Softball Travels to Miami University (Ohio) for Midweek Matchup
March 10, 2015 | Softball
The University of Louisville softball team will travel to Oxford, Ohio for a midweek game at Miami University Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Louisville Softball Quick Hits
? The University of Louisville softball team brings a 10-7 overall record into the weekend. The Cardinals are coming off of a 2-2 showing at the Louisville Softball Classic. Louisville fell 11-0 to Northwestern in their opening game and rebounded with back-to-back eight-run rule wins against Ball State and Illinois State before falling 4-3 in eight innings to the Redbirds Monday afternoon.
? Sophomore Jordan McNary leads Louisville offensively with a .471 batting average. Sophomore Maryssa Becker follows at .438 with a team-best four home runs and 13 RBIs. Senior Whitney Arion has scored a team-leading 15 runs.
? Freshman Shelby McCombs (3-2) carries a team-best 2.20 ERA with 19 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .238 batting average in 35.0 innings. Sophomore Maryssa Becker (2-1) follows with a 2.87 ERA and 42 Ks in 39.0 innings.
? Sandy Pearsall is in her 16th season as UofL's head coach and has a 599-303 record at Louisville. 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 against the field
Miami (Ohio)
Series Record: Louisville leads 2-0
Last Meeting: March 9, 2013 - Louisville won 9-3 in six innings in the Red & Black Classic at Ulmer Stadium. Kayla Soles led the Cardinals with a 2-for-3 day at the plate with a home run and three RBIs.
Scouting the RedHawks: Miami host the Cardinals with a 9-7 record after going 2-3 in the Husky Classic last weekend. Senior outfielder Tiyona Marshall leads the Redhawks with a .421 batting average and has scored a team-high 13 runs and seven stolen bases. Junior outfielder Bree Lipscomb adds a team-high three home runs and 12 RBIs while scoring 10 runs on the season. Junior outfielder Taylor Shuey adds a .320 batting average, 10 runs and 9 RBIs for the team. Junior pitcher Amber Logemann leads the Redhawks in the circle with a 7-2 record with a 2.18 ERA. She adds 64 strikeouts and holds opponents to a .220 average in 54 plus innings of work.
NOTE: Louisville head coach Sandy Pearsall returns to Oxford, Ohio where she spent six years (1992-98)as the RedHawks' head coach. In 2012 she was inducted into the Miami University Cradle of Coaches Association joining Randy Ayers, Thad Matta, Joe Novak and Sue Ramsey to comprise the Cradle of Coaches Class of 2012-13.
Up Next:
Louisville will host Virginia in its first ACC home series this weekend at Ulmer Stadium. The teams will meet in a doubleheader on Saturday starting 12 p.m. and will conclude the three-game series Sunday at 12 p.m.
Recapping Louisville Softball Classic
After a winter storm dumped eight inches of snow on Ulmer Stadium, the first two days of the Louisville Softball Classic were cancelled. The schedule was readjusted to span Sunday and Monday resulting in a 2-2 showing for the Cardinals.
Louisville fell 11-0 to Northwestern in its home opener, but rebounded to beat Ball State 8-0 in Sunday's final game. UofL's offense carried over to Monday with a 10-2 win over Illinois State, but the Cards stumbled in the nightcap of the doubleheader with a 4-3 loss in eight innings.
Louisville Softball Classic highlights
? Sophomore Jordan McNary posted a .545 batting average (6 for 11) with three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base while starting all four games on the weekend in left field.
? Freshman Alison Szydlowski registered her first career starts in the last three games of the Louisville Softball Classic. The catcher registered a .556 batting average (5 for 9) with at least one hit in each game and tallied four RBIs.
? Junior Brittany Sims continued her offensive output, pushing her hitting streak to 11 games. She posted a . 455 average over the weekend (5 for 11) with a double, a home run, four runs and three RBIs.
? Senior Kayla Soles connected on her first career grand slam to break the game open in the 10-2 win over Illinois State. With the score knotted at 2-2 in the second, Maryssa Becker was intentionally walked to load the bases for Soles who sent a 1-0 count to the (brand new) scoreboard in left field to give the Cards a 6-2 lead.
? Freshman Shelby McCombs led the Cardinals in the circle with 1-1 record and a 0.70 ERA and seven strikeouts. She limited opponents to a .188 batting average and did not issue a walk in 10.0 innings.
Louisville/Pearsall nearing 600 wins
Sandy Pearsall currently has 599 wins as Louisville softball's only head coach. 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.
Power surge
The Cardinals entered their first conference weekend with six home runs through their first 10 games. They have connected on nine home runs in their last seven games. The Cards now have 15 round-trippers through 17 games. Maryssa Becker leads the team with four while Whitney Arion and Brittany Sims follow closely with three apiece.
Getting on base
Maryssa Becker has batted in 16 of Louisville's 17 games and has reached safely via a hit or a walk in all 16 games she has played. Whitney Arion recently snapped her own 16 game on-base streak in the 4-3 loss to Illinois State on March 9. Junior Brittany Sims currently holds an 11-game on-base streak.
Hitting for average
The Cardinals are batting .320 as a team with eight players registering an average of .300 or above. Jordan McNary carries a .471 average while Maryssa Becker follows at .438. After playing in eight games with six starts, Tiarra Sanabria is hitting .412 on the season. Kelsi Jones is batting .364 while Hailey Smith (.351) and Brittany Sims (.333) round out the starters batting above .300.
Fountain of youth
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 six underclassmen on the field with two of the three active pitchers being freshmen - the other is a sophomore.
Arion climbing record books
Senior shortstop Whitney Arion is currently 10th on the school's career list with 23 home runs. She needs two more to tie Sara Bausher (2002-05) for ninth place. Courtney Moore (2004-07) holds the record with 42 home runs.
? Arion also recently took over 10th place on UofL's career RBI list with 116. She needs two more to tie Kristi Cunningham (2006-09) who currently stands in ninth place. Chelsea Bemis (2008-11) holds the career RBI record with 191.
