ACC Softball Tournament Looms -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 12 TEAMS WILL MEET IN CHARLOTTESVLLE MAY 6-9

The top 12 finishers in the ACC Softball standings will meet in Charlottesville, VA (where the University of Virginia is) for the 2026 ACC Softball Tournament. Palmer Park, where the games will commence, is pictured below. We haven't done a Cardinal Couple quiz in forever...so here is your question, readers. Who was Palmer Park named after?

A). Arnold Palmer - famous golfer.                                                                                                  B). Lisa Palmer - pitcher at UVA 1986-1989.                                                                                  C). Palmer Luckey -- American entrepreneur.                                                                                D). Jim Palmer -- Hall of Fame Pitcher with Baltimore Orioles.                                                       

(Answer at the end of today's article)

As of today, these 12 teams are "in" (subject to change, of course, as the regular season has a wee bit more softball left:

1) FSU-- The Noles sit atop the ACC with a 18-3 record in league play. They finish the season with three at Boston College beginning tomorrow. 

2) Duke -- The Blue Devils are done with ACC regular season play and went 20-4. They probably wish they would have not dropped one last week down at Clemson. They need FSU to lose one at Boston and force a tie. FSU and Duke did not play during the season against each other, sothe tie-breaker, if it happens, could involve a bunch of factors I never fully seem to understand ,

3) Louisville -- Holly Aprile's Birds are currently 16-5 in the ACC. The best they could finish in regular season is second, providing they win all the final games against NC State and FSU loses all three to B.C. As Princess Anne said to her assailant, back in 1974, during the failed kidnap attempt..."Not bloody likely"  

4) Stanford -- At 18-6 in ACC play, the Trees are landlocked into fourth, unless the Cards lose two against NC State. 

The rest of the league standings:

In fifth is Virginia Tech, currently at 15-6. They finish against Syracuse at Syracuse. Sixth is Virginia, owners of a 13-10 conference slate. They are done, having one conference game cancelled against Syracuse bac in March. Seventh belongs to Clemson (13-11). Eighth currently goes to Notre Dame (11-13). The top four get a first round bye.  In ninth place is Ga. Tech (10-14), tenth sees North Carolina (9-15), 11th is Pitt and in the nervous spot is NC State (6-14). If Syracuse could win all three games against Va Tech, they could sneak into the tournament and send the Gobblers home.. Boston College and California are tied for the bottom spot at 3-18.

We'll have coverage of the action here and wish the Softball Cards the best of luck. 

(Your quiz answer is"B",,, Lisa Palmer...she had 74 wins for the Cavs, the best in school history.)

paulie

                                                                                                                                                            

Cards Softball falls in rubber match at Virginia ---SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HOOS HOLD CARDS TO TWO HITS IN SERIES FINALE

courtesy UVA

Louisville  Softball has a tenancy to disappear offensively against top quality pitching and that was the case Saturday in  Charlottesville, as Louisville ran into Virginia pitcher Eden Bigham (14-7) and she limited Louisville to two singles in a 6-0 whitewash of the Cards. 

Basically, although we didn't know it at the time...this one was over when the first Virginia batter (Jade Hylton) hit a home run off of Cards starter Alyssa Zabala (8-8)

And that would be the end of the scoring until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Bella Cabral homered off Zabala, That four tripper, and and another VA run spelled the end for Zabala's appearance in Holly Aprile's mind, and she went with sophomore Brooke Gray in relief. Saturday was not Gray's day, though...as she allowed three hits, three runs and two walks in just 1/3 of a inning. 

With a the score 6-0, the Cards brought in Lindsey Mullen, who was able to get the Cards out of the inning, with two outs registered in just eight pitches. 

And, so, the Cards return home and wait for their next contest, when WKU comes to town Tuesday, April 22nd. 

HAPPY EASTER

To all our readers, a very happy Easter to you, However you choose to spend it, enjoy this holiday and if the Easter Bunny is kind to you, well, that's just a bonus...friends. (I like Reese's Cups, in case...) 

Paulie

Softball takes game 1 vs UVA in extras --LAX falls at ND -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning and happy Friday readers!  We are officially 2 weeks from the Derby weekend which I am very much looking forward to.  Get your fascinators ready ladies!!! 



Softball

The Cards are on the road in Charlottesville, Virginia for an ACC series with the Cavs ahead of the holiday weekend.  The Cavs are celebrating their seniors this weekend and UofL is celebrating a 3 game winning streak taking game 1 of the series Thursday evening.  Its just the second loss for the Cavs at home this season.  

The Cards eek out a victory over the RPI Top 25 Cavaliers 6-5 in 9 innings. Alyssa Zabala got the start in the circle and looked to complete the game heading into the 7th inning with a 5-1 UofL lead.   After giving up 3 hits in the inning, UofL head coach Holly Aprile made the pitching change. She finished her day giving up 8 hits and 4 runs (3 in the 7th) and 4 strikeouts.

  

Brooke Gray got the win in 2.2 innings of one-hit softball in the circle.  

Easton Lotus finished with 4 hits on 5 plate appearances, scoring 2 runs. Char Lorenz had a 2 run HR to put the Cards ahead 5-1 late in the game.  

The last time UofL and UVA faced off was in 2023 in Charlottesville when the Cards swept em. 

1st inning

The Cards had 5 batters appear to open the game but count come up with any runs.   The Cavs came out swinging to get on the board early with a single and a double and a SAC bunt in-between to score the games first run.  But I will say I think it was a bad defensive effort that allowed that first runner to get on board to begin with. 

2nd inning

Pretty anticlimactic inning as the score remains the same throughout.  

3rd inning

A single up the middle for Lotus to start the offensive punch for the Cards before Lookadoo found herself looking at a bases loaded situation. She singled over third base to score 2 runs and then some defensive chaos throwing the ball around allows for some advancements and then a play at home which was reviewed and upheld as out at the plate. Card up 3-1 

4th inning

Both squads with 1 hit and 1 left on base but no runs to show in the inning. 

5th inning

Three up, three down for both squads for a quick inning. 

6th inning

Zabala started the 6th with a 10 pitch at bat that should've been a strike 3 called on a beautiful pitch on the inside corner but instead resulted in a single to CF which is quite deflating but the Cards were able to get out of the inning unscathed. 

7th inning

A Lotus single to left followed by a quick slap homerun to left center put the Cards in a comfy position heading into the final frame of regulation. But the Cavs would respond with 3 hits and runners on the corners and a chance to tie it at the plate.   Coach Holly Aprile makes the pitching change and put Lindsey Mullen in the circle instead.  She threw just 6 pitches facing 2 batters for the night, giving up a home run and a single putting the Cavs in a position to win in walk off fashion.  Aprile makes another pitching change putting Gray in to clean up the mess.   To extras we go... 

8th inning

The Cards had 3 hits but were unable to plate any runs it in and defensively it was 3 up, 3 down for UVA.

9th inning

Ally Alexander walked to get on base and ultimately score the game winning run on a fielding error from UVA and Maddi Grant doubling to right field to push the run across.  The Wahoos got two runners on but where unable to respond. 

The Cards win! 

Lacrosse

Louisville went to South Bend for the last match of the 2025 season and fell 6-17 against the Notre Dame fighting Irish. UofL finishes the 2025 campaign with a 7-10 record and a 1-8 mark in ACC play. The Irish had lost their 4 previous matchups and finished 7-8, 2-7 ACC.


ND scored in the first minute of the game and the Cardinals responded a minute later when Negai Nakazawa sent a feed to Maggie McMahon who delivered her 12th goal of the season. ND scored nine unanswered goals to close out the first quarter. Reese Whiteman for her team-best 25th goal of the season but the Cards could not come back from the early deficit and went into the break down 10.

This is the Health Science Campus of UofL - Downtown - the School of Medicine

I am working on finishing up a pretty awesome UofL related project here in the coming weeks that I am looking forward to sharing soon =)

As Always
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Softball sinks Virginia on Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS SOFTBALL DOWN CAVS 9-4 TO TAKE SERIES

It was Carmyn Greenwood last appearance in Ulmer Stadium and she made the most of it. 

Starting the game with a home run, Greenwood went 3-3 on the the afternoon, adding a double and triple to her one-woman wrecking crew assault on the Wahoos. She scored three runs, drove in two and made a spectacular assortment of catches and throws in left field in the Cards 9-4 win. She probably even drove the UVA squad to the airport after the game and made sure they boarded the flight home safely

Louisville unloaded for ten hits against an assortment of UVA pitchers, including a three RBI, round-tripper from Korbe Otis in the fourth inning that put the Cards ahead to stay at 6-3. Doubles from Kendall Smith, Hannah File and Dylann Cravens also boosted the Cards attack, who go to 26-21 on the season and 10-11 in ACC play. 

It was "T-and-T" in the circle for the Cards -- Taylor Roby getting the start and going 3.2 innings before giving way to Taja Felder, who gets the win while allowing just three hits and one run in 3.1 innings of relief work. 

A fitting way to end the 2022 season ending home-stand for the Cards, who will travel to Notre Dame for three next weekend, after stopping off to play UIC on Wednesday. Louisville is currently in seventh place in the ACC and could, conceivably climb to sixth in the conference standings with a sweep of the Irish on Derby weekend and some losses by the teams above them in the conference race. 

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON

POST GAME CARMYN GREENWOOD LINK:  https://youtu.be/uMyj7lphug8

POST GAME HOLLY APRILE LINK:  https://youtu.be/B8PKOdPG97c

JAZ JONES RELEASED BY FEVER

It's always a bit of sad news when any of our former Cardinals student-athletes get waived or released from a professional franchise, and we learned Saturday afternoon that Cardinal Forever Jazmine Jones was released from the Indiana Fever. 

One would think that a player like Jaz won't be on the sidelines long and get added to another WNBA roster.

We wish her the best of luck and feel certain we haven't seen the last of her yet. 

paulie

Softball Series to be Settled - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Virginia Evens Softball Series

Visiting Virginia evened up the softball series at one game apiece yesterday, taking the win by a score of 5-3.  The Cards celebrated senior day, honoring five players: Kendall Smith, Payton Hudson, Rebecca Chung, and both Greenwood sisters - Cassady and Carmyn.  All five players played in the game yesterday, with Kendall Smith in her usual spot at catcher, and Carmyn Greenwood patrolling left field as normal.  Payton Hudson and Cassady Greenwood came in as a pinch runners, while Rebecca Chung took a turn as a pinch hitter.

Senior Day picture - Kendall Smith, Payton
Hudson, Rebecca Chung, Carmyn Greenwood,
and Cassady Greenwood (left to right)

In basketball, games tend to look like chaos when the defense of a team is playing aggressive and performing well.  Softball is the reverse, if a defense is playing well, the game looks routine, and one could argue, even a bit dull.

That was not the case with yesterday's game.  Not all of it can be pinned in defensive breakdowns, but there were certainly some breakdowns to be critiqued.

Virginia got on the board with a run in the first inning.  The Cards would answer in the second and third.

The human black hole, Jenna Servi, fields what
appears to a be a foul ball grounder at third base.

After the bottom of the first inning where the Cards went 3-up, 3-down with only four pitches, they started the scoring in the second with a Hannah File homer to left field.  Add on doubles by Dylann Cravens and Ally Alexander that scored Cravens and the UVA pitcher got chased from the circle after just 20 pitches thrown.

The third inning, Korbe Otis singled to center field, Taylor Roby followed with much the same to right center and was replaced on the base paths with a pinch runner.  Roby's single did advance Otis to third who then was able to score on a wild pitch.

Kendall Smith easily tags a runner out at home.

Unfortunately that would be it for the Cards scoring  in the game, though with the 3-1 lead at that point, UVA had some work to do.  They were helped some by some definite choices that were made by the Cards defense.  Very few actual errors were recorded, one for each team, but choices made by UofL on defense allowed UVA some opportunities that they probably shouldn't have had.

UofL will look to win the game and the series today with a noon start from Ulmer.  After being on the linear ACC Network yesterday, back to "just" the streaming on ACC Network Extra today.

Photos by Jared Anderson

Hannah File finishes rounding the bases after her
solo home run shot to left field.

Dylann Cravens does a great Stretch Armstrong
impression to tag second base to get the force out.

Track and Field

The Cards saw quite a bit of success in Track and Field yesterday, wrapping up the Clark Wood Invitation.

Gabriela Leon topped the previous school record in pole vault, that she already owned, and of course set a new personal best in the process with 4.61 meters (15' 1.5") for the win.  The Cards took the whole podium with  Aliyah Welter clearing 4.36m (14' 3.5") - a personal best - for second, and Auriane Viola cleared 4.06m (13' 3.75") to take third.

 Synclair Savage, Taylor Herbert, Je'Nyia Burton and Kiyah Yeast stopped the clock at 44.91 in the 4x100m relay for a school record, and also the win.

Former volleyballer Emily Scott continues to shake up the high jump standings.  She cleared 1.76 meters (5' 9.25") for the win.  This is short of her personal best set a couple of weeks ago of 1.81 meters (5' 11.25").

Morgan Bentley and Rachel Darden went one two in the triple jump.  Bentley leaped 12.37 meters (40' 7"), for a personal best and Darden cleared 12.02 meters (39' 5.25").

And one final win for the Cards in the meet with the 4x400 meter relay team breaking the tape at 3:43.40.  That team is composed of Katie Martin, Je'Nyia Burnton, Taylor Boggess, and Riley Burger.

Basketball News

Ahlana Smith Enters the Transfer Portal

Ahlana Smith has put her name in the transfer portal.  With the inundation of the UofL roster with guards, this may not be a huge surprise to most.  After averaging just over 12 minutes per game for 4.3 points per game average, no one could fault Smith for looking for a school where she can garner a bit more playing time in her 5th "Covid" year.

Of course, there is always the option to come back out of the portal and not actually leave the current school, and we have no reports of any situation that would indicate that she was not welcome to finish out here at UofL.  With her skills and capabilities, however, it is likely that another school will come calling and offer her the opportunity that she is looking for, in which case, we here at Cardinal Couple and all of CardNation will wish her the best.

C. Vivian Stringer Retires

Long time Rutgers coach, icon in the industry, and inspiration for many has decided to call an end to her career in September.  While Stringer has no particular ties to Louisville, she was an honored frequent opponent during UofL's years in the Big East.

Stringer retires after 50 years of being in the head coach seat and 27 years at Rutgers.  She was the first coach, men's or women's to take three different teams to the Final Four, completing the hat trick in 2000 with Rutgers, after having taken Iowa and Cheyney State to appearances earlier in her career.  She is the first African-American coach to have reached 1,000 wins in their career.

Stringer has left a great mark on the game of basketball.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Daryl, Jared, Paulie, and myself were on the call yesterday, where we talked about Basketball news, Softball, Lacrosse and plenty more.  A bit of a longer run on this one, but we had a lot of good discussions.

You can catch this one via the Youtube stream at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLdqRBmiQM

Softball closes home schedule vs Virginia; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

 

Shout out to the weekend and the Cardinal Couple gang for stepping in for me these past few weeks.   Baseball and Summer Camp season got me like D:   *a little lotta bit* stressed making sure things runs smoothly around Louisville.  

But I do have a lot to look forward to and sometimes spontaneous decisions make the best ones.  

Funny story,  decided on some Happy Hour sushi on Bardstown Rd this past weekend and who do I cross paths with at the entrance?!  None other than Cardinal forever, Jazmine Jones!  The best part was she recognized me as well and gave me a hug in front of my friends.  What a gem!  I love seeing Cards come home and enjoy the town.  I told her that we would have to get up to Indy to see her play again, and she said 'Please do!' 

I've been on a mission to up my boyfriend's WNBA jersey collection in recent years.  He prefers to wear jerseys to festivals and when he plays shows (he plays the drums in a local band) So I think a trip to Indy is in the works for mid-summer.  The Chicago Sky plays at the Fever June 19th and July 7th.  

    

Look at these stars!!  I've got my eye on that Kianna Smith LA Sparks jersey too.  Y'all know I'm a sucker for purple and gold! 

SOFTBALL

Louisville vs Virginia

Friday 6 p.m. 

Ulmer Stadium or ACCNX

Series History: Louisville leads 15-3
Last Meeting: Feb. 20-21, 2021 - Louisville defeated Virginia 5-4 in Durham, N.C. and 4-0 in Raleigh, N.C. during the ACC Pod Weekend.

The Cardinals bring a 24-20 overall record after falling in all three games at No. 3/3 Virginia Tech last weekend.  Louisville also carries an 8-10 mark in ACC play and is currently eighth in league standings. Louisville is tied for the ACC lead and stands 11th in the nation with 22 double plays turned.

Virginia is 26-21, 12-9 (.571) in the conference coming off a sweep of Pittsburgh (last in the ACC 2-17) as well as 3 top-ranked series in a row. Virginia is second in the ACC in fielding percentage (.976) and 14th nationally.  Leah Boggs leads the team with a .292 batting average and Tori Gilbert has belted out a team-best 11 home runs. Sarah Coon and Katie Goldberg have produced 28 RBIs apiece.  Mikayla Houge (9-4) has carried the bulk of the pitching duties and holds a 3.22 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 87.0 innings. Aly Rayle leads the team with 55Ks in 67.1 innings of work. Madison Harris’s six saves is top in the ACC this season and ranks second nationally.

KENNY KLEIN RETIRING

The announcement came down yesterday about Louisville's head SID announcing a retirement date. No big dissertation or commentary on that. He did his job for 40+ years in athletics, is well respected by his peers and fellow SID's and I hope he enjoys his retirement. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast -- We are on schedule for an 11 a.m. start time Saturday.  Case will be covering the Saturday A.M. write-up duties but wont be home to jump on air but the four of us should be on to talk some Cardinal coverage. 

Paulie was kind of worried I wouldn't have anything to talk about here this morning so maybe I'll end by quizzing our readers on what they think Jaz Jones ordered at the hibachi grill on Saturday's show. LOL

As Always, Go Cards
~Daryl 

FSU WBB 68 - Cards WBB 59 -- Softball blanks Virginia -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS FALTER IN FOURTH FRAME AT FSU

Sunday, February was not a good day for the University of Louisville women's basketball team. The #3 ranked Cards failed late against FSU 68-59 to suffer their second loss of the season. 

Turning point? Let's look at the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Louisville held a 45-41 lead with 8:36 left in the contest, following a Dana Evans layup. Over the next six minutes, FSU went on a 13-2 run to take a 54-47 lead over the Cards. Louisville was 0-10 from the floor in those six minutes, had two turnovers and committed six fouls trying to stop FSU (namely Morgan Jones) in what was the worst stretch of Cardinal WBB hoops this season. 

FSU's Jones and Kourtney Weber had nine of FSU's 13 points in the run, Weber putting a dagger in the Cards chances by getting her five point in a two minute stretch that saw the Noles grab a 52-47 edge.

 

It was a rough shooting night for Louisville, going 21-60 from the floor for 35%. Dana Evans was 5-21 in her attempts, 1 for 9 from three-point range, and the normally proficient free-throw shooting Cards has a lackluster 14-22 (64%) success rate from the line. 

Jeff Walz was not a happy camper after the Cards loss: 

"It was a poor performance all the way around. Offensively and defensively. We did not play the team basketball we had been playing. We did not make the extra pass, we took some contested shots early on. It's part of life. We're going to find out how tough we really are. It is what it is right now. I hope it sits with them and it stings for a while. 

You can hear all of Walz's post-game radio remarks at the link below: 

POST FSU JEFF WALZ

A stumble in what has been a great season. Yes, FSU could adopt the "Cardinal killers" moniker if they desired, they've won three out of the last four meeting against UofL WBB, They learned early in the game that they could drive to the bucket with relative ease and either get a layup or get fouled. They made their free-throws -- in a foul-laden fourth-quarter -- 18-24 in the final session and 27-38 for the 40 minutes. 

All from a team that shot just 32% from the floor. 

The Cards led early, 17-14 after one, lost that lead in a 14-9 FSU winning second quarter and rolled back to lead after three 43-39. Then, the fatal fourth...

Louisville will get a week to think about it, facing Notre Dame Sunday, Feb 27th in South Bend. You can expect the Cards to fall off the #1 seed line for the NCAA Tournament after this loss, they still can win the ACC regular season title with a win against the Irish

Give FSU credit for finishing the game better than the Cards. For shutting down Louisville at the end. They needed a win to stay in contention for a bye to the quarterfinals in the ACC Tournament. To add to their resume for a NCAA Tournament worthy entry.

 They got it....by out-playing the Cards in crunch time. On a topsy-turvy day in the ACC that saw Syracuse fall on the road at Virginia Tech 76-68 and Georgia Tech drop one at Boston College 49-43.

THE FRED REPORT

Yeah, Fred Gwynne expression
pretty much says it all about Sunday. 

 

 FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 14-22 from the charity stripe (63.6%) We won't call out any particular players poor performances here, we'll just leave it at our judgment that over 70% get you a letter in this stat and UofL didn't get there.  

REBOUNDING -- FSU won the battle of the board 45-41 and Morgan Jones led all with 10. We'll acknowledge that Olivia Cochran did grab nine for the Cards and Hailey Van Lith finished with eight, but, once again, the offensive boaards killed the Cards -- FSU winning that stat 19-14. I cannot award a letter here. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- For three quarters, the Card shot fairly well, going 17-31 (54%). Then, they dropped to 4-19 shooting in the fourth. 11 turnovers isn't all that horrible, but FSU won the points-in-the-paint number 28-24 and took the second chance points stat 14-10. The Cards three main guards -- Evans, Van Lith and K.Smith -- were a disappointing 9 for 37 (24%) though, and that won't win games. I can't award a letter here, either. 

DEFEENSE -- Normally, holding an opponent to 68 points and 31.7% shooting will get you a win.  Louisville could not stop Jones' drives to the basket, though -- resorting to fouls and she put up 26 points on UofL. Both team played good defense for most of this one, I'll just go back to that 13-2 stretch in the fourth quarter, where FSU won the game and withhold a letter here. You just can't end a game that way. 

FRED REPORT:    _-_-_-_

SOFTBALL, ROBY SHUT OUT VIRGINIA 

Sunday started out pretty well for Louisville women's athletics. 

The Cards Softball team has the opening game in the "Triangle ACC Pod" yesterday and braved 38 degree weaather and a 11 a.m. start time to turn in an impressive performance in the 4-0 win over the Cavs. 

Redshirt junior Taylor Roby was convincing in the circle, allowing just one hit in a gate-to-wire shutout pitching performance. She also drove in the first Cardinal run, scoring Carmyn Greenwood -- who opened the contest with a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error and made it home on a hard-hit Roby ground-out fielders choice. 

Louisville wouldn't need any other runs in this one but they got them. They added two more in the top of the fifth when they pieced together three hits and some alert base-running. Maddy Newman began the inning with a single and went to second on yet another Virginia throwing error. Cards Skipper Holly Aprile rolled the dice and inserted Rebecca Chung to pinch hit and the California junior drilled a linehot to left to score Newman. Aprille sent Sydney Bickel in to pinch run for Chung and that move paid off as well, Bickel went to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on some heads-up running on Celene Funke's infield hit. 

The Cards got a "touch 'em all" from the younger Greenwood sister (Cassidy) in the top of the sixth -- she sent a deep fly ball to right that cleared fence for her first home run of the season and the blast made it 4-0. 

A nice end to the North Carolina stay, Louisville winning their final three games in Raleigh and Durham. 

The 3-4 Cards head to Gainesvile next, where they'll face Florida on Saturday, Feb 27th and Sunday Feb 28th. The Gators won twice yesterday -- downing Charlotte 4-0 and Ga. Southern 11-0 -- to push their record to 8-0. They are ranked #5 in the ESPN poll and #6 in the USA Today poll. 

Have a marvelous Monday

paulie

 

Softball Slugfest,, Myisha Hines-Allen Draft Party a benefit for AIR -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

29 runs in Louisville Softball Loss

One of the difficulties that Louisville Softball has had this year is getting runners into scoring position but not being able to get them to home plate. That wasn't totally the case yesterday at Ulmer Stadium...the Cards plated 12 runs on 15 hits, but did leave 10 runners on base. The main difficulty that arose was the ACC Coastal Conference cellar-dweller Virginia unloaded on Cardinal pitching for 17 runs in taking the five-run victory. 17-12 sounds like a lacrosse or football score. Were Petrino or Teeter in the stands or drawing up plays? 


Sandy Pearsall used half her staff...three pitchers...in the Sunday afternoon slugfest and possibly could have sent a runner over to Jim Patterson Stadium to see if Dan McDonnell had any un-needed arms around there...or scoured the SAC Building across the street to see if any student-athletes wanted to step-up, try their luck and retire a few Cavalier batters in the seven inning affair. Our photographer Jared Anderson was on hand -- I'm surprised we didn't see him down in the Cardinal bullpen warming up to go in. 


Louisville (26-13) was cruising along pretty good after three innings, up 5-2 on the Charlottesville squad when the ball became lively. UVA erupted for five runs in the fourth inning...chasing starter Megan Hensley out of the circle. Her relief, Kyra Snyder, had one of those appearances that she'd just care to forget. Finishing the inning for Hensley and throwing in the fifth, she gave up six runs on six hits.

Virginia first baseman Danni Ingraham had a grand slam fence clearer in that pivotal fourth inning after Hensley loaded the bases. Ingraham also homered in the first and had seven RBI's.  

Even though the Cards were able to come back and tie it in the bottom of the fourth, they could not keep pace with the hot Cavalier bats in the fifth and trailed 13-9 after five. It was already the most runs the Cards had allowed on the season and the Cavs still had two at-bats to go. 

Pearsall, after checking to see if any Louisville Bats pitchers wanted a little relief work, went to freshman Paige Schindler to finish the fray. Paige actually turned in the best performance of the day in the circle for UofL...serving two innings and allowed just four runs on three hits and three walks. The Cards did find three more runs in their bats over the final two innings...but it wasn't enough to catch UVA in the series' final game. 

For the Cards, Hensley did keep her hot bat burning...with 2-4 hitting (two doubles) and four runs batted in. Alison "Mike" Szydlowski picked up a home run for the Cards. 

Out of the 29 hits in the 2 hour -54 minute long contest (pretty long by softball standards) 21 of the hits were singles. The pitching staffs combined for 10 walks and there were a total of five errors. 

In the three game series (Louisville won Friday and Saturday) the Cards scored a total of 42 runs. If that's not a record for a three-game series, I venture it's in the top-five of all time. To compare, the Cards plated 12 runs against NC State in three games and just six against Notre Dame earlier this season.  

Louisville heads to Syracuse for a weekend series against the Orange next...starting on Friday the 13th. The Cards are fourth in the Atlantic Division of ACC Softball with a 6-6 in conference record...trailing Florida State, Boston College and Notre Dame. Syracuse is sixth in the division at 4-10 and is 17-17 overall this year. 

Let's hope the pitchers get a lot of rest over the next four days. 

(Softball photos courtesy of Jared Anderson) 



MYISHA HOLDING WNBA DRAFT DAY PARTY FOR CHARITY

Myisha Hines-Allen wants you to come join her Thursday, April 12th from 7-10 p.m. for the WNBA Draft. She's making it a fundraiser for the Louisville Metro Parks Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation (AIR) program. AIR is a non-profit organization that provides a wide range of recreational activities for individuals with intellectual or physical disabilities and their families.  

The "watch" will be held at the Berrytown Recreation Center, located at 1300 Heafer Rd, in Louisville. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children and students. 

Read all about it at the link below: 

Myisha Draft Day Fundraiser


A great day to help out an organization near and dear to her heart. A wonderful gesture from a woman who gave her all for Cardinal WBB for four years. We encourage you to attend or donate! See the Tweet below: 

Myiisha Announcement



Paulie
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Softball clinches Senior weekend series

Softball Run Rules UVA

Everyone hit and everyone scored in the Cards 2nd game of the series vs UVA in the 11-3 run-rule win.

The first inning looked like we might be in for a pitcher's duel with Megan Hensley in the circle for UofL.  No one was making solid contact on the ball, but later in the game, the offense started settling in, perhaps figuring our the pitchers a bit, and we started to see more base runners and scoring.

The Cards would get the scoring started in the 2nd inning, with Megan Hensley taking a plunk to the ankle, which looked like it probably would've hurt, but she showed no evidence of any discomfort in the trot to 1st base.  Jenna Jordan got the first solid contact of the game with a double to right center.  Hensley, not particularly known for speed on the basepaths, but no slow-poke either, stretched it around from 1st to home.  The throw from the 2nd base cutoff hit her helmet as she slid into home safe.  A rough round of the bases for the sophomore, but the Ashland native wasn't concerned about it once she touched home and put the first score up on the scoreboard.  Jenna Jordan would subsequently score on a fielding error.

UVA juggled their fielding arrangement in the third, bringing their right fielder in to the pitching
circle, and sending the previous pitcher out to right field.  It didn't help.  Moe Meyer got hit by a pitch, Nicole "Poof" Pufahl doubled out to left field, scoring the speedy Meyer.  Maryssa Becker singled, scoring Poof, and then advanced to 2nd on the throw.  She got to third on some gutsy running on a wild pitch.  The pitchers stuck together with Hensley doubling to bring Becker home.  Hensley would get tagged out at 2nd when a fast grounder to the short stop from Jamie Soles left her scrambling to get back to the base, and didn't get there in time.  With two outs, Tiarra Sanabria ripped her 2nd home run in two games, lifting this one to the fitness track in left.  The yellow shirts had to retrieve it from the FirstBuild parking lot across Brandeis.  Alison "Mike" Szydlowski would eventually get tagged out trying to get home on some aggressive base running.  Don't blame Mike for that one, Coach Pearsall, in the post-game interview took responsibility for sending her, thinking it was a good bet with a solid lead already in the board.

UVA would score 2 in the 4th, and then in the bottom half of the inning would switch their pitchers back to their original fielding locations and had good success.  Two foul fly balls caught, and a fly out to center would sit the Cards down in order.

The Cavs would put another on the board in the 5th, bringing the score to 7-3.  The Cards were looking for a quick exit on the warm day, and they would have it.  Jamie Soles would get to first on a single up the middle, surrounded by a pair of pop outs.  So, with 1 runner on 1st, and two outs, the Cards went to work, though to be fair, some of the credit goes to the UVA pitcher.  Sanabria got to take a stroll, then Mike got hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Jordan McNary got to take a stroll, scoring Jamie Soles.  Moe Meyer singled up the middle then advanced on the throw, scoring Mike and Sanabria, while moving Mike to 3rd.  UVA, looking for answers, switched their pitchers again, and again it didn't really help.  Poof got to take a stroll, and then Becker smacked a single to center which scored McNary.  If you've been keeping count, that puts the score at 11-3 in the bottom of the fifth, resulting in a run-rule win for the Cards.

The Cards hope to be back in action today at noon, weather permitting (your correspondent is looking out of the window at a solid rain at the time of this writing), for a Senior Day celebration.  The Cards will be honoring Maryssa Becker, Moe Meyer, Tiarra Sanabria, and Jordan McNary.

LINK: POST GAME SANDY PEARSALL

LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 4/29/17

-- JMcA

SOFTBALL GETS THE SWEEP OVER VIRGINIA...SELECTION MONDAY TONIGHT...MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS DOWN VIRGINIA 7-5

Sometimes in order to get the job done, you have to finish it yourself. Sophomore Maryssa Becker stepped up yesterday to keep the Cards perfect in the ACC. 

Louisville Softball is now 6-0 in the ACC with a 7-5 win over the Virginia Cavaliers Sunday afternoon at Ulmer Stadium.

Becker delivered the go-ahead runs with a two-RBI, one out single in the bottom of the sixth inning and then took to the circle to retire the Wahoos in order in the top of the seventh to push Louisville to the three game sweep.



This was a see-saw affair...the Cards exchanging runs with the visitors early, tying the contest up twice and not taking the lead until the bottom of the fifth when Whitney Arion smashed a two-rum homer to go up 5-3. Louisville had trailed earlier 3-1 before a solo shot by Kayla Soles drew them within one. 

Louisville tied the contest in the fourth...Soles reaching on a single and pinch-runner Morgan Meyer replacing her and scoring with two outs. 

Virginia tied the contest back up in the top of the sixth but Louisville filled the bases in the bottom of the inning...setting up Becker's single to left that put UofL ahead to stay. 

Becker gets the win to go to 5-4 on the year. She started the contest but gave way to Madi Norman in the top of the third. After four innings from the freshman, Becker returned to the circle to seal the deal in the top of the seventh. 

Both Kelsi Jones and Kayla Soles went 3-3 for Louisville (13-7) who will travel to Columbus, OH next for a mid-week doubleheader against Ohio State. 

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WHERE YA GOING, LOUIE?



The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Selection Show will air tonight on ESPN at 7 p.m. and Louisville will learn their fate for first and second round action and where they are seeded. 

Cardinal Arena on campus is the place to be if you want to watch the selections with the University of Louisville women's basketball team and coaches. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the girls will sign autographs until 6:45. 

Speculation abounds about where the Cards will be seeded and where they will travel to begin Jeff Walz's seventh tournament appearance in eight years as the Cards head coach. Louisville is projected anywhere from the last two seed to a high fourth seed according to the various pundits and bracketologist out there...the NCAA will use its own pretzel logic to determine where the Cards will start their path on the road to Tampa. Paulie has been saying a #4 seed. Let's hope that is an underestimate...a #2 is what they deserve. 

CARDINAL COUPLE will be in attendance and we'll gather the facts and a few interviews for Worldwide's Tuesday article.
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GO WEST...YOUNG MEN

Let's hope last night's NCAA Men's Bracket Selections aren't a foreshadowing of what is to come for the ladies. Pitino's bunch got a #4 seed and is being shipped off to play their first two in Seattle...opening against the Cal-Irvine Anteaters. Yep...T-Will's and Peyton's hometown. 

I wonder if the NCAA would let them step back out on the court for a few drives and dunks? 

paulie
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