Softball Earns No. 3 Seed in BIG EAST Tournament
May 07, 2007 | Softball
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May 7, 2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I.- - The University of Louisville earned a No. 3 seed in the 2007 BIG EAST Tournament and will play No. 6 seed Syracuse Thursday, May 10 at 10:00 a.m., at the Belleville Softball Complex in South Bend, Ind. The three-day, single-elimination tournament is comprised of the league's top eight teams seeded by winning percentage in conference play.
The Cardinals carry a 33-23 overall record into the tournament and finished the season with a 14-6 league record while the Orange enter the weekend with a 21-30 overall record and a 9-11 mark in conference play. During the regular season, Louisville swept Syracuse 7-2 and 6-2 in Syracuse, N.Y.
Louisville is led offensively by senior third baseman Audrey Rendon who is hitting .365 on the season with 34 runs and 22 stolen bases. Rendon is ranked fifth in the nation with seven triples. Senior shortstop Courtney Moore follows closely with a .364 batting average and leads the team with 10 home runs and 39 RBI. Freshman catcher Melissa Roth is hitting .325 on the season with a team-leading 35 runs. Sophomore centerfielder Kristi Cunningham rounds out the top four hitters with a .324 batting average, six home runs, 37 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
In the circle, freshman Kristen Wadwell leads the Cards in the circle with a 13-8 record and a 2.23 ERA in 151.0 innings. Sophomore Kassie Stanfill (12-5) carries a 2.32 ERA and is holding opponents to a .221 batting average. Senior Catherine Bishop (8-10), who has been hampered by injury this season, brings a 2.35 ERA and a team-leading 123 strikeouts into the weekend.
Top-seeded DePaul (40-10, 20-0) will face No. 8 Seton Hall (15-34, 9-13) at 4:00 p.m. on May 10. The Blue Demons captured the regular season title and are only the second school in conference history to record a perfect 20-0 record.
The No. 2 seed USF (43-21, 15-5) will take on No. 7 Pittsburgh (23-34, 8-11) at 12:30 in game two of the first day's events.
In the final game of the day on May 10, No. 4 Notre Dame (29-21, 13-7) will face No. 5 Connecticut (22-20, 10-9).
The winner of the 2007 BIG EAST Softball Championship will receive the league's automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The BIG EAST Championship game will be broadcast live on CSTV at 5:30 on May 12.
The University of Notre Dame softball team claimed the 2006 BIG EAST Championship with wins over Providence, Pittsburgh and No.18 Louisville. The Irish entered the tournament as the third seed overall, but after three consecutive wins were crowned league champions for the fifth time since 1996.
Released in conjunction with BIG EAST media relations office
