Softball Travels to Georgia Tech for ACC Opener
February 26, 2015 | Softball
UofL vs Georgia Tech Game Notes 
The University of Louisville softball team will travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener. The teams will meet Saturday, Feb. 28 in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. and will wrap up the three-game series Sunday at 12 p.m.
Quick Hits
? The University of Louisville softball team brings a 5-5 record into the weekend after sitting idle since Feb. 15 due to the cancellation of the Eastern Kentucky Softball Invitational. Prior to that, the Cardinals went 3-2 at Dot Richardson's National Softball Invitational in Clermont, Fla. The Cards dropped their opening game 5-1 to No. 18 Missouri, but bounced back with a 3-2 win over Missouri-Kansas City. Louisville went on to beat Arkansas 11-5 and Florida A&M 16-1 in five innings before falling 5-3 to Middle Tennessee in eight innings Sunday.
? Sophomore outfielder Jordan McNary leads the Cardinals with a .556 batting average and nine runs. Sophomore pitcher/first baseman Maryssa Becker follows with a .500 average, two home runs, five doubles and eight runs. Senior Kelsi Jones has driven in a team-best eight RBIs and is 3 for 3 in stolen bases.
? Freshman Shelby McCombs (2-1) carries a 3.32 ERA and is holding opponents to a .269 batting average in 19.1 innings of work. Sophomore Maryssa Becker (1-0) has struck out a team-best 20 batters in 18.2 innings. Freshman Madi Norman (2-4) has logged a team-high 24.1 innings with three starts on the season.
? Sandy Pearsall is in her 16th season as UofL's head coach. After building the program from scratch in 2000, Pearsall has guided the Cardinals to six conference championships. Under her watch, Louisville has made 11 consecutive NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Cards versus Georgia Tech
Series Record: Louisville leads 1-0
Last Meeting: March 2, 2013 - Louisville won 6-3 in the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., behind Alicja Wolny's two home runs and three RBIs. Whitney Arion also added a home run in the victory. Scouting the Yellow Jackets: Georgia Tech comes into the matchup riding a five game winning streak and stands at 7-8 on the season after sweeping all five games at the GT-GSU Tournament last weekend. The Yellow Jackets scored a total of 57 runs in their five wins while giving up nine. Katie Johnsky leads the team with a .424 batting average and has scored a team-high 13 runs. The Yellow Jackets have hit a total of 15 home runs this season with junior Courtney Ziese hitting a team-best three. Ziese also has driven in a team-high 12 runs. Freshman hurler Christina Biggerstaff leads the team in the circle with a 3-1 record along with a 2.53 ERA, 38 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .167 batting average.
Up Next: Louisville will open up play at home with the Louisville Classic March 6-8. The Cardinals will welcome Illinois State, Ball State, Massachusetts, Northwestern to Ulmer Stadium.
Eastern Kentucky Softball Invitational Cancelled
The Eastern Kentucky Softball Invitational scheduled for Feb. 21-22 has been cancelled due to inclement weather. A severe winter storm dumped around a foot of snow on Richmond and much of Kentucky. Temperatures are expected to reach single digits producing unfavorable playing conditions.
Consistency at the plate
Sophomore Jordan McNary leads the Cardinals with a .556 batting average (10 for 18) and has reached base via a hit or a walk in all 10 of Louisville's games. She currently has a team-best .579 on-base percentage.
Sophomore Maryssa Becker enters the weekend on a nine-game hitting streak and is second on the team with a .500 batting average (14 for 28). The pitcher/first baseman has played in nine games and has recorded at least one hit in each contest. She also leads the team in multi-hit games (four) and has registered seven extra-base hits for a team-best .893 slugging percentage.
Jones, Becker Shine at Dot Richardson's National Collegiate Softball Invitational
Senior Kelsi Jones and Maryssa Becker helped lead the Cardinals to a 3-2 record in the Dot Richardson National Collegiate Softball Invitational.
Jones batted .533 (8 for 15) with four doubles, seven RBIs and two stolen bases. Becker also posted a .533 batting average (8 for 15) with two doubles, a home run, five runs and five RBIs. She also registered a team-best .867 slugging percentage and a .611 on-base percentage.
Pearsall nearing 600 wins at Louisville
Sandy Pearsall currently has 594 wins as the head coach at Louisville. Since starting the program in 2000, she has guided the Cardinals to six conference championships. Under her watch, Louisville has made 11 consecutive NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Arion climbing record books
Senior shortstop Whitney Arion is currently 10th on the school's career list with 21 home runs. She needs four more to tie Sara Bausher (2002-05) for ninth place. Courtney Moore (2004-07) holds the record with 42 home runs.
The young and the restless
The graduation of six senior multi-year starters from last year's team has left the Cardinals with some big shoes to fill. The Cardinals' most recent starting lineup featured five underclassmen on the field with three of the five pitchers being freshmen - the other two are sophomores.
Cards open season at UNLV Sportco Kick-Off Classic
The Cardinal opened the 2015 season by posting a 2-3 record at the UNLV Sportco Kick-Off Classic. In their first game, the Cardinals posted a 6-4 win over UC Davis, but fell 4-0 to host UNLV in their second game. Louisville faced a tough No. 15 Minnesota and came up short in a 4-2 loss. The Cards rebounded to beat CS Bakersfield 10-2 in Saturday's nightcap. UofL closed the weekend against No. 11/13 Washington - the Cardinals overcame a 5-1 deficit to take a 6-5 lead in the fifth, but could not recover when the Huskies scored six runs in the sixth for an 11-6 victory.
Cards picked to finish fifth in ACC preseason voting
The University of Louisville softball team has been picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season as voted by the league's 11 head coaches. Defending regular season and tournament champion Florida State was picked to win the title.
Team Pts (1st place votes) 2014 Record (Conference)1. Florida State 100 (10) 55-9 (24-3)2. Notre Dame 88 (1) 41-13 (16-5)3. NC State 82 36-18 (16-8)4. Virginia Tech 69 36-23 (19-9)5. Louisville 68 36-22 (14-7)6. North Carolina 56 24-26 (14-11)7. Syracuse 44 24-25 (12-12)8. Georgia Tech 33 23-24 (11-17)9. Boston College 32 30-23 (12-14)
Louisville softball broadcast schedule
The University of Louisville softball team will have 11 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season games televised on the ESPN family of networks as announced by ESPN Tuesday.
ESPNU will carry two of the Cardinals' games against 2014 Women's College World Series participant Florida State when the Seminoles visit Ulmer Stadium April 12 at 7 p.m. and April 13 at 7 p.m.
Additionally, Louisville will appear on ESPN3 nine times during the regular season. The Cardinals will kick off their ESPN3 coverage March 21 and 22 when they host North Carolina in a three-game series. Louisville's ESPN3 slate continues on the road with all three games at Virginia Tech being shown on April 3 and 4. The Cardinals will conclude their regular season coverage April 25 and 26 when Boston College visits Ulmer Stadium in their final home weekend series.
The remainder of Louisville's home games will be streamed on CardsTV through GoCards.com. Louisville Softball on ESPN Networks
March 21- 12 p.m. - North Carolina (ESPN3)
March 21 - 2:30 p.m. - North Carolina (ESPN3)
March 22 - 12 p.m. - North Carolina (ESPN3)
April 3 - 7 p.m. - @ Virginia Tech (ESPN3)
April 4 - 12 p.m. - @ Virginia Tech (ESPN3)
April 4 - 2 p.m. - @ Virginia Tech (ESPN3)
April 12 - 7 p.m. - Florida State (ESPNU)
April 13 - 7 p.m. - Florida State (ESPNU)
April 25 - 12 p.m. - Boston College (ESPN3)
April 25- 2:30 p.m. - Boston College (ESPN3)
April 26- 12 p.m. - Boston College (ESPN3)
Tough Road Ahead
As the Cardinals enter their inaugural ACC season, they will face some tough test in both conference and non-conference play. On the 2015 conference schedule are five team ranked in the preseason top 25 including a home-and-home series with 2014 Women's College World Series participant No. 5/6 Kentucky No. 15/15 Washington, No. 12/13 Minnesota and No. 18/18 Missouri as well as No. 5/6 Florida State which also reached the 2014 WCWS.
Duncan, Jones, Becker Earn College Sports Madness Preseason honors
College Sports Madness released its preseason honors and the publication's staff selected Brittany Duncan, Kelsi Jones and Marysssa Becker on its preseason All-ACC team. Duncan was named to the first team as a designated player while Jones (OF) and Becker (RHP) were selected to the second team.
New neighborhood, familiar faces
The 2015 season will mark Louisville softball's debut in the Atlantic Coast Conference. While the Cardinals will be facing some new opponents, they will also be encountering some familiar foes in Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse - all of whom played in the BIG EAST Conference prior to joining the ACC.
Louisville was a member of the BIG EAST Conference from 2006-2013, and won two regular season titles and two conference tournaments during that time.
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.
In 2014, Louisville completed its only season in the American Athletic Conference and posted a 14-7 league record before winning the tournament title.
The following is a breakdown of the Cards' inaugural conference seasons.
Conference First season UofL Conference RecordAmerican* 2014 14-7 (Finished 3rd regular season, won tournament title)BIG EAST 2006 19-3 (Regular season Champion)Conference USA* 2000 8-8^ (Finished 4th- regular season)^UofL's first softball program;*First season in newly-formed conference
Cards solid in classroom
The University of Louisville softball team worked hard off the field in the 2014-15 fall semester. As a team, the Cards posted a 3.34 GPA in the fall semester. Additionally, 17 players were named to the Athletic Director's honor roll after posting a 3.0 GPA or higher.
The following players were named to the 2014-15 Athletic Director's honor roll for the fall semester: Whitney Arion, Maryssa Becker, Sydney Benz, Kristina Dillard, Brittany Duncan, Bridgette Flaherty, Kelsi Jones, Autumn McDuffie, Sidney Melton, Morgan Meyer, Madi Norman, Nicole Pufahl, Brittany Sims, Hailey Smith, Kayla Soles, Alison Szydlowski and Hannah Tow.
For the latest information on Louisville softball, log on to GoCards.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/UofLSoftball or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LouisvilleSoftball.
