Cardinal Couple Softball report

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Jeff McAdams with the recap of Louisville Softball's Saturday games in the NCAA
Regional. A disappointing way for the Cards to end the 2013 season.) 



Well, that certainly wasn't the Saturday I had hoped for.

UofL vs UAB

In the afternoon matchup, UofL fell in a hard fought game against UAB.   Starting off with 2 runs in the first, I thought this might be the return to the hard hitting bats that we have seen from The Cards in the past, and Alicja Wolny did oblige with a shot that pinged off the light poll in right field, but most of the rest of the game was small ball.  It was small ball that was working fairly well, however.  With a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, it started to look like another Cardinal success was in the makings.

It started to become clear, however, that Rachel LeCoq was running out of steam in the circle.  Caralisa Connell came in for relief in the 5th inning.  Six pitches later, all balls, LeCoq returned to finish out the game.  Unfortunately, with a bit less effectiveness the rest of the way.  UAB would score four in the 5th inning, and two in the 6th to reach the winning score of 7-4.

UofL vs UCLA

In the late game, UCLA was to be the opponent.  Unfortunately, it really wasn't much of a game.

Caralisa Connell took the pitching duties most of the game, but her troubles with control continued.  Numerous walks, and plenty of base hits, and a couple of home runs came from the UCLA bats, handing UofL one of the worst losses in program history at 19-2.

The Cards just ran out of pitching.  We've talked about "Good Carl" and "Bad Carl" over the course of the season, and "Good Carl" has been missing in action for a couple of weeks now.  Rachel LeCoq tried her best to pick up the slack, but ultimately she just couldn't keep it going and the number of games took their toll on her.

What's in Store For the Future

Its hard to find much positive to say about these games, but I think you can look to the future and find, like so many sports at UofL, that the future is bright.

We knew all season that pitching would be the big question mark for this team due to circumstances that were largely impossible to predict, and for the bulk of the season they were able to overcome the marginal pitching situation with good fielding and absolutely phenomenal hitting.  This problem gets solved by recruiting good pitchers.  Its not an immediate solution as you likely aren't going to expect incoming freshmen to be star pitchers, though you might get lucky and find one that will be.  Over the course of a couple of years, though, you develop your pitching staff and solve the problem.

The other bright spot was Jasmine Smithson-Willett, who came in to pitch in the 5th inning.  While she didn't wow the crowd with incredible pitching, she held her own with a great hitting UCLA team.  JSW has potential in the circle.  Maybe she'll get to develop it, maybe there will be new pitchers that arrive through the recruiting process.  Alas, we don't have a Jenny for Softball to keep us informed on the recuit pipeline for Ulmer.  Regardless, we know that the cupboard isn't empty.  Both Rachel and Carl should be back for their senior seasons, JSW will be a sophomore and perhaps will develop her pitching skills some more.

Let's Get Some Perspective on the Season

Its hard to be happy about a season ending like this, but I think, if we take some time and look back over the season that Louisville Softball had, there's a whole lot to be proud of.  Wins over Top 10 teams, including an Oklahoma team that sat in the #1 spot the whole season.  Phenomenal hitting, great fielding, and some just generally fantastic athletes.

I'll be back at Ulmer next year, and I truly believe that this team will be even better.

-Jeff McAdams

( Editor's Note -- With LeCoq suffering from hand-swelling and Connell having control issues...the normally strong Cardinal pitching obviously wasn't at their best today. Head coach Sandy Pearsall mentioned to me in our pre-season interview that pitching was the question mark on this team. And, for 90% of the year..it was solid, impressive and maybe third best in the BIG EAST behind USF and Notre Dame inside the circle. Injuries, fatigue and being a bit off one's game can play a major role in the post season...and it did Saturday. Like Jeff, I'll recall this season very fondly, though...and hope that the two UofL hurlers can come back strong next year. I also hope my favorite player...freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett...can earn a chance to be the Cards third producer of strikes and shutouts. We'll also look to see if there are any pitchers coming in for 2014. Coach Pearsall told me that you have to get in on the really good hurlers early...two or three years before they ever get to college. We hope the getting has been good for Sandy and the staff.  -- Paulie)

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Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Meet the competition

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-They come from north, south and west to challenge Cards in NCAA Regionals

-Softball Cards statistics

-Another Shoni and Jude story

-Julie Hermann one of two finalists for Rutgers job.

Three teams travel to Louisville, arriving Wednesday or Thursday, to compete for the Regional Championship. Louisville is one of sixteen spots hosting a regional. Here's a look at the three squads that will try to defeat Louisville and claim the prize of Regional Champion...


Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne

They're the squad that will be travelling from the north, in case you are geographically-challenged. Or headed southbound, for a more accurate trip description. What they bring with them is a Summit League championship and a 34-14 record. The Mastadons (which are prehistoric elephants...if you aren't up on your extinct animals) are on a roll (if Mastadons could actually roll...) winning eight of their last nine games. They defeated North Dakota State to take the Summit League Championship tournament and get the automatic bid to the NCAA Big Softball Dance.

IPFW gets good production from Summit League Tournament MVP Ashleigh Bousquet, who hit .417 on the season with nine home runs and 42 RBI's. Inside the circle, Miranda Kramer is the ace of the pitching staff...carrying an impressive 1.82 ERA and 270 strikeouts in 180.2 innings of work.

It'll be the first meeting ever between Louisville and IPFW. We're hoping for a five inning, run-rule affair.  

UAB (University of Alabama-Birmingham

Yep, they're the squad that comes from the south and will be travelling northbound. See how quickly you catch on? The Blazers (named either after a type of fire or a type of dress jacket) got to the NCAA Tournament by receiving an at-large bid. UAB actually won the Conference USA regular season with a record of 19-4...but lost in the Conference USA Tournament semifinals to Marshall.

Caitlin Attifield leads the UAB hitters with a .367 average. She's scored 33 runs and stolen 23 bases. The powerbroker is Kristen McGrath with a team-best 12 roundtrippers and 39 RBI's.

UAB has an excellent group of hurlers. The "L" squad (Lannah Campbell, Lauren Webster and Leigh Streetman) combined for 432 strikeouts. Each pitcher won 12 games this season and UAB were 37-16 overall.

Louisiville and UAB were old C-USA foes from 2000-2005 and the Cards hold a 18-3 advantage in the series. Last time out, the two met in the FIU Combat Classic on Feb. 11, 2012...the Cards taking a 5-4 win. Maggie Ruckenbrod blasted two home runs and Katelyn "Mannie" Mann sent her first career four bagger over the fence in the win.

More please! Let's wake 'em up on Brandeis Street if these two match up on Saturday.

UCLA (University of California Los Angeles)

Isn't it a bit interesting that all three schools coming to Louisville are better known by their initials and are schools designated by the name of a state institution and then city?

Or maybe it isn't. These Bruins (a type of bear..to continue the history lessons) are travelling eastbound from the left coast. Unless they decide to take the Hawaii, Toyko, New Delhi, Paris and New York round trip to Louisville. That would have them going westbound and they'd probably be pretty tired when they got here if they went that way.

UCLA tied for 5th. in the strong PAC-12 Conference. They closed the season by winning five out of their last six games. There is no listing of a PAC 12 Softball Tournament,  so we guess they don't play one and we'll assume their bid was an at-large one. The Bruins went 37-18 overall and 10-14 in conference play.

The Californians bat .302 as a team and seem quite proficient in the long ball...blasting 82 of them so far this season. B.B. Bates blasted 24 of them, Ally Carda sent 16 over the wall and Stephany LaRosa gave out 15 souvenirs and led the team with a .378 batting average.

Carda also handles primary pitching duties...going 22-10, recording a 2.37 ERA and fanning 202 batters in 186.1 innings.

Louisville and UCLA have met once....back in 2004 in the Los Angeles NCAA Regional...with the Bruins winning 2-0.

They have 12 national championships to their credit, the most recent coming in 2010. It'll be Louisville's job to stop these bears on the path to their 13th...

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UofL enters regional play with a 46-11 record. The Cards are ranked #11 in the USA Today Softball poll and #12 by ESPN.

Alicja Wolny leads the Cards with a .417 batting average and had 10 home runs and 52 RBI's. Katie Keller carries a .412 average and led Louisville with 12 fence clearers. She's scored 60 runs and driven home 54. Jordy Trimble adds a .385 average, scored 49 times and sent 25 base runners home.

In the circle, Caralisa Connell punched out a 25-4 record with a 2.20 ERA. Rachel LeCoq (21-7) has a excellent 1.88 ERA. The two have struck out 302 batters in 381 innings.

We hope for "good" Carl and "le gran Le Coq" over the weekend. And, no rain.

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WE can talk UofL women's  basketball every day here at CARDINAL COUPLE without any problem. Check the link below that talks a little Shoni and Jude. (Thanks to Jenny for the 'find'...who says she only works here on Wednesdays and Saturdays?)

SHONI AND JUDE


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Rutgers University has identified Sean Frazier and Julie Hermann as the two finalists for the Athletic Director job.

It seems, however, there is a major question about a decision in each candidates past duties. Hermann's goes back to 1997, when she was head volleyball coach at Tennessee. Frazier's stems from a sexual assault case in 2012.

Click the link below to get the details from nj.com:

Questions about Frazier and Hermann

Everything seems to have to have drama involved in it these days, doesn't it?  Sometimes, I'm ashamed to be associated with some yellow dog journalists. Assuming I am one...to begin with. Most days, I prefer to refer to myself as the ring-leader of the chimps. That's much more fun.  

That's when I'm not under the illusion that I'm Paulie Skynyrd and belting out "Gimme Three Steps" at karaoke to a dis-interested audience. 

We joke at how horrible I am at predictions on CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO. Therefore, I am predicting that Julie Hermann gets the job at Rutgers. This, then...will most certainly not happen and we will get to keep her here at UofL. Being selfish? You bet! We love the job she has done here and don't want to see her go.

I will close with this, and it was mentioned in the article. Why...after 16 years...is Julie interested in a head Athletic Director's job? Especially at a school that seems to be filled with more problems, failures and goof-ups than a Three Stooges comedy?

Nevertheless, we wish her the best and we'll know in a couple of days.

-Paulie

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE -- Softball Cards to host Regional

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville to host NCAA Softball Regional

- Hermann in top three candidates for Rutgers AD

This one fooled us, but it's a good fool. Louisville softball will host one of the sixteen NCAA Softball Regionals. The games begin Friday May 17th. Coming to the "Ville" are Indiana Purdue Ft. Wayne (32-14), University of Alabama-Birmingham (37-15) and UCLA (37-18).

It is the tenth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Cards and fourth opportunity to host a regional over the last five years. The Cards received a #15 seed and are currently 46-11.

Play begins at 5 p.m. Friday when UAB and UCLA square off. The Cards will play IPFW at appox. 7:30 p.m. Louisville head softball coach Sandy Pearsall talks about the event:

"We're excited to be at home again and we have a lot of great teams coming to play on our field and have the fan base that we have here, because there's nothing better than the fans we have at Louisville."

Tickets can be purchased on-line at the link below:

Louisville Softball Regional Tickets


You can also pick them up at the UofL Ticket Office at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium starting today through Friday at noon.

We discussed on our Saturday radio show the possibilities of Louisville getting a chance to host after losing to South Florida in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. You can hear the archived replay of CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO by clicking the link below:

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO AND CRESCENT HILL RADIO

A wonderful opportunity for fans to see the Softball Cards in action at home! WE hope you'll join us at Ulmer Stadium to cheer on Sandy Pearsall's squad and we'll preview the games and competition in tomorrow's CARDINAL COUPLE. The schedule of events is listed below:

Louisville Regional - May 17-19 at Louisville, KY

FRIDAY GAMES

Game 1 - UAB vs. UCLA   5:00 p.m.
Game 2 - #15 seed Louisville vs. IPFW    7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY GAMES

Game 3 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2   2:00 p.m.
Game 4 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2        4:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4     7:30 p.m.

SUNDAY GAMES

Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5    1:00 p.m.
Game 7 (if needed) 3:30 p.m.

JULIE HERMANN A FRONT RUNNER?

After a weekend of interviews, three candidates...and one notable defection...have emerged in the Rutgers University search for an Athletic Director.

Thomas Boeh, Fresno State Athletics Director, who was considered one of the three top candidates for the position...has withdrawn his candidacy to be the next AD for the Scarlet Knights. Many considered him the top choice for the position.

That leaves Wisconsin deputy AD Sean Frazier and Louisville

executive senior associate AD Julie Hermann as the leaders in the clubhouse. Rutgers reportedly had exploratory interviews with eight potential candidates last week. The 26 person search committee allegedly identified Boeh as a finalist and tried to re-kindle his interest in the vacancy before he pulled his name out of the running.

The search committee was scheduled to meet to discuss the finalists before a recommendation would be forwarded to the university's Board of Governors, which is expected to hold a special meeting by Wednesday or Thursday of this week to vote on a official appointment.

We'll keep you posted on these developments as they occur.



-Paulie


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Ky. Softball Sweet Sixteen set

(Your co-owner and managing editor of CARDINAL COUPLE enjoys a photo op recently. Not sure what the photog told her...maybe that Paul had learned to load the dishwasher by himself or weather was going to be in the low eighties in Louisville today)

The field has been set for the 2010 Kentucky State Softball Sweet Sixteen. Double elimination actions begins Friday, June 11th. in Owensboro, KY.

Two Louisville area teams made the cut. 7th region champ Mercy will face Scott County in first round play and 6th region winner Pleasure Ridge Park gets Ryle to face off against. Other first round matchups:

Lawrence County vs. Shelby County
Green County vs. Reidland
Ashland Blazer vs. Clark County.
North Laurel vs. Allen County-Scottsville
Jenkins vs. Somerset
Christian County vs. Owensboro Catholic

The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.

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Looks like an all Pac-10 final for the NCAA Division 1 Womens' Softball World Series. UCLA eliminated Georgia by winning 5-2 yesterday and Arizona defeated Tennessee twice to make the finals 8-0 and 5-2. This is the seventh time that these two teams have faced each other in the championships. Arizona has won four of the previous six.

The best of three series starts next Monday in Oklahoma City.

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We'll root on the home team this evening out at Jim Patterson Stadium and Louisville and Vanderbilt square off in the deciding game of the NCAA Baseball Regional. The Cards could have eliminated the Commodores yeserday with a win...but fell 7-0 to the two hit pitching of seldom used Richie Goodenow.

Game time is 6 p.m. Tickets are available on a walk up basis at Patterson. If you can't make the action...the broadcast can be heard locally on 1570 AM WNDA. Good luck with that...we listened as best we could yesterday for awhile and the feed sounded like a room full of sewing machines outside a Indy qualifying heat in a thunderstorm. Play by play announcer Sean Moth deserves better than that.