


-In reality, it was just taking the better seed in each of the 63 games. Some food for thought for next year. Paul thought he had a second entry and his picks entered as well in the contest. We've been able to determine that special Scandinavian scanner and hacking technology was used to enter the CARDINAL COUPLE Bracket Picks and remove this apocryphal entry. We'll get you next time, my pretties...


-stark61 is your winner if Baylor wins Tuesday and this entry would have a total of 174 points.


-Lady Cards is your winner if Notre Dame wins. This would give Commish Mark 144 points...narrowly defeating stark61

Paul has a statement prepared for media outlets at the conclusion of the CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WOMENS BRACKET PICK 'EM CHALLENGE and CRAWFISH BOIL. Here's an exclusive peek at it: 


"I offer my sincere congratulations to _______________, the winner of the second annual CARDINAL COUPLE WOMEN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET PICK 'EM CHALLENGE. You are the fortunate winner of the Panera Gift Card and you have earned the respect, admiration and acknowledgment of participants worldwide with your superior skills in bracket selections. As competitors on the field of honor, we all are winners today...regardless of how our brackets did. At CARDINAL COUPLE, we pride ourselves and are in gratitude for our readers' philosophy that sportsmanship, competition and hard work are the real winning features of contests...not just the final score. 


The great philosopher and iconic spokesman George Carlin once commented that there are seven words you can't say on the air, and I'd like to incorporate all those in congratulating you....but I'm late for darts...so, way to go________________and here's to you! (Extends hand and gives one-finger salute). 


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Mark also sends these video clips of Lady Cards Asia Taylor, Nita Slaughter and Bria Smith. Ah, for the fun and carefree days of college again...


Chunky Monkey


Singing It

(The second one is best viewed if standing on one's head)


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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...SOFTBALL GOES TO 28-0

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Austin's blast gives CARDS 1-0 win over UK


-BECKY BURKE to participate in 3-point challenge tonight


-"One Shining Moment" 


-How crazy is the UofL vs. UK rivalry?

Kristin Austin's first home run of the season couldn't have come at a better time. The senior right fielder from Hartsburg, MO. led off the top of the fourth inning by planting a 3-2 pitch from UK pitcher Chandra Bell over the left center fence for a solo home run that proved to be the only run of the game. It was the most important of the six hits UofL managed against Bell and UK reliever Rachel Riley Wednesday night in Lexington and only the second career home run for Austin in her four seasons as a Cardinal. 

It was also the first hit of the game for the CARDS off Bell in the game. She and UofL's Tori Collins had produced a pitchers duel through three innings...Collins allowing just a double to Brittany Cervantes in the first and single by Lauren Combess in  the home half of the second while striking out two Wildcats.

The CARDS staved off a seventh inning rally by UK to notch their 28th. win with no defeats. Chelsea Leonard, on the pitching stripe in relief Collins, got Griffin Joiner to pop up for the first out of the inning. UK's Ginny Carroll worked Leonard for a base on balls, though. Leonard looked like she was working her way out of the jam by striking out Ellen Weaver...but Combess reached first on a UofL fielding error and Carroll went to third on the play. That brought Gaines to the plate...who had entered the game in the bottom of the fifth as a pinch hitter for Krystal Smith...and Leonard got the save by getting Gaines to strike out swinging.


Another exemplary pitching performance by Collins and Leonard...allowing just two UK hits and none after the 2nd inning. 


And, for the Cardinal bats, a home run blast by a singles hitter. 

The Cards head to the Windy City this weekend to take on their BIG EAST foes DePaul for three games. The Blue Demons are one of the favorites to capture the BIG EAST regular season title. It'll be the first home game of the season for the Blue Demons (16-10) and their first BIG EAST game of the year as well. Two on Saturday and one on Sunday for these two squads...first pitch at noon. 


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UofL women's basketball standout senior Becky Burke will participate in the 24th annual State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-point Championship tonight in Fogelman Arena on the Tulane University campus. The event will be shown on ESPN at 9 p.m. EDT.


(Just in case you wondered...Burke WILL be popping threes and not trying to do a Brittany Griner impression)


Besides Burke, seven other WBB seniors will be playing string music in the shootout. They are:


Brittany Rayburn (Purdue) -  Jess Jenkins (St. Bonnie)
Ashley Corral (USC) - Taylor Alton (Michigan State)
Courtney Ingersoll (Toledo) - Alyssa Shoji (S. Clara)
Markeisha Grant (South Carolina)


(Thanks to Commish Mark for the player roster) 

If you're already down in "Nawlins" and are reading this, admission is just $8 for UofL alumni. How you prove you are an alumnus is beyond us...but belting out the UofL Fight Song for the ticket sellers might do the trick...


Burke is the first UofL women's basketball player ever to take part in this contest, to the best of our knowledge. She finished her career third on the all-time 3-pointers made at UofL with 249. Kristin Maddox made 271 (1992-96) and Sara Nord had 260 (2000-04)


Square, set, release and follow through...double B!!


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We all know the poignant "One Shining Moment" song that is played at the conclusion of the final game in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Here's a glance at the first ever showing of it...from 1987. A great article that accompanies the video goes into the writing, discovery and history of the song. Notice how young Rick Pitino looks on the Providence sidelines and what a meanie Bobby Knight is during the clip. 


WE always loved the way Luther Vandross did this song and wish CBS would return to that version of it. Lose the Jennifer Hudson version, please...CBS.


Who hasn't daydreamed that they were in this thing...cutting down the nets and celebrating your buzzer beater to win the championship game?


And, wouldn't it be great if someone could come up with such a dramatic and popular accompaniment for the end of the NCAA women's basketball tournament? 


We hope that this year's version of it has plenty of Cardinal clips...including a final shot of UofL players celebrating the National Championship. 


Enjoy the clip. And, it's OK if you get a little misty eyed. We did. The Syracuse cheerleader's expression at the 3:54 mark...priceless! Almost looks like a young Geena Davis.


One Shining Moment


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Finally, we give you this article link about the rivalry between UofL and UK. It's by Gregg Doyel..who WE go hot and cold on as far as his journalistic reports. 


Heaven help the loser 


56 hours to tip-off and counting here at mission (out of) control @ Cardinal Couple. The annual chimp UK vs. UofL banana creme pie fight is today at 1 p.m.


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