Softball Set for Pivotal BIG EAST Conference Weekend
April 17, 2008 | Softball
April 17, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville softball team will continue league play with a doubleheader against Notre Dame on Saturday, April 19 at noon. The first game will be televised by CBS College Sports. On Sunday, U of L will again be on television, this time ESPNU will be broadcasting the noon game against DePaul.
The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 23-15 overall record and are 9-3 in the BIG EAST, which places them at second in league standings. This is a pivotal weekend in BIG EAST play, both of Louisville's opponents, Notre Dame and DePaul are tied for third at 7-3 in the conference and must also face BIG EAST leader South Florida (11-1) on the weekend.
About Louisville: U of L is coming off a doubleheader split with BIG EAST opponent Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Cards overcame a 4-0 deficit to win the first game 11-4 and dropped the second 8-0. The loss snapped an eight-game home winning streak for the Cards.
Louisville is batting .275 as a team with five players hitting above the .300 mark. Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth leads the way with a .377 average, 34 runs, 16 doubles and six stolen bases. Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis follows with a .324 average and a team-best 40 RBI. Junior Kassie Stanfill (.315), senior Sarah Totten (.313) and freshman Colby Wherry (.302) round out the top five hitters.
Sophomore Kristen Wadwell (12-9) has a 2.20 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 149.2 innings. Junior Kassie Stanfill (9-5) carries a 3.01 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 97.2 innings of work.
Louisville (23-15, 9-3) vs. Notre Dame
Saturday, April 19, 12:00 p.m./2 p.m.
Television: CBS College Sports (Delay)
Announcers: Tom Hart (Play by play); Ann Schatz (Analyst)
Series Record: Louisville leads 6-2
Last Meeting: The Cards won all three meetings in 2007. On April 21, U of L swept the regular season doubleheader in South Bend 8-2 and 5-0. The Cardinals then defeated Notre Dame 3-2 in the finals of the BIG EAST Tournament, giving Louisville its first conference tournament title.
In the conference title game, Kristen Wadwell allowed a leadoff walk and then retired the next 13 batters as the Cards used a two-run homer by 2007 senior Courtney Moore to hold onto a 2-0 lead
Scouting the Irish: Notre Dame enters the game with a 27-13 overall record and a 7-3 mark in league play. The Irish are coming off of a 5-0 loss to No. 13 Northwestern on Tuesday and an 11-5 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Sadie Pitzenberger leads the Irish with a .343 batting average, while Katie LAing follows closely at .341 with six home runs and 41 RBI. Brittney Barger (20-7) leads the league in wins and strikeouts with 157.
Louisville (23-16, 9-3) vs. No. 20/25 DePaul
Sunday, April 20, 12:00 p.m./2 p.m.
Television: ESPNU (Live)
Announcers: Beth Mowins (Play by play); Cindy Bristow (Analyst)
Series Record: DePaul leads 19-10
Last Meeting: Then-11th-ranked DePaul swept the 2007 regular season doubleheader in Chicago, winning the first game 8-2, and edging the Cards 5-4 in eight innings in game two. In the second game, Louisville was down 3-1 in the top of the seventh when Kristi Cunningham's two-run homer tied the game and Sarah Totten's RBI single scored Missy Vascil to give the Cards a 4-3 lead. Stephanie Blaigaich's RBI double tied the game and sent it into extra innings. Sandy Vojik led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run for the 5-4 win.
Scouting the Blue Demons: DePaul enters the weekend with a 30-12 overall record and a 7-3 mark in league play. The Blue Demons a in the midst of an eight game winning streak as they visit BIG EAST Conference leader South Florida on Saturday prior Sunday's game against Louisville at Ulmer Stadium.
DePaul is led offensively by Amber Patton, who is hitting .394 on the season with 20 runs. Sandy Vojik following with a .316 average, seven home runs, 23 runs and 19 RBI.
Up Last: The Cards went 3-1 in league play on the weekend, sweeping Syracuse 6-1 and 8-5 on Friday and splitting with Pitt Sunday. In that game U of L overcame a 4-0 deficit to beat the Panthers 11-4, Pitt rebounded to win 8-0 in game two. The loss snapped Louisville's eight game home winning streak, dating back to the March 26 win over Kentucky.
On Deck: The Cardinals will take a break from league play with a doubleheader at Indiana on Wednesday, April 23.
Cardinal Quick Hits
• Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth leads the team with 14 multiple hit games.
• Freshman 3B has a team-leading 11 multi-RBI games.
• Bemis is also on pace for reaching a single-season high for walks. She currently has 25. The current record is 31, held by Courtney Moore (2007) and Melissa Jacobo (2001 and 2002).
• Bemis also needs 13 more RBI to set a new single season high. The current record is 53, held by Courtney Moore (2007).
• Junior RHP/LF Kassie Stanfill recently snapped a career-high eight-game hitting streak.
Bemis Named to BIG EAST Honor Roll
Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis was named to the BIG EAST honor roll on April 14. The San Diego, Calif. native led the Cardinals at the plate as they went 3-1 in BIG EAST play on the weekend. Bemis batted .455 (5 for 11) on the weekend with a home run, a double, 10 RBI and three walks. She hit her team-leading fifth home run en route to driving in four RBI in the 8-5 win over Syracuse; and went 2 for 3 with a triple and four RBI in the 11-4 win over Pittsburgh. Bemis now leads the team with 5 homers, 40 RBI and 25 walks.
On the National Scene
Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth is fifth in the nation in doubles per game with 16 doubles averaging 0.42 per game. She is also ranked fifth in the nation in the `hit by pitch' category with 14 overall and 0.34 per game. Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis is 16th in RBI per game with 40 RBI/1.05 per game
For the Record...
• 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.
• In the March 17 5-4 win over Minnesota, freshman Chelsea Bemis tied a school record with four walks. Courtney Moore set the record on May 7, 2006 against Villanova. She drew foru alks and scored four runs.
• Pitcher Kristen set a painful school record (at least for the opponents) with four hit batters in the March 12 6-2 win over Marshall.
That's Going to Leave a Mark
Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth has already set the school single season record for being hit by a pitch when she was plunked 16 times as a freshman. She has almost met the tally at this point in the season with 14 and now holds the career record with 30. The mark was previously held by former Cardinal great Sara Bausher who finished her career (2002-05) with 23.
Pearsall, Cards Reached 300th win at Louisville
On March 1, the Cards posted a 2-0 win over Oregon State, to mark the program's 300th win since the program started in 2000. The win happened to come against Pearsall's alma mater where she played in 1983-84.
Rising in the (BIG) EAST
Entering this week, sophomore catcher Melissa Roth leads the league with 34 runs scored, 16 doubles and four triples. Roth is second with a .493 on-base percentage. She has been hit by a conference-high 14 pitches.
Freshman Chelsea Bemis stands at second in the conference with 40 RBI and is third with with 25 walks.
Senior Sarah Totten is tied for first with 11 sacrifice bunts.
Fair Weather Fans
The Cardinals have been hampered by inclement weather most of the season. They have missed eleven games because of rain or snow. The final day of the Samford Bulldog Bash and the Cardinal Classic were washed out. The entire Red & Black Classic was cancelled after a foot of snow hit the Louisville area. The most recent lost matchups were the games were the March 22 games against Illinois-Chicago and Indiana.
Rookies Making an Impact
With the loss the top two hitters and offensive record holders from last year's team, freshmen Chelsea Bemis and Colby Wherry have turned in solid performances at the plate. Bemis, the No. 3 hitter for the Cardinals leads the team with 40 RBI and five home runs and is second on the team with a .324 batting average and 21 runs, she also has nine doubles on the season. Bemis has started all 38 games at third base.
Wherry, who bats cleanup, has a .302 average with 14 RBI and 11 runs. She has started all 38 games at shortstop.
Tough Slate
The Cardinals are in the midst of a tough schedule. Four of their losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top ten. Louisville lost to No. 3/4 Florida 4-2, No. 5/5 Stanford 9-1, No. 6/6 Michigan 4-3 in eight innings and 5-2. Still ahead is No. 20/25 and 2007 Women's College World Series participant DePaul.
