No. 8 Softball Travels to Villanova
April 18, 2013 | Softball
April 18, 2013
Louisville at Villanova game notes 
The No. 8/8 University of Louisville softball team will continue BIG EAST Conference play a three-game series at Villanova April 20-21. The teams will meet in a doubleheader on Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at noon.
About Louisville
U of L (39-6, 11-1 BIG EAST) is No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate poll and the USA Today/NFCA coaches' poll. The Cards carry a 12-1 record in BIG EAST play which places them tied for second along with Notre Dame and DePaul - USF leads the pack with a 13-1 league record.
Louisville is led offensively by junior second baseman Katie Keller who is hitting .432 on the season with 10 home runs, 52 runs and 45 RBIs. Senior first baseman Alicja Wolny follows at .424 with nine homers and 42 RBIs. Junior catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod is hitting .386 with 16 doubles and 35 RBIs.
Caralisa Connell (24-2) carries a 1.98 ERA with 185 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .189 batting average in 170.0 innings. Rachel LeCoq (15-4) holds a 1.84 ERA with 69 Ks in 122.0 innings of work.
Louisville vs. Villanova
Series Record: Louisville leads 11-2
Last Meeting: April 11, 2012 - U of L swept a doubleheader 7-4 and 2-1 at Villanova.
Scouting the Wildcats: Villanova enters the weekend with a 15-22 overall record and a 2-12 mark in BIG EAST play after being swept by Syracuse 1-0 and 3-2 in a midweek doubleheader.
Beth Smetana leads the team with a .306 batting average and four home runs with 18 RBIs and 18 runs. Ali Lowe follows at .299 with 19 runs and 10 RBIs. Kate Poppe (15-14) carries a 2.51 ERA with 179 strikeouts in 170.0 innings. Kaity Sitzman (0-6) carries a 3.11 ERA with 16 Ks in 54.0 innings.
Quick hits
• Louisville brings a season-high 12-game win streak into the weekend - their last loss was on March 29 when they fell 4-2 to Syracuse.
• On March 18, the Cards fell 6-2 to Iowa, snapping an 11 game win streak. It was also the first regular season home loss since April 13, 2011 when they fell 5-1 to Connecticut.
• The Cardinals are batting .345 as a team with nine players hitting over .300 on the season, and five players with 30 or more RBIs.
• Every hitter in the current starting lineup has recorded at least two home runs. • Louisville has scored 315 runs on the season, five shy of a program record 320 set in the 2009 season.
• The Cards have been among in the top 25 in the coaches' polls for the past 27 ranking periods, dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season.
• U of L has five wins over top 25 teams: then-No. 11/11 LSU, No. 14/14 Michigan, No. 24/24 North Carolina, No. 1/1 Oklahoma and No. 20/21 Kentucky. The March 23 win over top-ranked Oklahoma marked the first win over a No. 1 team in program history.
On Deck
The Cardinals will play their final non-conference game at No. 17 Kentucky on April 24. Following that game, they will celebrate senior weekend with a three-game series against Georgetown April 27-28.
Up Last
Louisville swept a doubleheader 8-5 and 15-0 at Ulmer Stadium on April 17.
Louisville 8 - Pitt 5
Taner Fowler's two-run home run and Whitney Arion's two-run double sparked Louisville's eight-run fourth inning in the Cards' 8-5 win over Pittsburgh.
Louisville 15 - Pitt 0 (five innings)
In game two, Alicja Wolny was 4 for 4 with six RBI and Jordan Trimble was 4 for 4 with four runs to back Rachel LeCoq's seventh shutout of the season as the Cards completed the doubleheader sweep with a 15-0 win.
• Ruckenbrod was 5 for 6 with two walks, two runs and two RBIs on the day. Trimble was 6 for 8 with five runs and Wolny was 5 for 8 with seven RBIs and four runs in the doubleheader.
Ruckenbrod Earns BIG EAST Player of the Week honors for the second time
The University of Louisville's Maggie Ruckenbrod was named BIG EAST Softball Player of the Week on April 15.
Ruckenbrod (St. Louis, Mo.) earned her second Player of the Week honor this year. The junior catcher batted .500 (9-for-18) with six runs scored, four doubles, two home runs and four RBI. She recorded a 1.056 slugging percentage and .550 on-base percentage in a 5-0 week. Ruckenbrod reached base in all five games and went 3-for-4 in wins against Providence and Connecticut. She was 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI against Providence April 9.
• This marks the ninth time (in 10 weeks) that the Cards have had a player earn the league's weekly award. Ruckenbrod and Katie Keller have been Player of the Week twice while Hannah Kiyohara and Alicja Wolny have also earned the honor. Additionally, Caralisa Connell (twice) and Rachel LeCoq have each been named Pitcher of the Week this season.
Louisville No. 8 in both coaches' polls
• Cards in ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings
U of L moved up two spots to No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll which was released on April 16. Last week, the Cards entered the top 10, for the first time since May 13, 2012 when they were a program-high seventh. The Cards made their 2013 debut at No. 18.
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 USA Today/NFCA rankings
Louisville also jumped three spots to No. 8 in the most recent USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll on April 16 after five straight weeks at No. 11.
This week's ranking marks a program-high for Louisville in the USA Today/NFCA poll. The Cards reached their highest ranking at No. 9 on April 24, 2012 and spent four weeks at that spot. Louisville opened the 2013 season at No. 18.
Cards in the April 15 National Rankings
The Cardinals enter the week among the nation's leaders in several categories, including batting average (117th), Win/Loss percentage (7th), Doubles per game (3rd), Slugging Percentage (13th) and scoring (13th).
Katie Keller is ranked 24th in the nation with a .439 batting average and sixth in runs per game with 50 runs in 43 games. Caralisa Connell is fifth with 22 victories in the circle while Rachel LeCoq is 14th with six shutouts.
Louisville No. 13 in RPI
The NCAA released its fourth RPI report of the 2013 season on April 15 and Louisville dropped three spots to No. 13 after spending the first three ranking periods at No. 10. Six of Louisville's 2013 opponents are in the top 25 including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Texas, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 9 LSU, No. 10 Michigan and No. 22 Iowa. Louisville ranks the highest of all BIG EAST teams with South Florida next in line at No. 42.
Keller Among Nation's Top 25 Players
Junior second baseman Katie Keller has been selected as one of the Top 25 Finalists for the 2013 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year as announced by the of Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball on April 10.
Keller (Livermore, Calif.) becomes the second Louisville player to be named a Top 25 Finalist, following Melissa Roth in 2010.
The Player of the Year will be announced at the opening of the 2013 NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City. This award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize the outstanding athletic achievement by female players across the country. The list will be narrowed to the Top 10 Finalists on May 8, prior to the start of post-season play. The Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 22, while the winner of the 2013 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 28 prior to the start of the NCAA WCWS in Oklahoma City.
This year's Top 25 is comprised of 11 seniors, eight juniors, four sophomores and two freshman. The student-athletes selected represent 17 NCAA Division I universities and five athletic conferences. Alabama leads the way among universities with four athlete representatives, followed by Oklahoma and Tennessee with three apiece, Texas with two and Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, South Florida and Washington each have one member among the Top 25 Finalists.
Home Sweet Home
The Cards are 21-2 at Ulmer Stadium in 2013 - the 6-2 loss to Iowa on March 18, 2013 snapped a 26 game regular season win streak dating back to April when they fell 5-1 to Connecticut.. Louisville was 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. In 2011, the Cards were an impressive 18-3 at Ulmer Stadium.
Cards reach 30-win mark for 10 straight season
On April 6, the Cards defeated St. John's 6-4 to reach their 30th win of the season marking the tenth straight year they have registered at least 30 wins - dating back to 2004. Coincidentally, Louisville has played in the NCAA tournament in each of those seasons.
The Cardinals have posted 40 or more victories seven times since 2000, the program's inaugural season. In 2012, Louisville eclipsed the 50-win milestone with a 55-5 record.
On May 5, the Cards defeated St. John's 15-4 and 8-4 to improve to 50-3 on the year, setting a new record for season win totals and registering the first 50-win season in program history.
Bombs Away
Louisville has 47 home runs on the season with 10 players - everyone in the current starting lineup - connecting on at least two homers. Junior Katie Keller leads the team with 10 and senior Alicja Wolny follows closely with nine. Junior Taner Fowler has seven and Maggie Ruckenbrod has six. Sophomore Whitney Arion has three. Sophomore Kayla Soles has three. Seniors Jordan Trimble, and Katelyn Mann, junior Hannah Kiyohara and freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett each has two.
The team's current home run tally of 47 stands at third on the school's single season list. The 2005 team produced a school-record 57 homers.
Heavy hitters
Senior Alicja Wolny and juniors Katie Keller and Taner Fowler are all in the top 10 on the school's list for career home runs. Wolny stands tied for fifth with 27. Keller and Fowler are eighth with 23 apiece. Courtney Moore (2004-07) holds the record with 42.
Trimble registers second career grand slam
Senior Jordan Trimble doesn't hit a lot of home runs, she only has two this season and 11 in her career, but she makes them count when bases are loaded. In 2012, she hit her first career grand slam in the 9-0 win over USF and she notched her second one in this year's 15-0 win over St. John's.
Trimble is the only player on the current roster with a grand slam and one of only three players in program history to have more than one - Chelsea Bemis (2008-11) has two while Lacy Wood (2003-06) owns the school record with four.
Ruckenbrod on Patrol
Junior catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod has thrown out 14 of 22 base stealers and has picked off 10 runners this season. She owns the school record for pickoffs in a game (three), season (11 in 2011) and career (25).
Esteban and Wolny Join 200 Club
Senior Jennifer Esteban registered her 200th career hit on March 9, 2013 in the 12-0 win over Austin Peay. The following day fellow senior Alicja Wolny reached the milestone with a home run in her only official plate appearance (she was walked three times) in the 9-3 win over Illinois State. There are only 10 players in program history who accumulated 200 or more hits. Wolny is fifth on the all-time list with 230 while Esteban is No. 10 with 205. Audrey Rendon (2004-07) holds the all-time record with 283.
Wolny Doubling Up
Alicja Wolny is currently second on the career doubles list with 64. Two-time All-America selection Melissa Roth (2007-10) holds the all-time record with 68.
Missing Jenn
Senior left fielder Jennifer Esteban suffered a leg injury in the first game of the Syracuse doubleheader on March 29 and has been sidelined since that time. Up until that point, the four-year starter and two-time All-BIG EAST Conference selection had scored 18 runs and was a perfect 7 for 7 in stolen bases. She currently stands at fifth on the school's all-time list for runs scored (138), 10th in career hits (205) and second in stolen bases (60).
Keller running toward the record
Katie Keller has scored 52 runs so far this season and is currently third on the single season list. With 10 games remaining in the regular season, she is within striking distance of breaking the record for single runs (64) set by Melissa Roth in 2009.
Cardinal Softball Takes Part in MLB's Pitch, Hit & Run Competition
The University of Louisville baseball and softball teams will proudly serve as hosts for Major League Baseball's Pitch, Hit & Run competition. For area youth ages 7 to 13, Louisville will hold two separate events beginning with the baseball competition this Saturday (March 30) at 1 p.m., ET followed by a softball competition on Saturday, April 27 at noon. MLB Pitch, Hit & Run at Louisville Softball
Date: Saturday, April 27
Time: Noon ET
Location: Ulmer Stadium (Brandeis Avenue and Floyd Street) Game: Louisville Softball vs. Georgetown
Eligible: Girls ages 7 to 13
Competition will take place on the field following the doubleheader
