Madison Pickens transfers to LSU Softball -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 SOPHOMORE ALL-AMERICAN LEAVES CARDS FOR SEC

Isn't it funny what a couple of days can male? 

I sent Madison Pickens a message a couple of days ago.on Instagram. 

"We sure are glad you came to the Ville." 

Her reply, two hours later:

"I'm thankful I am there too" 

Then, yesterday..we get the news that she is leaving Louisville and headed to LSU. 

Somebody slap me with a (fill in your own noun/s)

As the song goes...famously sung by Dinah Washington....

"24 little hours                                                                                                                                 Brought the sun and the flowers                                                                                                   Where there used to be rain" 

Maybe that is the case for LSU, who ended up getting both the twin sisters...Madison and Mackenzie Pickens. Mackenzie played at Ole Miss, Madison, a Louisville Cardinals star for two years. 

One has to figure there was a ton of NIL floating around down in the bayou to pull off a major recruiting coup like that.  The transfer portal strikes again. 

The Cards lose their best player from last year She batted .457 last year at UofL.

OK, no mystery here.The SEC is better than the ACC. And the chance for the sisters to play together.

And, so it goes..in today's wild kingdom of college sports on steroids

paulie

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Honor for Madison Pickens -- WEDNESDAY CARDINALCOUPLE

 PICKENS NAMED TO SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICAN SQUAD 

We all here locally saw how valuable left-fielder Madison Pickens was to the Louisville softball squad again this season and now the nation is recognizing her as well. 

Pickens was named as a Second Team All-American by Softball America. 

She was already recognized as a NFCA First Team All-Region selection and stood out as one of the top run producers in the country this season. She amassed 74 RBI's on 86 hits for Holly Aprile and UofL this season and, in doing so, set a new UofL record...surpassing Maryssa Becker's 60 RBI's back in 2016. 

The Flowery Branch, GA sophomore blossomed this season and led the Cards in batting average as well...setting a new single season record by batting .467. She also led the squad in slugging percentage (,.777), home runs (11). extra base hits (34) and total bases (146). If all that wasn't enough, she also stole 12 bases and batted .494 in ACC play. 

She was named earlier this month to the ACC All-Tournament Team. 

Pickens is part of a returning nucleus that could pay big dividends for the Cards next season.  Other key student-athletes slated to return (and hopefully the transfer bug stays away or is a bug that adds to the roster instead of depleting from it) are Brooke Gray, Riley Janda, Ava Venturelli, Camryn Lookadoo, Jordan Williams, Katie Thatcher, Taylor Monroe, Jayden Gohs and Madi Reeves.  

These 10, along with others, willt ry to improve upon the Cards stellar 44-14 record and 18-6 ACC mark from the 2026 season.. 

Getting runners around the bases and to home plate has to be on the short list of things Holly Aprile's list of things to improve for 2027. Just three runs scored in the final 14 innings of the season was a disappointing number...and it was against non-top 25 squads Grand Canyon and South Dakota. 

We look forward to the 2027 season at Ulmer. To butcher an old phrase, the Cards shouldn't  suffer from "slim pickings" 

paulie 

Cards Drop NCAA Opener 5-1 -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Offense Falters Against GCU

Louisville softball opened their regional round against Grand Canyon yesterday afternoon in Lincoln, but unfortunately, it seems like the offense thought they had a bit more time off. The Cards managed just one run on four hits, three walks and an HBP. The only extra base hit was Madison Pickens's 11th home run of the season, which scored the Cards' only run in the sixth inning. By that point, GCU had already scored four. 

Louisville got off on the wrong foot straight out of the gate, allowing the leadoff batter to reach on an error. That was followed by a single, a productive fly out, and another single to score an unearned run. A fielder's choice would've been the third out, so the double that followed scored another unearned run. Zabala finally got out of the inning after allowing three hits and the error, and the Cards trailed 2-0. Louisville picked up one of their hits and one of their walks in the bottom of the first, but both came with two outs and they left the pair on base.

Zabala looked to have settled in a bit in the second, getting quick outs from the 8th and 9th batters in the GCU lineup, but the leadoff batter stung again with a solo homer to left. That was the only run in the inning, but the Cards trailed 3-0. A 1-2-3 bottom half, including the Cards' 2nd and 3rd strikeouts of the game kept the score as it was. Zabala picked up another two quick outs to open the third, but a double ended her day. Brooke Gray came on in relief and got a fly out to end the threat. The Cards got another single and another walk, but they also got another strikeout and they left two more on base, raising their count to four. 

Gray earned Louisville's first defensive 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, but the Cards responded by doing the same thing in the bottom half. Two more strikeouts raised Louisville's count to six through four innings. Yikes. GCU threatened again in the fifth, with back-to-back singles opening and putting runners on the corners. Gray coaxed a pop-out and then the GCU runner got over aggressive on a fly out. Pickens caught the out in left and threw a rocket to Bri Despines at the plate. The runner was a bit late to leave, and tried to retreat to third, but it was a short pickle. Despines threw to Riley Janda for the out. 

The bottom of the fifth saw the Cards strand two more following two more strikeouts. Can you tell that the Cards would have been much better off if they could put the bat on the ball? A solo homer opened the sixth, and, after a fly out, a double ended Gray's day. Jayden Gohs picked up a strike out and a ground out to end the threat. Pickens' home run came in the bottom of the sixth, matching the GCU run, but the Cards couldn't score any more and the deficit remained three. 

The seventh saw GCU's McCray benefit from an error just like in the first. This time she singled and the error came when she stole second and Despines overthrew the attempt to catch her. McCray advanced to third with no outs. A sacrifice fly scored the run and advanced the other runner. Some base running antics ended the inning after another fly out resulted in a double play. Louisville entered the bottom of the seventh trailing by four with the 8th batter coming up. Ava Venturelli flew out, but Janda walked to turn over the order. Chelsea Mack and Easton Lotus hit back-to-back fly outs to end the game. 

Louisville will return to action in the region's first elimination game this afternoon at 3:30 PM. They'll take on South Dakota, the four-seed. The Coyotes fell 4-1 against Nebraska last night. No video availability is listed, but ESPN+ would be a good bet. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Louisville Run Rule Beats Rain -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Thump Cuse 13-5

When you see a final score of 13-5, you might think one team teed off on the other for most of the game. If I told you a team led 5-0, you'd probably say "Yeah, that tracks." What might surprise you is that it was Syracuse who led 5-0, and they did so in the middle of the fifth inning. Louisville scored ten runs in the bottom of the tenth and walked off the game in the bottom of the sixth with a run-rule. The Cards needed those runs, as the game was moved up to beat the rain, and Louisville couldn't afford to extend into the weather or lose a game to Syracuse. The Orange are now just 18-21 (4-13) on the season. 

Alyssa Zabala got the start yesterday, and the ball was flying in Ulmer Stadium. After two quick outs, Zabala gave up a double and a two-run homer followed to give the Orange a lead in the opening frame. The Cards went 1-2-3 in the bottom half and that was that. Louisville had a chance in the second following a one-out double that saw Madison Pickens end up on third when she advanced on the throw. Unfortunately, she lost the race to the plate on the next ground ball when the shortstop came home instead of getting the out at first. Syracuse hit another two-out home run in the top of the third, and Alyssa Zabala's day ended after she got the final out of the inning. 

Louisville followed going down 3-0 with another 1-2-3 inning and things were beginning to look a little grim for the Cards. Anna Wise replaced Zabala in the fourth, but gave up a double to open her day. She got a strikeout and used two ground outs to get out of the inning, but she was relieved after her first batter of the fifth. A single opened the fifth and it was clear that Wise wasn't missing too many bats. Before that, though, Louisville showed signs of life again in the bottom of the fourth. Bri Despines walked to open the inning, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and reached third on a productive ground out. With Pickens at the plate, Syracuse chose to intentionally walk her to give them a double-play opportunity. Jordan Williams obliged, hitting it to the short stop, but Pickens reached second anyway. Despines held at third and Louisville had two in scoring position with two outs. They failed to score once more. 

When Brooke Gray replaced Wise in the top of the fifth, she got off to an inauspicious start as well. A four-pitch walk put runners on first and second with nobody out. A single loaded the bases and a sac fly scored a run. Another walk reloaded the bases and another sac fly made the score 5-0. After a steal put two runners back into scoring position, Gray finally got out of the inning with a strikeout. 

Enter the Louisville offense. The Cards opened the inning with a strikeout, but then proceeded to put ten straight batters on base. Louisville went walk, bunt single, walk, Despines grand slam (5-4), HBP, single, single (5-5), double (7-5), double (8-5), and walk before Syracuse finally got the second out of the inning. You may have noticed a discontinuity in the scoring. That's because Louisville broke the 5-5 tie with a double steal of second and home. They were feeling it. The second out was a sacrifice fly, extending the Cards' lead to 9-5, but they still weren't done. Easton Lotus laid down a bunt single, and then Louisville executed another double steal to make it 10-5. Lotus stole third as well, but Syracuse finally got out of the nightmare inning with a ground out. 

With the lead, Gray settled in and sat the Syracuse batters down in short order, giving up a two-out single but being relatively unbothered. After the offense took over and the pitching let the Orange down a bit, their defense stumbled in the bottom of the sixth. Camryn Lookadoo started the inning with a grounder to first, but it was booted and the error put her on base. Madison Pickens laid down a bunt, which was scored a hit, but Syracuse's 3B tried to get the out anyway and earned a throwing error to move the runners into scoring position. Jordan Williams walked to load the bases with nobody out. Syracuse got the first out of the inning on a foul out, but the game would end on yet another error. Ava Venturelli singled to center to score a pair, and the charging center fielder was unable to come up with it cleanly, allowing Williams to come home as well and completing the run rule. 

Thirteen straight runs is great, but Louisville probably can't depend on that in every game. They'll get another chance to win in a more normal game today when the Cards and Orange compete for game two of the series. That one will be at 1PM on ACCNX. The rain should be done, so head down to Ulmer for Louisville's penultimate home game if you're feeling up for it. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Get Double-Header Run Rules -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Sweeps Friday Against Pitt

Happy Thunder Day! The weather is looking less than stellar today, but the rain should stop before we move into the evening. It'll be soggy, but at least the fireworks show should go off this year. Yesterday's practice might have been your better opportunity for a good airshow experience though. The Louisville Bats announced they were moving today's first pitch from 2:05 to 1:05 because of the weather, but I'm not sure that will help them. Louisville softball pulled a lever the Bats didn't really have available, as they moved their Saturday game to a Friday double-header. 

With the revised schedule, the Cards promptly thumped the Pittsburgh Panthers in a pair of games that finished with a combined score of 19-3 and took just ten innings. Louisville was clicking on offense, and Pitt had no real answers for Alyssa Zabala or Brooke Gray in the circle. Louisville extended their current winning streak to five games and secured their fourth straight series, taking them to 4-1 in ACC series. Their lone ACC series loss came on the road at Clemson in mid-March. 

Zabala took the circle to open the first game and sat the Panthers down in order. That would be indicative of how she'd treat them for the remainder of her outing, as she went four full innings and gave up three hits and one walk while striking out four. She threw just 64 pitches, averaging four per batter faced. Jayden Gohs was handed the ball for the fifth inning, although Louisville wasn't quite in run-rule territory yet, as it was just 6-0. The defense gave up a runner on an error and she advanced to second. A single put runners on the corners, and then Pitt executed a rare softball double steal. Gohs was credited with allowing an unearned run, but she got out of the inning with the score 6-1. 

Louisville's offense got things going early and kept the pedal down. The Cards scored three in the bottom of the first, took a break in the second, then scored one, two, and three runs in consecutive innings to close out the game. Louisville hit three triples (Easton Lotus, Bri Despines, and Madison Pickens) and three doubles (Taylor Monroe (2) and Pickens) as part of a 12-hit parade. They also drew five walks. Louisville was also fairly efficient, leaving just six players on base total. Despines led the way with four RBI on two hits and a walk, but she was followed closely by Pickens who had three RBI and led the team with four hits. Lotus had two RBI on two hits and a walk. 

The second game got off to a better start for Pittsburgh, with the Panthers executing some small ball (and utilizing some luck) to get a couple on Gray early. A leadoff single was followed by a sacrifice bunt attempt that turned into an error leading to runners on second and third with no outs. A squeeze bunt scored a run and became a hit, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead and a steal put runners back on second and third with still nobody out. A sacrifice fly scored another run before Gray struck out the next two batters. Gray would go on to allow no more runs in her four innings pitched, and she gave up just one more hit. She struggled a bit with the zone, walking four, but the result was still no additional runs. Madi Reeves entered in the fifth, but she was pulled after a pair of walks and no outs. Anna Wise came in and struck out the side.  

Offensively, Louisville answered the early runs by Pitt with four scored in the bottom of the first. Chelsea Mack walked to open the game, but she was out on an Easton Lotus grounder. Instead of a double-play, though, the throw to first was errant and Lotus ended up on second anyway. It wouldn't have mattered much where she was, because Bri Despines tripled again to get the Cards on the board. Camryn Lookadoo was hit by a pitch, and Madison Pickens followed with a single through the right side to score Despines. A throwing error by the right fielder scored Lookadoo as well, and Pickens advanced all the way to third. Jordan Williams singled her home and stole second before a pop-out and a flyout ended the inning. 

Louisville took a break in the second again, but they scored four more in the third inning. Another zero in the fourth meant Pitt was still alive when the Cards made a pitching change in the fifth. Fortunately, as I noted, Wise was able to keep the Panthers off the board. Pickens opened the bottom of the fifth with a homer. Williams walked and Monroe singled to right field, where another E9 put runners on second and third. After a strikeout, Riley Janda picked up what was technically Louisville's third straight walk-off win with a single.

Louisville's offense was effective in the second game, but they were definitely the beneficiaries of some key Pitt errors. Nevertheless, the Cards still had ten hits and three walks along with the HBP. They left just two on base. The extra base hits were down, with the one homer from Pickens, the one triple from Despines, and a pair of doubles (Pickens and Ava Venturelli). Pickens was 3-3 at the plate, knocking in four RBI and scoring every time she reached base. Outside of Pickens, the offense was much more spread out, which was good to see after the top-heavy batting in the first game. 

Louisville and Pitt will have the day off due to the forecasted rain, and they'll close the series tomorrow. First pitch on Sunday will be at 4PM and the game will air on ACC Network. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Softball run rules EKU 12-4 in Richmond

 CARDS GET 30th WIN OF THE SEASON AT EASTERN KENTUCKY

Madison Pickens

Louisville softball broke a 3-3 tie after an inning and put the bats on the ball in Richmond against EKU with 12 runs and 13 hits in a six-inning win Tuesday evening against the Colonels. 

Madison Pickens had six RBI's for Louisville...as the Cards saw three EKU pitchers in the run-rule affair. She belted two three-run home runs against the home team's pitching. Bri Despines scored four runs in the Cardinals win

Alyssa "Smiley" Zabala

Holly Aprile gave four Louisville pitchers a turn in the circle...with the win going to Alyssa Zabala..who was the second Cards pitcher and went 3.2 innings...allowing no runs or hits and striking out six Colonels batters. Madi Reeves got the start but only lasted 1.1 innings before giving way to Zabala. Reeves gave up three runs on two hits and walked five in her start. Jayden Gohs started the sixth inning, but only went 1/3 of an inning,..throwing just 21 pitches before handing the ball to Anna Wise, who got the final two outs. 

The Cards will head west to face California next to face the Golden Bears for three ACC games on Thursday,Friday and Saturday before retuning home on Easter.

paulie

 

Softball Falls at Clemson -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Lose Opener 8-6

Louisville jumped out to a big lead to open the first inning by scoring four runs, but Clemson returned the favor with five in the bottom half. The Cards regained the lead with a pair in the second but wouldn't score again as they lost 8-6 to open the series at Clemson. Louisville moved to 19-6 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The two teams will continue the series at 1PM this afternoon. 

Louisville opened with back-to-back hits from Easton Lotus and Chelsea Mack. With their two fastest players on base, the Cards looked to the heart of the lineup, but Bri Despines struck out looking and Camryn Lookadoo grounded back to the pitcher. Madison Pickens was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and a single from Jordan Williams and a throwing error scored two. Taylor Monroe got the same luck on her single, and Pickens came in to score. Riley Janda walked to reload the bases, and a passed ball scored Williams to give the Cards four. 

Anna Wise got the start in this one and she got off to a good one, earning a flyout and a groundout to open the game. It unraveled after that. Three straight singles scored a run and a walk reloaded the bases. A grand slam gave Clemson the lead back, and a single followed, meaning Wise put six straight players on base. The runner stole second and Holly Aprile decided that was enough, putting Zabala into the circle. Zabala struck out the next batter to end the inning. 

Lotus reached base again with one out in the second and advanced to second on a wild pitch. That advancement didn't matter a lot, as Chelsea Mack walked anyway. Despines grounded out, but it was productive and moved both players up. Lookadoo scored Lotus with an error by the short stop, and Pickens knocked in Mack to give Louisville the 6-5 lead. 

Zabala followed with two scoreless innings, but Louisville's offense was unable to find any insurance runs. Clemson decided to employ some small ball in the fourth, laying down four straight bunts to go single, SAC, single, SAC RBI (reached on fielder's choice). With the game tied and runners on first and second, Clemson started swinging again, which worked well for Zabala, who struck out the next two batters to end the inning. 

Clemson broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth. A fly out opened the inning, but it was followed by a triple and a single to give the Tigers the lead. Jayden Gohs entered at pitcher, and a double scored another run. Gohs was able to get out of the inning, but the Cards were down to their final three outs. They had the middle of the order up, but three straight groundouts made for a three-up, three-down inning and a disappointing end to a hot start. 

With Wise getting lit up to open yesterday's game (over the course of 42 pitches) and Zabala throwing 78 pitches over nearly five innings, it will be interesting to see who gets the start today. The Cards will need to make some more of their own magic on offense, as they aren't likely to benefit from as many unearned runs today. First pitch is at 1PM on ACC Network Extra.

Until next time, Go Cards

Case

Softball Splits Friday Again -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Beat BU, Fall to SCar

In their second weekend of the season, Louisville softball once again saw themselves taking on the hosting team in the second game of the first day. The Cards faced Boston University and took a 3-0 win in the first game but things got squirrelly in the second. Louisville held close to South Carolina early in the game before an explosive fifth inning ended the game early with a 9-1 run rule. 

Alyssa Zabala took the win in game one, as the Cards gave her a cushion in the top of the first inning. Chelsea Mack singled out of the second spot in the lineup and immediately stole second. Making the most of her cleanup spot, Bri Despines batted a single into the outfield to score Mack and give Louisville the 1-0 lead. From there, Zabala took the reins and didn't let go. She pitched a complete game and scattered four hits across them. Zabala struck out six and walked just one batter. Of their five baserunners, the Terriers put two on in two innings, meaning Zabala was more or less nails in the other five. 

Despines earned her second RBI in the sixth inning with a double to score Madison Pickens, who had reached on an error. The Cards opened the seventh inning with an out, but Jordan Williams tripled with one out. That turned over the order, and Easton Lotus laid down a single toward third. It was fielded by the catcher, holding Williams at third, but Lotus beat out the throw for a single. As Mack worked her at-bat, the Terriers tried to pick off Lotus on a steal attempt, which was a bold choice with a runner at third, and it went exactly as you might expect: Lotus got the steal anyway, and Williams took the opportunity to come home. That set the final score of 3-0. 

The Cards opened the second game similarly, with Lotus reaching base to open the game, Mack walking, and Despines doubling Lotus in for a Louisville lead. Brooke Gray took the circle for Louisville and got off to a good start by getting two quick outs, but a four-pitch walk was followed by a double and the score was tied. Gray ended the inning and the teams went on tied. 

Louisville threatened briefly in the third with a Lotus double and a two-out walk from Pickens, but Despines couldn't regain the lead for the Cards. In the bottom half, Gray got a quick pop-out but back-to-back first-pitch singles chased her from the circle. Anna Wise entered for Louisville and managed to end the threat. Gray finished with three hits and one walk in 2.1 innings. She had just one earned run but she didn't pick up any strikeouts. 

Louisville once again got a double and a walk in the fourth but were once again unable to take the lead in the game. Wise returned to the circle and gave up a leadoff single. She got the first out on an infield ground ball, but the runner advanced to second. A walk put runners on first and second, and an unsuccessful fielder's choice loaded the bases with one out. A sacrifice bunt scored the go ahead run, and another single made it 3-1. Finally, South Carolina grounded straight to Lotus at second base and the inning ended. 

Louisville responded with three-up, three-down, which set the stage for an unfortunate fifth inning. Things went immediately wrong after a full-count walk and a single that was challenged and failed. The Cards made a pitching change and gave up a double steal. A sacrifice liner to left was followed by a two-run homer. Louisville went on to see an illegal pitch and, though they picked up a second out, South Carolina went on to end the game with the bases still loaded. 

The Cards returned to the field at 10am this morning against Kennesaw State, and they'll face BU again this afternoon before returning home. Tomorrow's game against Kennesaw State has already been canceled. Louisville will face Bellarmine on Tuesday and then hit the road for the Gulf Coast Classic next weekend. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball 1-1 After Day One -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Opens Season With Split

The Cards took to the sunny climes of Florida for the beginning of the softball season, as they do annually, and began their 2026 campaign with a victory. The joy of a 7-4 win over Stony Brook was a bit short lived, though, as they fell at the hands of the hosting FIU Panthers 5-7 in the later game. Louisville will get a chance for payback against FIU tomorrow morning, but they have a pair of games today first. The Cards take on Corpus Christi at 11:30 this morning and will face Lehigh this evening at 4:30. 

In the first game, Louisville fell behind in the second inning 1-0, but turned their fortunes around with a four-run third. They tacked on a single run in the fifth and their final two in the sixth before needing to hold on to their lead against a three-run seventh inning for Stony Brook. Brooke Gray got the start in game one and pitched four innings of one-run ball. She gave up three hits and hit one batter but tallied three strikeouts and no walks. Two of the three hits came in the second inning to set up the sacrifice fly that scored her only earned run, but it was a decent start for the junior. 

Offensively in game one, Louisville was led by Madison Pickens, who has moved into the third spot in the lineup, as she had two triples. One resulted in an RBI and a little-league home run as she scored on a throwing error by the left fielder, and the other saw her batted in for the Cards' fifth run of the game. Taylor Monroe also had a pair of hits, and Riley Janda had Louisville's only home run. Small ball and speed will likely reign again for Louisville, as the Cards had three stolen bases (Easton Lotus, Chelsea Mack, Bri Despines). 

In game two, the Cards jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first, but FIU responded immediately to take the lead by the end of the inning. The Cards got back-to-back solo homers from Pickens and Despines in the inning, but Alyssa Zabala had a nightmare start in her season opener. Zabala gave up four straight hits and an error put a fifth straight batter on base before Zabala was replaced by Anna Wise. Alyssa will surely be back to her normal form sooner rather than later, but she's sitting on the dreaded "infinity" ERA at the moment. 

Anna Wise settled in and got out of the inning with some defensive help, but Louisville trailed 3-2. The sophomore transfer from Ohio University pitched well as the quasi starter after that, going five innings before she ran into trouble. In the meantime, Louisville scored in the fifth on a Camryn Lookadoo double to tie the game. Things unraveled a bit for Wise in the sixth inning, but it was the defense that ultimately let this one slip away. Wise opened the inning with a popup, but a pair of singles followed. A fly out left runners on first and second with two outs. 

Easy enough, you might think, but not quite. A ground ball back to the pitcher was unable to be converted to the final out, and the bases were loaded. It was a tough call for Holly Aprile to put a freshman in a tie game with the bases loaded, but she trusted her gut. It didn't quite work out. Jayden Gohs took over in the circle and walked in the go-ahead run. Unfortunately, the defense made a bad situation worse when Taylor Monroe sailed a throw from short that could have ended the inning and instead scored a pair of unearned runs. A double added one more unearned run and the Cards trailed 7-3 with one more trip to the plate. 

To their credit, the Cards put up a valiant effort in the seventh. Katie Thatcher walked to open the inning, and Lookadoo singled to try to start a rally. FIU made a pitching change, which looked to be the right call as Easton Lotus struck out, but Chelsea Mack laid down a bunt that scored two runs on an errant throw. Mack advanced all the way to third and with a runner in scoring position, one out, and the heart of the order due up, Louisville wasn't quite out of it yet. Their hopes were dashed in fairly short order, though, as Pickens and Despines both lined out to end the game. 

There's a long season ahead, and Louisville gets back into it today. There's plenty of good and bad to take from the opening day of games, so we'll just see what the Cards do with the rest of their weekend. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Splits Double Header at BC -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Drop Game 1, Win Game 2 

It's not often that you get a weekend series rubber match on Saturday, but that will be the case when the Cards and Eagles get today's game underway at 1PM. After the schedule change that Daryl mentioned yesterday, the teams played a pair yesterday afternoon, with Louisville scoring more runs overall in the two games but only winning one. 

Louisville's offense wasn't able to support Alyssa Zabala in the first game, though her 100th appearance for Louisville turned into a pretty sparkling start. Zabala played a bit with the strike zone, keeping the ball out of play a total of 12 times, as her five walks weren't great but she struck out seven batters in her six innings (a complete game since Louisville was away and trailed after the top of the seventh). Zabala gave up just four hits and finished with three runs all earned. Boston College struck first, and it was the first inning where Zabala gave up most of the negatives in her stat sheet. BC had just one hit in the inning, but Zabala gave up three walks and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch. She had one strikeout. That means, if you're doing the math at home, her remaining five innings had just three hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. Like I said, it turned into a sparkling start. 

Louisville was able to find only three hits in the game and they didn't earn any walks. However, they only struck out three times, so it was largely a matter of hitting the ball right to the defense. Char Lorenz had two of the three hits, picking up a two-out double in the first and a triple in the fourth. Madison Pickens further picked on the center fielder after Lorenz tripled to left center by going to right center for a triple of her own and scoring Lorenz from third. Unfortunately, Louisville couldn't bring Pickens in after she reached with one out, and the teams headed to the bottom of the fourth tied. 

Zabala gave up a walk in the bottom half but kept the game tied to give the Cards a chance to take the lead late. Louisville responded with a three-up, three-down inning, which was just their second at the time but was the first of three straight to end the game. In the fifth, Zabala gave up a lead-off walk. As they say, walks will haunt, and this one did. A strikeout was followed by a double to put runners on second and third with one out. An infield grounder led to a play at the plate, but with a base open, it wasn't a force play and the runner beat the tag. That set up a sacrifice fly for a second run in the inning and a strike out ended it, but too late. As I mentioned, Louisville didn't get on base in the final two innings. 

The second game looked like it might be a similar story offensively, and BC again scored first. This time it was Brooke Gray with the start and she pitched a complete game of her own. Gray gave up two runs, both earned, on six hits and two walks. She struck out six. The first run of the game came on a BC homer in the bottom of the first, and Gray locked down from there with five straight scoreless innings. 

Louisville was able to find the bases much more frequently in the second game, and good things often happen when they do. The team recorded eight hits and two walks, a marked improvement from the first game. Despite the increase in baserunners, Louisville was unable to find the plate until the fifth inning. In that one, they proved that anyone on the team is a threat on the base paths. Bri Despines walked to open the inning and stole second. She then came around to score on a Jac Hasty single, and Hasty advanced to second on the throw. Hasty's advancement was moot, as Taylor Monroe sent a ball over the fence to score the pair. With nobody out, Louisville turned over the lineup but couldn't score any additional runs. They did lead 3-1, though. 

With blood in the water, Louisville looked to capitalize after a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth for BC by loading the bases in the sixth. The Hasty walk, which came on a twelve-pitch at bat, was with two outs, though, and a fly out came up short of a grand slam to instead record the third out. BC thought they might have new life after surviving the threat as they opened the bottom of the sixth with a single, but Gray responded with two strikeouts and a pop out to end the inning. 

After going down in order in the fifth, the 9-1-2 hitters got to work in the seventh. Ally Alexander opened with a double and advanced to third on a productive ground out from Lotus. Chelsea Mack laid down a bunt single which froze the defense trying to prevent the run from scoring. With all eyes on Alexander at third, Mack advanced to second on what technically counts as a stolen base. Lorenz popped up to set up two outs, but Pickens was up to the moment and hit a double to left to score both runs. 

Gray came back out for the seventh and looked well in control holding a four run lead. She got a fly out to open the inning before giving up her second home run of the day to make it 5-2. A fly out and a foul out ended the game. 

Louisville was there or thereabouts throughout the two games yesterday, and they'll look for the first series win in a hot minute by taking the finale today. The game is at 1PM and will be available on ACC Network Extra. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

It was just be Paulie and me today in a return to the old days of the show being a two-man game. We'll have basketball news and plenty of spring sports to talk about, so be sure to have a listen. Check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case 

Softball Slide Continues -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Lose to IU 8-3

Louisville softball canceled their ACC bye week double-header against Oakland due to weather, which meant they entered last night's regional rivalry game with the taste of last week's unfortunate loss to Kentucky still in their mouths. Whether that played a part in their undoing in last night's game is hard to say, but it seems fair to assume they would have liked having the get-right opportunity to split the two difficult outings. As it was, Louisville saw an early lead disappear before the opposing offense opened it up for the second game in a row. 

Char Lorenz returned to the lineup for this one and immediately got back to her strong offensive ways. After Easton Lotus walked to open the game, her steal was rendered moot by Chelsea Mack walking behind her. Lorenz stepped in with a runner in scoring position and smacked a single up the middle. The hit was too shallow to send Lotus home, though, and the bases were loaded with nobody out instead. Bri Despines kept the bases loaded but failed to drive in a run when she grounded into a fielder's choice force out at home. Ally Alexander also grounded out, but hers was more productive. Shockingly so, in fact, as she earned a two-RBI fielder's choice. Her grounder to short was thrown to second to get the first out while a run scored, but instead of eating the throw to hold the runner at third, the second baseman threw to first to try to get the double play. Alexander beat the throw and Lorenz came home in the meantime. Taylor Monroe hit the third straight ground out and the inning ended with Louisville holding a 2-0 lead.

Alyssa Zabala got a ground out to open the game but found herself in a slight pickle after giving up two straight singles. A foul out put Louisville in a two-out situation and a grounder to Alexander at third gave them an easy third out when she stepped on the bag for the force out and an unassisted fielder's choice. 

The Cards threatened to score again in the second, with an error on a throw behind Camryn Lookadoo at second base allowing her and Easton Lotus to move up a base to put runners on second and third with two outs. A full-count strikeout ended the opportunity. Zabala gave up a walk to open the second and IU tried to employ some small ball. A sacrifice bunt put Indiana's potential first run in scoring position, but Zabala responded with two strikeouts to maintain the Louisville lead. 

Again the Cards put a runner on base early in the third, with Lorenz reaching on an error and advancing to second. She advanced to third on a one-out sacrifice bunt, but she was stranded there for Louisville's fourth runner left on base. Those runners would prove to be costly. IU greeted Zabala in the third with a first-pitch home run. Slightly rattled, Zabala played with the corners a bit too much and walked two straight batters on five pitches each. In a jam, she earned a foul out and a fly out to put the defense back on level footing with two outs and runners still only on first and second. A single up the middle tied the game at two before a ground out ended the inning. 

Entering the fourth, it was a new ball game, so Madison Pickens responded to IU's third inning homer with one of her own. It was the only run Louisville would score, as they stranded another runner at first base, but they had retaken the lead 3-2. Their newfound lead was short-lived. 

A pair of singles opened the bottom of the fourth, and Zabala heard her name called from the bullpen. Sam Booe entered and immediately made her job more difficult by walking the first batter she saw on four pitches. Bases loaded, nobody out. Worst spot to be in for a defense. A strikeout improved the situation slightly, but a full-count single on the 12th (!!) pitch of the at bat erased the Louisville lead and gave them a deficit for the first time. A steal put runners on second and third with one out, and IU laid down a squeeze bunt. Squeezes don't really work in softball since the runner can't leave early. The result of the play, since Louisville didn't want to give up a run for an out, was a bunt single, and the bases were reloaded with one out. Another two-strike single, this time only on the ninth pitch, scored another run and a fly out to center worked as a sacrifice with IU's sixth run tagged and scored. A strikeout mercifully ended the inning, but Louisville trailed 6-3. They would not recover.

The Cards had one runner reach in each of the final three innings, but they did not earn another hit. The runners came on an HBP, a walk, and an error. The seventh inning saw IU pick up the dreaded four-out inning (with three strikeouts), as Lorenz reached on an error after her third strike was dropped. The middle of the order struck out behind her and that was that. IU had poured it on against Booe in the fifth with a single and a homer before Izzy Harrison relieved her. Louisville's defense got to flash in that inning, with a one-out fly ball resulting in a double play. Runners stood on first and second, and a ball high and deep to left gave IU the chance to tag and attempt to advance. Lorenz made the catch and fired to Alexander, though, and the runner was tagged out to end the inning. Harrison returned in the sixth and gave up a single and walk before Brooke Gray came on to close the game in a desperate situation for the Cards for the second week in a row. 

Overall, Louisville managed just three hits, five walks, and reached on an HBP and two errors. They struck out six times and stranded eight runners on base. Meanwhile, IU benefitted from no Cardinal errors, but they had eight hits and seven walks. They struck out just five times and they managed to score eight runs while leaving 10 on base. Yes...  it could have been worse. For the second midweek rivalry game in succession, Louisville pitching wasn't up to the task. All eight runs were earned and the Cards offense, while not spectacular, had put the team in a position to win twice. It is what it is. 

Louisville returns to conference play this weekend, but they remain on the road. The Cards will head to Chestnut Hill for a three-game set against Boston College starting tomorrow at 4. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Fall Flat in ACC Quarters -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Offense Struggles in 61-48 Loss to Duke

Louisville women's basketball played its second consecutive game without Jayda Curry and Merissah Russell last night and let's hope it's the last time they have to do that this season. After surviving in overtime against Clemson on Thursday, Louisville's offense looked lost against a suffocating defense, leading to the worst scoring half of the season when they headed to the locker room with just 18 points. Louisville tried to make a game of it late, but their momentum was halted and they'll now await their fate on Selection Sunday. 

The Cards' shooting woes started early, as they managed just 5-16 from the floor in the first quarter, a mark of 31.3%. Duke shot 50% from the floor in the first, but they turned the ball over a handful of times and Louisville was able to stay close. The Cards trailed just 15-11 at the end of one, and it looked like they might be able to keep the game in hand. Unfortunately, Louisville couldn't make it out of the quarter without Nyla Harris, Ja'Leah Williams, and Olivia Cochran all picking up their first fouls. Even more concerningly, Taj Roberts started the game just 1-6 from the floor. With Curry out, Roberts is Louisville's leading scorer, so the team will go as she does without Curry.

Louisville's hopes of keeping the game close fell apart in the second quarter, as their shooting woes continued. The Cards were 3-10 from the floor in the second, and while Taj Roberts hit her second three of the game, Duke stretched their lead from 4 to 13 at the break. Duke opened the second with a three, and Louisville made their first basket of the quarter with a Mackenly Randolph jumper but failed to score for the next six and a half minutes. Fortunately for the Cards, Duke went on a long scoring drought as well. Unfortunately for the Cards, Duke's ended with a scoring run, rather than a single basket. The Blue Devils finished the quarter on an 11-5 run. Louisville had six turnovers in the quarter. They trailed 31-18 at halftime. 

If you're doing the math on the final score, you know how the second half went, but it started with a third quarter that looked as though Louisville might lose the game by 30. Louisville remained largely unable to score, mustering their first basket over two minutes into the half and sitting on 20 points for four minutes after that. Isla Juffermans made 1-2 free throws to go to the under 5 timeout, pushing Louisville to 21 points with just 14 minutes left in the game. Duke went to the line with 3:31 remaining to extend their lead to its peak at 22 points. At that point, Louisville's offense finally found a bit of rhythm. Louisville closed the third quarter on a 9-2 run to move into the final stanza down by 15 with some momentum. While it isn't great to be optimistic about a 15-point deficit, it was, as I mentioned, threatening to be much worse.

The Cards continued their comeback bid to open the fourth quarter, scoring the first seven points of the fourth to cut the lead to eight at 45-37 and force a Kara Lawson timeout with 8:18 remaining. Briefly, it looked like game on... and then it didn't. Louisville had a chance to cut the lead to six, but a missed jumper in the paint and a missed put-back (both of which had decent shouts for fouls, in my opinion), gave the ball back to Duke, who got a layup and drew the foul to complete the three-point play. A five-point swing meant that instead of 39-47 it was 37-48. After that point, Louisville struggled avoid turnovers, and Duke started to make threes, quelling any further comeback efforts. The Cards didn't see a single-digit deficit for the remainder of the game. A desperate attempt to play the foul game late pushed the lead back to it's final mark at 13 and the Cards' run in the ACC Tournament ended with a 61-48 loss. 

For the second game in a row, Ja'Leah Williams struggled to stay out of foul trouble when she was depended on to be the floor general. After fouling out of the Clemson game, Williams picked up only two fouls in the first half against Duke but got a quick one in the third and was called for her fourth foul just four minutes into the third quarter. Williams was able to avoid fouling out, but she was off the floor for key minutes, and Louisville's offensive fate was in the hands of true freshmen in a hostile environment and a tournament setting. It didn't go great. Roberts, Izela Arenas, and Imari Berry combined for nine of Louisville's 21 turnovers. While a couple of Williams' fouls were suspect (one was whistled while she had both hands on the ball for a jump ball attempt), she will need to find a way to avoid ticky-tack situations if she is going to be depended on to run the floor. 

Despite Louisville's struggles, Mackenly Randolph somewhat quietly had her best game of the season. Randolph played 34 minutes and scored a personal-best (and tied for game-high) 13 points. She was 5-7 from the floor, including 1-1 from three, and made both her free throw attempts (each of which were and-ones). She did commit two fouls and two turnovers, but she had a pair of rebounds and another pair of assists (a lot of twos in the box score). Randolph has shown flashes so far this season, and last night's game (Robert's woeful shooting aside) was another indicator that this could be a very strong core group of players moving forward. 

We have given Olivia Cochran some flak this season, but she played hard in last night's loss. She was only 4-10 from the floor, but she made all three of her free throw attempts and finished with a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds). She only had two fouls and her three turnovers were unfortunate, but not game-breaking. As Louisville's spiritual leader, her efforts in helping prevent the blowout were considerable, and I hope for a celebratory end to her illustrious UofL career in the NCAA tournament. 

The FRED Report

F-Free Throws: Louisville didn't take their first free throw until well into the third quarter, but they managed to do well at the line, despite the season averages of those that took the shots. The Cards finished 9-11 from the line, just under 82%. I can never quite remember the difference between a capital f and a lowercase f, but I'm crediting Cochran, Randolph, and Juffermans for their 7-8 performance. Capital 'F'.

Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) models my facial 
expression for much of last night's game.

R-Rebounds: Louisville didn't get run off the boards, despite how it felt at times last night. Each team had 34 total rebounds, and Louisville had 17 each of offensive/defensive rebounds compared to Duke's 16-18. Louisville lost the second-chance points battle, but not by much (12-8). Duke outrebounds opponents by 6.7 per game on average, compared to just 3.3 for the Cards, so I'm going to award a capital 'R'. Again, I'm rewarding an individual effort here, as Cochran was the only player with double-digit rebounds. 

E-Effort/Execution: Ok, here is where my generosity runs a bit thin. Louisville shot just 32% from the floor, which isn't solely down to Duke's defense. They also had 21 turnovers, 11 of which were Duke steals. The Cards had only 9 assists on their 18 made baskets, and had multiple scoring droughts over five minutes. I'd like to reward the fact that they never gave up, but it's hard to ignore their worst offensive output in a single half (18) and their second worst scoring performance of the season. In retrospect, it's kind of crazy that they scored more than 18 in both halves when they managed just 42 points against NC State. No letter. 

D-Defense: Hmm. This one is a bit of a stumper. The Cards forced 18 turnovers, but just three of those were steals. A couple were turnovers in which they gave the ball right back. They were a bit slow on closeouts, and while Duke was just 41.5% from the floor overall, they were 6-18 from three. Louisville gave up 24 points in the paint, 13 fast break points, and it could have been worse if Duke hadn't shot 58% from the free throw line. I don't think Louisville's defense kept them in the game in the second half so much as Duke couldn't quite run away with it. No letter. 

In a weird game like last night's, it's hard to expect much more than the weird final score of F-R-_-_.

Louisville's fate is now in the hands of the committee. With conference tournaments going largely as expected, the Cards' resume won't be dramatically improved or harmed by outcomes across the country, so we just wait and see. After last night, Louisville's NET ranking remains in the mid-30s (35) and Charlie Creme still has them as a 7-seed in the Spokane region. NET rankings and bracketology will go out the window in eight days, but they're all we have for now. 

2025 Cardinal Couple ACC Pick'Em Update

Despite a couple of potential upsets, the day was largely chalky yesterday. After dropping his perfect bracket in the first quarterfinal matchup, Nick O saw his lead slip away in the last QF of the night. Five entries now sit on 9 points (Nick O, Curtis, Karen J, Kenny S, and Case) with three (Thomas, Jeff, and Daryl) close behind at 8. 

Nick O and Karen J will each drop another game having both picked FSU over NC State today, but they join the other six entries with Notre Dame as their champion. Paulie and Blue Lou (both with 7) will be rooting for Duke upset, which would upend the standings. Paulie needs Duke to win the championship for it to come down to tiebreakers, while Blue Lou could win outright with NC State over Duke in the final. 

Softball Soars in ACC Opening 9-2 Win

Louisville very nearly walked off Notre Dame in the sixth inning, but the Irish got one more attempt in the seventh. Sam Booe, who took the win from Alyssa Zabala, closed it out, though, and Louisville opened their ACC season with a big win over a middling Notre Dame squad. The Cards will get the Irish twice more this weekend, including a 1:00 PM matchup today. 

Louisville and Notre Dame each had ten hits in this one, but the Cards were able to do more damage with runners in scoring position, as Louisville pitching and defense stranded 11 on base for the Irish. The Cards left just five on base. Coach Holly Aprile manipulated the lineup slightly again, with Bri Despines batting fifth in this one and Madison Pickens taking the cleanup spot. Pickens made good use of it, sending her first career home-run to right field in the first inning to score Chelsea Mack and give the Cards a 2-0 lead. Pickens had a two-run single in the sixth inning to set up the potential walk-off, giving her four RBI in the game. 

Joining Pickens with two hits in the game were Easton Lotus, Chelsea Mack, and Taylor Monroe, with Lotus and Mack also each scoring two runs. Lotus had a timely RBI triple in the fifth, kicking off a four-run inning after Notre Dame trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the fourth. Louisville's offense, unsurprisingly, wreaked havoc on the base paths, as they had infield singles, a forced error (for runs), and finished with seven steals (two for Mack). A small-ball delight on a team that also has some pop. Can't be mad about it. 

Alyssa Zabala had a bit of trouble in the cool evening weather, but she was serviceable and in line for the victory. Zabala pitched 3.2 innings and gave up seven hits, three walks, and two runs (both earned) while striking out a pair. Sam Booe came on to relieve her in the fourth with the tying run on base. Since Zabala was on the hook for the potential game-tying run upon her departure, the win ultimately went to Booe, who is now 4-1. Booe had another great outing in the circle, as she gave up just three hits and one walk in 3.1 innings and struck out five. She also did well to keep the ball out of danger as just two of her batted balls in play were in the air. All three hits were short outfield singles and she gave up just two fly ball outs. 

Louisville's win moves them to 15-6 and pushes Notre Dame below .500 at 10-11. I would expect Brooke Gray to get the start this afternoon, but Booe and Zabala are both capable on short rest if Gray struggles. The Cards took down the Notre Dame ace yesterday, giving Micaela Kastor just her second loss of the young season. If Louisville's offense can continue to build confidence, especially among the freshmen, this could be a fun year. 

Postgame with Madison Pickens

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have four (with a potential showing from the fifth) in the booth today to recap the past week. There has been some bad, but a lot of good, so we'll do our best not to dwell on the negatives as we advance the mission of bringing you the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

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RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Splits Friday at USF -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Beat Kent State 13-3; Fall to Wisconsin 4-1

Louisville softball improved to 8-3 early yesterday afternoon before falling to 8-4 later in the day. The Cards rode two big innings to beat Kent State 13-3 in a run rule in their first game in the USF Tournament and later couldn't find the offense against Wisconsin. Louisville continues the tournament today with games against Michigan and USF, and they'll get a second shot at Wisconsin tomorrow. 

Sam Booe has largely established herself as the second starter in the rotation so far this season, picking up many starts that I think we would have expected to go to Brooke Gray. Booe started game one yesterday and gave up one run on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts in three innings. Not too shabby. Gray came in for the fourth and was a little shaky. She pitched only the fourth inning and gave up two runs on three hits while picking up just one strikeout. Katie Thatcher got another opportunity in the circle, striking out one in two thirds of an inning and Lindsey Mullen finished the game and ended the fifth inning with a line out. 

Offensively, Louisville looked poised to start their scoring early, but they couldn't convert with the bases loaded and two outs. Coach Holly Aprile has shifted the lineup slightly, working to get more hitters in the top of the order. Easton Lotus is still leading off, but Chelsea Mack has moved to the second spot. With Char Lorenz still batting third, Bri Despines was in the cleanup spot. 

Kent State actually opened the book with an RBI single in the second. Booe looked in danger of giving up a handful as she started the inning with a strikeout and then couldn't miss a bat. Kent State went double, single, RBI single, fielder's choice ground out, and ground out. If one of those last two ground outs made it through a hole, Louisville would have been down even more. 

The Cards responded in the bottom half, with Maddi Grant opening the inning with a walk and being replaced on the base by pinch-running Riley Janda. Janda moved up to second on a Katie Thatcher single, and both advanced with an Ally Alexander sacrifice bunt. Lotus had a productive ground out to first, which scored Janda, but Thatcher was stranded at third on another ground out. 

The third saw Booe return to form with a three-up, three-down inning on just nine pitches. Then it was Louisville's turn to open it up. Lorenz walked on at 13-pitch at bat and Bri Despines reached on catcher's interference. Madison Pickens singled to score Lorenz, and Taylor Monroe did the same to score Despines. Grant walked to load the bases, prompting Kent State to make a change in the circle. The new pitcher walked a run in. Alexander hit a sac fly, and Thatcher stole second to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Easton Lotus brought both in with a double, but for reasons unclear to me, those runs were considered unearned. Mack moved Lotus to third on a ground out, and Lorenz walked. I assume Kent State just stopped paying attention when walking Lorenz, because Louisville executed a double steal on the walk to get Lotus home. Despines was walked intentionally to get a force out at any base, and Pickens flied out to mercifully end the inning after Louisville scored seven runs. The Cards led 8-1.

The fourth saw them get a pair back in Gray's short outing, but the Cards went right back to work in the bottom half. Again, they opened the inning with a walk, and Maddi Grant singled to move Monroe all the way to third. Thatcher had a ground out RBI and Alexander was walked. Camryn Lookadoo, who replaced Lotus at second base, greeted Kent State's new pitcher with a walk, and Jordan Williams, pinch hitting for Mack, did the same. During William's walk, one of the pitches was wild and Grant came home to score. Char Lorenz grounded out, but Kent State couldn't turn two so one run scored. Ava Venturelli came in to pinch hit for Despines and kept the good vibes rolling, singling in two runners. All in all, Louisville scored five runs on two hits and no errors in the inning. Thatcher and Mullen made quick work of Kent State in the fifth and the run rule applied with a 13-3 victory. 

Louisville finished the first game with just six hits while scoring 13 runs. That's incredible. With that, they still managed to leave seven on base. Kent State just really couldn't find the strike zone, ultimately walking 12 batters and giving up one hit by pitch. Louisville, potentially, should have saved some offense for the second game. 

The Cards opened game two as the away team, and we saw right away that Aprile had returned the lineup to its previous shape. Unfortunately, Lotus, Despines, and Lorenz went down in order on just eight pitches. Alyssa Zabala got the start in this one and made similarly short work of the Badgers in the first inning, needing just nine to go three-up, three-down. 

Pickens opened the second inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. She might have fallen asleep at second, though, as she was picked off with a throw behind from the catcher and officially earned a "caught stealing". Grant walked after a full count but Thatcher struck out to end the inning. The second got off to a less-than-stellar start defensively, with runners on first and second after an error and a walk. Zabala looked as though she might tight-rope out of the jam, getting a pop-out and a ground out to give Wisconsin two outs. She was made to pay for the productive ground out, though, as a single up the middle scored both runners. Louisville trailed 2-0. 

In the top of the third, the Cards once more looked like they'd put some runs on the board. Alexander grounded out to open the inning, but Mack singled, and Lotus turned a sacrifice bunt attempt into a single as well. Despines grounded to second, but Wisconsin couldn't turn the double-play, so Char Lorenz came to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs. She flied out to left field.

After seeing the ball well in the second resulted in the ball staying on the ground for the Badgers, they converted that into putting the ball into the air in the fourth. A first pitch pop out was followed by a double to the gap in left-center. Zabala didn't flinch, though, and ultimately stranded the runner with help from the defense. She picked up a fly out to left and the inning ended on a fly out down the right field line, where Madison Pickens saved a run. 

For her defensive efforts, Pickens was rewarded with a strikeout to open the fourth inning. Monroe singled, but Wisconsin still kept the Cards off the scoreboard with a double play. The Badgers kept up their quality at-bats in the bottom half. Zabala once again opened the inning by getting the first batter out, but the next fly ball to left field got all the way over the fence for a solo home run. That was followed by another fly ball to left that was caught, while the next batter doubled to right center. A ground out ended the inning, but the Cards' deficit had grown to 3-0.

Louisville finally broke through in the top of the fifth, but alternating reaching base with outs will quickly end an inning. Thatcher drew a full count walk to open the inning before Alexander flew out to center. Mack continued to show her small ball skills at the plate with a bunt single to put runners on first and second with one out and the top of the order up. Lotus flied out to left center. Seeing a trend? Despines singled between first and second base, and she and Mack each moved up an extra base on the throw home that couldn't stop Thatcher from scoring. With two runners in scoring position and two outs... Lorenz flied out to left center. Cards cut into the lead to make it 3-1.

Zabala returned to the circle for her fifth inning of work and got the first batter out before giving up a single. The Wisconsin runner stole second while Zabala picked up a strikeout. As it turned out, the steal was unnecessary, as a double would have scored her from first. A fly out ended the inning, but the run erased Louisville's comeback progress. Wisconsin brought in a new pitcher to help close out the game and the middle of Louisville's order went down in a hurry with two strikeouts and a first pitch groundout. 

Sam Booe replaced Zabala in the sixth and followed a foul out with a hit by pitch. Bri Despines caught the pinch runner stealing, and Booe picked up a strikeout to end the inning. Down to their final three outs, Louisville didn't go down quietly, although the box score doesn't really indicate that. The line ultimately says one hit, one line out, and two ground outs. But Thatcher opened with an eight-pitch at bat that ended on a full-count liner to the hot corner. A pinch hitting Jordan Williams got ahold of the ball for a ground out to put the Cards up against it. Venturelli came in to pinch hit for Mack and got a first pitch single. She was immediately swapped back out to get the disruptive Mack on the base paths with the top of the order up. Lotus got the bat on the ball on her second pitch with a ground ball, but it was fielded by the shortstop and the game ended on the fielder's choice. 

Despite how some of the early games have gone so far this season, yesterday's was Alyssa Zabala's first loss this year. She finished with six hits and a walk in five innings, giving up four runs (two earned) with one strikeout. I'll also push the limit a bit and say all four of those runs are kind of earned, since she was the one who committed the error. The offense let Zabala down a bit in this one, earning seven hits and two walks, but leaving six on base. The Cards will need more consistency at the plate going forward this season if they want to return to the NCAA tournament. 

Today's games are against Michigan, with that one starting at 9am, and the hosting USF at 1:35. The USF game will be available on ESPN+. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have four on board today, as Jared heads to the Yum! Center for a noon MBB tipoff. We'll have plenty to cover this week, as there have been games galore. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case