Softball Travels to Ohio State and Miami (Ohio)
March 17, 2015 | Softball
The University of Louisville softball team will hit the road for three midweek games this week. The Cardinals will face Ohio State in a doubleheader Wednesday and will continue to Oxford, Ohio for a single game at Miami University Thursday.
Cardinal Quick Hits
? The University of Louisville softball team brings a 13-7 overall record into the week.
? The Cardinals are coming off of a three-game sweep of ACC opponent Virginia at Ulmer Stadium March 14-15. Louisville remains undefeated (6-0) in league play.
? Sophomore Maryssa Becker (4-1) carries a team-best 2.29 ERA with 53 strikeouts and two saves in 49.0 innings. Freshman Shelby McCombs (4-2) follows with a 2.60 ERA adn 21 Ks in 40.1 innings of work. Freshman Madi Norman has registered a team-high five wins in 13 appearances.
? Jordan McNary leads the team with a .452 batting average. Senior Whitney Arion leads the Cards with 16 RBIs and 16 runs - she is tied with Maryssa Becker with a team-best four home runs.
? Sandy Pearsall is in her 16th season as Louisville'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. On March 14, Pearsall recorded her 600th win at UofL (also the 600th victory in program history). She is now 602-303 as the Cardinals' head coach.
Cards against the field
Ohio State - March 18 (DH)
Series Record: Louisville leads 5-3
Last Meeting: March 9, 2014 - Louisville won 11-5 at Ulmer Stadium as part of the Red & Black Classic. The Cards pounded out 15 hits, led by Katie Keller's 4-for-5 day at the plate. Maryssa Becker added three RBIs and also recorded the win in the circle.
Scouting the Buckeyes: Ohio State hosts the doubleheader with the Cardinals with a 13-7 record on the season. In their last time out, they finished 2-2 at the Husky Classic two weekends ago. As a team, the Buckeyes have a team batting average of .309 with senior Keelia Nester leading the team with a .367 average while scoring 12 runs. Senior Caitlin Conrad leads the Buckeyes with five home runs and 24 RBIs while batting .360 on the season.. Senior RHP Olivia O'Reilly leads the Buckeyes in the circle with a 7-1 record and a 2.74 ERA.
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 13-9 record after winning both games of the doubleheader against North Dakota. Senior outfielder Tiyona Marshall leads the Redhawks with a .419 batting average and has scored a team-high 19 runs and nine stolen bases. Junior outfielder Bree Lipscomb adds a team-high three home runs and 15 RBIs while scoring 13 runs on the season. Junior Taylor Shuey adds a .343 batting average, 14 runs and 12 RBIs for the team. Junior Amber Logemann leads the Redhawks in the circle with a 9-4 record with a 1.90 ERA. She adds 90 strikeouts and holds opponents to a .210 average in 77.1 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 play host North Carolina in a battle of unbeaten teams in ACC play this weekend at Ulmer Stadium. - Louisville is 6-0 while UNC is 5-0. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon starting at 12 p.m. before wrapping up the series on Sunday at 12 p.m. All three games will be shown on ESPN3.
Recapping Virginia Series
Louisville 5 - Virginia 0
Hailey Smith went 3 for 3 with a home run and a double and scored two runs to back Maryssa Becker's three-hit shutout as the Cardinals defeated Virginia 5-0 in their ACC home opener. The win also marked the 600th victory in program history as well as head coach Sandy Pearsall's 600th victory at UofL.
? Becker (4-1) notched the complete game shutout, scattering three hits and issuing one walk while striking out a season-high eight batters en route to the win.
Louisville 5 - Virginia 4
Kelsi Jones led the Cardinals in home runs in 2014, but her first home run of the 2015 season was a timely one as she connected on a two-run shot with one out in the bottom of the seventh to give Louisville a 5-4 win over Virginia.
? Down 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Soles ripped a leadoff double down the left field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Sydney Benz. Jones followed with shot over the fence in left centerfield to give the Cardinals the 5-4 win.
? Madi Norman (4-4) got the win, giving up only one hit and no runs in 1.2 innings of relief. Jones was 2 for 4 with four RBIs in the game to lead Louisville at the plate.
Louisville 7 - UVA 5
Maryssa Becker's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth broke a 5-5 tie and lifted the University of Louisville softball team to a 7-5 win over Virginia to complete an ACC series sweep.
? Becker earned her second save of the season. Norman (5-4) got the win after giving up two earned runs on three hits in 4.0 innings of relief. Soles was 3 for 3 with a home run and two runs scored while Jones added a 3 for 3 performance with a double and two runs.
Weekend Highlights
? Kelsi Jones she batted .545 (6 for 11) with a 3 for 3, two run performance in the 7-5 series finale victory. In Louisville's 5-4 win over the Cavaliers, Jones went 2 for 4 with two runs and four RBIs. Her two-run single in the fifth helped the Cardinals overcome a 2-0 deficit. Down 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh Jones connected on a two-run walk-off homer to lift the Cards to a 5-4 win.
? Senior Kayla Soles batted .667 (4 for 6) with a home run, a double, three runs and an RBI in the Virginia series.
? Sophomore Maryssa Becker went 1-0 with a complete-game shutout and earned her second save of the season in the Virginia series. In game one, Becker struck out a career-high eight batters while carrying a ho-hitter until two outs in the top of the seventh. She picked up the save in the 7-5 win over the Cavaliers in game three. She also helped her cause offensively in the series finale when she delivered a two-run single in the sixth to break a 5-5 tie and give the Cards a 7-5 win. Becker did not allow an earned run in conference play on the weekend and continues to hold a 0.00 ERA against league opponents.
Louisville/Sandy Pearsall Reach 600 win milestone
The 5-0 win over Virginia on March 14 marked the 600th win in Louisville softball program history. It was also head coach Sandy Pearsall's 600th victory since starting the program in 2000. Under her watch, Louisville has won six conference championships, 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. Since that time, in their last 10 games, Louisville has connected on 10 more home runs for a total of 19 round-trippers through 20 games. Maryssa Becker and Whitney Arion lead the team with four apiece while seven other players have notched at least one homer on the season.
Getting on base
Maryssa Becker has batted in 19 of Louisville's 20 games and has reached safely via a hit or a walk in all 19 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, but has since had a hit in three straight games.. Senior Kelsi Jones currently holds a 10 game on-base streak.
Hitting for average
The Cardinals are batting .327 as a team with eight players registering an average of .300 or above. Jordan McNary carries a .452 average. Alison Szydlowski who has started the last four games at catcher, is hitting .444 while Maryssa Becker follows at .414. Kelsi Jones is batting .400 to round out the over-.400 hitters. Hailey Smith (.370) Tiarra Sanabria (.333) and Brittany Sims (.320) complete the list of 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 24 home runs. She needs one more to tie Sara Bausher (2002-05) for ninth place. Courtney Moore (2004-07) holds the record with 42 home runs.
? Arion also recently moved to ninth on UofL's career RBI list with 120. She needs eight more to tie Lacy Wood (2003-06) for eighth place. Chelsea Bemis (2008-11) holds the career RBI record with 191.
Soles Powers First Grand Slam
Senior Kayla Soles connected on her first career grand slam in the 10-2 win over Illinois State on March 9 at Ulmer Stadium. 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.
Becker registers 200th career strikeout - moves into career top 10
Sophomore Maryssa Becker registered her 200th career strikeout in the 7-5 win over Virginia on March 15. She is currrently ranked 10th on Louisville's list of career strikeout leaders and needs four more to tie Rachel LeCoq (2013-14) for ninth place. Kristen Wadwell (2007-10) holds the school record with 696.
Arion Reaches Century Mark in Runs
Senior Whitney Arion's solo home run in the 7-5 win over Virginia marked her 100th career run. She currently leads the team with 16 runs on the season and needs 17 more to move into a three-way tie with Sara Bausher (2002-05) and Alicja Wolny (2010-13) for 10th on UofL's career list.
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.
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.
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)
