Cards Set for NCAA Softball Regional Action
May 13, 2008 | Softball
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
May 13, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville softball team earned its fifth consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament and will face No. 16/17 Virginia Tech (44-15) Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the regional's first game. No. 13/14 Tennessee (47-14) and Winthrop (36-17) will face off at 5 p.m. Friday.
Friday, May 16
Game 1 - 2:30 p.m. ET - Louisville vs. Virginia Tech
Game 2 - 5 p.m. ET - Tennessee vs. Winthrop
Saturday, May 17
Game 3 - Noon ET (ESPN2) - Winner Game One/Winner Game Two
Game 4 - 2:30 p.m. ET - Loser Game One/Loser Game Two
Game 5 - 5 p.m. ET - Loser Game Three/Winner Game Four
Sunday, May 18
Game 6 - 1:30 p.m. ET - Winner Game Three/Winner Game Five
Game 7 - 4 p.m. ET - (if necessary) Rematch of Game Six
Ticket Information
For Ticket, please call the University of Tennessee - 1-865-656-1200
All Session Tickets:
Reserved $30 (not available until Wednesday)
General Admission $18
Single Session Tickets:
Reserved $12
General Admission $7
General Admission Students $5
We've Been Here Before...
Knoxville is not a new regional site for the Cardinals. They traveled there in 2006 to face Virginia Tech, Tennessee Tech and host Tennessee. U of L lost to the Hokies (and pitching ace Angela Tincher) in a 12 inning pitcher's duel on the opening day. On day two, the Cards defeated Tennessee Tech 3-0, and the Hokies 10-1 to advance to their first regional final. On the final day, fifth-ranked Tennessee defeated the 18th-ranked Cards 8-1 behind Monica Abbott's near-perfect game.
Three current Louisville starters: senior Sarah Totten, and juniors Kristi Cunningham and Kassie Stanfill, return from that 2006 team.
Note: Three U of L players: Colby Wherry, Kassie Stanfill and Kristi Cunningham are returning to their home state for the Knoxville Regional. Colby Wherry and Kassie Stanfill are from Goodlettsville, Tenn. - where they were teammates at Beech High School- while Kristi Cunningham is from Gallatin.
About Louisville: The Cardinals (30-21) are coming off of a semifinal appearance in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament which took place May 8-10 at Louisville's Ulmer Stadium. Fifth-seeded U of L defeated fourth-seeded Notre Dame 3-1 in the quarterfinals, but fell to the top seed South Florida 2-1 in the semifinals.
U of L is led offensively by sophomore catcher Melissa Roth, who is hitting .361 with 43 runs, 20 doubles and has been hit by a pitch a school-record 20 times this season. Freshman third baseman Chelsea Bemis follows with a .333 average, 14 doubles, five home runs and 49 RBI. Senior first baseman Sarah Totten rounds out the top three hitters with a .316 average, 30 runs and 25 RBI. Sophomore Kristen Wadwell leads in the circle with an 18-13 record and a 2.19 ERA with 155 strikeouts in 226.2 innings of work.
Cards Against the NCAA Knoxville Regional Field
Louisville vs. #16/17 Virginia Tech (44-15)
Series Record: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: 2006 NCAA Tournament:
May 19, 2006 -VT won the first game 1-0 in 12 innings.
May 20, 2006 - UL won 10-1 in five innings in an elimination game
Scouting the Hokies: Virginia Tech, the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion, enters the regional with a 44-15 record and ranked 16th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and . The Hokies carry a stingy 1.17 ERA - the eighth lowest in the nation - with ace Angela Tincher's 0.57 mark leading the way. Tincher has had a stellar senior season, leading the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (14.1), fewest hits allowed (2.42) and is second in the national standings in ERA. In an exhibition in late March, Tincher tossed a no-hitter against the USA national team, halting their 185 pre-Olympic tour win-streak.
Offensively, Charisse Maricond leads the Hokies with a .368 batting average and 36 RBI. Jenna Rhodes follows at .324 with 33 runs and is 13th in the nation with 40 stolen bases.
Louisville vs. #13/14 Tennessee (47-14)
Series Record: - UT leads 2-0
Last Meeting: 2006 NCAA Tournament
May 21, 2006 - UT defeated Louisville 8-1 to advance to the Super Regional.
Feb. 6, 2005 - UT defeated U of L 4-0 at Florida's Clearwater Invitational
Scouting the Lady Vols: No. 13/14-ranked Tennessee earned the NCAA tournament's 13th overall seed. The Vols are coming off of a 6-1 loss to top-ranked Florida in the SEC Tournament - the SEC placed eight teams in the NCAA tournament.
UT is batting a hefty .314 as a team - which places them 16th in the nation in that category. Tonya Callahan is leading the way with a .473 average - the fourth-best in the nation, 16 home runs and 61 RBI.Callahan is also second in the country with a 0.631 on-base percentage. Kenora Posey follows with a .382 average, 50 runs and ranks 11th in the nation with 43 stolen bases. Ashton Ward leads in the circle with a 27-5 record and a 1.94 ERA. Megan Rhodes (20-9) carries a 2.24 ERA and has mowed through opposing batters with 202 strikeouts in 184.2 innings.
Louisville vs. Winthrop (36-17)
Series Record: The teams have never met
Scouting the Eagles: Winthrop qualified for the automatic bid to the NCAA Regional by capturing the Big South Conference championship on Saturday with a 6-1 win over Liberty. The Eagles are making their second consecutive NCAA appearance in Knoxville, after traveling to UT in the 2007 regional and posting a 2-2 record.
Winthrop is led offensively by Lisa Kingsmore, who ranks tenth in the nation with a .448 batting average. Tessa Thomas follows with a .341 average, and leads the team with 48 runs. Mallory Hogan has belted out a team-leading 10 home runs and 49 RBI. The Eagles have a 1.47 team ERA - which ranks 17th in the nation. Megan Evans leads in the circle with an 18-6 record, a 1.32 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 159.0 innings. Cari Wooldridge follows with a 16-9 record, a 1.81 ERA and 104 Ks in 139.0 innings of work.
Up Last: The Cardinals are coming off of a semifinal appearance in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament which took place May 8-10 at Louisville's Ulmer Stadium. Fifth-seeded U of L defeated fourth-seeded Notre Dame 3-1 in the quarterfinals after a day full of rain delays and extra innings, the game started at 10:30 p.m. and ended just before midnight. For the third straight year, the Cards advanced to the conference semifinals where they faced the top seed South Florida. The Cards took 1 -0 lead, but a two-out, two-run homer by Brita Giddens in the top of the sixth gave the Bulls the 2-1 win and denied U of L its third consecutive appearance in the championship game.
Cards in the NCAA Tournament
This the Louisville's fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals since the program's inaugural season (2000). In 2004, the Cards earned their first at-large berth and traveled to UCLA (and faced the eventual national champion Bruins). Since then U of L has compiled a 5-8 record in the tournament and advanced to the regional final - in 2006 at the Knoxville Regional.
2007 - at Michigan (1-2)
Louisville 8 - #15 Oregon State 0 (5 inn.)
#10 Michigan 6 - Louisville 3
#15 Oregon State 11 - Louisville 4
2006 - at Tennessee (2-2)
Virginia Tech 1 - Louisville 0 (12 inn.)
#18 Louisville 3 - Tennessee Tech 0
#18 Louisville 10 - Virginia Tech 1 (5 inn.)
#5 Tennessee 8 -#18 Louisville 1
* Tennessee advanced to the Women's College World Series
2005 - At Notre Dame (1-2)
Notre Dame 3 - Louisville 2
Louisville 5 - Albany 4
#18 Northwestern 8 - Louisville 2
2004 - At UCLA (1-2)
Cards earn first at-large bid in program history
Louisville 1 - Missouri 0 (8 innings)
#4 *UCLA 2 - Louisville 0
#17 Long Beach State 3 - Louisville 2
* UCLA was the 2004 NCAA champion
The Fountain of Youth
It is safe to say the 2008 Cards are a young team. With one senior (Sarah Totten) and two juniors (Kristi Cunningham and Kassie Stanfill) among the regular starters, the remainder of the starting lineup consists of underclassmen. The entire left side of the infield is made up of freshman (3B - Chelsea Bemis; SS - Colby Wherry; and 2B Christina Roesel); starting pitcher Kristen Wadwell and catcher Melissa Roth are sophomores, as is right fielder Brittany York. At designated player, freshman Kaylyn Castillo or sophomore Rebecca Saksefski are likely to step into the starting lineup if Wadwell is not hitting for herself. Despite their lack of experience, the youthful Cardinals have been solid this season:
• Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth has 20doubles on the season. Her leadoff double in the first inning of the 5-4 win over Evansville tied the school single-season record, set by Melissa Jacobo in 2001.
• Roth's .477 on-base percentage currently stands atop the school's single season record list.
• Roth leads the team with 16 multi-hit games.
• Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis is also on pace for reaching a single-season high for walks. She currently has 29 with the record being 31, held by Courtney Moore (2007) and Melissa Jacobo (2001 and 2002).
• Bemis also needs four more RBI to set a new single season high. She has 49 with the current record (53), held by Courtney Moore (2007).
• Bemis, the No. 3 hitter for the Cardinals leads the team with 49 RBI and five home runs and is second on the team with a .333 batting average and 25 runs, she also has 14 doubles on the season.
• Bemis leads the team with 13 multi-RBI games
• Freshman SS Colby Wherry, who bats cleanup, has a .269 average with 20 RBI and 14 runs and was U of L's only conference Player of the Week this season.
Stanfill, Wadwell Named to BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Junior left fielder Kassie Stanfill and sophomore pitcher Kristen Wadwell were selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team. Stanfill, batted .667 (4 for 6) with a triple and an RBI. Wadwell tossed all 14.0 innings for the Cardinals, posting a 1-1 record with a 1.50 ERA, scattering seven hits and allowing three earned runs while striking out 14.
Five Selected to All-BIG EAST Teams
Five University of Louisville softball players earned All-BIG EAST Conference honors as announced at the conference's annual championship banquet. Senior Sarah Totten and sophomore Kristen Wadwell were selected to the second team, while junior Kassie Stanfill, sophomore Melissa Roth and freshman Colby Wherry were named to the third team.
Cunningham and Totten Earn ESPN The Magazine Academic Honors
Junior Kristi Cunningham and senior Sarah Totten earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV honors. Cunningham was named to the second team, while Totten was selected to the third team. To be nominated, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore starter or significant reserve and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Team members are selected by a vote of the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) within the district.
Cunningham, a junior outfielder from Gallatin, Tenn. carries a 3.806 GPA as an Exercise Science/Pre-Nursing major. Totten, a senior first baseman from Louisville, Ky., holds a 3.30 cumulative GPA while majoring in Sport Administration.
For the Record...
• On April 29, Melissa Roth led off the first inning with a double against Evansville giving her 20 on the season, tying a school record for single season doubles, set by Melissa Jacobo in 2001.
• 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.
• Pitcher Kristen Wadwell set a painful school record (at least for the opponents) with four hit batters in the March 12 6-2 win over Marshall.
Saving the Best for Last
Senior first baseman Sarah Totten is having a career-best season. The four-year starter entered 2008 with a .231 career battingaverage. This year, she has consistently been one of the Cards' top three hitters and enters the NCAA regional with a .316 average and is third on the team with 25 RBI and 30 runs - all of which are career season highs for her. In addition, Totten began batting second in the lineup and has gone on to set a school single-season high record 16 sacrifice bunts. Totten was also a BIG EAST second team selection and an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV third team pick.
Taking One for the Team
Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth set a new school single season record for being hit by a pitch with 20. She broke her own mark, set in the 2007 season and holds the career record with 36. The record was previously held by former Cardinal great Sara Bausher who finished her career (2002-05) with 23.
Fair Weather Fans
The Cardinals have been hampered by inclement weather most of the season. They have missed 13 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 Indiana tournament was cancelled because of inclement weather Most recently the final games of the season against Providence were cancelled because of rain in the area.
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
Tough Slate
The Cardinals are in the midst of a tough schedule. Five 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. U of L split with No. 23 DePaul winning the first game 2-0 and falling 1-0 in the second.
