Oaks Day -- SOFTBALL at #3 FSU -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Hello readers and Happy Derby Weekend!! It is Oaks Day in the Ville and you know we prefer to cover the females on this website. 14 fillies will face off in the 147th running of the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Post time is schedule for 5:51p.m.  

If you're heading out to the track, enjoy and don't forget the sunscreen!!   I will be working and then plan on playing 18 holes before the fillies race for the lillies!  Let's hope for a safe day for the horses too. 

The field

Wet Paint is the 5-2 favorite in the 2023 Kentucky Oaks odds and has won four of her last five starts. Botanical, who has won four in a row, is second in the Kentucky Oaks odds 2023 at 4-1. Southlawn (8-1), Affirmative Lady (10-1) and Pretty Mischievous (10-1) round out the top 2023 Kentucky Oaks horses according to oddsmakers.

Cheers to smart and successful bets!! 🏇🏇🏇 🍸🎫💸🤑💰

(Don't forget, you can get Paulie's Picks for the entire OAKS Card at his horse racing website...Paulie's Picks ! Conveniently found at his website:

Paulie's Picks

Softball

Photo: Jared Anderson

Just about every sports related program on campus and in the city hits the road on this celebratory weekend. I assume the reason being to avoid having visiting teams delaying travel for those coming into town for the Derby… and probably to keep the squads out of the possibility of trouble as well. Plus, Floyd St. intersects with Central Ave. and Central Ave is a mess Friday and Saturday. With closed streets, one way temporary set up and 100,000-150,000 people jammed into the area, it is a bit crowded. 

Whatever the reason being, the Cards are wrapping up the regular season on the road at #3 Florida State. As Jared covered in Thursday’s post, the Cardinals are playing some of their best softball in recent years right now. They are on a 9 game winning streak, sweeping the series between both of their last conference opponents against Virginia and Boston College. UofL (35-14) enter the final weekend of the season with a 16-4 ACC mark. Louisville's 16 ACC wins are tied for the most in program history since joining the league in 2015. That same season, the Cardinals finished the season with a 16-7 conference record. It would be great if the Cards could get at least 1 victory over FSU this weekend.

Photo: Jared Anderson

Louisville leads the ACC and is ranked 11th nationally with a .327 as a team with five starters hitting above .300. Korbe Otis leads the team with a .408 batting average, 64 hits and 59 runs. She is a perfect 19-for-19 in stolen bases. She leads the ACC and tied for third in the nation with seven triples. She also paces the ACC in runs scored and is tied for third on Louisville's single season list with 59.

Alyssa Zabala leads the team with 14 wins and 81 strikeouts in 103.2 innings while Roby carries a team-best 2.26 ERA with 55 Ks in 102.1 innings of work.

Photo: Jared Anderson

Florida State leads the series 16-7-1

The last time the two met was April 23-25, 2021 at Louisville and Florida State won the first two games of the series 10-0 and 9-0. In the series finale, the teams were tied 1-1 in the 11th inning when the game was called due to 'travel constraints'. 

Louisville is making its first trip to Tallahassee since 2018.

FSU has not lost to UofL in Tallahassee since 2016.

Florida State enters the weekend with a 44-8 overall record and a nine-game win streak following a midweek 8-7 win at No. 17 Florida. The Seminoles lead the ACC standings with a 19-2 record in conference play.

(To sum the series up in Elvisian logic...it's now or never for the Cards to decide their regular season fate.)

As a team, the Seminoles are batting .313 with six players hitting above .300. Jahni Kerr leads the squad with a .383 batting average while Katie Dack and Michaela Edenfield have belted out 10 home runs apiece.

The Seminoles' are lead by Makenna Reid in the circle, who was named to the TUCCI/NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 List and Kathryn Sandercock, who was a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist.

The teams will play on Friday at 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra with Saturday’s (2 p.m.) and Sunday’s (Noon) games being aired on the ACC Network.

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

Its also Cinco de mayo today, for those who celebrate.  Happy weekend everyone! Be safe out there y'all! 

As Always, Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

Cardinals on the road -- KY Derby Weekend; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Happy Derby weekend to all.  I love this time of the year but is also means that we really are wrapping up the seasons and the school year as many are celebrating graduations and Mothers Day, as well.  

Let's just hope for some sunny skies and wins at the track and for the Cards!  For good reason, UofL athletics typically hits the road on Derby weekend.  

SOFTBALL

Louisville at #20 Notre Dame

Melissa Cook Stadium

ACC Network 5 p.m. 

The Cards are scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 2 p. m. on Sunday. 

Bringing in a 27-21 overall record, 10-11 in the ACC, the Cardinals wrap up the regular season with a weekend series against #20 ranked Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish bring in a 5 game winning streak and a 36-9 overall record but they haven't played since April 26th.  ND stands 4th in the ACC at 13-5 with their conferences loses being to Virginia (2), Georgia Tech and Clemson (2).

Notre Dame’s offense is led by sophomore first baseman Karina Gaskins. Gaskins leads the ACC with a .442 average, hitting 11 doubles, 11 home runs and driving in a conference-best 55 runs. Freshman Jane Kronenberger worked her way into the starting lineup and is hitting at a .400 average, playing in 32 games, making 22 starts. She’s third on the team with 27 RBI, hitting nine doubles and three home runs. The outfield trio of Abby Sweet, Emma Clark and Leea Hanks are all hitting .371 or above, and combined have 11 home runs, nine triples, 31 doubles, 42 stolen bases and have scored 140 runs.

The trio of Alexis Holloway, Payton Tidd and Shannon Becker have thrown all the innings for the Irish this season. Senior pitcher Tidd and Grad. Senior pitcher Holloway earned ACC honors in back to back weeks 4/12 and 4/19. Tidd has worked as the series opener owning a 2.58 ERA and a team-best 14 wins, eight complete games and 119.1 innings of work. Holloway has thrown two no-hitters on the year, while earning a 2.92 ERA and 13 wins. She’s started a team-high 18 games while throwing 103.0 innings. Combined the trio have held opponents to a .228 average against.

Notre Dame leads the series with the Cards 23-17. The last time the two teams met was in 2019. Notre Dame won two out of three games in South Bend, sweeping a doubleheader by scores of 9-1 in each game. Louisville won 5-3 in the series finale.

Entering her 20th season as leader of the Notre Dame softball program, Deanna Gumpf continues to ascend the ladder as one of the nation’s premier head coaches.

ACC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

As it stands on Thursday evening, the Cards should qualify for the 7th seed in the ACC Tournament which is next week, May 11-14 at Vartabedian Field in Pittsburgh, PA.  A sweep over the Irish and the Cards would tie Virginia in the standings while Notre Dame is chasing Florida State and going for the sweep on Senior Weekend. FSU is visiting NC State looking for cushion from the Irish's hunt. 

A couple squads at the top of the conference have already wrapped up their regular season as they look ahead to the tournaments -- Virginia Tech, Clemson and Virginia.   Georgia Tech has finished 11-13 in the ACC and await to see what the Cards can do this weekend or if they will jump UofL in the conference standings. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast -- With the local holiday, the gang is also taking Saturday off from the podcast to spend time celebrating.   I plan on picking my Oaks and Derby winners 30 minutes before 'They're Off!!' each day. If you want some suggestions on who to bet on, go to Paulie Picks. 

As Always - Go Cards 

~Daryl 

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

Softball travels to BC -- KY Oaks Day -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Derby/Oaks weekend Louisville, KY!

Glad to see the festivities back on the first weekend in May. Normalcy. Be safe, wear your sunscreen and stay away from strangers if you're heading over to Churchill this weekend... wait.. do that anywhere you go, every weekend! Those are general pieces of life advice!

There are a couple picks I've got my eye on.. I like one of the favorite's Travel Column & Coach for the long shot. 

Post time: 5:51 p.m. Friday at Churchill Downs. Purse: $1.25 million. Grade: 1. Distance: 1 1/8 miles. TV: NBC Sports Network.



Who do you got winning the Lillies?  Let us know in the comments. And you can see Paulie's Picks for the Oaks, and the Derby tomorrow by going to his horse racing site:  PAULIE PICKS

Fun fact, my boyfriend is the person who ordered the Lillies/Roses for the winners circle.  He is in floral wholesale and imported the roses from Columbia & the lillies came from California.  He sells them to Kroger every year for the events. 

SOFTBALL

Louisville (17-23-1, 11-17-1 ACC) is eighth in the current ACC standings while Boston College (11-27, 6-19) is 13th.  The Cards are coming off of a stretch of nine straight games played against top-25 opponents after a four-game series against then-No. 21 Duke, a midweek game at No. 14 Kentucky, followed by last weekend's four-game set against No. 7 Florida State. In that stretch, the Cardinals went 2-6-1 with three games going into extra innings and three games decided by one run. And an 11-inning 0-0 tie against the Seminoles.

Louisville leads the series 8-4. Carmyn Greenwood leads the team and the ACC and stands eighth in the nation with 59 hits.  Taylor Roby has a team-high 12 home runs and 36 RBI standing tied for second in the ACC in home runs and fourth in RBI. She has also produced a team-best 10 multi-RBI games.

Roby (10-9) leads the team with a 2.54 ERA in 30 appearances and 129.1 innings of work.  Its evident that this team is at its best when Roby starts in the circle for the Cards. 

For the Eagles, junior catcher Gianna Boccagno has one of the strongest arms behind the plate in the country. The Florida native leads the ACC with 15 runners caught stealing in 2021.  In all, opponents are just 22-of-37 in stolen base attempts against Boccagno this season.  BC leads the ACC with 17 runners caught stealing.

ACC Team Leaders Caught Stealing

1. Boston College 17

2. Pitt 13

    L'ville 13

Its Senior Weekend for the Eagles. Junior pitcher Susannah Anderson is among the ACC leaders in several categories this season. The ace of the BC pitching staff, Anderson is 7-15 with a 2.40 ERA in 25 appearances in 2021, good enough for 13th in the ACC.

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

We've decided to take the weekend off from podcasting with it being a slow weekend on news/games and or teams on the road.  Plus, with the festivities, its a good opportunity to spend time with our people.  We hope you get to spend time with yours too.  

Go Cards

~Daryl 

Softball Drops Game One -- DERBY DAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DERBY DAY IN THE VILLE

The First Saturday in May is Kentucky Derby Day. The eyes of the world turn to Louisville, KY for the most exciting two minutes in sports. In keeping with our long standing tradition here at CARDINAL COUPLE, here is Dan Fogelberg's song about the event. Derby won't be the same without John Asher, but -- he'd tell us to enjoy the day and celebrate the Run For The Roses.

LINK: RUN FOR THE ROSES -- Dan Fogelberg

In Dan's words:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Change horses in the middle of the stream if you choose. There is a place in the world for a gambler, so  Explore, Dream, Discover." 

Softball Falls Behind Early, Can't Recover

Playing in their final regular season series, Louisville gave up a two run blast in the bottom of the first inning against NC State that would prove to be the difference. Louisville brought the deficit down to one run twice in the game, but ultimately fell 4-3.  The Cards will continue the series today at 1PM if you're looking to double screen some softball alongside your Derby Day festivities.

All was not lost in the game, though. As Paulie mentioned yesterday, Sidney Melton gets on base a lot. She also steals bases a lot. In fact, with her steal yesterday, Melton broke the UofL softball record for single season steals. Sidney Melton has meant quite a bit to this program in her time here, and now there will be a lasting mark to commemorate her tenure.

 As for the rest of team, Louisville was mostly held quiet on the day offensively. The Cards finished with just four hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch, though they did strikeout just once. The Cards just weren't able to get going, either putting players on base or driving them in. Of Louisville's three runs scored, only one was credited with an RBI. It was none other than Sidney Melton. Melton knocked in Celene Funke with a fielder's choice groundout. Funke had gotten into scoring position with, you guessed it, a triple. She maintains her national lead on the stat. Joining Funke in crossing the plate were Melton and Kyra Snyder, both who scored on separate wild pitches.

Danielle Watson pitched the complete six innings in this one, scattering seven hits, one walk, and one hit-by-pitch, while striking out five. Unlike the Cards, though, the Wolfpack were able to string together a few of their hits to score four earned runs. NC State was led by Logan Morris, who went 2-3 with two RBIs and 2 runs scored.

With last week's game 3 win, Louisville locked themselves into finishing at least .500 in conference play this season, already an improvement on last season's 10-12 finish. However, the Cards will need to finish strong to hold off Georgia Tech for seeding in the conference tournament. One win would guarantee at least a tie, in which Louisville would hold the tiebreaker. That said, it would be nice to finish the season with a series victory over a team just hovering at .500 overall. Game two today. Let's see what happens.

Kentucky Oaks Doesn't Quite Go to Plan

Yesterday's main race got off to an inauspicious start when a couple of pinched horses ended with a jockey getting sent over the top. Fortunately, Manny Franco was able to roll out of the way as Positive Spirit tumbled down, and both were able to bolt away from the scene of the incident. Franco turned himself over to stewards willingly, while the filly was a bit harder to track down. Following the race, it was reported that Positive Spirit was unofficially medically cleared, but that more examination was to come. A preliminary positive report is much better than the alternative.

As the race thundered on, things continued to shock, as Bellafina was seemingly interested in doing anything but run for the lillies. The heavy favorite finished fifth, behind Champagne Anyone. Lady Apple showed, Liora placed, and Serengeti Empress (not Express, as a twinspires graphic showed in a postrace email) took home the prize. It was hardly what anyone expected (at least from what I could tell), but if today has anything planned for us like yesterday did, it will be an exciting day of racing.

Did You Know? 

Our fearless leader Paulie does a bit of horse handicapping? 

Check out his Derby Day selections at his personal website

LINK: PAULIE PICKS

Note:  The picks at this site and intended for entertainment purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of the Cardinal Couple crew. If you wager, do so responsibly and within your budget. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -- Off the Air

As we alluded to last week, the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour has the week off due to Derby Festivities. As always, tune into WCHQ FM for all your local music and news.

We'll be back next week to discuss golf and softball postseason happenings.

Have a great Derby Day, wherever you are !!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

HAPPY OAKS DAY !! -- WHICH CARDINAL PITCHERS WILL SHOW UP -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(PAULIE FILLS IN FOR JARED TODAY...WHO HAS SUFFERED A LAPTOP CRASH. FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WAS INJURED) 


SOFTBALL DODGING RAINDROPS TODAY? 

There is a 40% chance of rain today in Raleigh, NC. This matters because the Louisville Softball team is there, hoping to get in their final three game set of the regular season. North Carolina State is the foe. I doubt Ms. Wuf shows up, since I won't be there...but...let's hope the Cards do. 

We know how the ACC and the teams in it like to adjust schedules to try and get contests in around the rain drops. I haven't seen any changes yet in the scheduled 6 p.m. start today for the first game, nor changes for either of the other two planned this weekend. Don't be surprised if there are, though. 

40% thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening are in the forecast for today. Saturday looks only slightly better and Sunday's forecast is a mess for Raleigh. 

We're hoping that, despite the weather, the UofL pitchers are ready for a bit of success. We'd like to see the Danielle Watson that stymied North Carolina last Sunday with one run and five hits. We're hoping we get the effective Taylor Roby who has kept ACC powerhouse squads silent all season in compiling a 13-2 record and who has a ERA well south of the 3.00 per game mark. It's always nice to see senior Megan Hensley do what she's done effectively for four years here and keep opposing batters off the bases. She's 9-3 and has a 2.85 ERA this season. 

I've become less worried about Louisville's batting prowess as the season has rolled along. You can count on Celene Funke to boom a triple at any time. She leads the nation in them. Sidney Melton always finds a way on base. Hensley leads the squad in home runs and Roby is also over the .300 mark from the plate -- like the first three mentioned. 

That's a pretty nice top four to send out against the opposing circle performer. 

But, wait!  There's more !!

It doesn't get any better for the other team's hurler after that opening foursome. Kyra Snyder is flirting with the .300 mark at the plate. Freshman catcher Rebecca Chung is over .300 and second in home runs. Shortstop Caitlin Ferguson leads the squad in doubles, Jordan Wolfe...filling in for injured regular left-fielder Charley Butler...is batting .417 and Maddie Newman (the ninth batter in the lineup) is at .260.

It's enough to make an opposing pitcher shake their head and wonder what they did to deserve this? The Cards have rough-housed two of the best pitchers in the league in UNC's Brittany Pickett and FSU's Meghan King this year. And, when they get on the bags, they'll steal, steal, steal on an opponent. 

Hoping for clear skies, no delays or reschedules, strong arms, active bats and three wins this weekend for the Louisville Softball squad in Raleigh. Quite honestly, it's a good thing they aren't playing here at home. It's Derby Weekend. Get out the umbrella, naturally. 



KENTUCKY OAKS? IS IT ALL ABOUT BELLAFINA? 

There are 13 races scheduled at Churchill Downs today...plenty of opportunities to watch the ponies "turn left" (hopefully not into another horse)...but Mother Nature is definitely not cooperating with fans headed out to the track early. 

Hiya, rain. 

With some excellent Stakes races going in the slop and yielding turf, nevertheless -- the big one is the Kentucky Oaks. And, #4 on your program for the 11th race --  Bellafina. Can anyone "get"to her? 

She is "all that".  Unlike the Derby, where six or more runners are making a claim that they'll best the field of 19 (yes, another scratch)...Bellafina is a superstar filly.

She could probably even survive a Jeff Walz/Beth Burns conditioning drill or run at pace along-side Lacrosse's Tessa Chad and not breath heavily. You think Dana Evans has speed? Check this gal out. 

Bellafina, loosely translated from Italian...means "beautiful and fine". And, this three-year-old certainly fills that description. 

She'll take on 13 challengers in the 1-18th mile Oaks. That we know of. "Scratch" time -- withdrawing horses from races -- is 9 a.m. this morning. In my opinion, there is no way she'll stay at the 2-1 morning line odds. Be thankful if you get "even" money on her. I'll be keeping and eye on those proceedings at Churchill today, as well as tracking what's going on with Louisville Softball. 

I don't know too many that would refuse $4 back from $2 invested. Profit margin!  

As a sideline, feel free to check out my selections for the Oaks card of racing at my other website... www.paulsykes.com ... where I combat insomnia by trying to pick out thoroughbred race winners. I'll also have the Kentucky Derby picks, as long as the coffee holds out...on Saturday.

No guarantees here. Just my handicapping skills out there for you to see. As always, bet sensibly and within your budget. Play 'em anyway you want. I'm just supplying the car, here. Drive it however you feel like.

Soggy Friday to ya! 

paulie
xxxxx

Oaks Day -- Softball Visits Pitt -- What Day Is It -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Oaks Day!

On May 19, 1975, less than 10,000 people found their way to Churchill Downs for the inaugural Kentucky Oaks, trailing the inaugural Kentucky Derby by two days.  Originally 1 1/2 miles, the race was lessened to 1 1/4 miles and eventually 1 1/16 miles before being raised up to its current distance of 1 1/8 miles in 1982.

Now, the Kentucky Oaks is run on the day before the Kentucky Derby, the Friday before the first Saturday of May.  Three year old fillies line up in front of a crowd over 100,000 in hopes of being able to have a garland of lilies draped over them.

The Kentucky Oaks ranks number one in horse racing attendance in regards to races that are not part of the Triple Crown.  It is common for patrons to wear pastel-colored suits or spring dresses as well as a chance for the women to showcase the "southern belle tradition" of extravagant head ware for both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.

Betting

Whether you are a pro handicapper or an amateur betting has been a popular tradition for everyone who walks through the gates of Churchill Downs.  However, types of bets and terms can confuse the newbies.

WIN- betting on a horse to finish first.
PLACE- betting on a horse to finish first or second.
SHOW- betting on a horse to finish first, second or third.
ACROSS THE BOARD- betting to win, place, and show. You're making and paying for three different bets. If your horse finishes first you get payouts for win, place, and show. If your horse finishes second you get payouts for place and show.  If your horse finishes third you get the payout for show.
WIN/PLACE- betting to win and place. You're making and paying for two different bets. If your horse finishes first you get payouts for win and place. If your horse finishes second you get the payout for place.
PLACE/SHOW- betting to place and show. You're making and paying for two different bets. If your horse finishes second you get payouts for place and show. If your horse finishes third you get the payout for show.

EXACTA- betting on two horses to finish first and second in exact order.
QUINELLA- betting on two horses to finish first and second in any order.
TRIFECTA- betting on three horses to finish first, second, and third in exact order.
SUPERFECTA- betting on four horses to finish first, second, third, and fourth in exact order.
DAILY DOUBLE- betting on two horses to win back-to-back races
PICK 3- betting on three horses to win three races in a row
PICK 4- betting on four horses to win four races in a row
Although tellers have become more relaxed about how you introduce your bet the traditional way is racetrack (unless you are at that facility already), race number, amount of bet, type of bet, horse number.

For example, if you are betting on a horse on the Longines Kentucky Oaks you would say "Churchill Downs, race 11, $2 to win, horse 10."

For the latest in handicapping our very own expert Paul Sykes breaks it down for you on his site http://pauliesykes.blogspot.com/.  This guy is good, folks.  He doesn't guarantee you will walk away on top, but odds are you will.  LINK: HANDICAPPING HEROES OAKS DAY SELECTIONS

Someone came into the bank the other day to offer betting advice by going with the horse's name followed by "between the sheets".  By that standard my Oaks pick is Eskimo Kisses and my Derby picks are Promises Fulfilled and Good Magic.  I would not advise this as a good way to bet if you hope to come out on top.

Softball Visits Pittsburgh to Conclude Regular Season

The travel socks crew is coming down to their final few trips as Louisville softball (32-17, 10-10) visits Pittsburgh this weekend.  They will have a chance to showcase their fancy socks on their trip to Atlanta, and hopefully to an NCAA Tournament location after that.

Megan Hensley continues to heat up.  After pitching a majority of the game Wednesday and hitting the go-ahead grand slam the junior from Ashland hopes to strengthen her case for All-American with strong performances in the three games against the Panthers.  She has now surpassed 100 career RBIs and is tied for tenth in program history.  Her 25th career home run moves her to tenth in program for that category, just one homer shy of tying Cardinal-great Maryssa Becker.  Her four career grand slams are tied for first in program history.

Sidney Melton is 15-for-15 in stolen bases and has moved into tenth in program history in stolen bases.  Celene Funke is 16-for-17 in stolen bases and needs one more steal to move into the top ten in program history for successful stolen bases in one season.

Nicole Pufahl also homered in the win against Marshall.  By crossing the plate she has scored 115 times in her career.  If she scores two more times she will move into the top ten in program history in career runs scored.

Pitt is 29-17-1 and had an eight-game win streak before falling to Ohio State earlier this week.  They're second in the ACC and first in the Coastal division with a conference record of 14-6.

Louisville is eighth in the ACC currently.  Depending on what they do and how other teams fare they could climb to as high as sixth or drop down to ninth.  The 8- and 9-seeds will battle it out with the winner taking on 1-seed Florida State in the conference tournament.  The 7- and 10-seeds will face each other with the victor taking on the to-be-determined 2-seed in the tournament.

Louisville is nowhere to be found in or near the Top 25 rankings.  Their RPI clocked in at 39th before their Wednesday game.  One can assume it stayed the same or rose due to the win.

64 teams make the NCAA Tournament.  Similar to baseball the first round is a regional consisting of a four-team double elimination tournament.  The regional winners will advance to the super regional, where two teams will battle it out in a best-of-3 series.  Eight teams will earn a trip to Oklahoma City where its another four-team double elimination tournament and the championship being another best-of-3.

What day is it?

If you haven't figured it out from the top half of the article it's Oaks Days!  It is also national Star Wars Day - May the Fourth (Force) Be With You!

Grab candied orange peels, orange juice, or have a healthy snack (lunch hero day) for your food holidays.  It is also a day to celebrate space, respect for chickens, and to promote anti-bullying.

Being a musician I must recognize that it is also national tuba day, my secondary instrument back in my music major days.  The 2014 football season involved me parading around Papa John's Cardinal Stadium with a sousaphone on my shoulder and back.

Happy Friday and Oaks Day!  May the Force be with You as you follow Paulie's advice on your betting today!

- Jared -

Asia Taylor impressive in opening Mystics exhibition...Ciera Johnson to Texas A&M -- Wednesday CARDINAL COUPLE

TAYLOR'S 13 LEAD WASHINGTON OVER INDIANA

Louisville grad Asia Taylor totaled 13 points in almost 18 minutes yesterday for the WNBA Washington Mystics in their first exhibition game of the season...a 88-68 win over the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis yesterday afternoon. 

The free agent, who most recently played for the Sydney Flames in Australia, was 4 for 11 from the floor...hit 5-6 from the free throw stripe and gather four rebounds. Taylor, who did nit start, was one of five Mystics in double figures...Elena Della Donne and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 12 points each. 

A nice return to "the Big Dance"...where Taylor has been twice before. She began with the Minnesota Lynx after her 2013 senior season at Louisville...playing in 22 games in 2014 and spent 2016 playing four games for the Connecticut Sun late in the season. 

The Mystics final preseason game will be Monday, May 8th when they face the Lynx in Washington. 


CIERA JOHNSON TO TEXAS A&M 

The Tweets started yesterday evening. 

"Proud to call myself an Aggie" 

And, so...we know the destination of two of the three transfers from the University of Louisville women's basketball program this spring. Earlier, we learned that Jonesie was headed to Georgetown (D.C.) 

Looking at A&M, where Johnson will be eligible starting in the 2018-19 season...they currently have three players 6'2" or taller...but all will be graduated by the time Johnson hits the court. 

Hopefully, a good fit on Gary Blair's squad for the Duncanville, TX native. Texas A&M was one of five school that made the final cut before Johnson became a Card...Notre Dame, South Carolina and Duke also on that list. 

Best of luck to Ciera on this new opportunity. 


LATER THIS WEEK

Case Hoskins will be handling the Friday write-up and Worldwide Jeff McAdams doing Saturday as Paulie gets into full Oaks and Derby mode. I'll be appearing on our Saturday radio show via phone with the lads as well. 

I'll have my annual Oaks and Derby picks over at: 

LINK: HANDICAPPING HEROES

This is my secondary website and we look at horse racing there, plus a radio show that follows The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on Saturdays. The handicappers do pretty well. They keep me around for entertainment, I'm pretty sure...but I did pretty well on Oaks and Derby Day last year. 

I hope the Handicappers jump in as well. It's a busy time of year for them.


paulie

Friday Cardinal Couple - Basketball News

Welcome Taylor Johnson

Sheryl Swoopes has seen a veritable exodus of players from Loyola along with allegations of a poor atmosphere in the program.

Louisville is the latest beneficiary of that controversy and Taylor Johnson has signed the first of the paperwork to attend UofL and join Jeff Walz' roster.  Paulie wrote about her commitment earlier in the week, but now it's official.

Johnson brings with her some impressive stats from last year.  Averaging 15.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, a particularly impressive stat for a 5'7" player.  She posts some great point guard stats as well, with 4 assists, and pilfered the ball 2.6 times per game.  A 42.4% field goal percentage makes her a threat to score, and 79.5% free throw shooting will help The Cards earn that "F" in FRED.

Taylor will enroll for summer terms to get on campus as soon as she can after completing her undergraduate degree in film and digital media, with a minor in visual communication.

Kentucky's Revolving Door

I'm not one to cheer the misfortunes of another team, even a fierce rival such as is seen between UofL and UK, but the news at UK is certainly that, news.

After seven players and three assistant coaches departed, Matthew Mitchell is definitely in rebuilding mode.  The latest departure was Sophomore Alexis Jennings who was granted her release on Wednesday.

The rebuilding has begun, however, as Mitchell has re-hired a former assistant coach to return to the program in Niya Butts.  Butts left after Mitchell's first year as head coach at UK to be the head coach at Arizona.  Arizona decided not to renew Butts' contract in April.

Mitchell previously hired Kyra Elzy who was also previously an assistant coach at UK, and has since served under Holly Warlick at Tennessee.  Elzy will be the Associate Head Coach.

Mitchell is expected to announce his third and final assistant coach soon.

Good to be Back

I had to go look and see, but it's been over three weeks since I wrote my last article here on Cardinal Couple.  It's good to be back, but I had a delightful vacation in the meantime.  I'm looking forward to being back on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour again next Saturday..

Please don't ask me for horse picks, my best suggestion would be to pick one that has four legs.  My expertise with horses does not extend any beyond that.

You can find Paulie's Oaks and Derby handicapping information over at his personal website www.paulsykes.com

AS USUAL, THE DISCLAIMER...Paulie's Picks are for entertainment purposes only and the site or author nor I make no claims of guaranteed financial success. That being said, the combination of Paulie and Sonja's prognostications have been very successful over the last several years. Proceed at your own risk. 

- JMcA