Softball Plays Host to Indiana in a Midweek Game
March 24, 2015 | Softball
Complete game notes vs Indiana 
The University of Louisville softball team will play host to Indiana Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Admission is free.
Game Day Info: Indiana at Louisville
Date: March 25 - 6 p.m
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Ulmer Stadium
Live streaming: CardsTV (GoCards.com)
Gametracker: GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball
Cardinal Quick Hits
? The University of Louisville softball team brings an 18-8 overall record into the week after a winning two of three games against North Carolina in an ACC weekend series. The Cardinals dropped the opening game 4-2, but rebounded to take the next two games 9-2 and 6-4. They improved to 8-1 in conference play and are tied for first with Florida State in league standings.
? Sophomore Maryssa Becker (7-2) carries a team-best 2.33 ERA with 66 strikeouts and two saves in 66.0 innings.
? Kelsi Jones leads the team offensively with a .438 batting average, 23 runs and 12 doubles. Maryssa Becker follows at .423 with a team-best 26 RBIs to go with five home runs.
? 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. On March 14, Pearsall recorded her 600th win at UofL (also the 600th victory in program history). She is now 605-303 as the Cardinals' head coach.
Cards against the field
Indiana
Series History: Louisville leads 13-3
Last Meeting: April 23, 2014 - Indiana snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series with an 8-3 victory in Bloomington, Ind.
Scouting the Hoosiers: Indiana comes into the midweek matchup with a 10-22 record on the season. The Hoosiers are led offensively by junior infielder Kelsey Dotson who has a team-high 27 RBIs and six home runs along with a .329 batting average. Senior outfielder Shannon Cawley adds a .292 average with a team-high seven home runs and 24 RBIs. Sophomore utility player Erin Lehman boasts a .393 average and has scored 16 runs while freshman outfielder Rebecca Blitz adds contributes a .353 average and has scored a team-high 21 runs. Blitz also has swept a team leading 10 bases on the season. Senior pitcher Lora Olson leads the Hoosiers in the circle with a 6-15 record and a 4.93 ERA in 29 appearances.
Up Next: The Cardinals will resume ACC play when they travel to Syracuse for a three-game set this weekend. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. before concluding the series on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Jones Named ACC Player of the Week
Outfielder Kelsi Jones has been named ACC Player of the Week for the period ending March 22. She becomes the first Louisville player to earn the league's weekly honor.
? Jones (Carmel, Ind.) helped the Cardinals to a 5-1 record on the week. The senior outfielder batted .556 (10 for 18) with a home run, a double. She scored nine runs and had six RBI along with three stolen bases. Jones posted a .778 slugging percentage and a .692 on-base percentage that included eight walks - three of which were intentional.
? Jones tallied two hits in and at least one run in all but one of Louisville's six games. In the 9-7 come-from-behind win over Ohio State, Jones went 2 for 4 with two runs. In the ACC series against North Carolina, Jones batted .750 (6 for 8) with a double, a home run, five RBIs and four runs. She was also intentionally walked twice. She had two hits and at least one RBI in each of those games and was intentionally walked twice. With the Cards trailing 3-2, her two-run single in the fourth gave Louisville a 4-3 lead en route to a 6-4 final decision.
NOTE: Last season, Jones was also Louisville's - and the league's - first American Athletic Conference Player of the Week when she received the honor on Feb. 10, 2014.
Becker Named College Sports Madness National Player of the Week and Player of the Week for the ACC
Sophomore Maryssa Becker was selected by College Sports Madness as the Player of the Week for the ACC and as the National Player of the Week.
? Becker helped lead the Cardinals to a 5-1 record on the week. The sophomore posted a 3-1 record in four appearances and a 2.47 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 17.0 innings. She picked up both wins in the Cards' doubleheader sweep of Ohio State and in the Cards' 6-4 win over North Carolina in the series finale. She helped her cause offensively by producing a .450 batting average (9 for 20) with 11 RBIs and nine runs on the week. She went 2 for 4 with four RBIs in the 9-7 win over Ohio State and had three RBIs in the 14-4 win over the Buckeyes as well as the 6-4 win over North Carolina.
Cards receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll
Louisville is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll for the second time this season. The Cardinals opened the 2015 season receiving votes in both coaches polls.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll ? Louisville recorded program-best No. 7 ranking for the first time on May 15, 2012.
The Cardinals were ranked in the top 10 for the final five weeks of that season.
USA Today/NFCA Division I poll
? The Cardinals have been ranked as high as No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll - most recently on April 23, 2013. That season, Louisville spent three weeks in the top 10.
Louisville/Sandy Pearsall Reach 600 wins
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 its last 16 games, Louisville has connected on 19 more home runs for a total of 25 round-trippers through 26 games. Maryssa Becker and Brittany Sims lead the team with five homers apiece while five other Cardinals have totalled two or more home runs on the season.
Getting on base
Maryssa Becker has batted in 25 of Louisville's 26 games and has reached safely via a hit or a walk in every game in which she has played. Kelsi Jones currently holds a 16 game on-base streak.
Hitting for average
The Cardinals are batting .338 as a team with nine players registering an average of .300 or above. Kelsi Jones leads the charge with a .438 batting average, Maryssa Becker follows at .423 and Jordan McNary rounds out the top three at .383.
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.
Nikolao taking the stage
Freshman Ashley Nikolao has come on strong as the Cards approach the midseason mark. The freshman from Flaherty, Ky., has had at least one hit in her last five games with four of those hits falling in for doubles - she has started at designated player in Louisville's last three contests. Nikolao is now batting .533 (8 for 15) with five doubles, three RBIs and three runs in 10 games.
? As a pinch-hitter, Nikolao is batting 3 for 4 with three doubles.
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 121. She needs seven more to tie Lacy Wood (2003-06) for eighth place. Chelsea Bemis (2008-11) holds the career RBI record with 191.
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 with 206 and needs eight 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 is currently tied for the team lead with 19 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.
