FSU nips Louisville Softball 5-4...TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

7th Inning Score Gives Noles win over Louisville Softball

Another close game against FSU Softball Monday night for Louisville at Ulmer Stadium...the Noles getting the 5-4 win with a run in the top of the seventh inning and then keeping Louisville at bay in their final at-bat. 

Another rough start for the Cards to begin this one...the first five batters in the FSU lineup reached base against starter Megan Hensley and FSU built a 3-0 lead with three singles and two walks in the top of the first. 

Louisville did not give up the battle, though. Hensley powered a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the second to cut the deficit to 3-1. Three walks and a single gave FSU a 4-1 advantage in the top of the fourth...but the Cards rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning to tie it up at 4-4. Singles from Nicole "Poof" Pufahl , Hensley and "Mike, Mike, Mike" Alison Szydlowski loaded the bases for the Cards with no outs. Jenna Jordan grounded out to score Pufahl and then "The New Pride of New Egypt" Jamie Soles belted a double to deep center that brought "Szyd" and Hensley to the plate. 

Meghan King had replaced Noles starter Jessica Burroughs in the circle after the Cards fourth inning outburst and kept the Cards at bay offensively the rest of the way. Coincidentally, Burroughs had been named the first draft pick during the fourth inning in the NPF (National Pro Fast Pitch) softball league. Hensley had settled down and kept the Seminoles from getting any further runs over the next two innings.

The teams entered the top of the seventh deadlocked at 4-4. FSU got a single from the speedy Cali Harrod, she stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. That set the stage for a Zoe Casas single which scored Harrod.

Pinch hitter Lillie Goetz drew a walk for the Cards in the bottom of the seventh but was unable to advance to the plate and FSU got the one-run win and a sweep of the series. Sandy

Tough losses in two of these...a mere run...against #3 in the nation. Our own Jeff "Worldwide" McAdams was on-site for last night's game and got comments from UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall after the contest: 

LINK: POST GAME PEARSALL WITH CARDINAL COUPLE


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The NPF is a five-team, professional softball league that fields teams in Akron, OH, Chicago, Texas and Florida. Besides Burroughs selection, FSU first baseman Alex Powers was selected in the second round. No other ACC teams had a draft pick in the five rounds...there was a possibility that UofL pitcher Maryssa Becker might get selected, but it didn't happen. Arizona has it going on...four Wildcats were picked in the draft. 

Several former Cards have played in the league in past years but there are currently no Louisville softball players on the rosters.  

paulie
xxxxx

Monday Cardinal Couple - Selectioning

I don't know if "selectioning" was a word, but it is now...

Men's Selectioning

So, the men's bracket was revealed last night.  It may have been the first time in my Cardinal Fandom history when I didn't hear immediate grousing from most of CardNation about how the selection disrespects UofL.  So...that's cool.

Not only did the men get a seeding that was higher than what most of CardNation seemed to be expecting, but they did so without also getting schlepped out to some obscure corner of the country to play first and second round games.

If you have been living under a sports media rock since last night, the Cardinals picked up a 2nd seed in the men's tournament, and will only have to go up the road to Indianapolis to play their 1st and 2nd round games starting Friday.  Their first round opponent is Jacksonville State.  Kentucky will also be making the trip to play in Indianapolis, along with their opponent, first-time-eligible Northern Kentucky.  While this sounds like a recipe for massive ticket shortages with at least two fan bases in Louisville and Kentucky that travel very well, there may a chance, however painful this may be for some of CardNation and Big Blue Nation, to cooperate for tickets.  Louisville has an afternoon matchup, with a 2:45'ish tip against Jacksonville State in the afternoon session, while Kentucky and NKU tangle in the late game of the evening session to tip around 9:40pm.  Find you a buddy that likes to wear blue and split the ticket price and availability between the two of you.  If you can't make the trip, both games will be televised on the main CBS channel.  Do be aware, that at least at the time of this writing, that WLKY, the local Louisville CBS affiliate, and Dish are having a carriage spat, and WLKY is not available on Dish at the moment.  Let's hope that they get this sorted out before Thursday, and definitely before Friday.

As for the region, the 1 seed is Kansas, 3 is Oregon, and 4 is Purdue.  I think Louisville, if they play their game can beat any of those teams, with Kansas being obviously the biggest worry.  Some have expressed concerned about a potential 2nd round matchup against Michigan, a concern that I share.  This is a team that has clearly shown that adversity isn't going to stop them, having advanced through and won the Big 10 tournament after literally experiencing a plane crash when they were departing to go to the tourney.

Overall, I, like it seems most of CardNation, am happy and excited for the tournament draw that the men got.

Women's Selectioning

We find out the women's draw tonight.  The selection show is at 7 o'clock on ESPN.  While CBS found out last year that a 2 hour long bracket reveal was a bad idea, and likely to see the bracket leaked (this year, they only took about 40 minutes), ESPN has never so crassly milked the bracket reveal for the women.

The pulse of CardNation seems to be trending towards a 4 seed for us, which means hosting 1st and 2nd rounds at the KFC Yum! Center.  I won't even try to predict matchups, as I suck at this sort of thing, and I'm sure our fine readers will happily express their opinions in the comment section below.  As always, let's keep it civil and respectful as you all almost always do (insert proud parent expression here).

UofL is hosting a selection show watch party at the Sports and Social Club at 4th Street Live.  Admission is free, a limited menu will be available (probably to help the event venue keep up with the crush of people expected),  UofL is encouraging reservations (presuming any are available at this point) through Toby Hammond (tobi@4thstedc.com).  Don't let a lack of reservations stop you from going, but you may be dealing with a standing room only situation and no real ability to order food, so grabbing a bite of dinner before you go is probably the right play call. Doors open at 6, show starts at 7. Free parking after 6 in the 4th Street Live garage on 5th street. 

In Other News

After cancelling Saturday's games for expected inclement weather that never really materialized, Softball did take the field against Northern Iowa yesterday afternoon at 2.

Maryssa Becker went the distance in the 8-5 win, as did pretty much the rest of the team, with no substitutions shown on the scoresheet at all, though there was one reshuffling of positions for players already in the game.  For the top of the 5th inning, Alison "Mike" Szydlowski moved to 3rd base from her designated hitter position, with the previous 3rd base player, Lillie Goetz, moving over to the DH spot.  This is the first time "Mike" has played 3rd, typically being behind the plate as catcher, but she is just the latest in a rotating cast of characters to take up the 3b spot as Sandy Pearsall searches for an option that she likes.  Personally, I'm a fan of Goetz, though she does come up a little short on the strength to get a strong throw to first from the opposite corner on the run.  Otherwise, she's probably the most aware player to have played in that spot for the Cards this year, playing very smart ball.  Mike, on the other hand, has amply demonstrated her throwing strength by gunning down several attempted steals of 2nd from the plate already in this young season.  She reminds me of Maggie Ruckenbrod, a favorite here at Cardinal Couple and someone that you just really shouldn't have tried to steal 2nd on.  Perhaps the fielding and throwing capability at 3rd is more important, a theory that I would have trouble arguing against, but I do love to see a good throw to 2nd to catch a stealing baserunner.

Otherwise, things got done by committee, Freshman Caitlin Ferguson had a good game with 2 hits and 3 rbis.  Jamie Soles, The New Pride of New Egypt, reached safely all 3 of her times at bat with 2 rbis, and speedster Jordan McNary reached on 3 of her 4 at bats with an rbi.

Softball begins conference play Friday at 4pm with Pitt coming in to Ulmer for the 3 game homestand.


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NCAA WBB TOURNAMENT CARDINAL COUPLE PICK 'EM

As we have done over the past few years, we'll offer a CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WBB Pick 'Em contest. Once the brackets are released, feel free you leave your picks in any of the next few days comments sections or e-mail them to Sonja at

cardinalcouple@twc.com

See the Right Side of the Site for an example. Basically, it's simple. Give us your first round 32 picks. Then, narrow that to 16. Next, your Great Eight. Follow that with your Final Four. Your title game two and your winner. Hey, you're probably doing one for the Men's Tournament. Why not try the Women's?

63 picks. The most right wins. In case of a tie, the earliest entry wins. We will offer a $25 Gift Card to either Panera or Cracker Barrel to the winner and "the left-over one" to second place.

Have fun, choose wisely and good luck. Entries need to be in before the first game tips off. We'll feature a few here at the site over the next couple of days. 

-- JMcA

Durr, Hines-Allen combine for 45...Cards WBB downs Virginia 66-55...FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WITHOUT MOORE, B.J....CARDS CONTROL CAVS

Starting lineups with the University of Louisville women's basketball squad lately have been like a box of chocolates (sorry...Mama Gump). You never know what you might get. 

On Senior Night...it was Mariya Moore and Briahanna Jackson's turn to serve one game suspensions Thursday night in the KFC YUM! Center (Coaches Decision -- Unspecified Team Violation) the reason again. Jackson probably couldn't have gone regardless...still day-to-day with the back and no rushing it is the plan with that...but without Moore...the Cards put Myisha Hines-Allen, Asia Durr, Jazmine Jones, Cortnee Walton and Kylee Shook out there to go after the opening tip against Virginia and the combo had a bit of trouble clicking at first. 

Walz was straight-forward about the suspensions in the post game: 

“We’re continuing to teach all of our kids that the choices they make affect everyone. It’s not just them or their teammates, it affects the fans, too."

Tied at 5-5 halfway through the first and trailing 8-7 with 1:20 left in the quarter...the shots weren't falling for the Cards against the Virginia zone and "the bakery" was definitely open with six first quarter turnovers (for each team) in a 11-8 first quarter that was pretty hard to watch. Euphemistically, you could call it a defensive battle...but besides Durr's seven points...there weren't a lot of bright spots. 

Louisville responded a little better in the second quarter. J.J. got things popping with two scores to start action, Durr nailed a three and Hines-Allen ran off six straight points to give the Cards a 24-15 lead with 2:15 until half. Another Durr three pushed that advantage to 27-15 and a Sam Fuehring put-back gave the Cards a 29-18 lead at the midway break. This was looking a little more like the Cardinal team we've come to know. 

The Cards were beginning to do some good things. They held a 23-13 edge on the boards, 13-1 advantage on second chance points and Durr had nailed three threes and had 13 points. Ciera Johnson gave the Cards 10 strong minutes in the half and Shook and Hines-Allen had five grabs each. JJ's hustle, over-all play and six points were encouraging. 

Then, things got a little dicey. 

Virginia came out to start the third quarter on a 10-2 run...showing the Cards they weren't going to be an easy out. At 31-28 with 5:44 until half-time...the crowd of 7981 was starting to get a little nervous. The Cards needed a couple of players to step up and Durr and Hines-Allen answered the call. Hines-Allen rolled in two charity tosses and got a put-back score in the next minute, Durr drilled another three and after another Hines-Allen inside score...the Cards had gone on a 9-2 run in three minutes for a 40-30 lead. UVA got another clutch three out of Breyana Mason (she went 5 for 6 from the deep in 38 minutes) but the Cards held a 42-35 margin as the quarter ended. 

Walz needed one more factor to bust up the Wahoo zone starting the final period and found it early in Sydney Zambrotta. After Durr started the quarter with a jumper, "Z" drained two threes...sandwiched around a Hines-Allen score and the Cards were up 52-38 with 5:29 to play. Louisville had a 39-20 rebounding edge at that point and it appeared the Cards were safely on their way to their 24th. victory of the season. A Durr jumper at 2:38 gave UofL a 56-42 lead.

The final 1:30 was a free throw fest...where Louisville made nine out of 12 attempts. Virginia would cut the Cardinal lead to nine on a couple of occasions...but MHA's final two charity tosses with 25 seconds left set the final margin at 66-55. 

Durr led all scorers with 24 points and also grabbed seven boards. Hines-Allen narrowly missed a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds. Mason ended with 19 for the Cavs on 7-11 shooting. 

HOW DID FRED DO?

Just when you think you've seen it all...Fred's have their own
water now. Paul's can't be far behind, right? 

-- FREE THROWS. The Cards were 14-21 from the line. MHA with a excellent night...going 7-8. Taylor Johnson was 4-6. Unfortunately, the percentage is 66% and not quite good enough to award a letter.

-- REBOUNDS.  A massive edge for UofL here...43-24. A nice balanced effort, too...All 10 Cards who played grabbed at least two except Bionca Dunham...who only played a minute. We have no problem with handing out a capital "R" for the grab domination. 

-- EFFORT/EXECUTION. Louisville worked hard against the tough Virginia zone with some successes. 41.8% shooting was buoyed by 11-22 50% second half numbers. The Cards did have 16 turnovers...too high for us...and were the victims of 11 steals. All in all, an effort good enough for a 11-point win. The Durr and Hines-Allen show is enough to award a small case "e" here. 

-- DEFENSE. The Cards did keep the Wahoos to under 40% shooting and did force 17 turnovers. 55 points is 26 less than UVA put on the Cards in Charlottesville and the two teams basically tied in the second half with 37 points each. We'll forget about the two Wahoo runs and give out the small case "d". 

FINAL FRED COUNT:  _-R-e-d


THINGS WE LIKED


Two out of three ain't bad...The old Meat Loaf song holds court here...the top three in the Cardinal hierarchy was diminished by one but the remaining two came through gangbusters. Thanks Asia and Myisha for making sure the seniors got a win on Senior Night. 


Senior night...It's always hard to say goodbye to the graduates...but it was good to celebrate their time here.  Cortnee didn't totally break down...maybe because she had half the state of Arizona at half-court with her. Briahanna chose to get her framed photo with her wearing #23...her jersey from her junior year here. She said she gave up #23 to Jazmine Jones this year because she was the new and upcoming and she was graduating. Once again, the un-selfish and assisting Briahanna...Taylor grinning broadly with parents...thrilled to have been a part of the Cards for a year. We'll miss all three of these dedicated Cards. 

Shoot 'em Syd! She's becoming a crowd favorite with those three-bombs...is Ms. Zambrotta...and she knocked down two rainbows out of four tonight to the delight of the crowd. As our former mayor of Louisville kept yelling when she was in..."You're a shooter, Syd! Not a passer or driver!" The gunslinger on Main Street at high noon. Pull that trigger, Z. 

THINGS WE DIDN'T LIKE

What is up with these Coaches Decisions/team rule violations? We're a bit peeved that good players are having to sit because they are breaking rules. You only get maybe 130 games in a career. Why screw it up for you and the team by not being able to follow the rules? Let's hope the lessons are finally learned and everyone has the deviation from policy out of their system. 

Struggling starts. We had hoped these were a thing of the past. Granted...with two starters sitting...it wasn't full-strength Cardinal WBB out there to open. Still...non-performance early against a Notre Dame or a strong first or second round NCAA foe might send the Cards to the sidelines earlier than we all want in the upcoming tournaments


SO...

Wins are the prime directive this time of year and the Cards did just that. Not the prettiest or easiest...but give UVA some credit for giving Louisville a battle until the end. The Cavs probably won't get a NCAA invite but could have gotten on that fence if they had beaten Louisville tonight...so they had a lot on the line as well tonight. We're getting a bit antsy with these ever-changing lineups...everyone get healthy, on the same discipline and rules page and go do work. 


THEY SAID IT.

TAYLOR, CORTNEE and BRIAHANNA POST-GAME

JEFF WALZ POST-GAME VIRGINIA ON SENIOR NIGHT


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SOFTBALL DROPS TWO IN CALIFORNIA

Tough start for the Louisville Softball team in Cathedral City, CA on Thursday...losing two close games. #9 Arizona downed the Cards 5-2 and #4 Oklahoma was a 2-1 winner over Louisville. 

The Cards grabbed a 3-1 lead in the first game on a three-run Lillie Goetz shot in the third inning but were unable to maintain it and missed out on a great opportunity in sixth with the bases loaded and no outs. Megan Hensley took the loss for UofL against the Wildcats....just five hits but a few key errors by the Cards spelled "L". The Cards also had five hits against Arizona. 

In the nightcap, Louisville and the Sooners were tied up at 1-1 in the fifth inning but an Oklahoma double and Cardinal throwing error allowed the home team to take a 2-1 lead they never relinquished. Maryssa Becker allowing just two hits but Louisville only able to get two hits as well in the contest. 

The Cards will face #24 BYU at 2 p.m. today. 


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PAULIE PICKS

I went a perfect 7 for 7 on Paulie's Picks for Thursday. 

Georgia Tech knocking off Clemson 72-58

Louisville beating Virginia 66-55

NC State handling North Carolina 80-60

Notre Dame romping Boston College 82-48

Syracuse defeating Wake Forest 85-64

Miami downing Virginia Tech 79 69

Florida State taking care of Pittsburgh 79-48


paulie
xxxxx

Durr Back...Cards Smack UNC 87-57...MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DURR, HINES-ALLEN, MOORE COMBINE FOR 60 IN CARDS WIN

The University of Louisville women's basketball team overcame a slow start and roared past North Carolina by 30 Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center in front of 9739 fan on Play 4 Kay Day.

Asia Durr returned to the Cardinal lineup and produced 28 points in 28 minutes and the M&M girls added 32 in Louisville's 87-57 win. Cardinal fans were treated to the trio's strong performance, a near brawl at the end of the first half and Sydney Zambrotta lighting up the arena late in the contest. 

It wasn't the strongest of starts for Louisville. With Myisha Hines-Allen provided the early punch for UofL...her layup at the 5:09 mark in the first quarter gave the Cards a 8-3 lead...but the Cards would produce only six points in the next five minutes and found themselves holding a rather tenuous 14-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Durr was on the Cardinal bench saddled with two early fouls and the Cards couldn't seem to get an offensive flow going. The TarHeels were without leading scorer Stephanie Watts (bruised knee) but guards Paris Kea and Taylor Koenen were picking up the slack. 

Louisville slowly built on the lead in the second quarter...Durr's back-to-back buckets midway through the period put the Cards ahead 22-14...but the TarHeels would battle back and cut the margin to 26-20 with 4:14 remaining until halftime. Hines-Allen picked up the scoring role with three straight scores and after a Durr layup, UofL had a 30-20 advantage on the visitors with two minutes to go. 

At the 1:04 mark, Hines-Allen grabbed a missed shot by UNC guard Taylor Koenen and was tied-up by TarHeel forward Alyssa Okoene...a bit too aggressively...a few words were exchanged and then the rest of the Cardinals on the court swooped Hines-Allen away from the paint and the offender. After an official review, Okoene was assessed both a foul and technical foul. Durr would hit both the technical free throws and Hines-Allen scored in the paint with 10 seconds left in the half to set the score at 34-21. 

Louisville was dominating in the paint with a 16-2 scoring edge and had forced 10 UNC turnovers...but the Cards were getting out-rebounded and were 0-6 from the three-point line. The Cards needed a spark to start the second half and found one from the Douglasville, GA sophomore. 

After UNC got the first two buckets to begin the final half, Durr connected on two straight threes and created a steal leading to a layup. The 8-0 Durr run put the Cards ahead 42-25 and UNC would get no closer that 11 points the rest of the way. Mariya Moore followed with a three and Durr sank her third of the quarter to make it 50-31 with 2:43 left in the period. UNC star Jamie Cherry went to the floor with 1:05 on the clock after a scramble for a loose ball and had to be helped off the court. She did return later for UNC...Durr's fourth three of the quarter...with 16 seconds left...gave UofL a 54-39 lead. The TarHeels shot 50% for the quarter...Kea getting 12 of the UNC 18 points. 

The Cards erupted for 33 points in the final ten minutes with Moore, Jazmine Jones, Sam Fuehring and Hines-Allen getting involved on the offensive front. After Fuehring's two free throws made it 78-55 Louisville with 1:51 to play, Zambrotta put on a fireworks show...hitting three threes in 58 seconds and driving the crowd crazy. 87-57 Cards win...hitting ten threes in the second half.

HOW DID FRED DO? 

Brazilian soccer player simply
known as "Fred" 

-- Free Throws. Louisville went 7-10 from the line...Durr hitting all four of hers and Fuehring going two for two. We ask for 70% a game and that's what the Cards provided...so we award the capital "F" 

-- Rebounding.  After the slow start, where Louisville lost the boards battle 22-20 in the first half, the Cards "rebounded" well and had a 32-10 second half performance. 52-32 edge overall with Hines-Allen getting 12 and Jazmine Jones corralling eight in 27 minutes of play. That's good enough for a capital "R". 

-- Effort/Execution. We loved the way UofL sealed the deal with the explosive fourth quarter and slowly built the lead in the third...but the first ten minutes weren't a thing of beauty. Durr on the bench for almost seven minutes probably had a lot to do with that...but the 31% shooting and being up by just three after ten minutes...plus 15 turnovers will force us to bestow a small case "e" here. 

-- Defense. The TarHeels shot just 31% on the afternoon and had no success inside on the Cards...scoring just 16 points...Louisville forced 17 turnovers and had seven steals. UNC had just seven assists in the 40 minutes...which tells us that the Cards were effective in forcing a lot of one-on-one attempts. The fourth quarter was a bit sloppy...though... and Key did go for 26 on Louisville...so we see a lower case "d" the decision here. 


FINAL FRED COUNT  F-R-e-d


THINGS WE LIKED

Former Cards Syd Brackemyre catches the game on
her day off at University of Indianapolis

The Big Three proficiency. Another game where the Cards got good, almost great efforts out of Hines-Allen (19 pts. 12 rebounds) Durr (28 points) and Moore (13 points, six rebounds and assists). 

JJ Came To Play. A nice overall effort by freshman Jazmine Jones. Her defense looked as good as it has all year and she gave UofL four points, eight rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes. 

Look What Syd Did! She's a three-point specialist and she delivered just that...knocking down all three attempts. You could tell she wanted that fourth one...but Walz diplomatically insisted the Cards hold the ball in the final possession. 

THINGS TO WORK ON

Ceasing the slow starts. Against a depleted UNC squad, it wasn't a big factor but a first quarter effort like that against Virginia or Wake Forest might spell trouble in the Cards final two regular season games. 

Closing the bakery on the weekends. 15 turnovers isn't exactly awful but we see 12 or less as the objective here for 40 minutes. The Cardinal reserves had eight of them and no Cardinal had more than three...but protecting the ball gets more and more important the deeper you go in the upcoming tournaments. 

SO...

The majority of the nation will see the 30-point win and surmise....blowout for Louisville but the TarHeels were within 17 or so for a long time. Let's face it, UNC is having a rough season and without Destinee Walker and Watts available, their chances Sunday weren't very good for coming in and getting an upset win. We did like the way the Cards blew this thing wide open at the end...and the second half definitely looked better than the first. It's always nice to get a 30-point conference win and see all thirteen that could go get some good minutes.

Now 23-6 and 10-4 in ACC play, Louisville did what most hoped and expected they would today in beating a lesser foe and doing it convincingly. 

A classy move by having a breast cancer survivor accompany each starter during the pre-game introductions. 

Win and advance. It's what you hope to do this time of year and Louisville accomplished the goal while throwing in a few fireworks as well. 


SOFTBALL FALLS TO OHIO STATE


Lillie Goetz drove in three runs for the Cardinal Softball team on the final day of the ACC/Big10 Challenge against Ohio State...but the Buckeyes posted two runs in the top of the seventh and the Cards could only counter with one...falling 4-3. 

Three home runs on Megan Hensley in the contest. Louisville with a tying run on second base and no outs in the seventh and unable to get Goetz home. Learning aspect of the game early in the season. Hensley going the distance, just six hits allowed...but Louisville's bats a little more silent than they've been recently. 

The four game Cardinal win streak snapped but an overall excellent three days of softball for the Cards in Chapel Hill. Louisville (7-2) returns to action next week when they travel to Cathedral City, CA. for the Mary Nutter Classic.

UofL will see some quality competition on the left coast....facing #4 Oklahoma, #10 Arizona, #22 California, #25 BYU and Cal State-Fullerton.


THEY SAID IT

MYISHA AND ASIA POST GAME

JEFF WALZ POST-GAME




AROUND THE ACC IN WBB

Six games on Sunday for the ACC...a couple of close calls and a major upset. 

Louisville ran past UNC 88-58

Duke held off Miami 83-70

Georgia Tech held home court against Pitt 71-57

Wake Forest with a nice upset over NC State 89-77

Virginia over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg 63-55

Notre Dame visiting Syracuse and leaving with a 85-80 win. 

A so-so 3-3 day for the Paulie. 


paulie
xxxxx

Softball set for NCAA regional....Volleyball releases schedule -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

PITCHING, OFFENSE KEY FOR LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL AGAINST NEBRASKA

A drizzly, overcast Tuesday afternoon did not dampen the spirits of the Louisville Softball team as they loaded up the bus in front of the Student Athletic Center for the trip to Columbia, MO for the NCAA Regionals. 

Paulie made the trek to campus to get reactions from several of the players about the bid and the tournament. The entire interviews will played on our Saturday morning radio show...THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR...but here are some highlights from our talks with Michala Riggle, Lillie Goetz and Jordan McNary.

Michala Riggle is a freshman on the Cardinal squad and a valuable reserve coming off the bench for Sandy Pearsall. At 5'9", she has the size and also the skills to become a very important first baseman for Louisville in the future. We asked her about the change in nature of the Louisville softball team since the first meeting with Nebraska back in February. 

" I think we've grown closer together as a team. With each other and also as better ballplayers. As a freshman, the upperclassmen have told us what to expect in the tournament. I'm excited to see and experience it for myself." 

Riggle has wanted to be a Cardinal softball player since the age of 10 and sees her role as being a good and supportive teammate this season and learning the game's mental aspects.

Lillie Goetz, another freshman, is out of Owensboro, KY and was pressed into action early in the season at third base while Hailey Smith recovered from a shoulder injury. She offered her thoughts on facing Nebraska for the second time this season.

" I think that Nebraska has a solid lineup. They have a couple of girls in the beginning of the lineup that can do small ball and they have a lot of power going through the middle. I think, though, if we play defense like we can and swing the bats like we can, we'll be good." 

Goetz liked the first-time experience of the ACC Tournament and thinks the Cardinal lineup is strong and has a good chance of getting out of the regionals and into the Super regionals. 

Jordan McNary is considered one of the fastest Cardinals and the junior from Madisonville, KY has had a fruitful career beating out "slap" hits to get to first base. We asked the left-fielder about improving on the previous experience the Cards had in Columbia last year. 

" We're going to try and work on the small things and not go for the big shots. Putting the ball in play and making things happen.  

We asked McNary about that blinding speed she shows on the base paths: 

"It was pretty much a natural thing, I really didn't have too work on it too much. My mom was a track athlete and I got a lot of practice chasing my brother who would run from me."

We also discussed Jordan's announcement that she was running for President and you can hear that hilarious exchange on our exclusive interview on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR this Saturday on WCHQ 100.9 FM at 11 a.m. Given the state of current politics, why not Jordan?

Consistent pitching, making contact with the ball at the plate, dependable defense and getting home the runners on base. All basic elements for success in the game of softball and the things that the Cards will try to do better than the Cornhuskers when they match up Thursday, 5:30 p.m. on ESPN 2.



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VOLLEYBALL RELEASES 2016 SCHEDULE

As one sport goes into its final stages of their season, we now get a glimpse into what the next campaign will look like for a fall sport. Louisville Volleyball has released their 2016 Schedule and it looks to be a very competitive one. We'll leave the analytical review to our wide-net guru Worldwide once he has had time to study it...here's the highlights. 

Louisville will play 15 regular season home matches in 2016. Included are eight opponents who played in the NCAA Championships in 2015. Nine of the ten Cards' ACC home games will be at the KFC YUM! Center

The Cards start it off on the road in Bowling Green, OH for a tournament that will include BGSU, Oakland and VCU. Returning home, Anne Kordes' squad will host the Active Ankle Challenge and have invited Auburn, Santa Clara and Stony Brook in to compete. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge for Louisville will take place in Chapel Hill, NC and the Cards will serve it up against Minnesota and Wisconsin...two powerhouse programs who've had great and recent success in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Cards will host Kentucky and Lipscomb in mid-September to close out the non-conference part of the schedule. Both squads were NCAA Tournament participants in 2015. 

The ACC slate look ever-challenging...starting on the road at Notre Dame and then a trip to Florida State. We've listed the ACC schedule below and certainly hope the Cards prepare well for this very tough slate of games! 

ACC Matches  

 Friday Sept. 23 at Notre Dame South Bend, IN 7:00p 

 Sunday Sept. 25 at Florida State Tallahassee, FL 1:00 

 Friday Sept. 30 Wake Forest KFC Yum! Center 7:00p 

 Sunday Oct. 2 Duke KFC Yum! Center 1:00p 

 Friday Oct. 7   at Boston College Boston, MA 7:00p 

 Sunday Oct. 9 at Syracuse Syracuse, NY 1:00p  
       
 Thursday Oct. 13 NC State KFC Yum! Center 7:00p

 Sunday Oct. 16 UNC KFC Yum! Center 1:00p 

 Friday Oct. 21 at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 7:00p 

 Sunday Oct. 23 at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 1:00p 

 Friday Oct. 28 Florida State KFC Yum! Center 7:00p 
    
 Sunday Oct. 30 Miami KFC Yum! Center 2:00p
               
 Friday Nov. 4 at Duke Durham, NC 3:00p 

 Sunday Nov. 6 at Wake Forest Winston‐Salem, NC 1:00p 

 Wednesday Nov. 9 Notre Dame KFC Yum! Center 7:00p 

 Friday Nov. 11 Virginia Cardinal Arena 7:00p

 Friday Nov. 18 @ Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA 7:00p  

 Sunday Nov. 20 @ Clemson Clemson, SC 1:00p 

 Wednesday Nov. 23 Syracuse KFC Yum! Center 7:00p

 Friday Nov. 25 Boston College KFC Yum! Center 7:00p

PAULIE
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Loucrosse lights up Brown 14-6...Softball topples Hilltoppers 12-0...McDonald's Girls game -- THURDSAY CARDINAL COUPLE

GERDING GETS FOUR UNDER THE LIGHTS

Night time Lacrosse debuted in Louisville last evening and it seemed to agree with Kellie Young's UofL Lacrosse team...winning over Brown 14-6. Senior mid-fielder Cortnee Daley commented on the evening action: 

" I thought it was really cool. It reminds you of that Friday night high school kind of feeling. It wasn't that hard to adjust to it." 

The Cards (12-1) had a little trouble adjusting to the Bears defense at the start of this one...falling behind 2-0 in the first ten minutes before Kaylin Morissette connected for the Cards. Kelli Gerding followed with the first of her four scores to tie it with fifteen minutes left in the half.

The Cards wore Pink jerseys for the game. Brown
wore...wait for it...brown jerseys. 

Louisville was tied at 3-3 with Brown with two minutes left until the intermission...but went on a late scoring frenzy...Jillian Balog getting her first score of the game and Hannah Koloski going for an unassisted goal with 31 seconds left in the half to give the Cards a 5-3 advantage. 

What did coach Kellie cover in the locker room to get the Cards ready for the second half? Coach reveals:

"We just told them to follow the scout and do what the coaches told them to do." 

It worked. 

The Cards started the second half with six goals in 6 1/2 minutes to take a commanding 11-3 lead after Madison Hoover picked up her first score of the evening. It was a 8-0 spanning two halves and Brown was befuddled. Hoover would score again and Gerding and Daley would find the net in the final nine minutes to give Louisville the eight-point victory. 

The road gets tougher for Loucrosse next with a trip to North Carolina on April 9th. Until then, the Cards will practice to figure out the Tar Heels potent offensive attack and preserve their #5 national ranking.  

We talk to Coach Young post game link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0mDuVLU09k&feature=youtu.be

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TWO GRAND SLAMS SPUR SOFTBALL 12-0 WIN AT WESTERN. 

For two consecutive games, the Louisville softball team slugged two gland slams in a game and took a five-inning, 12-0 win in Bowling Green last night over WKU. 

The Cards recorded seven runs in the second inning, aided by Lillie Goetz's base clearer. Louisville started the inning with a Nicole Pufahl walk and back-to-back singles from Brittany Sims and Morgan Meyer to fill the bags. A walk to Sidney Melton forced home the first run of the game. Becker contributed a two RBI single and after Megan Hensley was hit by a pitch to fill the bags again... Goetz delivered a crushing shot over the right field fence to make it 7-0 Louisville.

The third inning provided more fireworks for the Cardinal batters. Pufahl doubled to start the inning and scored after a Jordan McNary infield single. A Melton single and walk to Becker loaded them up for Hensley's base-clearing "Goodbye Mr. Spalding"...UofL had a 12-0 lead after three. 

Becker was brilliant in the circle...allowing just four hits and striking out five in five innings. The win was Louisville's 11th. in a row and the Cards have run-ruled their opponents in the last four games. 

Up next, the Hit and Pitch Cards head to Chapel Hill for a three-game series against the Tar Heels this weekend. 

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KYLEE, CIERA SHINE IN ALL-STAR GAME.

Louisville WBB signees Kylee Shook and Ciera Johnson tested their talents against 22 other All-Americans in the McDonald's Girls All-Star game last night and both showcased their skills that they'll bring to Louisville.

Make no mistake about it. Ciera Johnson has a knack for controlling what goes on in the paint and contributed 12 points and nine rebounds for the East squad. #40 was toiling against the West's best inside and not backing down. 

Kylee Shook showed her overall versatile game and picked up two points and four rebounds for the victorious West squad. 

Erin Boley, the Elizabethtown Exemplar, finished with 13 points, six grabs and three assists for the East....who forced overtime but fell apart in the three-minute extra session...losing 97-88. Notre Dame is going to love her game.

Remember the names Sabrina Ionescu (undeclared) and Amber Ramirez (TCU). These two sharp-shooting guards were unconscious in the contest with their three-point shooting and on-the-court skills. 

paulie
xxxxx