No. 12 Softball Set for NCAA Regional
May 15, 2013 | Softball
May 15, 2013
Louisville softball NCAA game notes 
Alicja Wolny Talks about the NCAA Softball Regional with CardsTV
Jordan Trimble Talks about the NCAA Softball Regional with CardsTV
The No. 12/12 University of Louisville softball team will face IPFW (32-14)at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ulmer Stadium in NCAA regional action at Ulmer Stadium. No. 13/16 UCLA (37-18) and UAB (37-16) will meet at 5 p.m. in the first game of the Louisville Regional. The double-elimination regional will continue Saturday and Sunday.
The winner of the Louisville Regional will match up with the winner of the Gainesville Regional which features host Florida (52-7), South Florida (43-14) Georgia Southern (32-28) and Hampton (33-24).
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NCAA Regional Information
Louisville Regional - May 17-19 at Louisville, Kentucky
No. 15 seed Louisville* (46-11) vs. IPFW (32-14)
UAB (37-15) vs. UCLA (37-18)
NCAA Regional Schedule
Friday, May 17
Game 1 - UAB vs. UCLA - 5 p.m.
Game 2 - IPFW vs. Louisville - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
Game 3 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 2:00 p.m.
Game 4 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 4:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 - 1 p.m.
Game 7 - (If necessary) - 3:30 p.m.
Parking and Stadium Information
Several events will be taking place on campus which could affect parking on Friday and Saturday. Fans may park in the garage which is located on Floyd Street across from Cardinal Park, the Human Resources lot on Floyd Street north of Ulmer Stadium, or the P Lot which is located on the east side of Floyd Street next to the railroad tracks. Each of those lots is $5.
Free parking is also available at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and a courtesy shuttle will run from the football stadium to the Student Activities Center throughout the day.
Shuttle Hours
Dates/Times:
Friday, May 17 - 3 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday, May 18 - 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Shuttle Route: pick-up and drop-off at the bus stop at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and the Student Activities Center circle (north and south on Floyd Street).
Ulmer Stadium Information
Umbrellas, coolers and pets are not allowed in Ulmer Stadium.
Ticket Information
All-Session tickets
Adult All-Session $25
Youth All-Session $15
Student/Senior All-Session $15.00
Single session tickets - on sale Friday at Ulmer Stadium
Adult Single Session $10
Youth Session $5
Berm:
$5 - Single Session only
Ticket office: 502-852-5151
Click here to purchase tickets Tickets can be picked up in advance at the UofL Ticket Office at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium starting Monday through Friday at noon.
About Louisville
U of L (46-11, 18-4 BIG EAST)earned the No. 15 overall seed for the second straight season and was selected as a host site for the third consecutive year. The Cardinals are No. 12 in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate poll and the USA Today/NFCA coaches' poll.
Louisville is led offensively by senior first baseman Alicja Wolny who is hitting .417 with 10 home runs and 52 RBIs. She recently passed junior second baseman Katie Keller who is hitting .412 on the season with a team-best 12 home runs, 60 runs and 54 RBIs. Senior Jordan Trimble is hitting .385 with 17 doubles, 49 runs and 28 RBIs on the season.
Caralisa Connell (25-4) carries a 2.20 ERA with 206 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .195 batting average in 193.2 innings. Rachel LeCoq (21-7) holds a 1.88 ERA with 97 Ks in 171.0 innings of work.
Up Last
Louisville went 1-1 in the 2013 BIG EAST Championship. After earning the No. 3 seed, the Cardinals defeated sixth-seeded Syracuse 12-3 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals for the seventh straight year (every year since joining the league in 2006). U of L fell 3-0 to host - and eventual champion USF in the semifinals.
Cards against the field
Louisville vs. IPFW
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Mastodons: IPFW (34-14) is making its first NCAA appearance after winning the 2013 Summitt League Championship and earning the conference's automatic bid. IPFW has won eight of its last nine games, including a 7-4 victory over North Dakota State in the finals of the Summitt League Championship - after falling to the Bison by the same margin earlier that day.
The Mastodons are led offensively by Summitt League Tournament MVP Ashleigh Bousquet who is hitting .417 on the season with nine home runs and 42 RBIs. Miranda Kramer (23-8) carries a 1.82 ERA with 270 strikeouts in 180.2 innings of work.
Louisville vs. UAB
Series Record: UL leads 18-3
Last Meeting: Feb. 11, 2012 - Maggie Ruckenbrod blasted two home runs and Katelyn Mann registered her first career homer as then-No. 24 Louisville defeated UAB 5-4 in the FIU Combat Classic.
Series Note: The teams were both members of Conference USA from 2000-05. Both teams began their programs in 2000 and U of L's Sandy Pearsall and UAB's Marla Townsend have been the only head coaches in school history.
Scouting the Blazers: UAB (37-16) earned an at-large bid and is making its fourth-straight NCAA appearance after winning the Conference USA regular season title with a program-best record of 19-4 in league play. The top-seeded Blazers fell 1-0 to Marshall in the C-USA semifinals. Caitlin Attfield leads the team with a .367 average, 33 runs and 23 stolen bases. Kristen McGrath has a team-best 12 home runs and 39 RBIs.
The Blazers have a formidable pitching staff highlighted by Lannah Campbell (12-5) who carries a 1.78 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 145.2 innings and Lauren Webster (12-4) has a 1.59 ERA with 156 Ks in 105.1 innings of work. Leigh Streetman (12-7) also has 120 strikeouts in 109.2 innings.
Louisville vs. No. 13/16 UCLA
Series Record: UCLA leads 1-0
Last Meeting: May 21, 2004 - UCLA defeated Louisville 2-0 in the second game of the Los Angeles Regional - the Bruins went on to win the national championship that year. The Cards were making their first of 10 straight NCAA appearances. Scouting the Bruins: The Bruins (37-18) tied for fifth in the Pac-12 Conference after posting 10-14 mark in league play. UCLA closed the season with wins in five of its last six contests including taking two of three against Oregon State last weekend.
UCLA is batting .302 as a team with Stephany LaRosa's .378 average leading the way. B.B. Bates has a team-best 24 home runs with 72 RBIs. The Bruins have pounded out 82 home runs on the season, in addition to Bates' 24, Ally Carda has 16 and LaRosa has 15. Carda is also impressive in the circle with a 22-10 record, a 2.37 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 186.1 innings.
• UCLA is one of the most storied programs in college softball, with 12 national championships, most recently in 2010.
Quick hits
• The Cardinals earned an at-large bid to the 2013 NCAA tournament, marking Louisville's tenth consecutive NCAA tournament bid and the third straight and fourth overall year - it has served as a regional site host. The Cards also hosted in 2012, 2011 and 2009.
• U of L played 17 games against the tourney field, going 11-6 and 4-3 vs top 16 seeds.
• Louisville is batting .339 as a team which ranks fifth in the national standings. Seven players in the starting lineup are hitting over .300 on the season and three players have 40 or more RBIs.
• The Cards have scored 382 runs on the season, surpassing the program record 320 set in the 2009 season.
• The April 28, 10-1 win over Georgetown marked head coach Sandy Pearsall's 800th career victory. She is in her 26th season with an overall record of 802-606 and a 552-272 record in her 14th season at U of L.
• The Cardinals snapped a season-high 15-game win streak with a 2-1 loss to No. 19/19 Kentucky on April 24.
• 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.
• Every hitter in the current starting lineup has recorded at least two home runs.
• The Cards have been among in the top 25 in the coaches' polls for the past 30 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.
Nine Cardinals Take Home All-BIG EAST honors
The University of Louisville placed nine players on the BIG EAST All-Conference teams, which were announced at the BIG EAST Softball Championship banquet on May 8. Katie Keller, Katelyn Mann, Jordan Trimble and Alicja Wolny earned first team honors, while Whitney Arion,>Caralisa Connell, Hannah Kiyohara and Rachel LeCoq were named to the second team and Maggie Ruckenbrod was a third team selection.
Senior Moments
The Cardinals honor seniors Chelsea Leonard, Jennifer Esteban, Katelyn Mann, Chrisanna Roberts, Jordan Trimble and Alicja Wolny. As a class, they have won 178 games and helped the Cardinals to a BIG EAST regular season and tournament title and two runner-up finishes and four NCAA appearances - including back-to-back years as the overall No. 15 seed (2012 and 2013). They have helped the team set records for wins in a season (55 in 2012), appeared as high as No. 7 in the nation rankings (2012 and 2013), and registered the program's first win over a top-ranked team when they beat No. 1 Oklahoma in Norman earlier this season .
Cards reach 40-win mark
On April 20, Louisville defeated Villanova 1-0 for its 40th win of the season marking the eighth time the Cards have reached the 40-win mark.
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 eight times since 2000, the program's inaugural season. In 2012, Louisville eclipsed the 50-win milestone with a 55-5 record.
Cards Run Past School Record
On April 20, Louisville defeated Villanova 5-4 and in doing so, set a new school record for runs in a season, surpassing previous mark of 320 set in 2009. Louisville now has 382 on the season.
Wolny Hitting the (Record) Books
When all is said and done, senior Alicja Wolny will leave her mark in the school record books. She is ranked in the top five in career hits, doubles, home runs, RBI and walks and is in the top 10 in games played and started. Below is a list of where she stands among the program's career leaders.
Hit - 4th - (244)
Doubles - 2nd (67)
RBI - 3rd (162)
Home runs - 5th (28)
Walks - 4th (100)
Games started - 6th (228)
Games played - 9th (228)
For the complete top 10 career standings, see page 13 in the game notes.
Keller Having a Record Season
RBIs
Katie Keller's solo home run in the 3-1 loss to Notre Dame on May 5 gave her 54 RBIs on the season and set a new school record. Melissa Roth (2009) and Courtney Moore (2005) held the previous mark of 53. She now has 54 on the season.
Runs
Keller has scored 60 runs so far this season and is currently second on the single season list. She is within striking distance of breaking the record for single runs (64) set by Melissa Roth in 2009.
Louisville No. 12 in both Coaches' Polls
• Cards in ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings
For the second straight week, U of L is No. 12 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll which was released on May 14. On April 23, they were tied for 7th, matching the highest ranking in program history. The Cards made their 2013 debut at No. 18 and spent four weeks in the top 10.
Louisville recorded program-best No. 7 ranking for the first time on May 15, 2012. 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 weighed in at No. 12 in the most recent USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll on May 14. After a pair of losses to Notre Dame, the Cards dropped two spots two weeks after tying their program high at No. 8 in the NFCA Softball poll on April 23.
Louisville opened the 2013 season at No. 18. The Cards' spent three weeks in the top 10. Prior to that, they spent five straight weeks at No. 11.
Cards in the May 13 National Rankings
The Cardinals enter the week among the nation's leaders in several categories, including batting average (5th), Win/Loss percentage (9th), Doubles per game (2nd), Slugging Percentage (7th) and scoring (10th).
Katie Keller is ranked 20th in runs per game with 60 runs in 57 games. Jordan Trimble is 23rd with 17 doubles in 52 games and Maggie Ruckenbrod is 25th with 18 doubles in 56 games. Jordan Trimble is ranked eighth with 15 sacrifice hits in 52 games.>Caralisa Connell is 22nd with 25 victories in the circle while Rachel LeCoq is 11th with nine shutouts. Alicja Wolny is 27th in sacrifice flies.
Louisville No. 15 in RPI
The NCAA released its tenth RPI report of the 2013 season on May 13 and Louisville appeared at No. 15 - down one from last week - but still enough to earn its third straight turn as an NCAA Regional host site. The Cardinals reached as high as No. 10 for three weeks and stayed in the top 16 throughout the season.
Five of Louisville's 2013 opponents are in the top 10 including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Texas, No. 6 LSU, No. 8 Michigan and No. 10 Kentucky. UCLA, a 2013 Louisville Regional participant, is No. 19. Louisville ranks the highest of all BIG EAST teams with USF appearing at No. 37 and Notre Dame at No. 43. All three made the NCAA tournament 64-team field.
Pearsall Reaches 800 career wins
On April 28, 2013, the Cardinals defeated Georgetown10-1 to mark head coach Sandy Pearsall's 800th career victory. She is in her 26th season with an overall record of 802-606 and a 552-272 record in her 14th season at U of L.
During her career she has been a head coach at Pacific, San Francisco, Florida A&M - where she started the softball program, Colorado State, Miami (Ohio) and has been the only coach in Louisville softball history. She has led her teams to six conference championships and has been named Coach of the Year five times in four different conferences.
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 Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball on April 10. Keller becomes the second Louisville player to be named a Top 25 Finalist, following Melissa Roth in 2010.
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 were 23-3 at Ulmer Stadium during the regular season in 2013 - the 6-2 loss to Iowa on March 18, 2013 snapped a 26 game regular season win streak dating back to April 13, 2011 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.
Bombs Away - Cards set new school record for single season home runs
Louisville has 62 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 12 and senior Alicja Wolny and junior Taner Fowler are right behind her with 10 . Junior Maggie Ruckenbrod and sophomore Whitney Arion have seven apiece. Senior Jordan Trimble has a career-best six. Sophomore Kayla Soles, senior Katelyn Mann each have three. Hannah Kiyohara and freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett have two.
• Katie Keller's home run in the 15-1 win over Notre Dame on May 4 gave the Cardinals 58 home runs on the season, setting a new school record. The previous mark was 57 - set in 2005.
Heavy hitters
Senior Alicja Wolny and juniors Katie Keller and Taner Fowler and senior Jordan Trimble are all in the top 10 on the school's list for career home runs. Wolny stands at fifth with 28. Fowler is seventh with 26 while Keller is eighth and Trimble is tied for tenth with 15. Courtney Moore (2004-07) holds the record with 42.
Ruckenbrod on Patrol
Junior catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod has thrown out 15 of 24 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 (26).
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 fourth on the all-time list with 244 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 67. 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). Esteban was cleared to play and returned to action on May 9 with one inning in left field.
Bruggeman Posts 700th Career Win
On March 20, 2013, the Cards defeated Indiana 4-1 at Ulmer Stadium. The win marked Associate Head Coach Carol Bruggeman's 700th career victory. Prior to becoming Louisville's first Associate Head Coach in 2006, Bruggeman built the Purdue softball program and spent 12 seasons as the head coach, producing a 378-302 mark with the Boilermakers.
Trimble registers third career grand slam
Entering the 2013 season senior Jordan Trimble hadn't hit a lot of home runs. She had nine entering the season and has a career-best six this year. 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 - she hit her third in the 12-3 win over Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST tournament on May 9.
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.
Wolny and Keller Earn Honors at U of L's All-Sports Banquet
Alicja Wolny was named Co-Female Senior Athlete of the Year while Katie Keller was tabbed Co-Junior Athlete of the Year at the annual All-Sports Banquet held on April 22.
Wolny, a four-year starter has consistently been among Louisville's leaders offensively and is a three-time All-BIG EAST selection a 2012 All Great Lakes Region First Team pick. She currently stands at No. 2 on the school's career doubles list and is in the top five in career hits, home run, RBIs and walks.
Keller, a two-time All BIG EAST selection has led the Cards offensively throughout the season and was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Player of the Week on March 5 and became the first player in program history to earn USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week honors. Twice this season she has tied a school record with 7 RBIs in a game.
Keller Sweeps National Player of the Week Awards
Katie Keller was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Player of the Week and becomes the first player in program history to earn USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week honors. Both awards were announced on March 5.
Keller helped lead the Cardinals to a 4-1 performance in the 2013 Citrus Classic. The second baseman batted .667 (8 for 12) with three doubles, seven runs and two RBIs. As the Cards' leadoff hitter in four of five games on the weekend, she also drew seven walks for an on-base percentage of .800 and registered a .917 slugging percentage. Keller had at least one hit and one walk in every game and scored at least one run in four of the Cards' five games on the weekend. Against No. 11 LSU, she went 2 for 2 with two runs and two walks. She was also 2 for 2 in wins over Temple and Georgia Tech.
• This marks the third time a Louisville player has earned NFCA Player of the Week honors. Tori Collins selected on April 17, 2012 and Chelsea Bemis became the first to earn the honor on April 27, 2010. It is the first time the Cardinals have had a player selected USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week since the award's inception in 2006.
