Softball Set to Play Host to Seton Hall
April 01, 2011 | Softball
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April 1, 2011
The University of Louisville softball team (23-10, 2-1 BIG EAST) will return to Ulmer Stadium for a BIG EAST Conference series against Seton Hall (12-16, 0-3). Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon with a single game set for 11 a.m. Sunday.
Sunday's game is the Cardinals' Pink Game to promote breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as breast cancer survivors and members of the Cardinal softball family: Stephanie Keller, Janet Anderson and Sandra Hutchinson will be throwing out the first pitch. The team will wear specially made jerseys which will be be auctioned on uoflsports.com and all proceeds will benefit Breast Cancer Research.
Admission to this weekend's games is free.
About Louisville
The Cardinals (23-10, 2-1) are led offensively by sophomore first baseman Alicja Wolny who is batting .385 and has a team-best 33 RBIs. Senior shortstop Colby Wherry follows with a .362 average, 16 RBIs and 15 runs. Maggie Ruckenbrod rounds out the top three hitters with a .353 average with 22 RBIs and 11 runs.
Sophomore Caralisa Connell (10-4) carries a 2.57 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 98.0 innings of work Junior LHP Tori Collins (12-5) carries a 2.30 ERA with 117 strikeouts in 112.2 innings and is holding opponents to a .204 batting average.
Cards Against the Field
Seton Hall
Series Record: Louisville leads 7-1
Last Meeting: The Cardinals split a double header with the Pirates on March 29, 2009 in New Jersey. Louisville won the first game 6-1 before falling 6-5 in the second.
Scouting the Pirates: Seton Hall has amassed a 12-16 regular season record along with an 0-3 record in BIG EAST play. The Pirates are coming off of a three game series against the University of Pittsburgh where they were swept in the opening weekend of league play.
The Pirates, who are 1-6 in away games this season, will be looking for their first ever victory at Ulmer Stadium. They are 0-4 when playing at the Cardinals' home park with the last outing in 2008.
Seton Hall is led by senior outfielder Nalin Bennett. She leads the team in many statistical categories, including at bats (74), runs (9), hits (23), doubles (4) and total bases (29).
The Pirates are led on the mound by freshman pitcher Jen Metzger who has compiled a 5-3 record with a 2.96 ERA. She has pitched five complete games with 33 strike outs.
Card Notes
• Six of Louisville's 10 losses have come to teams ranked in the top 15: twice to (then) No. 5/6 Michigan, twice to No. 15 Texas and twice to No. 3/7 Alabama. Each of those teams has since risen in the rankings, with Alabama sitting at No. 1 in this week's ESPN.com USA Softball poll.
• Sophomore Jennifer Esteban is a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen bases this season and is currently on a streak of 25 perfect attempts dating back to the Feb. 28, 2010 win over Northern Illinois.
• Senior Chelsea Bemis is second on the career RBI list with 168. She needs seven more to tie Courtney Moore's mark of 174.
Up Last for Louisville
Louisville is coming off of a doubleheader sweep of DePaul. In a non-conference matchup between the teams, the Cards defeated the host Blue Demons 2-1 in the first game and scored a season-high 13 runs in a 13-2, five-inning performance in the nightcap.
Up Next...
U of L will continue its homestand on April 6 at 3:30 p.m. when Indiana visits Ulmer Stadium.
Esteban named to BIG EAST honor roll Sophomore Jennifer Esteban led the Cardinals offensively in a 3-1 performance on the week. The left fielder batted .615 (8-for-13) with a triple, five runs, three RBI's, a sacrifice fly and a stolen base. She registered a .769 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage. She had at least one hit in each of the four games and had two, three-hit performances against Villanova.
Hitting for Average - underclassmen stepping up to the plate
Louisville is batting .314 as a team with six active players batting at, or above .300. Alicja Wolny leads the way at .385. Colby Wherry follows at .362. Maggie Ruckenbrod (.353), Chelsea Bemis (.352), Jennifer Esteban (.345) and Hannah Kiyohara (.316) round out the top hitters.
Four of the Cards' top six hitters are underclassmen Ruckenbrod and Kiyohara are freshmen while Wolny and Esteban are sophomores. Sophomore Jordan Trimble was also batting .410 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
Collins posted a 3-0 record with one save and a 0.59 ERA for the Cardinals in five appearances on the week. The lefty allowed just two earned runs on 12 hits, striking out 24 in 23.2 innings of work. Collins limited opponents to a .150 batting average.
Wherry led the Cardinals to a 4-1 performance on the weekend. She batted .625 (10-for-16) with a home run, three doubles, six RBIs and four runs. She posted a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .611 on-base percentage.
Bemis a Member of the 200 Club
Senior Chelsea Bemis became the sixth player in program history to record 200 hits. She currently has 201 and is sixth on the all-time hits list. She needs 22 more to tie Lacy Wood for fifth (223). Audrey Rendon holds the school record with 283.
Katie Petrino Joins the Louisville Softball Team
Head coach Sandy Pearsall has announced that freshman pitcher Katie Petrino will be a mid-season addition to the Cardinals' roster. Petrino is also a redshirt freshman on the Louisville golf team and will be eligible to play in this weekend's BIG EAST Conference series against Seton Hall.
The Fayetteville, Ark., native was a two-time all-state softball selection for Fayetteville High School, which was ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation.
