Softball Plays Host to Syracuse this Weekend
March 27, 2015 | Softball
Complete Game Notes vs Syracuse 
Series Info: Syracuse at Louisville
Dates: March 28-29
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Ulmer Stadium
Live streaming: CardsTV (GoCards.com)
Gametracker: GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball
The University of Louisville softball team will play host to Syracuse in a three-game ACC series this weekend. The Cardinals (19-8, 8-1 ACC) and the Orange (12-14, 0-3) will meet in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday and will conclude the series Sunday at 12 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium.
Cardinal Quick Hits
? The series was originally slated to take place in Syracuse, but weather and field conditions prompted the move to Louisville's Ulmer Stadium. Syracuse will be the designated home team in all three games.
? Sophomore Maryssa Becker (7-2) carries a team-best 2.33 ERA with 66 strikeouts and two saves in 66.0 innings.
? Current ACC Player of the Week Kelsi Jones leads Louisville offensively with a .438 batting average, 23 runs and 12 doubles. Maryssa Becker follows at .423 with a team-best 26 RBIs along 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 606-303 as the Cardinals' head coach.
Cards against Syracuse
Series Record: Louisville leads 13-8
Last Meeting: May 9, 2013 - Louisville defeated Syracuse 12-3 in five innings in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship Tournament.
Scouting the Orange: Syracuse enters the series on a three game winning streak and boasts a 12-14 overall record and is 0-3 in ACC play. In their lone conference series of the season, the Orange fell 10-2 to Virginia Tech in game one and lost the following two games 2-0 in Blacksburg, Va. Syracuse has had conference games cancelled due to weather and/or field conditions this season.
? The Orange have been idle for the past two weeks and have had their last five games cancelled due to inclement weather.
? Syracuse is led by Corrine Ozanne who has a team-high eight home runs and 15 RBIs while hitting .294. Sydney O'Hara adds four home runs with a team-high .296 batting average and 16 RBIs. LHP Jocelyn Cater leads the Orange in the circle with an 8-9 record and a 2.50 ERA. She holds opponents to a .207 average and has struck out 142 batters in 100 plus innings. O'Hara also sees time in the circle and boasts a 3-5 record with a 4.42 ERA.
NOTE: Louisville and Syracuse resume their conference rivalry after spending seven years together as members of the Big East Conference from 2006 through 2013.
Up Next: The Cardinals will play host to in-state rival No. 15/16 Kentucky in a midweek game Wednesday April 1 at 6 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium.
Last Up: Senior Kayla Soles and sophomore Maryssa Becker had two RBIs apiece and Becker got the win in the circle to lead the University of Louisville softball team to a 6-1 win over Indiana Wednesday evening at Ulmer Stadium.
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.
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 17 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 26 of Louisville's 27 games and has reached safely via a hit or a walk in every game in which she has played. Kelsi Jones currently holds a 17 game on-base streak while Whitney Arion has reached base the last 10 games.
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 .434 batting average, Maryssa Becker follows at .430 and Jordan McNary rounds out the top three at .383.
? Louisville stands first in the ACC and 20th in the nation with its .338 team batting average.
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 in the midseason. The freshman from Flaherty, Ky., has had at least one hit in her last six games with five of those hits falling in for doubles - she has started as designated player in Louisville's last four contests. Nikolao is now batting .500 (9 for 18) with five doubles, three RBIs and three runs in 11 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 123. She needs five more to tie Lacy Wood (2003-06) for eighth place. Chelsea Bemis (2008-11) holds the career RBI record with 191.
? In the March 19 game against Miami, Arion made her 200th career start - the most of any player on the team. She now has 204 career starts and needs 18 more to move into the school's top 10.
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 currently ranked ninth on Louisville's list of career strikeout leaders with 216 and needs nine more to tie Kassie Stanfill (2006-09) for eighth 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 has 23 runs on the season and 107 in her career, needing 10 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.
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.
2015 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Florida State
2. Notre Dame
3. NC State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Louisville
6. North Carolina
7. Syracuse
8. Georgia Tech
9. Boston College
10. Pittsburgh
11. Virginia
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)
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, the Cardinals competed in their lone season in the inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference.
? 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 a newly-formed conference
