Softball Set for 2008 Cardinal Classic
February 20, 2008 | Softball
Feb. 20, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2008 Cardinal Classic will take place Feb. 23-24 at Ulmer Stadium. The tournament will feature Louisville, Mississippi and Nebraska. Northern Illinois was originally slated to be in the tournament, but will not be competing this weekend, due to the tragedy that occurred on its campus last week. The schedule has also been adjusted because of inclement weather expected in the area. The tournament will begin on Saturday, Feb. 23 instead of the originally scheduled Feb. 22 start date.
Each game will be available on Gametracker through UofLSports.com.
Saturday, February 2312 p.m. Louisville vs Ole Miss 2 pm Louisville vs Nebraska 4 pm Nebraska vs Ole Miss
Sunday, February 2411 a.m. Ole Miss vs Nebraska 1 p.m. Louisville vs Nebraska 3 pm. Louisville vs Ole Miss
About Louisville
U of L is led offensively by sophomore catcher Melissa Roth who is batting .440 with six doubles, seven runs and four RBI. Freshman Chelsea Bemis follows with a .423 average and a team-leading seven RBI. Junior center fielder Kristi Cunningham carries a .310 batting average, two home runs, six runs and three RBI.
Sophomore Kristen Wadwell (2-2) carries a team-best 1.20 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched and is limiting teams to a .182 batting average. Junior Kassie Stanfill (1-1) has a 2.70 ERA with 29 K's in 23.1 IP, while junior Mandi Rodriguez (1-1) has logged 8.2 innings of relief with a 3.23 ERA and five strikeouts.
Cardinals (4-4) vs. Nebraska (1-4)
Feb. 23, 12 p.m./Feb. 24, 1 p.m. - Cardinal Classic
Series Record: Tied 1-1
Last meeting: 3/19/00 - Nebraska won 2-0 at Sacramento State Capital Classic
Scouting Nebraska: The Huskers enter the weekend with a 1-4 overall record. Their win was a 5-3 decision against Idaho State. Their losses have come against two teams currently ranked in the top five: No. 2/4 Arizona State (L, 9-0), No. 3/2 Northwestern (L, 8-6) as well as California (L, 6-1) and Memphis (L, 7-3).
Nebraska is led offensively by Darcy Rutherford who is batting .333 on the season. Crystal Carwile is hatting .267 with one home run and a team-leading four RBI. In the circle, Alex Hupp (0-2) has a 5.25 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 16.0 innings, while Tori Tyson carries a 1-2 record with a 7.47 ERA in 15.0 innings of work.
Cardinals vs. Mississippi
Feb. 23, 2 p.m./Feb. 24, 3 p.m. - Cardinal Classic
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting Mississippi:
Ole Miss brings a 6-5 overall record into the Cardinal Classic. The Rebels have collected wins over Middle Tennessee (W, 4-0), Tennessee Tech (W, 8-7), Georgetown (W, 4-3/8 innings), Alcorn State (W, 22-3 and 17-0) and Florida A&M (W, 8-1). Their losses have come to Kennesaw State (L, 3-0), Florida Gulf Coast (L, 4-2), South Florida (L, 3-0) ,No. 5/7 Tennessee (L, 2-0) and Hofstra (L, 3-2/8 innings).
The Rebels are batting .285 as a team and led by Alise Doubt who is hitting .444 with four stolen bases. Amber Tramp follows with a .379 average, six runs and three RBI. Ashley Dowdy rounds out teh over .300 hitters with a .355 average, eight runs and 7 RBI. Lauren Rowe has two home runs with a team-leading nine RBI.
In the circle, Lindsey Perry (2-1) carries a team-leading 0.72 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 29.0 innings. Tara Willitt (2-3) has a 1.31 ERA with 30 Ks in 26.2 innings.
On Deck
The Cardinals will travel to Fullerton, Calif. Feb. 29-March 2 for the Worth Invitational where they will face a tough lineup, including: Pacific, No. 12/13 Stanford, UC-Davis, Oregon State and No. 7/9 Florida.
Softball Receiving Votes NFCA poll
The University of Louisville softball team is receiving votes in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll released on Feb. 19.
Alabama has taken over the top spot in both the NFCA and the USA Softball polls. Arizona State, Northwestern, Texas A&M and UCLA round out the USA Softball top five, while Northwestern, Texas A&M, Arizona State and Tennessee comprise the NFCA top five. BIG EAST opponent DePaul is No. 17 in both polls, while South Florida is receiving votes.
Cardinal Quick Hits
• Head coach Sandy Pearsall is three wins away from her 300th win at the University of Louisville. Pearsall has led the Cardinals to a 297-185 overall record since the program's start in 2000.
• In the 5-1 win over Southern Miss on Feb. 9, sophomore catcher Melissa Roth tied a school record with three doubles in a single game. She tied Lisa McMillan's record set in 2003.
Bemis Off to Impressive Start Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis has been Louisville's most consistent player this season. She is currently on an eight game hitting streak and is the only Cardinal with a hit in every game. Bemis is batting .423 (11 for 26) on the season with a team-leading 7 RBI. She was named to the Samford Bulldog Bash All-Tournament team after batting .385 (5 for 13) with two doubles and five RBI in the tournament.
