No. 17/19 Softball Set for Tennessee Classic
March 01, 2012 | Softball
March 1, 2012
Leonard and Austin Interviews
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -
The No. 17/19 University of Louisville softball team will travel to Knoxville, Tenn. for the 2012 Tennessee Classic March 2-4.
Inclement weather in the forecast has already altered the original schedule which had the Cards (12-0) playing four games and an exhibition against the Dutch National Team.
Louisville will now open the tournament Friday against Middle Tennessee at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Cardinals and Memphis will square off at 5:30 p.m. U of L will close the weekend against Boston on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
All games are subject to change due to the weather.
About Louisville
At 12-0 on the season, Louisville is off to the best start in program history. As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .327 and have outscored opponents 61-21 through the first 12 games of the season. Senior outfielder Kristin Austin leads the team with a .462 batting average, four triples, three doubles and 11 runs. Sophomore Taner Fowler follows closely at .450 with a team-best three homers and 13 RBI.
The Cardinal pitching staff of Tori Collins, Chelsea Leonard and Caralisa Connell have combined for a 1.41 ERA and are holding opponents to a .151 batting average with five shutouts and 123 strikeouts in 84.1 innings of work. Senior Tori Collins (6-0) carries a 1.34 ERA with 65Ks in 41.2 innings.
Note Cards
• Knoxville is a familiar destination for the Cardinals as they will be making their fourth trip since being sent there for the 2006 NCAA regionals. They also returned for more NCAA regional action in 2008 and 2010.
• Junior left fielder Jennifer Esteban is currently on a team-best 10-game hitting streak.
• Louisville has featured a young lineup in its past three weekends with four freshmen and four sophomores in the lineup at times. Senior outfielder Kristin Austin is on a seven-game hitting streak.
• Head Coach Sandy Pearsall is in her 13th season as the head coach of the University of Louisville softball program. After building the program from scratch in 2000, Pearsall has guided the Cardinals to three conference championships, eight consecutive NCAA regional appearances including serving as a host site in 2009 and 2011.
Middle Tennessee
Series Record: Cards lead 4-2
Last Meeting: March 4, 2011 - U of L won 10-5 at Ulmer Stadium Scouting the Blue Raiders: The Blue Raiders are 3-5 this season and are coming off back-to-back victories at the Cougar Classic. Sophomore Kayla Toney leads Middle Tennessee with 10 runs scored and a .458 batting average.
Memphis
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Tigers: Memphis is 4-12 on the season after participating in the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic and the Blues City Classic. The Tigers are led by Morgan Mosby who is hitting .365 with 1 home run and 7 RBIs.
Boston University
Series Record: Cards lead 1-0
Last Meeting: Feb. 25, 2011 - U of L won 5-0 at Ulmer Stadium
Scouting the Terriers: Boston is 3-2 on the season and is coming off back to back wins at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Leading the Terriers on the mound is Holli Floetker who was recently named the America East Conference Pitcher of the Week after posting a 3-1 record at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Floetker pitched 24 innings, allowing eight runs and recording a 3.00 ERA. She struck out 13 batters and held the opposition to a .261 batting average. Sophomore Megan Volpano will lead the Terrier hitters with a current batting average of .400 with 6 RBI's.
On Deck
The Cardinals will return home for the Red & Black Classic March 10-12. No. 12/12 Michigan, Saint Louis and Illinois State will pay a visit to Ulmer Stadium for Louisville's only home tournament of the season.
Cards move up to No. 17/19 in Coaches' polls
The Cardinals moved up one spot to No. 17 in the in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches' Association coaches' poll. This is Louisville's fourth week in the NFCA poll this season. Their preseason ranking of 24th marked the Cards' first appearance in the top 25 since April 13, 2010 when they were ranked 25th. The Cards subsequently moved up to 21st and were 18th last week. Louisville reached its highest ranking at No. 14 in the NFCA poll on March 24, 2010 and spent several weeks in the top 25 in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 and was receiving votes in 2011.
U of L is also No. 19 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball moving up one from last week's No. 20 ranking. This is the Cards' third week in the USA Softball top 25 after debuting at No 23 on Feb. 14 and jumping to No. 20 last week. Louisville reached a program-best 14th in the ESPN.com/USA on March 1, 2010. They were also ranked in the top 25 in the 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Keller and Leonard Named to League Honor Roll
Sophomore Katie Keller helped lead the Cardinals to a 3-0 performance this weekend with a .500 batting average (5 for 10) with a home run, eight RBIs and two runs. The second baseman had at least two RBIs in each game, including four in the series-opening 8-0 win. She also had at least one hit in each game - extending her hitting streak to seven. She posted an .800 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage to help the Cards remain undefeated on the season with a three-game sweep of Creighton in Louisville's home-opening weekend.
Chelsea Leonard tied a school record (and her own career high) with a 16 strikeout performance in the 7-0 win over Creighton. In her first complete game since last year's season-ending knee injury the redshirt sophomore took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before surrendering her only hit of the game. On the weekend, Leonard posted 0-0 ERA and held her opponent to a .045 batting average. On the season, she carries a 3-0 record and a team-best 0.91 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 23.0 innings of work and opponents are batting .111 against her.
Recapping last weekend
The Cardinals posted three straight shutouts and scored a combined 19 runs in a three-game series against Creighton in Louisville's home-opening weekend.
Louisville 8 - Creighton 0
Senior Tori Collins tossed a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and sophomore Katie Keller went 3 for 4 with four RBIs as the No. 18/20 University of Louisville softball team defeated Creighton 8-0 in its home opener.
Louisville 7 - Creighton 0
In game one, sophomore Chelsea Leonard (3-0) tied a career and school record with 16 strikeouts in a complete-game one-hitter and the Cardinal offense backed her with seven runs on 10 hits to give the Cards their eleventh straight win.
Louisville 4 - Creighton 0
In the series finale, sophomore Caralisa Connell (3-0) struck out eight and scattered four hits and senior Tori Collins fanned three on one hit to combine for the Cards' third straight shutout in the 4-0 victory over Creighton. Katie Keller was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and Taner Fowler was 2 for 3 with an RBI to help the Cards improve to 12-0 on the season.
Bombs away
The Cardinals have hit 11 home runs through their first 12 games of the season with seven players connecting on roundtrippers. Sophomore Taner Fowler is tied for the lead with three homers, while junior Katelyn Mann, sophomores Katie Keller and Jordan Trimble and freshmen Whitney Arion and Kayla Soles have one apiece. Sophomore Maggie Ruckenbrod belted out three home runs in her first four games before being sidelined by injury.
