Despines big blast helps Cards down WolfPack 8-3 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 THREE RUN BLAST IN SIXTH INNING HELPS CARDS SECURE REGULAR SEASON ENDING WIN

Nothing like ending the regular seaso with a win. And a road win,as well. 

Pretty Bri...

After defeating NC State 8-3 Sunday...looks like these two will face again,  in the first round of the ACC Tournament Wednesday in Durham. Case will have a more detailed breakdown of the tournament in his Tuesday article..for now...just know their re-match will be the fifth and twelfth place elimination game. Louisville was one of three teams, at 18-6 and tid for third, but was placed fifth due to a formula only Einstein could probably decipher. 

 

The Cards took control of the ballgame in the top of the third inning with a five run explosion. That came after the squads were scoreless in the first two innings. Chelsea Mack, Easton Lotus and Bri Despnes loaded the bases with no outs and Carmyn Lookadoo doubled to bring home Mack and Lotus. Madison Pickens got on with a walk and Taylor Monroe walked, forcing in a third run. Jordan Williams singled home Lookadoo and Pickens scored from third on a throw out of Williams trying to steal second.  It was 5-0 Cards and that turned out to be all the Cards would need for the win, of course...not knowing that at the time. 

The Pack would counter with a run in the bottom of the inning, but Cards hurler Alyssa Zabala (who I have nicknamed "Smiley") was in control in the circle and went four innings...picking up her 14th win of the season...allowing just one run. 

The Cards posted their three runs in the top of the sixth inning .  Mack reached on an error and Lotus singled. They came home on Despines second home run of the series. 

NCSU would pick up two more runs, off Brooke Gray but never got any closer that the 5-3 score at the end of five innings. They ended up with six hits on the afternoon and Louisville got 10 hits to go with their eight runs. 

paulie

SB hosting #16 Virginia Tech -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL



Good morning readers!   Its been a nice early spring week on campus this week.  Spring break, in fact.   So its been very quiet with barely any students walking the grounds.   

Softball

Photo: Jared Anderson

The Diamond Cards are back in action this weekend hosting the #16 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies at Ulmer Stadium beginning Friday with a 4pm and 6pm first pitch due to anticipated storms in the area on Saturday, a 12pm first pitch on Sunday. The series will be available on ACCNX. Attendance is free.

The Cards are 17-7 and 7-2 at home this season.

Virginia Tech is 20-5 overall and 2-1 in ACC play in 2025. The Hokies are coming off a 2-0 win at #23 UK on Wednesday afternoon. In fact, it was a no-hit night for the Cats. Senior RHP, Emma Lemley threw her fourth no-hitter of the season, leading the nation and had 9 strikeouts against UK. 

Photo: Jared Anderson 

VT leads the series with the Cards, 19-8 overall. In the 2024 meetings against the Hokies, Louisville went 0-3. 

Virginia Tech leads the ACC with 38 home runs, posting four in a win over UVA. Outfielder Cori McMillan and utility player Bre Peck each have eight of VT's homers, tied for third in the conference.

WBB

Selections will be announced at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 16 on ESPN. Games then start with the First Four beginning Wednesday, March 19 and continue through the Final Four on April 4 and 6 in Tampa Bay.

Looking forward to checking back in with as that goes on and after that!! 

As Always, 

Go Cards

~Daryl 

Softball Falls to VT 7-4 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HOKIES SWEEP SERIES AGAINST LOUISVILLE

Playing the #3 team in DI Softball can be an arduous task and Louisville fought bravely against those #3 Virginia Tech Hokies...jumping to a 4-3 lead in the top of the third before eventually falling 7-4.

Trailing 3-0 in the top of the third, Louisville went on the offensive and started the inning with a Carmyn Greenwood round-tripper (HER 13TH OF THE SEASON). Korbe Otis reached on an error and Taylor Roby drew a walk to give the Cards two on for Kendall Smith who got Otis home on a ground out. After Dylan Cravens reached on a single, she and Roby both scored on a Hokie fielding miscue. 

The lead was short-lived, though. After Roby gave way to Taja Felder in the circle, Tech tied it back up in the bottom of the fourth. 

The Hokies added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-4. 

The Cards would threaten in the sixth and seventh but could not score again. 

Louisville is now 24-20 on the season and 8-10 in ACC play. That's goof for eighth place in the league. 

The Cards return home for a weekend series next, hosting Virginia. (26-21, 12-9).. The Cavs are fifth in the ACC standings. 

The Cards might not be pennant contenders this season but they are getting some valuable "in circle" experience for pitchers Sam Booe, Payton Hudson and Felder.  With projected starter Gabby Holloway out for the season (bicep), and Chardonnay Harris no longer on the squad... it's good to still have a choice of several arms at the ready to spell Roby. 

paulie

 

WBB adds Associate Coach Shay Robinson -- Pineda elevated to Associate Coach -- Softball at Virginia Tech -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 (Paulie filling in for Daryl today) 

WELCOME SHAY ROBINSON TO CARDS WBB

Louisville women's basketball announced Thursday that Shay Robinson has joined the Cardinals as an associate coach.  Williams comes to Louisville from Mississippi, where he was an associate coach for the Rebels. 

Louisville WBB Head Coach Jeff Walz on Williams:

"Shay comes to us highly recommended, with an extensive and versatile background. Everywhere he's been, he's been successful. Most importantly, he cares about the growth and development of the players -- on and off the court. Shay is an Air Force veteran, a skilled player development coach and a proven recruiter. He is a great compliment to our staff and we are excited to welcome him to the 'Ville'." 

Shay was at Ole Miss two years and prior to that, spent six years at Maryland as an assistant. He's a proven recruiter and we're excited to see what he can do on the Cardinals staff.  

JONNEISHA PINEDA PROMOTED TO ASSOCIATE COACH

(Paulie checking with JP to see if he has any
eligibility left.  She couldn't stop laughing...)

Coach J.P. -- Jonneisha Pineda -- got news good also on Thursday, getting promoted to an associate coach status from assistant coach. This is wonderful news for the Cardinals women's basketball program and Cardinals fans. 

Coach J.P. is fond of saying "work is work" and definitely lives by the phrase, based on all the things she does with the Cards WBB program.  

Coach J.P. came to Louisville in 2019 from Georgia Tech and has become a player and fan favorite since her arrival here.  JP's focus with the Cards has been with the growth and development of the guards, and...all one has to do is look at the successes of Jaz Jones, Asia Durr, Dana Evans, Hailey Van Lith, Kianna Smith and many others since she's been here to realize she is very good at what she does. 

Here's looking forward to more seasons with J.P  until she gets the call to be a head coach somewhere. 

SOFTBALL IN BLACKSBURG TO FACE VIRGINIA TECH

A crucial three-game road trip awaits the Cards starting today, when they face off against the Hokies. 

These Hokies are #3 in the nation, according to the polls, and have put together a 32-6 season. They're atop the ACC standings with a 15-2 record, 1/2 game ahead of Duke. 

Louisville is 24-17 on the season and is in sixth place in the ACC with an 8-7 conference record. 

Friday and Saturday's games will be on ACC Network Extra (online) and Sunday's contest will be on the ACC Network. Start time Friday is 6 p.m.

The series will be a test to see how the Cards pitching can hold up against the powerful VT offensive attack. 

Best of luck to Softball in Blacksburg ! 

paulie

Softball and Baseball Clinch Weekend Series -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Sweeps Double Header at Virginia Tech

Like the baseball team, the Louisville softball team will avoid playing on Easter Sunday. However, instead of starting their series on Thursday, Louisville and Virginia Tech rolled the ball out twice yesterday for a double header. Louisville left no doubt yesterday, winning the two games with a combined 19-6 score. 

In the first game, Louisville jumped out ahead to a 3-0 lead in the first inning before Virginia Tech had a big inning of their own in the second and took a 4-3 lead themselves. The game of big innings continued as the Cards put up a six spot in the fourth to regain the lead at 9-4. The Hokies never really threatened Louisville's lead for the rest of the game, scoring just two more runs over the next two innings while Louisville scored four more through the rest of the game. VT's last gasp came in the bottom of the seventh when two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out. VT needed all three of those runs plus four more to extend the game, but back to back infield popups got Louisville out of the jam and gave them a game one win.

The second game was all Louisville as the Cards put up a three spot in the first inning, added runs in the third and sixth for good measure, and Maryssa Becker spun a 7 inning shutout. Becker allowed only 6 hits and 2 walks compared to 4 strikeouts. Both of those walks came in the first inning, and Virginia Tech had only one multi hit inning. It was a great game for the Cards who racked up ten hits of their own and played clean baseball with zero errors.

The weekend double header was supposed to be played today, but the forecast caused scheduling to shift. The Battle of the Birds will wrap up today at 10:30AM and the Cards will look for a big series sweep before hosting Western Kentucky for a midweek game on Wednesday.

Baseball Wins Game Two at Georgia Tech

Like the softball team, the Louisville baseball team is on the road at a engineering school. After Brendan McKay opened the weekend showing why he is considered both the best pitcher and the best position player available for the upcoming MLB draft, Louisville turned to seasoned pitcher in his own right Kade McClure. Kade was the midweek starter last season and finished the regular season 12-0, which is pretty amazing. He hasn't been quite as dominant this year, but he's still done well. Friday's game had a bit of a slower start, with Georgia Tech opening the scoring in the second inning. Louisville trailed 1-0 until some awkward GT defense allowed the Cards to tie it in the fourth inning. Louisville went on to score three more runs in the inning and led 4-1 after 3.5 innings. They didn't look back. Louisville went on to win the game 10-1 to clinch the series. The Cards go for the sweep today at 1PM and then will look to win their eighth straight against Kentucky in the second leg of the Battle of the Bluegrass on Tuesday.

Lacrosse Hits the Road

After a frustrating loss to North Carolina last week, the Lax Cards have had a week to lick their wounds before heading out to take on another top twenty team. Louisville takes on the 15th ranked Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville in their last road game of the regular season. The Cards haven't been able to beat Virginia yet in their history, trailing in the series 2-0, but came close last year. Louisville lost the last matchup in Louisville 10-9 and will hope to finish the job with a big late season victory. Louisville has one more game on Thunder against Syracuse before the ACC Championship gets underway in Richmond, Virginia. Today's game gets underway at 1PM and is not listed as being available on ACCNE. Follow along with the women's lacrosse twitter page for updates.

Louisville Football Spring Game Today

I won't devote much time to this here, because there are tons of other sources to get your spring game previews and new player profiles and all sorts of other stuff. I encourage you to look into those sources, because those guys put a lot of effort into those previews and they know a lot more about what they're talking about than I do. I will, however, let you know that the spring game will get underway at 1PM in PJCS and admission is free. I'm out of town, or I'd probably head out there myself. The spring game is a great way to get a look at new faces, especially since Louisville will be implementing its new defensive schemes under new DC Peter Sirmon, and see how your favorite players (including Heisman winner Lamar Jackson) from last season have been developing. It should be a beautiful day so get out and support the Cards!

No broadcast for you! 

Today's Crescent Hill Easter Parade on Frankfort Avenue will be covered live and that bumps us off the air for THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. We recommend you listen to the parade coverage, it's Tara Bassett at her finest. We'll be back next week and HANDICAPPING HEROES will be on around noon or so.

Here's the link to hear the Parade and Handicapping Heroes:

LINK: www.crescenthilradio.com

Until next time, Go Cards.

-CH-

Louisville Softball splits with Virginia Tech -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS REMAIN IN SECOND PLACE IN ACC

Our usual articles about Louisville Softball are focused around the powerful offense and clutch pitching the Cards (26-9, 11-4) have displayed this season. Hitting took a vacation yesterday for UofL in Ulmer Stadium yesterday but the Cards still managed to split the double header with the Hokies 0-4, 2-1.

Virginia Tech 4 - Louisville 0


The Cards fell victim to the strong in-circle performance of VA TECH hurler Maggie Tyler in the first game of the day...managing only three hits in the complete game win for Tyler, who struck out seven Cardinals. Louisville also left five runners on base in a contest where errors also played a big part in the outcome. 

Virginia Tech got an unearned run in the first off Cards starting pitcher Maryssa Becker on a single and fielding miscue and added a second score in the fourth. The Cards were knocking at the door in the fifth with runners Nicole Pufahl and Jordan McNary on the bags but the speedy McNary was tagged out on a stealing attempt to get Va Tech out of danger. 

Tech added to the scoreboard in the sixth, capitalizing on back-to-back doubles to go up 4-0. Louisville had more attempt at getting runs in the bottom of the seventh when a single and two errors gave the Cards runners on the corners with one out but Tyler produced a strikeout and got a ground out to end the game. 

Becker went the distance in the circle for the Cards...falling to 14-6 on the season.

Louisville 2 - Virginia Tech 1


Freshman Megan Hensley drew the starting assignment in game two and the Cards backed her up with two runs in the second inning off of returning pitcher Tyler. Brittany Sims drove home Hailey Smith with a double and a fielding error got Sims to the plate to give the Cards the early 2-0 advantage. 

The Cards missed a golden opportunity to add to the scoring total in the fourth...loading the bases with two out but Tyler got out of the jam to keep the score at 2-0.

Va Tech finally got to Hensley in the sixth with two doubles and threatened again in the seventh when they got a double with one out...but Sandy Pearsall brought Becker in to relieve Hensley and the junior got a fly out and ground out to preserve the victory. Hensley picks up the win to go to 12-3 on the season and Becker's clutch performance gave her the third save of her season. 

Next up, a trip to Bloomington on Tuesday for an out-of-conference match against IU.

__________________________________________________

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

"WHO LET THEM ON THE AIR AGAIN?"

In case you missed Saturday's exciting broadcast (and shame on you if you did!)... it's available now on the Crescent Hill website or by clicking the link below:



LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 4/9/16

paulie
xxxxx

Softball, Lacrosse take loses on Saturday -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

UNC Wallops Lax Cards 18-5

Saturday afternoon at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium was Senior Day and the Cards said "Goodbye" to six seniors in pregame ceremonies. The girls aren't actually gone for good just yet, there are three games left in the regular season and the ACC and NCAA Tournament left to play...but seniors Faye Brust, Anna Kopecka, Carissa Corbett, Cat Gordon, Kendall Gordon (not related) and Emily Kolsevich did battle with #2 UNC in front of 600 fans. 

It did not go well for the seniors or Louisville. A 13-point loss after a fairly close first half.

Added to the defeat was a knee injury to Louisville leading scorer and team captain Faye Brust a mere two minutes into the contest. Brust, who was helped off the field, did try to return to play in the second half...but wasn't able to go at full speed and returned to the sidelines. There was no official word on the extent of the injury...but it seemingly shook the Louisville squad and definitely hindered their firepower. 

Ah, yes...the game. We might as well review that.

Louisville hung close with UNC, after being down 3-1 the Cards rallied to tie at 3-3 on two straight goals from sophomore Hannah Kolowski. Cortnee Daley gave UofL a 4-3 lead with 10:01 left in the first half but UNC went on a 4-0 run to end the half and led 7-4 at the break.

Any hopes UofL had of a second half rally were dashed by two quick TarHeel scores. Kaylin Morissette scored her lone goal of the contest to make it 9-5 UNC with 25:16 left to play...but the Cards could not fin the net after that an a 9-0 run by North Carolina ended the contest. 

Molly Hendrick paced the TarHeels with five goals...she also left the contest in the second half hobbling...possibly tweaking a knee or ankle after getting a clete caught in the turf after celebrating winning a draw control. 

Koloski's two early goals were the only bright spot in a Louisville attack that was outshot 28-18 and committed 13 turnovers. 

When Coach Young was asked after the game what takeaways she could use for this game to prepare for Virginia next Sunday...she replied:

"Nothing. We didn't do anything right for 60 minutes." 

The Cards will travel to Charlottesville next to face the Wahoos in conference play. 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

WHO HID THE BATS?  CARDS LOSE TWO BY 2-0 SCORE IN SOFTBALL

 Louisville Softball must have had their bats hidden by the Easter Bunny Saturday in Blacksburg, VA...losing both games of the doubleheader 2-0 to the Gobblers.

Louisville managed just three hits in the first game and six hits in the finale. VT also sweeps the series and the Cards now have a 11-4 ACC record.

Madi Norman in the first game and Maryssa Becker in the second did well enough in their performances to rack up what would normally be a win for each but lack of hitting by the "on-again, off-again" Cardinal power trust proved fatal Saturday.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

HAPPY EASTER!

From all of us at CARDINAL COUPLE, a very happy and joyous Easter Sunday to you! 

Our Easter Saturday Cardinal Couple broadcast should be available on the Crescent Hill Soundcloud later today. Worldwide, Sam and I discuss hoops, lacrosse, volleyball and softball...plus we have words from Sandy Pearsall, Jeff Walz, Bria Smith, Mariya Moore and Maryssa Becker
for you to hear. It's a shortened broadcast...just 45 minutes...we had to make way for the live broadcast of the Frankfort Avenue Crescent Hill Easter Parade...



LINK: 

DOES THE EASTER BUNNY REALLY HAVE A BEARD AND DRIVE A JEEP?


paulie
xxxxx

WBB gameMUSINGS...Softball at VT -- Friday Cardinal Couple

IS WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL GETTING TOO PREDICTABLE? 

The question was posed to me recently in a conversation I was having with a local, engaging and
very knowledgeable women's college former player and still avid follower of the game. Is womens college basketball getting too predictable?

This player/fan posed it to me because of Cardinal Couple's close attention to it nearly year-round and our large readership base that definitely swells when the game is in season. It evolved because of UConn's seemingly predictable climb to wherever the Final Four is being held. 

I thought about that question predictability in terms of the science of picking...or predicting the outcome of an action or event. I then examined it through the common perceptions of the game as it is today. 

One thing I found predictable:

Connecticut doesn't have "off" seasons in terms of success.

1) Are the paths of the top recruits predictable?

Coach Geno Auriemma recruits and gets a lot of the top talent year in and year out. He doesn't always get the top girl out of a class, though.

Two years ago, Mercedes Russell was the top, or close to the top of the 2013 class. She deliberated between Tennessee and Louisville. The Vols won out...Russell had a limited freshman season and sat out the 2014-15 campaign because of injury.

The 2014 top-ranked performer...A'ja Wilson...looked at Louisville and other schools before choosing Dawn Staley and South Carolina. Wilson was a key component in getting SC to the Final Four. She had plenty of help. Tiffany Mitchell is the real deal. 

The 2015 class was led by Asia Durr and Katie Lou Samuelson. The Cards got Durr, Geno got Katie Lou.

You have to go back to 2012 to find a  top ten class that had more than one eventual UConn players in it. 

A good class, indeed...with Morgan Tuck, Moriah Jefferson and Breanna Stewart. 

So, is it predictable that Geno is always getting the best players in high school? Nope, not really. But he does get players who produce. Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird.

You could build a pretty decent WNBA team or two with the UConn grads that have gone onto the next level. 

2)  Is the women's Final Four predictable? 

This year, the top four seeds advanced. In 2014, UConn and Notre Dame were undefeated and #1 seeds. Stanford and Maryland were huge picks to get there and did....but it was UConn and Notre Dame in the final and UConn won.

In 2013, Louisville made it to the title game against UConn. The Cards were not a #1 seed. They disposed of a #1 seed in Baylor...who was the 2012 champion at 40-0. 

All these winners of the NCAA Tournament were logical picks to do so. 2011 Texas A&M might have been a surprise to some (although Danielle Adams was no shocker in talent) but before that UConn and Tennessee won back-to-backs for four consecutive years.

The Final Four predictable? For the contestant's list, not always. Picking the winner? Yes, pretty much predictable recently.

3) The game in general...predictable?

Not as much as some would indicate...and here's why:


-- A domineering center wins you titles? It doesn't hurt..but it isn't a guarantee. Three of the best I have seen over the past few years were Dolson (UConn), Griner (Baylor) and Ogwumike (Stanford). 

Yes, Dolson and Griner were essential to their teams national championships over the last three years, but they had only three titles in seven years of playing. And, they had good supporting casts. Stewart, Sims, Jefferson and others. Ogwumike never won one. 

-- Good three-point shooting equals wins. Not always. Jeff Walz had a fine one in Shoni Schimmel but Sugar Rodgers was as talented and never got to the Sweet Sixteen. 

The top ten three-point shooters this season:

1	Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	UConn  50%
2	Nicole Bauman	Wisconsin  48.8%
3	Kelsey Harris	UC Davis  48.3%
4	Andrea Hoover	Dayton  45.6%
5	Madeline Blais	Marist  45.1%
6	Melissa Dixon	Iowa  45.1%
7	Cassandra Brown	Portland  44.4%
8	Bonnie Samuelson	Stanford  43.8%
9	Kayla Hoohuli	Canisius  43.8%
10	Kathleen Roche	Penn  42.9%

How many are still dancing? How many even made the tournament? 


So, in conclusion...has the game gotten too predictable? I'll say "No"...unless you look at the year in, year out continual successes of Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford, Maryland, Louisville, Tennessee and Baylor. These schools can be successfully picked to have good seasons and have over the last seven years. Do these "great eight" dominate the game?

No. But they do set a bar that other schools don't clear nearly as often. 

Look at the rogues. Dayton and Gonzaga this year. Go back as far as you want and you'll find surprises in the Sweet Sixteen lineups. 

And that is the beauty of the game. We wait each year to see what underdog will challenge the Huskies and set them on the sidelines. Will it happen this year? 

Weigh in. Do you think the game has become too predictable? And, if so, how do you change it? 

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

SOFTBALL SWINGS INTO WEEKEND ACTION


Louisville Softball looks to remain atop the ACC Conference with a road trip to Blacksburg, VA to face the dangerous Gobblers. VT was picked to finish third in ACC preseason polling...but has gotten off to a less than excellent 3-8 conference start and is in eighth place. They are 25-9 overall. Louisville stands at 22-9 and has just one conference loss.

First game tonight at 7 p.m. and these will be available on ESPN3. 

paulie
xxxxx