No. 18 Softball Set for Friday's Home Opener
February 21, 2013 | Softball
Feb. 21, 2013
Game Notes 
| Cardinal Classic Central
The No. 18/18 University of Louisville softball team will open the home season with the Cardinal Classic Feb. 22-24 at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards will play host to Kent State Friday at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday Louisville will face Buffalo at 12:30 p.m. The final day of the tournament will feature the Cards against Kent State at 12:30 p.m. and Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m.
Cardinal Classic
February 22
12 p.m. - Kent State vs. Buffalo
2 p.m. Louisville vs. Kent State
February 23
10 a.m. - Eastern Illinois vs. Buffalo
12:30 pm - Louisville vs. Buffalo
3 p.m. - Kent State vs. Eastern Illinois
February 24
10 a.m. - Eastern Illinois vs. Buffalo
12:30 p.m. - Louisville vs. Kent State
3 p.m. - Louisville vs. Eastern Illinois
About Louisville
The Cardinals (8-2) are No. 18 in both coaches' polls as they enter the weekend with their home-opening Cardinal Classic. Louisville is batting .343 as a team with eight players batting over .300 on the season. Junior Katie Keller carries a .432 average (16 for 37) with a team-best five home runs and 14 RBIs. Senior Jordan Trimble is hitting .355 with a team-leading 12 runs.
In the circle, the Cards carry a 1.99 ERA with three shutouts on the season. Junior RHP Rachel LeCoq (4-1) carries a 0.56 ERA and is holding opponents to a .194 average with 13 Ks in 37.2 innings of work.
Cards against the opponents
Kent State
Series Record: Louisville leads 2-0
Last meeting: March 6, 2004 - Louisville won 12-4 in the Courtyard Marriott East Tournament at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Golden Flashes: Kent State brings a 2-2 record into the weekend after opening the season with a 2-2 record at the Auburn Invitational. The Golden Flashes picked up wins over East Tennessee State (5-4) and Army (5-2) before falling 5-3 to host Auburn and 8-5 to Furman.
Kim Kirkpatrick leads the team with a .500 batting average (3 for 6) with five walks and five runs. Abbey Ledford has a team-best five RBI. Emma Johnson (1-1) carries a 2.50 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 14.0 innings and is holding opponents to a .192 batting average.
Buffalo
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Bulls: Buffalo enters the weekend with a 1-4 record after opening the season at the UCF Holiday Select Tournament. Buffalo defeated Florida A&M 2-1 after losing 5-3 to Texas Arlington on Friday. They suffered losses to Stetson, South Carolina and UCF to close out the tournament.
Sammi Gallardo leads the Bulls with a .286 batting average and two RBIs. Dani Cowan (0-3) carries a 584 ERA with five strikeouts in 12.1 innings. Nicole Aviles (1-0) has a 6.55 ERA with 11 Ks in 11.0 innings of work.
Eastern Illinois
Series Record: Louisville leads 1-0
Last Meeting: March 5, 2000 - Louisville won 5-4 at the Southern Illinois Tournament.
Scouting the Panthers: Eastern Illinois brings a 1-3 record into the Cardinal Classic after opening the season at the Alabama State Hornet Invitational. The Panthers fell twice to UNC Greensboro and split two games with host Alabama State.
Hannah Cole leads the Panthers with a .444 average. Melisa Brown follows at .357 with two triples, three runs and two RBIs. Stephanie Maday (0-2) carries a 2.92 ERA with nine strikeouts in 12.0 innings.
Up Next
Louisville will travel to Orlando, Fla. for the 2013 Citrus Classic where they will face Texas, Temple, Longwood, Georgia Tech and LSU March 1-3 at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.
Recapping last weekend
The Cards went 4-1 on the weekend and outscored opponents 30-2 in the Jacksonville Tournament. Louisville opened the weekend with an 8-0 win over Stony Brook and Bethune-Cookman 8-1. The were shut out for the first time this season when they fell 1-0 to Ohio State in extra innings, but rebounded to beat Jacksonville 9-0 on Saturday. The Cards closed the weekend with a 5-0 win over Stony Brook on Sunday.
Kiyohara Tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week
Junior Hannah Kiyohara was selected BIG EAST Softball Player of the Week and junior Rachel LeCoq was named to the honor roll in the league's second weekly awards.
Kiyohara helped the Cardinals to a 4-1 week, hitting .462 with a .588 on-base percentage and .692 slugging percentage. The junior outfielder recorded six hits in 13 at-bats, driving in five runs and scoring four times. Kiyohara hit a home run against Stony Brook on Feb. 15 and went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI to give Louisville an 8-0 win. She walked four times and reached base in each of the five games.
Rachel LeCoq posted two wins and did not allow an earned run in 22.0 innings of work. The junior tossed three complete games and notched two shutouts, while striking out five and only giving up one walk. She was also selected as the College Sports Madness BIG EAST Player of the Week.
Louisville No. 18 in Both Coaches' Polls
U of L slipped two spots to No. 18 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Preseason Poll which was released on Feb. 18. Louisville also slid one spot to No. 18 in the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association poll which was released on Feb. 18. The Cards made their 2013 debut at No. 18 in both polls.
• Cards in ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings
The Cardinals reached a program-best No. 7 on May 15, 2012 after spending two weeks at No. 8 - they were ranked in the top 10 for the final five weeks of the season. Louisville spent 15 weeks in USA Softball top 25 after debuting at No 23 on Feb. 14. • Cards in NFCA rankings
The Cards reached their highest ranking at No. 9 on April 24, 2012 and spent four weeks at that spot.
Home Sweet Home
The Cards were tough at home during the 2012 regular season posting a perfect 25-0 record at Ulmer Stadium and a 27-2 record after the NCAA regional. Among Louisville's regular victories at home are No. 20 Michigan and No. 17 USF. In 2011, the Cards were an impressive 18-3 at Ulmer Stadium.
Bombs Away
Louisville already has 11 home runs on the season with six players connected on at least one home in the first two weeks. Junior Katie Keller leads the with five while senior Alicja Wolny has two. Kayla Soles, Katelyn Mann, Hannah Kiyohara, Maggie Ruckenbrod and Taner Fowler have one apiece.
The Road Ahead
The 2013 schedule features five top 25 teams including No. 1/2 Oklahoma, No. 6/6 Texas, No. 10/11 LSU, No. 15/15 Michigan and No. 21/22 Louisville as well as three teams which are receiving votes in the coaches polls (North Carolina, Ohio State and Georgia Tech). Additionally 13 teams on the Cards' 2013 slate played in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Louisville does not face BIG EAST foe and Women's College World Series participant during the regular season, but the teams could potentially meet in the conference tournament which will be held May 9-11 in Tampa, Fla.
Cards Picked to Finish Third in BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll
The University of Louisville softball team was picked to finish third in the 2013 BIG EAST Softball preseason poll which is decided by the league's 13 head coaches. USF was the preseason favorite with Notre Dame narrowly edging the Cards for second place.
U of L, the reigning BIG EAST Champion received four first-place votes and 128 points. The Cardinals claimed the BIG EAST regular-season and championship titles in 2012. They finished with a 55-5 overall mark and a 20-2 conference record. The 2012 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year loses two All-BIG EAST First Team selections from a year ago but returns seven all-conference selections. Catcher/utility Taner Fowler and first baseman Alicja Wolny were first-team selections last season while second baseman Katie Keller and pitcher Caralisa Connell were named to the second team. Three third-team selections, including the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player, outfielder Jordan Trimble, return for 2013. Joining Trimble are outfielder Jennifer Esteban and shortstop Whitney Arion.
