Softball Travels to South Florida
April 30, 2010 | Softball
April 30, 2010
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
The University of Louisville softball team will go back on the road to face BIG EAST opponent South Florida in a three-game series May 1-2 in Tampa, Fla.
The Cardinals (32-15) stand at third in BIG EAST Conference play with an 11-5 league record. USF (21-26) is eighth with a 6-10 mark in league play.
U of L is led offensively by All-American senior catcher Melissa Roth who is batting .431 with 15 home runs, 49 runs and 43 RBI. Freshman Jordan Trimble follows with a .319 average, 32 RBI and 22 runs. Senior Vanessa James is third with a .313 average, 33 runs, 16 stolen bases and 17 RBI. Freshman Alicja Wolnystands at third, batting .308 with 18 doubles and 24 RBI.
Senior Kristen Wadwell leads the Cards with a 15-9 record and a 3.05 ERA. The All-American has 131 strikeouts in 158.1 innings of work. Sophomore Tori Collins (13-4) carries a 2.80 ERA with 119 K's in 120 innings. Freshman Chelsea Leonard (4-2) has a 4.76 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.
Cards Against USF
Series Record: Louisville leads 18-15
Last meeting: March 20, 2009 - UL swept a doubleheader at Ulmer Stadium, taking the first game 5-0 and prevailing 5-4 in nine innings in the nightcap. Scouting the Bulls: USF brings a 21-26 overall record and is currently eighth in league standings with a 6-10 mark. The Bulls are led by JoJo Medina who is batting .350 on the season. Gina Kafalas follows at .324 with 20 runs and 18 stolen bases. Alison Savarese rounds out the top three at .308 with a team-best seven home runs and 38 RBI.
Lindsey Richardson (10-7) carries a 2.06 ERA in the circle with 117 strikeouts win 109.0 innings of work.
Up Next
The Cards will close out the regular season at Connecticut before returning to Ulmer Stadium to host the 2010 BIG EAST Conference tournament May 13-15.
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 doubleheader, 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 663. 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 194 - she passed Courtney Moore's previous high of 162 set in 2007. She only needs six 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.
Looking back...
The Cards are coming off of a three-game sweep of BIG EAST Conference foe St. John's. Louisville beat the Red Storm 8-0 in six innings in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. In game two, the Cards took a 3-0lead before the game was halted in the second inning due to heavy rain in the area. The game resumed on Sunday and Louisville built a 5-1 lead, before St. John's stormed back with five unearned runs in the fifth. Melissa Roth's sacrifice fly tied the game and Chelsea Bemis put the Cards ahead for good with a grand slam in the sixth. Louisville prevailed 10-7. The Cards clinched the series with an 11-2, five-inning win.
Bemis Named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week
Junior third baseman Chelsea Bemis has been named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week for games played between April 19 and April 25. She becomes the first player in program history to earn national player of the week honors.
Bemis went 11-for-15 over five Big East wins for the Cardinals last week with eight runs, 13 RBIs, a double, a stolen base and six home runs. She ended the week with a .733 batting average, a 2.000 slugging percentage and a .778 on base percentage.
The San Diego, Calif., native hit a home run in every game but one last week, however she made up for it by going yard three times in the first game of a doubleheader against St. John's (NY), tying a school record in the process. Bemis posted at least one hit, one run and one RBI in each of her five games last week, in addition to posting three multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games.
Bemis Tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week
Junior Chelsea Bemis was named BIG EAST Player of the week on April 26, after leading the Cardinals to a 5-0 record on the week. The third baseman hit .733 with six home runs and 13 RBI.
Bemis tallied a hit, a run and an RBI in every game this past week, including three games in which she had two hits or more, four games with two RBI or more and four games with at least one home run. For the week she went 11-of-15 (.733) at the plate, scored eight runs, recorded 13 RBI, with a double, stolen base and six home runs. Bemis posted a 2.000 slugging percentage and a .778 on-base mark. The junior went 4-for-4 and tied a school record with three home runs in an 8-0 win over St. John's. She followed that performance by going 2-for-3 with her first career grand slam to break a 6-6 tie in the sixth against the Red Storm.
Roth Earns Louisville's Top Senior Award
Softball catcher Melissa Roth earned the University of Louisville's esteemed Ed Kallay Award for the top senior athlete. The Long Beach, Calif., native is the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year and is one of 25 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She became the first U of L player to be selected as an alternate on the USA Softball team and has led the Cardinals to three NCAA regional appearances. She was also the third overall pick in the National Pro Fastpitch draft.
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.
Pearsall, Louisville Reach 400 Win Milestone
The April 21 6-2 win over Syracuse marked head coach Sandy Pearsall's 400th victory at U of L. Pearsall started the program in 2000 and has led the Cards to six consecutive NCAA regional appearances and three conference championships.
Roth One of 25 Player of the Year Finalists
Senior catcher Melissa Roth was named one 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 15 home runs on the season and needs one 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 35 career homers and needs seven more to match Moore's all-time record of 42.
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 663. She surpassed former Cardinal great Catherine Bishop's previous mark of 616 which has stood since the 2007 season.
Wherry Putting the Ball in Play
In 2009, junior Colby Wherry was the toughest player to strike out in the nation fanning only three times in 172 at bats. This season she stands at eighth in the nation in that category with five strikeouts in 135 at bats.
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, Texas and Notre Dame and are 4-9 against them. This translates into nine of their 15 losses coming against top 25 teams - and five of those losses were against teams in the top 10 (Arizona, Michigan -twice, and Oklahoma - twice.
Cards Receiving Votes in Coaches Polls
U of L is receiving votes in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches' polls released on April 27. The Cards spent a total of 24 straight weeks among the top 25 in the nation from Feb. 17, 2009 through April 20, 2010. This season, the Cardinals were ranked as high as No. 14 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches' poll released on March 1.
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.
Roth Selected as 2010 USA Softball Alternate
Melissa Roth was selected as an alternate on the 2010 USA Women's Softball National Team. Roth became the first U of L player to participate in the USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Camp January 4-8 in Chula Vista, Calif.
The senior catcher from Long Beach, Calif., helped the USA Softball Pan American Qualifier team to a Gold Medal in Maracay, Venezuela. She played in 13 games with nine starts and batted .476 (10 for 21) with 11 runs, 11 RBI. Team USA went 13-1 in the qualifier and earned a spot in the 2011 Pan American Games and the 2010 International Softball Federation Women's World Softball Championship.
