Softball Set for Louisville Classic
March 11, 2011 | Softball
March 11, 2011
LOUISILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville softball team will return to Ulmer Stadium for the Louisville Softball Classic March 12-13. The Cardinals will open the tournament against No. 5/6 Michigan Saturday at noon and will face Western Kentucky at 4 p.m.
Action will continue Sunday when Louisville plays Michigan at 1 p.m. and Western Kentucky at 3 p.m.
Louisville Softball Classic Schedule
Saturday, March 12
12 pm - Louisville vs. Michigan
2 pm - Western Kentucky vs. Michigan
4 pm - Louisville vs. Western Kentucky
Sunday, March 13
11 am - Western Kentucky vs. Michigan
1 pm - Louisville vs. Michigan
3 pm - Louisville vs. Western Kentucky
About Louisville
The Cardinals (12-6) are led by sophomore first baseman Alicja Wolny who is batting .431 on the season with 20 RBI. Senior third baseman Chelsea Bemis follows at .426 on the season with three home runs, nine doubles, 18 RBI and 16 runs. Sophomore Jennifer Esteban rounds out the top three batters, carrying a . 390 average with 17 runs and eight stolen bases. Junior LHP Tori Collins (7-3) holds a 3.11 ERA and is holding opponents to a .219 batting average with 69 strikeouts in 65.1 innings while freshman Caralisa (4-2) has a 3.00 ERA with 37 Ks in 44.1 innings of work.
Cards Against the Field
Michigan
Series: Michigan leads the series 13-1
Last Meeting: March 14, 2010- Michigan won 9-5 and 7-3. The Cards dropped both games of a double header to the Wolverines at Ulmer Stadium. They forced extra innings in the second game before Michigan broke open the score for the win. Scouting the Wolverines: Michigan, who has compiled a 22-0 record coming into the weekend. During their 22 victories, the Wolverines have run ruled nine opponents and shut out seven. In their last outing, they went 5-0 at the USF Under Armour Invitational, beating Villanova, Maine, Arkansas, Ball State and USF.
Michigan is led by a pair of seniors who have both earned many preseason accolades. First baseman Dorian Shaw is a two-time All-Big Ten and 2010 NCFCA All-America first team selection. Jordan Taylor, a right handed pitcher, was named 2010 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and earned NFCA All-America second team honors. Both were named to the 2011 USA Softball Player of the Year watch list, as well as being named ESPN.com preseason first team All-Americans.
Shaw leads the team with a .509 batting average, a 1.109 slugging percentage, and has hit 10 home runs on the season. Taylor has posted an 11-0 record with a .65 ERA. She has pitched nine complete games and has struck out 107 batters.
Western Kentucky
Series: Louisville leads 8-3 Last Meeting: March 16, 2007- The Cards split a double header winning 5-1 and losing 4-2. Scouting the Hilltoppers: WKU enters the weekend with a 13-5 record. The Hilltoppers, are coming off of a 4-0, 7-2 doubleheader sweep of SIU Edwardsville.
The Toppers are led offensively by Amanda Thomas who is batting .358 with 10 runs and 13 RBI. Kelsie Mattox follows at .347 with 11 runs and 14 RBI. Preseason All-Sun Belt selection Mallorie Sulaski rounds out the top three with a .327 average, eight runs and three RBI. She also carries a 5-2 record and a 0.91 ERA in the circle. Kim Wagner (6-2) holds a 1.77 ERA and has 52 strikeouts in 59.1 innings.
Cardinal Quick Hits
• Louisville is currently on a four-game win streak dating back to the Feb. 27 10-0 win over Wright State. During that time the Cards have outscored opponents 35-8.
• Chelsea Bemis is currently on a career-high 11 game hitting streak dating back to the Feb. 18 10-2 loss to No. 3 Alabama.
• Four of the Cards' six losses have come to teams ranked in the top 15: twice to (then) No. 15 Texas and No. 3/7 Alabama.
• Sophomore Jennifer Esteban is a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases this season and is currently on streak of 21 perfect attempts dating back to Feb. 28 5-3 win over Northern Illinois.
• Chelsea Bemis is now second on the career RBI list with 158. She needs 16 to tie Courtney Moore's mark of 174.
Up Last for Louisville
U of L defeated Morehead State 12-2 Thursday in a late addition to the 2011 schedule. Maggie Ruckenbrod and Chelsea Bemis each went 2-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Cardinals to a season-high run total in a 12-1 victory over Morehead State Thursday at Ulmer Stadium. Starter Caralisa Connell got the win, holding the Eagles to one unearned run on three hits, while striking out six batters in 3.0 innings. Tori Collins did not allow a hit and struck out three in 2.0 innings of relief.
Up Next...
U of L will embark on a spring break trip to San Diego for the San Diego Classic II March 18-20. The Cards will face Cal-State Northridge, San Diego State, Wisconsin, Ohio University and Ohio State in the tournament.
Hitting for average - underclassmen stepping up to the plate Louisville is batting .320 as a team with six active players batting at, or above .300. Sophomore Alicja Wolny leads the way at .431, senior Chelsea Bemis follows at .410. Jennifer Esteban is hitting .390. Freshman Maggie Ruckenbrod (.368), Katie Keller (.310) and Colby Wherry (.300) round out the top hitters.
Four of the Cards' top six hitters (are underclassmen Ruckenbrod and Keller are freshmen while Wolny and Esteban are sophomores. Sophomore Jordan Trimble was also batting .410 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
Cards in the Tennessee Tech Combat Classic
Louisville is coming off of a 2-0 performance in the weather-shortened Tennessee Tech Softball Classic. The Cards opened tournament action with a 10-5 win over Middle Tennessee and followed with a 3-2, nine inning win over North Carolina State.
Senior Chelsea Bemis led the Cards to a 2-0 record in a weather-shortened weekend with an .875 batting average (5-for-6). She went 4-for-4 with a double and three runs in the 10-5 win over Middle Tennessee. In the 3-2 win over North Carolina State, her two-run homer in the sixth tied the game and eventually sent the contest into extra innings, resulting in a victory for the Cards.
March 23 Kentucky Game Time Moved to 6 p.m.
The first pitch for the March 23rd University of Louisville's softball game against the University has been moved to 6 p.m. - an hour later than the originally scheduled 5 p.m. start. Tickets for that game are $5 and may be purchased by calling the U of L ticket office at 502-852-5151.
