No. 25 Softball Set to Host No. 24 Notre Dame
April 16, 2010 | Softball
April 16, 2010
The No. 25 University of Louisville softball team will return to Ulmer Stadium to face No. 24 Notre Dame in a doubleheader Saturday at noon. The teams will meet again Sunday for a single game. The Fighting Irish (32-6) stand alone atop the BIG EAST Conference with a perfect 10-0 mark while the Cardinals (25-13) are tied for second with a 5-3 league record.
The Cards (25-13, 5-3) are coming off of a doubleheader split at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights took game one 3-1 and Melissa Roth homered twice, including a two-run shot in the eleventh inning to give Louisville a 6-4 win in the nightcap.
U of L is led offensively by All-American senior catcher Melissa Roth who is batting .470 with 14 home runs, 44 runs and 39 RBI. Freshman Jordan Trimble follows with a .327 average, 30 RBI and 17 runs. Senior Vanessa James is third on the team with a .326 average, 27 runs, 15 stolen bases and 14 RBI. Freshman Alicja Wolny rounds out the .300 hitters at .315, with 15 doubles and 21 RBI.
Senior Kristen Wadwell leads the Cards with a 14-8 record and a 2.99 ERA. The All-American has 105 strikeouts in 135.2 innings of work. Sophomore Tori Collins (8-3) carries a 3.19 ERA with 90 K's in 90.0 innings. Freshman Chelsea Leonard (4-2) has a 4.81 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 39.1 innings.
Cards Against Notre Dame
Series Record: Louisville leads 8-6
Last meeting: May 8, 2009 - Notre Dame won 3-0 in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference tournament at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Fighting Irish: No. 24 Notre Dame enters the weekend with at 32-6 on the season and an unblemished 10-0 record in league play. The Fighting Irish are in the midst of an eight game winning streak in which they have outscored opponents 48-5 including conference sweeps of Rutgers, USF and Georgetown and Thursday's 8-0 win over Cleveland State.
Notre Dame is hitting a blistering .346 as a team with seven active players above the .300 mark. Heather Johnson leads the way with a .391 average, 12 home runs and 44 RBI. Christine Lux carries a .356 batting average with 12 homers and 37 RBI.
Jody Valdivia (25-3) carries a 1.52 ERA and has shouldered much of the pitching duties, striking out 200 batters in 166.0 innings of work.
Up Next
The Cards will play host to Syracuse in a midweek doubleheader on April 21 at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The games will be televised live on ESPNU with Justin Kutcher handling play-by-play duties and Cheri Kempf providing color analysis.
Card Notes
• Freshman Alicja Wolny recently snapped a 15 game hitting streak which stretched from the March 10 win over Kentucky to the April 1, 9-2 win over Providence. In the second game of the double header, Wolny walked three times and struck out in her final at bat to end the streak which was one shy of a school record 16 set in the 2001 season by Coleen Coughlin.
• Senior Kristen Wadwell now owns the career strikeouts record at 637 She surpassed former Cardinal great Catherine Bishop's previous mark of 616 which has stood since the 2007 season.
• Melissa Roth owns the career doubles record with 64, she surpassed Keola Calderon's mark of 53 which has stood since the 2003 season.
• Roth also holds the all-time record for runs with 189 - she passed Courtney Moore's previous high of 162 set in 2007. She also needs 11 more to become the first player in U of L history to reach the 200 run mark.
• Vanessa James' three stolen bases against Houston tied a school record for stolen bases in a game.
• Roth put together a career-high 12 game hitting streak this season. She has still found a way to reach via walk or being hit by a pitch in all but two of Louisville's games, the 2-0 loss to No. 14 Ohio State and the 3-1 win over No. 15 Texas.
Roth One of 25 Player of the Year Finalists Senior catcher Melissa Roth was named to the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America's Top 25 Finalists for the 2010 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
The list of 25 will be narrowed down to 10 finalists on May 12 and the Player of the Year be announced at the opening of the NCAA 2010 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. This award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.
Roth Continues Record-Setting Pace
Senior Melissa Roth currently has 14 home runs on the season and needs two more to match last year's career high 16 roundtrippers. Courtney Moore holds the school record for single season homers at 17 (2005 season). Additionally, Roth has 34 career homers and needs eight more to match Moore's all-time record of 42.
Cards No. 25 in NFCA poll
U of L is now No.25 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Coaches poll released on April 6.
This season, the Cardinals have been ranked as high as No. 14 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches' poll released on March 1.
Louisville is in its 24th consecutive week in the national rankings. The Cards rejoined the top 25 on Feb. 17, 2009 after a two-year absence and reached as high as No. 14 - a program-best in 2009 and 2010.
Wadwell Owns Strikeout Record
Senior Kristen Wadwell grabbed yet another Louisville career record in the DePaul series. The senior delivered three strikeouts in the March 28 5-4 win over DePaul and moved to the top of the school's career strikeouts where she now has 627. She surpassed former Cardinal great Catherine Bishop's previous mark of 616 which has stood since the 2007 season.
Cards on the National Scene
Senior catcher Melissa Roth is ranked among the nation's leaders in several categories including: batting average, slugging percentage, and home runs, while Colby Wherry appears in the top 15 toughest players to strike out. The following is a breakdown of where the Cards currently place in the national standings:
Slugging Percentage Roth/.955 5th
Batting Average Roth/.473 11th
On Base Percentage Roth/0.574 7th
Home Runs Roth/12 19th
Runs Per Game Roth/1.11 15th
Doubles Per Game Wolny/0.41 9th
Roth/0.38 13th
Toughest to Strikeout Wherry/4K's/37 games 15th
You've Gotta Play the Best...
Louisville's non-conference schedule is one of the strongest in the history of the program. the Cards have already met ranked teams such as Arizona, Baylor, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas and are 3-7 against them - which translates into seven of their 12 losses coming against top 25 teams - and five of those losses were against teams in the top 10 (Arizona, Michigan -twice, and Oklahoma - twice.
Roth Sets School Record for Career Runs
Melissa Roth's run in the Feb. 27 5-3 win over Saint Louis gave her 163 in her career to set a new school record for runs scored. Roth surpassed Courtney Moore's previous mark of 162 which has stood since 2007.
Roth a Member of the 200 Club
Melissa Roth entered her senior season with 202 career hits and is one of only five players in the 11 year history of the program to reach over 200 hits. Audrey Rendon (2004-07) holds the all-time record at 283. Courtney Moore follows at 263 and Roth stands at third with 246. Keola Calderon (240) and Lacy Wood (223) round out the 200 club.
Roth Hits Century Mark in RBI and Runs
Melissa Roth is one of only five players to register over 100 career runs and RBI. She owns the all-time runs record with 189 and is third with 136 career RBI. The other players include Courtney Moore (162 runs/174 RBI); Sara Bausher (117 runs/107 RBI); Kristi Cunningham (112 runs/107 RBI); and Keola Calderon (106 runs/140 RBI).
Roth Round Trippin'
Melissa Roth becomes one of two players in program history to register 10 or more home runs in multiple seasons. Courtney Moore set school record 17 in 2005 and had 13 in 2007; Roth had 16 in 2009 and is at 14 in 2010
Leonard Fans 16 - Ties School Record
In the February 2, 7-4 win over Youngstown State, freshman Chelsea Leonard struck out 16 batters, and tied a school record. She matched senior Kristen Wadwell's mark set on March 13, 2009 against Eastern Michigan.
Roth and Wadwell Selected in NPF Draft
Catcher Melissa Roth and pitcher Kristen Wadwell were selected as the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) and its four-affiliate teams held the 2010 NPF Senior Draft Presented by Miken. The USSSA Pride selected Roth as the third overall pick and the Tennessee Diamonds chose Wadwell in the fourth round as the 18th overall pick. They become the second and third players in Louisville program history to be drafted. Audrey Rendon was drafted by the Rockford Thunder in the third round of the 2007 draft.
Roth, a senior catcher from Long Beach, Calif, was the 2009 BIG EAST Player of the Year and led the Cardinals in virtually every offensive category last season including team highs in batting average (.438), hits (67), home runs (16), RBI (48), runs scored (61), slugging percentage (.889) and on-base percentage (.566). The catcher was a second team all-American in 2009.
Wadwell, a senior pitcher from Sydney, Australia, finished second in the nation in wins with 41 victories. The two-time All-BIG EAST selection and third team all-America selection registered a 1.69 ERA with 257 strikeouts and 11 shutouts on the season. Wadwell owns several school records including career (75) and single season (41) wins and strikeouts in a game (16).
Louisville to Host 2010 BIG EAST Championship
The BIG EAST Championship returns to Louisville, Ky., for the third straight season. The three- day tournament begins on May 13 with four quarterfinal games. The semifinals on May 14 and the championship game on May 15 will be aired live on CBS College Sports.
