Softball Plays Host to Temple for Senior Weekend
April 25, 2014 | Softball
April 25, 2014
Complete game notes versus Temple 
The University of Louisville softball team will play host to Temple in a three-game American Athletic Conference series. The teams will meet in a doubleheader at 12 p.m. Saturday, which is also Military Day at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards will celebrate Senior Day when the teams meet Sunday at 12 p.m.
Louisville Softball Quick Hits
• The Cardinals enter the game with a 28-18 overall record and stand third in the American Athletic Conference with a 9-6 league record. Temple (15-22 (5-7) is currently tied for fifth. • UofL is coming off of an 8-3 loss at Indiana on Wednesday. Prior to the midweek non-conference matchup, Louisville took one game of a three-game series at UCF. The Cards defeated the Knights 1-0 in the first game of the American Athletic Conference series, but fell 3-2 and 5-1 in the next two games.
• The Cards are led offensively by senior second baseman Katie Keller who is batting .393 with 39 runs and 24 RBIs. Junior Kelsi Jones has belted out a team-best eight home runs and has produced 30 RBIs on the season. Fellow junior Brittany Duncan also has 30 RBIs and has five home runs on the season.
• Louisville is hitting .295 as a team with six players boasting batting averages above .300
• Freshman Maryssa Becker (12-5) has a 1.98 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 120.1 innings while holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
• 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 581-293 record.
Cards Against Temple
Series Record: Louisville leads 1-0
Last meeting: March 1, 2013 - Louisville won 8-0 in five innings at the 2013 Citrus Classic in Orlando.
Katie Keller was 2 for 2 with two runs and one RBI, Katelyn Mann and Alicja Wolny had two RBIs apiece while Rachel LeCoq struck out four in a five-inning 8-0 win over Temple.
• Brooklin White took the loss, allowing eight runs, six earned and striking out two in 4.1 innings
Scouting the Owls: Temple enters the weekend with a 15-22 overall record, including 5-7 in the American Athletic Conference.
• The Owls are coming off a pair of losses at Stony Brook by scores of 8-0 and 2-1 in a mid-week non-conference doubleheader. Last weekend, Temple won two of three games at Connecticut, where they suffered a 5-4 loss to open the weekend but rebounded with a pair of victories, 4-2 and 3-2.
• Sarah Prezioso leads the offense with a .385 batting average, 22 RBIs, eight home runs and 32 runs scored. Kelsey Dominik is hitting .283 and adds 17 RBIs with four home runs and Leah Lucas has contributed 20 RBIs with four home runs.
• Kelsey Dominik also leads the Owls in the circle with a 2.68 ERA in 17 starts. Dominik is 9-9 overall with 68 strikeouts in 117.1 innings and is holding opponents to a .245 batting average. Amanda Gatt (4-4) and Jessica Mahoney (2-7) have also seen significant time for the Owls.
Senior Salute
Entering the weekend, the senior class of 2014 has won 168 games, they have played in two conference title games, and have made three NCAA appearances, hosting twice. Their teams have been a fixture in the national rankings - reaching as high as No. 7 in 2012 and 2013.
• The 2012 campaign saw the Cards win a program-best 55 games, capture the conference tournament crown and host an NCAA Regional as a national seed for the first time in school history.
• The 2013 Cardinals were one of just four teams to topple the No. 1 team in the nation when they eventual national champion Oklahoma on the road.
• All six seniors have earned All-Conference honors during their first three seasons at Louisville representing 11 all-conference selections, four-All Great Lakes Region selections, and two All-Americans.
Senior Accolades
Caralisa Connell: Three-time All-BIG EAST (2011-13)
Taner Fowler: All-BIG EAST, All-Great Lakes Region, All-America (2012)
Katie Keller: Three-time All-BIG EAST (2011-13); Two-time All-Great Lakes Region (2012-13); All-America (2013)
Hannah Kiyohara: Two-time All-BIG EAST (2011 and 2013)
Rachel LeCoq: All-BIG EAST (2013)
Maggie Ruckenbrod: All-BIG EAST, All-Great Lakes Region (2013)
Last Up
The Cardinals are coming off of a 5-1 loss at Indiana on Wednesday. The Hoosiers compiled an 8-0 lead entering the fifth, when Maggie Ruckenbrod belted out her first home run of the season and Brittany Duncan followed with a two-run single to put Louisville on the scoreboard. Maryssa Becker allowed three earned runs in the first inning to drop to 12-5 on the season.
Last Weekend in American action
Louisville won one game in a three-game American Athletic Conference series at UCF.
Louisville 1 - UCF 0
The first game of the day featured a pitcher's duel that saw both teams scoreless entering the seventh inning. Maryssa Becker led off the frame with a single to right field and moved to third when Taner Fowler followed with a double to deep centerfield. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Maggie Ruckenbrod brought home the only run of the game.
• Rachel LeCoq got the win, holding the Knights scoreless on one hit and striking out one in 2.2 innings of relief. Maryssa Becker combined on the shutout, allowing one hit and fanning three in 4.1 innings. Ruckenbrod was 1 for 2 with an RBI to lead the Cards at the plate.
UCF 3 - Louisville 2
In game two, Maryssa Becker was 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs, but the Cards fell 3-2 to the host Knights, snapping a season-high eight-game winning streak. LeCoq took the loss, allowing two earned runs on five hits and striking out three in 3.2 innings
UCF 5 - Louisville 1
In the rubber-game of the series, the teams played through five and a half scoreless innings before the Knights used six hits, including a grand slam by Jessica Ujvari, to score five runs in the bottom of the sixth.
• Taner Fowler connected on her sixth home run of the season to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh. Maryssa Becker took the loss, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits and striking out six in 5.0 innings. Fowler was 1 for 3 with a run and an RBI.
Up Next
The Cardinals will play host to No. 9/10 Kentucky in their home finale Wednesday, April 30 at 6 p.m. - tickets are $5. Prior to the game, UofL will honor Koetter Construction in conjunction with the Ulmer Stadium Expansion Celebration Day.
Becker Top 25 Finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year
The University of Louisville's Maryssa Becker has been named one of the top 25 finalists for the inaugural National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy, which will be presented prior to the start of the 2014 NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
About the Award
With the Association always searching for innovative ways to promote the sport of softball, the NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was created from an idea to honor outstanding athletic achievement among freshmen softball student-athletes throughout Division I.
• Each of this year's 25 finalists hails from a different university while the group represents 11 Division I leagues across the nation. The Southeastern Conference and the Pac-12 Conference picked up the most overall selections with six each, while the Big West Conference garnered three inclusions and the Big Ten Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference tied with two each. The American Athletic Conference, Big 12 Conference, Sun Belt Conference, Big South Conference, Atlantic Sun Conference and Conference USA all reaped one nod.
• On Thurs., May 8, the list will be trimmed down to the top 10 finalists, while the top 3 finalists will be selected and released on Thurs., May 22.
Duncan ties season record for walks
On April 19, Brittany Duncan drew her 37th walk of the season, tying two-time All-American Melissa Roth's record set in the 2010 season.
Fowler scores 100th career run
On April 12, UofL defeated Connecticut 6-0 and Taner Fowler scored her 100th career run, becoming 13th player in program history to reach that milestone. She now has 103 career runs and needs 14 more to reach the school's top 10 career list.Two-time All-American Melissa Roth holds the school record with 204 - the only Cardinal to surpass the 200 mark.
Keller takes over career walks record
Katie Keller drew two walks in the Cards' 6-0 win over Connecticut on April 12, tying and setting the school record for career walks. She now has 113 career walks. All-American Chelsea Bemis (2008-11) held the previous record with 111.
Keller selected as a Top Ten Finalist for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award® for Softball
Katie Keller was selected as one of ten finalists for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award for softball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
Keller, a senior second baseman from Livermore, Calif., is the first player in program history to be selected as a finalist for the award. The four-year starter is a 2013 All-America second team, two-time All-Great Lakes Region and three-time all-conference selection. She was named to the 2014 Top 50 Watch List for USA Softball's Player of the Year and was a Top 25 Finalist last season.
She leads the team with a .389 batting average and 39 runs and is currently ranked in the top five in career runs, RBI, doubles and walks at UofL. The communications major has been named to the Athletic Director's honor roll (3.0 or higher for the semester) three times and was a member of the Dean's List. Following her junior season, when she earned All-America honors on the field, she was also selected to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team.
Finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 candidates announced in February. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award Website through May 12. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Women's College World Series® in Oklahoma City May 29 through June 4.
Ruckenbrod putting the ball in play
Maggie Ruckenbrod is ranked fourth in the nation and first in the American Athletic Conference in the "Toughest to Strike Out" category. The senior catcher has only struck out twice in 119 at bats.
New neighborhood, familiar faces
Louisville is competing in the American Athletic Conference for the 2014 season. This will mark the league's inaugural season, but the Cards will face some familiar opponents.
The Cardinals played in the BIG EAST from 2006-2013, during that time, they won two regular season titles and two conference tournaments. League opponents included current American members:USF, Connecticut, and Rutgers.
Prior to moving to the BIG EAST, the Cardinals spent six seasons in Conference USA where they won 2005 regular season title. UofL was one of seven teams to play in the league's first season of softball. USF was another founding member of C-USA softball and Houston joined the league the following season (2001).
Ruckenbrod on Patrol
Senior catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod has thrown out 17 of 33 would-be base stealers. She currently has thrown out 57 in her career, placing her second on the school's all-time list behind current softball director of operations Lisa (McMillan) Pinkston who owns the record with 60.
• Additionally, Ruckenbrod has picked off four runners this season. She owns the school record for pickoffs in a game (three), season (11 in 2011) and career (29).
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 eight and Duncan follows closely with five to account for 13 of the Cardinals' 36 round-trippers on the season. They are tied for the team lead with 30 RBI apiece.
