Softball Plays Host to No.. 13/14 Kentucky Wednesday
March 31, 2015 | Softball
Complete Louisville-Kentucky game notes 
Game Info: Kentucky at Louisville
Dates: April 1, 2015
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Ulmer Stadium
Admission: $5
Television: CardsTV (GoCards.com)
Gametracker: GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball
Promotions: "Red Out" T-Shirts give to the first 250 fans; Louisville softball trading cards
The University of Louisville softball team will play host to in-state rival No. 13/14 Kentucky in a midweek game Wednesday April 1 at 6 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased by calling 502-GoCards. Fans are encouraged to wear red to the game.
The Cardinals (22-8) bring a six-game winning streak into Wednesday's matchup while Kentucky (23-9) defeated (then) No. 1 LSU twice in a three-game series last weekend.
About Louisville
? Kelsi Jones leads Louisville offensively with a .466 batting average, 30 runs and 15 doubles. Jordan McNary follows at .420 with 21 runs. Maryssa Becker has produced a team-high 30 RBIs and has five home runs on the season.
? Freshman Shelby McCombs (8-2) carries a team-best 2.90 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 70.0 innings. Sophomore Maryssa Becker (8-2) follows closely with a 2.91 ERA and 78 Ks in 79.1 innings of work. She also leads the ACC with three saves.
? 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 611-304 as the Cardinals' head coach.
Cards against Kentucky
Series Record: Louisville leads 18-16; Kentucky has won past three meetings. Last Meeting: April 30, 2014 - Kentucky defeated Louisville 7-3 at Ulmer Stadium. The Wildcats also won 5-0 in Lexington on April 2, 2014. Last season marked the first time UK swept the annual series since 2003 when the Wildcats won a doubleheader at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Wildcats: Kentucky enters the matchup with a 23-9 record after taking two of three games from No. 1 LSU this past weekend. The Wildcats are led by Griffin Joiner who has a team-high six home runs and 30 RBIs along with a .344 batting average. Christian Stokes adds a team-high .370 average along with six home runs, 19 RBIs, and has scored a team-best 26 runs. RHP Kelsey Nunley leads the Wildcats in the circle with a 10-5 record and a 1.77 ERA while adding three saves. She holds opponents to a .210 average and also has struck out 84 batters in 95 innings this season. LHP Meagan Prince has amassed a 9-4 record with a 3.18 ERA.
Up Next: Louisville will travel to Blacksburg, Va. to take on ACC foe, No. 24 Virginia Tech in a weekend series. The teams will play a single game on Friday at 7 p.m. before concluding the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. All three games will be televised on ESPN3.
Last Up: Louisville is coming off of a three-game sweep of ACC opponent over the weekend. The series was originally slated to take place in Syracuse, but weather and field conditions prompted the move to Louisville's Ulmer Stadium. The Cardinals swept the opening doubleheader 15-11 and 5-4 and in the third game built a 4-0 lead, only to fall behind 7-4 in the fifth before storming back for a 13-7 win.
Arion and Jones lead Cards to Syracuse Sweep
Seniors Whitney Arion and Kelsi Jones led the Cardinals to a 4-0 record on the weekend - including a three-game sweep of ACC opponent Syracuse.
? Arion batted .615 (8 for 13) with two doubles, a triple, eight RBIs and three runs. Arion registered a .923 slugging percentage and earned three walks to help produce a .722 on-base percentage.
? The shortstop reached base via a walk or a hit in each of Louisville's games and produced multi-hit and multi-RBI performances in all three games against Syracuse. Arion went 4 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs in the 15-11 win and had two hits and three RBIs both the 5-4 win and the 13-7 over the Orange.
? Jones batted .600 (9 for 15) with two doubles and a triple to go with seven runs and five RBIs. She posted a .933 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage.
? The outfielder had at least one hit and one run in each of the Cardinals' games with a 4 for 4 performance in the 13-7 win over Syracuse. Jones also scored two runs in each of Louisville's games against the Orange.
Louisville/Syracuse Series Highlights
Louisville 15 - Syracuse 11
? In the opening game of the series, senior Hailey Smith went 4 for 4 with two home runs and Kelsi Jones drove in four RBIs as Louisville built an early 8-0 lead and went on to beat Syracuse 15-11.
Louisville 5 - Syracuse 4
? Louisville built a 5-0 lead and held on to beat Syracuse 5-4 to clinch the series. Jordan McNary went 3 for 4 with two runs while Arion was 2 for 4 with three RBIs in lead the Cards at the plate.
Louisville 13 - Syracuse 7
? Sophomore Tiarra Sanabria connected on her first career home run and then added another one to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
? Sophomore Jordan McNary registered an inside-the-park home run for her first career round-tripper. The speedy outfielder slapped a shot to the fence in left center field and sprinted around the bases before sliding in under the tag at the plate to give the Cards a 4-0 lead.
? Syracuse scored seven runs in the fourth inning to gain a 7-4 lead, but Louisville answered with two runs in the sixth and put up a seven-spot of its own in the seventh for the 13-7 final.
? Kelsi Jones went 4 for 4 to lead the Cardinals who pounded out a season-high 20 hits - one shy of the school record.
? Shelby McCombs registered a career-high seven strikeouts in 3.1 innings en route to getting the win in the circle.
Cards receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll
For the second straight week and the third time this season, Louisville is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll for the second time this season. Louisville last appeared in the top 25 on Feb. 18, 2014 when the Cards were No. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 25 in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
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.
Power surge
Louisville has on 30 home runs through 30 games. Maryssa Becker and Brittany Sims lead the team with five homers apiece while six other Cardinals have totaled two or more home runs on the season. Jordan McNary has the team's only inside-the-park home run which came on March 29 in the 13-7 win over Syracuse.
Getting on base
Maryssa Becker has batted in 29 of Louisville's 30 games and has reached safely via a hit or a walk in every game in which she has played. Kelsi Jones currently holds a 20 game on-base streak while Whitney Arion has reached base the last 13 games.
Hitting for average
The Cardinals are batting a healthy .354 as a team with 12 players registering an average of .300 or above. Kelsi Jones leads the charge with a .466 batting average, Jordan McNary follows at .420 and Maryssa Becker is hitting at a .407 clip.
? Louisville stands first in the ACC and eighth in the nation with its .354 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.
Cards among ACC and NCAA leaders
Louisville ranks among the ACC and NCAA's statistical leaders in several categories.
Cards in the ACC
?As a team, the Cardinals lead the ACC in batting average (.354), hits (300), doubles (63) and saves (3). They are ranked second in on-base percentage (.433), slugging percentage (.549), runs scored (209) and RBIs (188).
? Kelsi Jones leads the ACC in three offensive categories. The senior outfielder stands atop the league with a .466 batting average, 15 doubles and a .573 on-base percentage.
? Jordan McNary ranks fourth in the ACC with a .420 batting average while Maryssa Becker is sixth (.407).
? Becker leads the conference with three saves.
Cards in the NCAA
? The Cards are ranked among the NCAA's top 25 in four categories. Their .354 batting average is good for eighth. They are second in doubles per game (2.10), 21st with a .433 team on-base percentage and 23rd with a .549 slugging percentage.
? Kelsi Jones ranks among the top 20 in the nation in three statistical categories. She is fourth in the nation in doubles per game (0.44), 15th in on-base percentage (.573) and 20th with a .466 batting average.
? Maryssa Becker has three saves on the season and ranks 15th nationally.
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 eighth on UofL's career RBI list with 131. She needs nine more to tie Keola Calderon (2000-03) for seventh 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 207 career starts and needs 12 more to move into the school's top 10.
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 currently ranked ninth on Louisville's list of career strikeout leaders with 225 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 110 in her career, needing seven more to move into a three-way tie with Sara Bausher (2002-05) and Alicja Wolny (2010-13) for 10th on UofL's all-time list.
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.
Cards picked to finish fifth in ACC preseason voting
Louisville was picked to finish fifth in the ACC 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;*AAC Inaugural conference season; % C-USA's inaugural softball season
