Softball Heads To Cal-State Fullerton Worth Invitational
February 27, 2008 | Softball
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
Feb. 27, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -
The University of Louisville softball team will travel to Fullerton, Calif. for the Cal-State Fullerton Worth Invitational which will take place Feb. 29-March 2. The Cardinals will face a tough slate, playing Pacific and No. 8/10 Stanford on Friday UC-Davis and Oregon State on Saturday and will close the tournament against No. 5/7 Florida on Sunday.
2008 Worth Invitational Schedule
Friday, February 29
4:30 p.m. Pacific vs. Louisville
9:00 p.m. Louisville vs. Stanford
Saturday, March 1
2:15 p.m. Louisville vs. UC Davis
6:45 p.m. Oregon State vs. Louisville
Sunday, March 2
12:00 p.m. Florida vs. Louisville
All times Eastern
About Louisville The Cards bring a 5-5 record into the weekend and are coming off of a 1-1 showing in the Cardinal Classic. Offensively, the Cards are batting .244 as a team with sophomore catcher Melissa Roth leading the way with a .419 average, seven doubles and eight runs. Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis follows with a .406 average and a team-leading nine RBI. In the circle, Louisville has a 2.15 team ERA.
Sophomore Kristen Wadwell (2-3) holds a1.43 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 29.1 innings of work. Junior Kassie Stanfill (2-1) carries a 2.54 ERA with 31 Ks in 30.1 innings.
Head coach Sandy Pearsall is two wins away from her 300th win at U of L - she has been the Cardinals' only head coach since the program started in 2000. Pearsall also has connections with two opponents this weekend. She is a 1984 graduate of Oregon State and coached at Pacific from 1984-85.
Cardinals (5-5) vs. Pacific (5-9)
Feb. 29 - Worth Invitational
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Tigers: The Tigers enter the week with a 5-9 record and are coming off of a 10-0 loss to Oregon. Pacific is led offensively by Kellee Wilson, who is hitting .350 with 12 RBI and 10 runs. Lauren Weyman is also atop the batting average stats with a .350 average, five runs and five RBI. Alyce Jorgensen has belted out a team-leading three homers and has eight RBI. Chelsea Engle (3-4) leads in the circle with a 2.70 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 44.0 innings pitched. Heidi Helberg (2-2) follows with a 4.77 ERA.
Cardinals vs. No. 8/10 Stanford (15-1)
Feb. 29 - Worth Invitational
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Cardinal: Stanford enters the week with a 15-1 record and will play BIG EAST Conference member Providence College on Wednesday, Feb. 27 prior to the opening day of the Worth Invitational. The Cardinal opened the 2008 season with 15 straight wins before falling 3-1 to No. 25 Texas on Sunday in the Palm Springs Classic.
The Cardinal is batting a solid .323 as a team, led by Michelle Smith's .391 average. Rosey Neill has smashed a team-leading five home runs and 18 RBI. Missy Penna has shouldered the majority of the pitching duties, posting an 11-1 record with 98 strikeouts in 76.0 innings while holding opponents to a .132 batting average. Ashley Chinn (3-0) carries a 1.29 ERA with 21 Ks in 21.2 innings.
Cardinals vs. UC-Davis (8-6) March 1 - Worth Invitational
Series Record: First meeting
couting the Aggies: UC-Davis enters the weekend with an 8-6 overall record, but will face Sacramento State in a doubleheader on Wednesday, Feb. 27. UC-Davis is led at the plate byy Julie Stauder, who is batting .352 with nine runs, five stolen bases and six RBI. Michelle Espiritufollows with a .302 average, five runs and seven RBI. Ashley Johnson has a team-leading two home runs and eight RBI. Jessica Hancock (5-3) leads in the circles with a 2.06 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 54.1 innings.
Cardinals vs. Oregon State (8-8)
March 1 - Worth Invitational
Series Record: UofL leads 2-1
Last Meeting: 5/19/07 Oregon State defeated Louisville 11-4 in the Ann Arbor NCAA Regional elimination game. Two day before, the Cardinals handed the Beavers their worst NCAA tournament loss,defeating them 8-0 in the opening game of the regional.
Scouting the Beavers: OSU enters the tournament with an 8-8 overall record. Dani Chisolm leads the team with a .392 batting average and 12 runs. Cambria Miranda follows at .367 with 12 runs and a team-leading five home runs, 12 RBI and five stolen bases. Stefanie Draper (5-2) carries a 3.56 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 63 innings. Kelly Dyer (3-6) has a 3.65 ERA with 40 Ks in 48 IP.
Cardinals vs. No. 5/7 Florida (18-0)
March 2 - Worth Invitational
Series Record: Florida leads 1-0
Last Meeting: 2/4/05 - Florida won 3-2 at the Clearwater Invitational
Scouting the Gators: Heading into the week, Florida is a perfect 18-0 on the season with a matchup against Long Beach State on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Florida is batting .322 as a team with eight players hitting over .300 on the season. The Gators are led by Ali Gardiner's .395 average with 15 RBI. Mary Ratliff follows with a .391 average and 15 RBI. In addition to their hefty batting average, the Gators also boast a stingy 0.73 ERA. Stacey Nelson (10-0) has a 0.70 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 70.0 innings.
On Deck
The Cardinals will face in-state rival Kentucky in a single game on March 5 at 5 p.m
Cardinal Quick Hits
• Head coach Sandy Pearsall is two wins away from her 300th win at the University of Louisville. Pearsall has led the Cardinals to a 298-186 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.
Last up for Louisville
The Cards are coming off of a 1-1 showing at the weather-shortened Cardinal Classic. U of L opened the tournament with a 2-0 loss to Mississippi. Lauren Grill's two-run home in the fourth provided the only scoring in the game as the Cards were shut out for the first time this season. Freshman Christina Roesel accounted for Louisville's only hit in the game. Against Nebraska, the Cardinals put up a five-spot in the second inning to take a 5-1 lead and held on to beat the Huskers 5-3 to snap a three-game losing streak. Freshmen Colby Wherry and Chelsea Bemis and sophomore Melissa Roth each had two hits for U of L.
Bemis Off to Impressive Start
Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis has been Louisville's most consistent player this season. Bemis is batting .406 (13 for 32) on the season with a team-leading nine RBI and has had a hit in nine of Louisville's 10 games. 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.
Offense MIA
The Cardinals got off to a promising start, going 3-1 at the Florida State Early Bird Tournament where they batted .331 as a team and scoring 18 runs. Since then, they have been hitting a paltry .175 and scored 15 runs in the past six games. In the two weeks since the opening weekend, freshman Chelsea Bemis has led the pack, batting .368 with three doubles and seven RBI. Sophomore Melissa Roth has been hitting .333 with three doubles, six runs and two RBI.
