Softball Travels to No. 24 Notre Dame
April 15, 2011 | Softball
April 15, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
The University of Louisville softball team will travel to No. 24 Notre Dame for a three-game BIG EAST Conference series. The Cards (31-11) third in BIG EAST Conference standings with a 9-2 record while the Fighting Irish (29-7)stand in second place at 5-0 in league play.
Sunday's game is part of Notre Dame's Strike Out Cancer weekend. The teams will wear specially made jerseys - the Cards will wear black with orange numbers and lettering.
About Louisville
The Cardinals (31-11, 9-2) recently snapped a season-high 12 game winning streak. Louisville is led offensively by freshman rightfielder Hannah Kiyohara, who is batting .393 with 14 runs and 16 RBI. Sophomore first baseman Alicja Wolny follows at .374 with a team-best 35 RBI. Senior shortstop Colby Wherry rounds out the top three batters at .353 on the season with 17 runs and 19 RBI.
Freshman Caralisa Connell (18-5) carries a 2.19 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 160.0 innings of work. She has won 12 of the past 13 games for the Cardinals. 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
Notre Dame
Record: Louisville leads 10-8
Last Meeting: Louisville beat Notre Dame 5-2 in the BIG EAST tournament on May 14, 2010. Each of Notre Dame's last three losses in the BIG EAST tournament have come from Louisville (2010, 2008 and 2007). Scouting the Irish: Notre Dame, who is coming off of a three game sweep of Bowling Green University, are currently ranked No. 24 in the ESPN.com top 25 national softball poll. They have recorded a 29-7 season record and a perfect 5-0 conference record, and are seeded at second place in the BIG EAST standings.
The Irish are led by junior outfielder Alexa Maldonado who is batting .411 on the season. She ranks first on the team with 46 hits and 34 runs. Also pacing Notre Dame is senior Heather Johnson, the reigning BIG EAST player of the week. Johnson leads the team with seven homeruns and 36 RBIs on the season. Johnson has proven to be a force in conference play with a .625 batting average, 10 hits, three home runs and 11 RBIs against BIG EAST foes.
The Notre Dame pitching staff, which has recorded a collective 2.33 ERA, is led by freshman Laura Winter who has a 1.58 ERA and a 16-2 record.
Card Notes
• The Cards' 12 game winning streak (spanning March 26-April 13) was the fourth longest inschool history. The 2006 team holds the record of 17 games (April 22-May 13, 2006).
• Six of Louisville's 11 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 16-for-16 in stolen bases this season and is currently on a streak of 29 perfect attempts dating back to the Feb. 28, 2010 win over Northern Illinois.
Cards receiving votes coaches polls
For the second week in a row, the Cardinals are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches polls. The Cards sit at No. 27 in both polls and are at No. 25 in the Ultimate College Softball rankings.
Up Last for Louisville
Freshman Caralisa Connell struck out 20 on the day and junior Kristin Austin had four hits, as the University of Louisville softball team split a doubleheader with visiting Connecticut Wednesday afternoon at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards (31-11, 9-2 BIG EAST) won the first game 2-1 and the Huskies (16-17, 4-3) took the nightcap 5-1 to halt Louisville's winning streak at 12 games.
Up Next...
U of L will take a break from BIG EAST Conference play when they travel to
Bemis ties career RBI record
Senior Chelsea Bemis is tied for first on the school's career RBI list with 174. Her double in the 2-1 win over Connecticut tied Courtney Moore's mark of 174.
Connell Selected to BIG EAST honor roll
Caralisa Connell was named to the BIG EAST honor roll on April. The rookied helped the Cardinals to a 4-0 on the week by pitching every inning and earning all four wins. She posted a 1.69 ERA with 24 strikeouts. Connell scattered 27 hits in 29 innings and notched a complete game shutout in the 1-0 win over Indiana. She has now won 11 consecutive games dating back to March 26.
On a hot streak
The Cardinals recently snapped a season-high 12 game winning steak dating from the March 26 5-3 win over Villanova to the April 13 5-1 loss to Connecticut. They have also won 12 of their last 13 games. The team has hit .343 and outscored opponents 82-31 in the past 13 games.
During that time, right fielder Hannah Kiyohara has led the Cardinals at the plate with a .513 average (20-for-39), eight runs and eight RBIs. Second basebman Katie Keller batted .375 with 14 runs and 16 RBI. Left fielder Jennifer Esteban was hitting .367 with 13 runs, and five stolen bases.
In the past 13 games, Freshman Caralisa Connell has posted a 12-1 record with a 1.43 ERA, 57 strikeouts and a .242 opponent batting average while pitching every inning during that stretch.
Walk this way
Senior Chelsea Bemis now holds the record for career walks with 105. She drew a walk in the April 3, 9-3 win over Seton Hall to give her 103, surpassing Courtney Moore's previous mark of 102 which has stood since the 2007 season.
Wherry joins the 200 Hits Club
On April 10, Colby Wherry had a pair of hits in the 10-3 win over Pittsburgh to earn her 200th career hit. She becomes the seventh player in program history to record 200 hits. She currently has 203 and is seventh on the all-time hits list - 10 behind teammate Chelsea Bemis.
Ruckenbrod throwing down
Freshman catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod picked off two runners in the first game of the Pitt doubleheader. She now has 10 on the season and owns the single game, season and career records for runners picked off.
Hitting for average - underclassmen stepping up to the plate
Louisville is batting .323 as a team with seven active players batting at, or above .300. Hannah Kiyohara leads the way at .393. Alicja Wolny follows at .374 and Colby Wherry hitting .363. Chelsea Bemis (.360), Jennifer Esteban (.358), Katie Keller (.322) annd Maggie Ruckenbrod (.315) complete the .300 lineup.
Five of the Cards' top seven hitters are underclassmen Kiyohara, Keller and Ruckenbrod, are freshmen while Wolny and Esteban are sophomores. Sophomore Jordan Trimble was also batting .410 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
Senior leadership...
Senior captains Chelsea Bemis and Colby Wherry comprise the left side of the infield at third base and shortstop respectively. Both are four-year starters and have turned in solid performance both offensively and defensively this season. Wherry is currently batting .3\363 with 17 runs and 19 RBIs. Bemis carries a .360 average with a team-leading seven home runs and 16 doubles - she also has 32 RBIs and 29 runs.
Both Bemis and Wherry will leave their marks in the Cardinal record books. They are currently tied for 8th in career games started at 215 each. They are also in the top 10 in several offensive categories including hits, doubles, RBIs and walks.
Bemis a Member of the 200 Hits Club
On March 30, Chelsea Bemis blasted solo home run in the 13-2 win over DePaul to notch her 200th career hit, becoming the sixth player in program history to record 200 hits. She currently has 211 and is sixth on the all-time hits list. She needs 12 more to tie Lacy Wood for fifth (223). Audrey Rendon holds the school record with 283.
Cards in NCAA Standings
The Louisville softball team is among the top performers in the nation in several categories including: doubles per game, batting average and fielding percentage. Senior Chelsea Bemis, junior Tori Collins and sophomore Jennifer Esteban are also ranked in the top 25 in the latest NCAA stats released on April 12.
As team the Cardinals are ninth with 1.72 doubles per game, 22nd in team batting average and 23rd in fielding percentage.
Collins is eighth in the nation with seven shutouts. Bemis stands in at No. 14 with 0.39 doubles per game (12/33). Esteban is 13th with four triples.
