Softball Plays Host to DePaul Wednesday
March 25, 2014 | Softball
March 25, 2014
The University of Louisville softball team will take a break from American Athletic Conference play with a doubleheader against DePaul Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Admission is free.
Wednesday's doubleheader is a "Be the Match" event to help raise awareness, donor registrants and funds for blood cancers. For more information visit Bethematch.org
Louisville Softball Quick Hits
• The Cardinals are led offensively by senior second baseman Katie Keller who is batting .402 with 29 runs and 15 RBI. Junior Kelsi Jones has belted out a team-best seven home runs and has 21 RBIs on the season.
• Louisville is hitting .311 as a team with six players boasting batting averages above .300.
• Freshman Maryssa Becker (6-1) has a 2.08 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 60.2 innings while holding opponents to a .206 batting average. Senior Caralisa Connell (7-4) carries a 3.36 ERA with 52Ks in 60.1 innings. Senior Rachel LeCoq (5-6) holds a 3.93 ERA and has 62Ks in 62.1 innings of work.
• Head coach Sandy Pearsall is in her 15th season at UofL. She started the program in 2000 and is the only head coach in UofL Softball history, guiding the program to a 571-284 record.
Last Up
Cards take opening American Athletic Conference series against Rutgers
Last weekend (March 22-23) the Cardinals hosted Rutgers in both teams' AAC opening series.
Louisville overcame a 5-0 first-inning deficit to defeat Rutgers 10-6 in game one. The second game of the doubleheader started in the same fashion with the Scarlet Knights taking a 5-0 lead in the top of the first. Louisville got as close as 5-2 and threatened to rally several times, but Rutgers prevailed 10-6.
In game three, the Cards fell behind 2-0 in the top of the third, but scored three runs to take the lead in the home half of the inning. After Rutgers tied the game in the top of the fourth, but Louisville put up four runs in both the fifth and the sixth innings to beat the Scarlet Knights 11-3 and clinch the series.
Cards Against DePaul
Series Record: DePaul leads 25-18
Last Meeting: Feb 9, 2013; Louisville won 8-2 in the UNLV Sportco Classic
The teams met in a non-conference game at the UNLV Sportco Classic. Then-No. 18 Louisville used a six-run fourth to break open a scoreless game. Katie Keller and Maggie Ruckenbrod each had two hit while Kayla Soles had a three-run triple. Rachel LeCoq got the complete game win, allowing two unearned runs and striking out four. Kristen Verdun took the loss while six DePaul players recorded a hit apiece.
NOTE: The Louisville/DePaul series dates back to 2000, the Cardinals' inaugural season. The 2014 season marks the first year the two have not played in the same conference.
Scouting the Blue Demons: DePaul enters the doubleheader with an 18-6 overall record and receiving votes in both coaches polls. Last weekend the Blue Demons took two games from St. John's in the conference opener for both teams before the Sunday finale was cancelled due to inclement weather. In Saturday's doubleheader, DePaul defeated St. John's by scores of 8-1 and 13-0.
Mary Connolly leads the Blue Demons offense with a .388 batting average, 18 RBIs,, six home runs and 17 runs scored. Kali Gardner and Kirsten Verdun each were named to this week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Gardner is hitting .333 on the season with nine RBIs, including seven RBIs versus St. John's along with two home runs. Verdun adds 10 RBIs while hitting .347 on the year.
Verdun also leads in the circle with a 12-3 overall record in 15 starts, including 11 complete games. She carries a 1.50 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 102.2 innings pitched and opponents are hitting just .198 against Verdun. Connolly (2-2) and Hannah Penna (4-1) have also seen significant action for DePaul and carry ERAs of 3.07 and 4.63, respectively.
Up Next
The Cardinals will return to league play when they hit the road for a three-game set with Houston March 29-30.
Keller and Becker Named to American Athletic Conference Honor Roll
Katie Keller and Maryssa Becker were named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll on March 24.
Keller helped the Cardinals to a 4-2 record on the week, batting .412 (7 for 17) with a home run and two doubles to help produce five RBIs and scored five runs on the week. The senior also drew six walks to register a .565 on-base percentage and she recorded a .706 slugging percentage.
• She reached via a hit or a walk in all six games. She had three of the six games including a 2 for 3 RBI performance (with a home run) in the 7-4 win at Western Kentucky. Keller went 2 for 3 with three runs in Louisville's 11-3 win over Rutgers.
Becker went 2-0 with a save in the circle and posted a 1.72 ERA and tossed her first career no-hitter to help the Cardinals to a 4-2 record on the week. She held opponents to a .130 batting average, scattering nine hits and striking out 16 in 20.1 innings.
• Becker opened the week with a strong performance in the Cards' 4-1 loss to Wisconsin on Monday. The freshman entered the the game in the first inning with UofL down 4-0 and proceeded to retire all 20 batters she faced while striking out six. She continued her dominance with her first career no-hitter in UofL's 3-0 win at Western Kentucky, striking out five in that game. Becker entered the second game of the doubleheader and retired both batters she faced to pick up the save and extend her streak of shutout innings to 15.0. She went on to allow four hits in the series opener against Rutgers, but picked up her sixth win of the season as the Cards clinched the series with an 11-3 win on Sunday.
Becker Tosses First Career No-Hitter
On March 19, freshman Maryssa Becker struck out five en route to her first career no-hitter as the Cards defeated host Western Kentucky 3-0. The no-no was Louisville's first since April 15, 2012 when Tori Collins posted her second consecutive one against Longwood.
Cards Set School Record for Runs in a Game
Louisville 22- Ohio University 4 (5 innings)
On March 9, the Cardinals defeated Ohio University 22-4 at Ulmer Stadium, setting a program record for runs in a game.The previous record was 18 set against Saint Louis on April 24, 2005. Highlights from the game included:
• Every starter in the lineup had at least one hit as the Cards pounded out a season-high 18 hits
• Senior Taner Fowler and junior Brittany Duncan each tied a school record for runs in a game with four.
• Senior Hannah Kiyohara had a career-high five RBIs to combine with a season-best 3 for 4 performance at the plate.
Power Surge
Junior transfers Kelsi Jones (Missouri) and Brittany Duncan (Valparaiso) have been welcome additions to a team which set a program record for home runs with 63 in 2013. Jones leads the team with seven and Duncan follows closely with five to account for 12 of the Cardinals' 23 bombs on the season.
