Softball Set for Maryland Invitational
March 08, 2007 | Softball
March 8, 2007
The Cards will travel to College Park, Md. for the Maryland Softball Invitational. U of L will face Princeton in the opening game Friday, March 9 at 2 p.m. and will face host Maryland at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the Cardinals will play Rhode Island at 11 a.m. and Central Connecticut at 3 p.m.
About Louisville
Louisville (6-8) is led by freshman catcher Melissa Roth who is batting .324 on the season with six runs and four RBI. Senior third baseman Audrey Rendon follows with a .300 average, 15 hits and five runs. Senior shortstop Courtney Moore (.295) leads the team with eight runs, two home runs and has five RBI. Senior RHP Catherine Bishop (3-6) carries a 2.30 ERA with 62 Ks in 33.1 innings. Sophomore Kassie Stanfill (3-2) holds a 2.10 ERA in 33.1 innings of work.
Last up for the Cards
The Cardinals are coming off a 6-3 loss to host Kentucky Wednesday night. Louisville took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning. The Cats cut it to one in the bottom of the fourth and then captalized on three hits and two errors to score four runs in the sixth. Brooke McCrain went 2 for 3 to lead the Cards at the plate. Catherine Bishop (3-6) took the loss.
Cardinals vs. Princeton
March 9 - 2 p.m.
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting Princeton
Princeton (2-2) is on a two-game winning streak, beating Rhode Island 10-2 and Fairfield 3-2. Princeton lost to future Cardinal opponents Liberty (9-4) and Marshall (9-6) in their first two games. The Tigers are led by Lauren Bierman who is batting .500 on the season with three runs and two RBI. Collette Abbott has posted the Tigers lone home run in the early season and has four RBI. Kristen Schaus (1-1) has a 3.89 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 18.0 innings.
Cardinals vs. Maryland
March 9- 6 p.m.
Series Record: Louisville leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2007 - U of L won 5-4 after scoring four runs in the seventh inning in the Georgia Southern Invitational. On Feb. 17, 2007 - the first day of the tournament, the Cards scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Terrapins 2-1.
Scouting Maryland
The Terrapins (7-8) are led by Jenny Belakwho is batting .319 with 15 hits. Amber Jackson follows iwht a .316 batting average, six home runs, 16 RBI and 14 runs. Sheis also 10 for 10 in stolen bases. Stacey Jennings (3-5) carries a 3.86 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work. Meredith Nelles (4-3) has a 3.93 ERA with 27 Ks in 36.2 innings.
Cardinals vs. Rhode Island
March 10- 11 a.m.
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting Rhode Island
Rhode Island (0-4) is led by Melissa Wilson who is hitting .333 with two home runs and three RBI. Tara Hiteman also carries a .333 batting average. Jill Anderson (0-2) holds a 5.83 batting average with seven strikeouts in 12.0 innings.
Cardinals vs. Central Connecticut
March 10- 3 p.m.
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting Central Connecticut
The Blue Devils are coming off of a 1-3 weekend in which they defeated Niagara and lost to Cornell and George Mason twice. Central Connecticut is led by Alison Rossi's .455 average iwht five hits, two runs and two RBI. Karen Costes (.417) also has five hits with a double and two runs. Rachel Brenneman (1-1) leads in the circle with a 3.86 ERA and seven strikeouts in 9.1 innings.
Up Next
U of L will continue its road swing with a doubleheader at Marshall on March 14. The Cards will play a rescheduled pair of games at Western on March 16 before returning home for a twinbill against Eastern Michignan on March 17.
Rendon and Bishop Named to BIG EAST Honor Roll
Seniors Audrey Rendon and Catherine Bishop were named to the BIG EAST honor roll announced on March 5. Rendon led the team offensively on the weekend, batting .571 (4 for 7) with a run, two RBI and a stolen base. She went 3 for 4 in the 7-4 win over Akron. Rendon currently leads the team with a .326 batting average and is a perfect 3 for 3 in stolen bases this year.
Bishop did not allow a run and struck out 15 in 9.1 innings pitched over the weekend. She held opponents to two hits (0.69 batting average). Matched her career high 12 strikeouts while getting the complete game win in the 1-0 decision against Bradley. Bishop posted her second save of the season in the 7-4 win over Akron, holding the Zips to one hit and striking out three in 2.1 innings.
Bishop Owns Career Shutouts Record
Catherine Bishop is now in sole possession of the school's career shutout record with 26. With her first shutout of the season against Bradley (3/2), she surpassed Jessica Rak's career mark of 25 which has stood since the 2003 season.
And she's Closing in on Ks and Wins
Bishop currently has 542 career strikeouts and needs 18 more to tie the record for career K's (560 by Jessica Rak). Bishop also has 62 wins and needs three more to tie Rak for the career mark of 65.
Western Kentucky Games Rescheduled
U of L will travel to Western Kentucky March 16 for a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. (EST). The Cards and the Hilltoppers were originally scheduled to play in the Louisville Red & Black Cardinal Tournament March 2-4, but the tournament was shortened due to bad weather.
Cardinals Fall Out of Top 25
For the first time in a year, U of L has dropped out of the top 25 rankings. Louisville, which started the season at No. 20 in the NFCA poll and No. 21 in the USA Softball poll. The Cards have gone 4-7 in the first three weeks of the season with wins over No. 21 Fresno State and Florida International. Three of the Cardinals' losses have come to teams ranked in the top 25, then-No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 21 Fresno State (twice).
Rendon Selected in National Pro Fastpitch League College Draft
Senior third baseman Audrey Rendon was selected in National Pro Fastpitch League College Draft. The Pueblo Colorado native was chosen by the Rockford Thunder in the third round.
The six teams of the NPF held a four-round draft of the NCAA elite college softball athletes. Players selected in the NCAA draft will be permitted to pursue any available roster spot on their assigned team after completing their college season. Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete is not eligible to sign with her respective franchise until her 2007 college season is finished.
Major League Baseball is the Official Development Partner of National Professional Fastpitch in the category of women's professional fastpitch softball. The partnership, which began the fall of 2002, is part of The Commissioner's Initiative on Women and Baseball, a league-wide effort to help MLB and the 30 Major League Clubs build stronger relationships with female audiences.
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL).
Moore and Rendon Racing Home
Seniors Audrey Rendon and Courtney Moore are in a race to see who can finish as the top run-scorer in Cardinal softball history. Moore currently holds the record at 128 while Rendon stands at 124. The two are no strangers to the school's career list - Rendon owns the stolen base record with 62, while Moore holds the home run mark with 31.
Tough Road Ahead As the Cardinals are coming off of the most successful season in school history, they will be facing their most challenging schedule yet. The 2007 slate features six opponents who finished in the top 25 including three top-ten teams and 13 NCAA regional teams.
The 2007 BIG EAST Conference Championship will be held May 10-13 at Notre Dame.
Moore a Member of the 200 Club
Courtney Moore went 2 for 3 with a home run in Louisville's 6-4 win over No. 21 Fresno State on Feb. 17. In doing that, she became only the fourth player in U of L history to have over 200 hits. Keola Calderon (2000-03) owns the career record with 240. Last season 2006 senior Lacy Wood became the second player to reach 200 hits and finished her career with 223. Moore's current teammate Audrey Rendon broke the 200 mark at the end of the 2006 season and stands in third place with 210 hits.
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