Softball Travels to Villanova and Rutgers this Weekend
April 03, 2008 | Softball
April 3, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville softball team will continue BIG EAST Conference play with road games at Villanova and Rutgers this weekend.
The Cardinals (18-12, 4-0) are currently on a season-high six-game winning streak. U of L is hitting .280 as a team, led by sophomore catcher Melissa Roth who is batting .411 with 27 runs, 13 doubles with five stolen bases. freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis follows with a .337 average, 15 runs, three home runs and 28 RBI. Senior 1B Sarah Totten is third on the team with a .318 average and 20 RBI. Freshman SS Colby Wherry rounds out the over .300 hitters with a .310 average.
Junior Kassie Stanfill (8-4) has a 2.21 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 82.1 innings and is limiting opponents to a .194 batting average. Kristen Wadwell (8-7) has a 2.27 ERA with 87 K's in 87 IP.
Louisville (18-12, 4-0) vs. Villanova (10-12, 4-0)
Series Record: Louisville leads 4-0
Last Meeting: 3/30/07; Louisville swept a doubleheader 6-1 and 5-0 at Ulmer Stadium
Scouting the Wildcats: Villanova enters the weekend with 10-12 overall record and a 1-3 mark in the BIG EAST Conference. The Wildcats are coming off of a doubleheader sweep of Delaware, winning 12-3 in the first and 5-4 in the second.
Meghan Morese leads the team - and the conference with a .426 batting average - she also has a team-leading 18 RBI. Jessica Curtis follows with a .324 aveaage with 14 runs. Eryn Teague is hitting .290 with three home runs and nine RBI.
Laura Determan carries a 6-5 record and a 2.82 ERA in the circle with 62 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched. Nicci Ward (2-4) has a 3.02 ERA with 66 Ks in 50.2 IP.
Louisville (18-12, 0-0) vs. Rutgers (11-17, 1-3)
Series Record: U of L leads 3-1
Last Meeting: 4/1/07 - The teams splits in a doubleheader at Ulmer Stadium; Rutgers won the first game 8-4 and the Cards took the second 8-0.
Scouting the Scarlet Knights: Rutgers enters the week with an 11-17 overall record and is 1-3 in conference play. Prior to Sunday's twinbill, the Scarlet Knights have doubleheaders against Stonybrook on Thursday and USF on Saturday.
Rutgers is led offensively by Mallory Miller's .338 batting average - she is one of five players to tie for the team-lead with 12 runs scored. Mandy Craig is hitting .316 with three triples and 16 RBI. Amanda Shawrounds out the over-.300 hitters with a .310 average.
Katye Hamlin (5-5) carries a 3.67 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 70.2 innings of work. Nicole Lindley (3-3) has a 4.57 ERA with 26 Ks in 61.1 IP. Chrissy Yard (3-9) has 6.47 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 53.0 innings.
Up Last: The Cards are coming off of a solid BIG EAST Conference weekend in which they swept Seton Hall (8-4 and 9-1) and Rutgers (1-0 and 3-2) at Ulmer Stadium. Prior to that, U of L defeated in-state rival Kentucky 5-4 on Wednesday at Ulmer Stadium.
Cardinal Quick Hits
• The Cards are currently on a six-game winning streak dating back to their March 21 9-3 win over Indiana.
•Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth leads the team with 13 multiple hit games, while freshman third baseman Chelsea Bemis has a team-leading seven multi-RBI efforts.
On Deck: The Cardinals will return to the friendly confines of Ulmer Stadium with BIG EAST Conference games against Syracuse on April 11 and Pittsburgh on April 13.
Wherry Named Player of the Week, Stanfill on honor roll
Shortstop Colby Wherry was named BIG EAST Player of the Week and pitcher Kassie Stanfill was placed on the honor roll, the league office announced on March 31.
Wherry, a freshman from Goodlettsville, Tenn., helped lead the Cardinals to a 5-0 record on the week. She registered a .563 (9 for 16) batting average with four doubles and seven RBI. She also had a team-leading .813 slugging percentage and .611 on-base percentage. Wherry had at least one hit in every game, including a 3 for 4, three RBI performance in the 3-2 win over St. John's. In that game, Wherry drove in all of Louisville's runs, capping off the day with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. She also had three RBI in the 8-4 win over Seton Hall.
Stanfill posted a 3-0 record and a 0.78 ERA on the week, including wins against Kentucky, Seton Hall and St. John's. The Goodlettsville, Tenn. native logged in 18.0 innings with two complete games: and struck out 28 batters, including a career-high 12 K's in the 3-2 win over St. John's. Stanfill surrendered only 11 hits in 18 innings, limiting opponents to a .169 batting average. She also helped her cause offensively this week, batting .533 (8 for 15) with one home run, one double and six RBI.
Cardinals Streaking
After spending most of the season on a roller coaster ride that included offensive highs and lows, the Cardinals are now on a season-high six-game winning streak that dates back to March 23. In that stretch, the team is batting .364 with 11 home runs and two home runs and outscoring opponents 35-14. Freshman shortstop Colby Wherry has been Louisville's most consistent performer going 10 for 18 (.556) with four doubles and seven RBI and has a hit in each of the six consecutive wins. Junior RHP/LF Kassie Stanfill has also been instrumental in the recent success, collecting a 4-0 record with 37 strikeouts in 23.0 and posting a 0.61 ERA. She has also contributed offensively, going 10 for 19 (.526) with six RBI and three runs.
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 now holds the career record with 26. 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 27 runs scored, 13 doubles and a .518 on-base percentage. She is second with a .411 batting average.
Freshman Chelsea Bemis leads the league with 28 RBI and is second with 21 walks.
Sophomore Kristen Wadwell leads the league with 32 batters struck out looking.
Senior Sarah Totten leads the league with 11 sacrifice bunts.
Blame it on the Rain (and Snow)
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.
Bemis Off to Impressive Start
Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis has been one of Louisville's most consistent players this season. Bemis is batting .337 on the season with a team and conference-leading 28 RBI and has reached via a hit, walk, error or was hit by a pitch in all but two of Louisville's 30 games - she has reached on a walk in nine straight games.
Bemis 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.
Tough Slate
The Cardinals are in the midst of a tough schedule which is ranked 22nd in the nation in the latest Warren Nolan RPI release. 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. 17/24 and 2007 Women's College World Series participant DePaul.
