Softball Set for American Athletic Conference Championship
May 07, 2014 | Softball
May 7, 2014
Complete American Athletic Conference Championship Notes 
The University of Louisville softball team has earned the No. 3 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will open the tournament against sixth-seeded Temple Thursday, May 8 at 11 a.m. (EDT)\at Houston's Cougar Stadium.
The winner of game one will advance to the semifinals to face the winner of the matchup between No. 2 USF and No. 7 Memphis Friday at 5 p.m. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be carried live on The American Digital Network with Lincoln Rose taking on play-by-play duties and Jenny Hill providing analysis. The championship final is slated for Saturday at 4 p.m. ET and will be aired live on ESPN2.
American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
All games at Cougar Stadium, Houston Texas
Thursday, May 8
(All games on the American Digital Network)
Game 1 - No. 6 Temple vs. No. 3 Louisville............................... 11 a.m. - Click here to watch Louisville vs Temple on the ADN
Game 2 - No. 7 Memphis vs. No. 2 USF.................................. 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 8 UConn vs. No. 1 UCF............................................ 5 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 5 Rutgers vs. No. 4 Houston............................. 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 9
(All games on the American Digital Network)
Game 5 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner.............................. 5 p.m.
Game 6 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner......................... 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
(live television on ESPN2)
Game 7 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner.............................. 4 p.m.
All times Eastern
Click here for the American Athletic Conference Championship Central
Louisville Softball Quick Hits
• The Cards are led offensively by senior second baseman Katie Keller who is batting .384 with 43 runs and 29 RBIs. Junior Kelsi Jones has belted out a team-best 11 home runs and has produced a team-high 36 RBIs and scored 44 runs on the season. Fellow junior Brittany Duncan follows closely with 35 RBIs and seven home runs.
• Louisville is hitting .302 as a team with five players boasting batting averages above .300.
• Freshman Maryssa Becker (12-7) has a 2.02 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 135.0 innings while holding opponents to a .227 batting average.
• Junior Kayla Soles was selected to the American Athletic Conference honor roll on May 5. The outfielder hit .500 (6-for-12) and slugged 1.000 in Louisville's 2-2 week, capped by a 4-for-4 day in a 6-2 win against Memphis in the regular-season finale.
• 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 586-296 record.
Cards Against Temple
Series Record: Louisville leads 4-0
Last Meeting: April 26-27: Senior Taner Fowler went 8 for 10 on the weekend while senior Caralisa Connell struck out 16 and picked up two wins on the weekend as the Cards swept Temple 14-6, 5-0 and 11-3 in an American Athletic Conference series at Ulmer Stadium.
Louisville 14 - Temple 6
In the opening game, Fowler was 3 for 4 with a home run, four RBIs and three runs to help lead the Cardinals to a 14-6 win over the Owls. Rachel LeCoq got the win, allowing four earned runs on six hits and struck out four in 3.0 innings. Each player in the Louisville batting order had at least one hit, except for Duncan who was walked three times.
Louisville 5 - Temple 0
In game two, Caralisa Connell dealt a season-high 12 strikeouts and tossed a complete game shutout and Hannah Kiyohara went 3 for 3 with two RBIs to lead the Cards to a 5-0 win in the nightcap. Connell scattered two hits and did not allow a walk.
Louisville 11 - Temple 3 (6 innings)
The Cardinals overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat Temple 11-3 and complete the series sweep on Senior Day.
•Senior Taner Fowler was 3 for 3 with two RBI while senior Caralisa Connell and freshman Maryssa Becker struck out four batters apiece to help lead the Cardinals on the day.
Scouting the Owls: Temple enters the tournament Temple enters the AAC Tournament 15-29 overall, and 5-13 in conference. Last weekend, the Owls were swept by USF in two doubleheaders On Saturday, Temple fell to USF 8-0 in five innings and 3-1 in game two. On Sunday, Temple was defeated 12-0 and 7-1.
• The Owls are led offensively by Sarah Prezioso who is hitting .360 with 22 RBIs, eight home runs and 33 runs scored. Kelsey Dominik adds 20 RBIs with five home runs. In the circle, Kelsey Dominik is 9-11 overall with a 3.25 ERA in 125.0 innings and leads the Owls with 71 strikeouts. Amanda Gatt (4-7) and Jessica Mahoney (2-9) have also seen significant action for Temple.
Senior Salute
Entering the tournament the senior class of 2014 has won 173 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 in American Athletic Conference play: The Cards wrapped up the regular season by taking two games of a three-game series at Memphis. The Tigers scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Cards 3-2 in game one, but UofL rebounded to win the second game 6-0. The Cards took game three 6-2.
Up Next
Louisville will find out if an 11th-straight NCAA tournament bid awaits. The NCAA Division I selection show will take place Sunday, May 11 at 10 p.m. (EDT) on ESPNU.
Cards Register tenth straight season of 30 or more wins
On April 26, the Cardinals defeated Temple 5-0 to mark their 30th win of the season. marking the tenth straight season the Cardinals have won 30 or more games (dating back to 2004). The Cards have posted at least 30 wins 13 times in the 15 year history of the program.
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
• 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 Thursday, May 22.
Duncan takes over 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. She took sole possession of the record when she was walked three times on April 26 in the 14-6 win over Temple She now has a league-high 46 walks.
Fowler surpasses 100 career runs
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 108 career runs and needs nine 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 walks past career 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 114 career walks. All-American Chelsea Bemis (2008-11) held the previous record with 111.
Ruckenbrod putting the ball in play
Maggie Ruckenbrod is ranked third in the nation and first in the American Athletic Conference in the "Toughest to Strike Out" category. The senior catcher has only struck out three times in 137 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).
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.
• 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. 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 on Patrol
Senior catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod has thrown out 17 of 36 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 the Cardinals who graduated three all-conference selections who accounted for 20 home runs and 104 RBI. Jones leads the team with 11 home runs while Duncan has seven to account for 18 of the Cardinals' 45 round-trippers on the season. Jones leads the team with 36 RBIs while Duncan stands second with 35.
