Softball Strong in Fall Season Debut
September 25, 2007 | Softball
Sept. 25, 2007
The University of Louisville softball team got off to a strong start, going 4-0-1 at the Worth Club K September Slam. The Cards defeated Walters Community College 8-0, Alabama-Huntsville 7-0, Lipscomb 6-1 and Tennessee State 10-4. The game against Middle Tennessee ended in a 0-0 tie.
As a team, U of L batted .296 in the tournament with three home runs and outscored opponents 31-5. The pitching staff posted a 0.90 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 30.0 innings. Freshman shortstop Colby Wherry led the Cards offensively on the weekend, batting .500 (5 for 10) with a home run and four RBI. Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth following with a .462 batting average (6 for 13), two home runs, six runs scored and three RBI.
Saturday, Sept. 22
Louisville 8 - Walters CC - 0
The Cardinals used six hits and an error to open a seven run lead in the first inning and tacked on another run in the third. Roth was 1 for 2 with two runs. Freshman Kristen Wadwell got the shutout giving up only three hits with eight strikeouts in five innings.
Louisville 7 - Alabama-Huntsville 0
U of L posted its second shutout in Saturday's nightcap, defeating Alabama-Huntsville 7-0. Junior Kassie Stanfill's two-run double gave the Cards a 2-0 lead in the first. Freshman Christina Roesel delivered an RBI double and came home on junior Kristi Cunningham's RBI single. Cunningham and Stanfill also scored to increase the lead to 6-0 in the fifth inning. Freshman Kaylyn Castillo singled and scored on an error to make it a 7-0 game in the seventh. Wadwell and junior Mandi Rodriguez combined in the shutout, allowing three hits and striking out seven in seven innings.
Louisville 6 - Lipscomb 1
Roth led off the game with a solo home run in the first inning. The Cards tacked on two more runs on the second. Junior Brittney Counts singled and Roth walked and both scored on errors. Lipscomb used a walk and two Cardinal errors to make it a 4-1 game in the second. The sixth inning saw two more Cardinal runs when Cunningham was hit by a pitch and Wherry followed with a hit. Another Lipscomb miscue sent both players home for the 6-1 final.
Sunday, Sept. 23
Louisville 0 - Middle Tennessee -0
Stanfill and Counts each had two hits as the Cards outhit the Blue Raiders 7-1, but the game ended in a 0-0 tie due to time limits. Wadwell and Rodriguez combined on the one-hit shutout, striking out nine in seven innings.
Louisville 10 - Tennessee State 4
Tennessee State took an early lead, using a Cardinal error, a single and a home run to jump to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Louisville responded with four runs in the third. Wherry led off the frame with a solo home run. Senior Sarah Totten doubled and scored on Counts' single and Roth delivered a two-run homer to tie the game at 4-4. Sophomore Brittany York and Totten singled and scored in the fourth to give the Cards a 6-4 lead. Louisville utilized two hits, four walks and an error to put up four more runs in the fifth for the 10-4 final. Rodriguez gave up one hit and struck out seven in the win. Totten paced the Cards offensively, going 3 for 3 with three runs and two RBI. Wherry was 2 for 2 with two runs and two RBI.
The Cardinals will host the Courtyard Marriott Louisville Airport Cardinal Softball Fall Tournament Sept. 29-30. Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Northern Kentucky and Western Kentucky will visit Ulmer Stadium for the two-day tournament.
