Softball Set for Columbia Regional
May 13, 2015 | Softball
Complete game notes for NCAA Columbia Regional 
The University of Louisville softball team will open the 2015 Columbia Regional against Kansas Friday at 5 p.m. at Missouri's University Field. The game will be shown on ESPN3.
No. 12/13 Missouri earned the No. 10 overall seed and will play Indiana State in the other first round game at 7:30 p.m. which will air on the SEC + Network.
The Cardinals are making their 12th straight NCAA appearance after posting a 30-17 overall record and a 16-7 mark ACC play during their inaugural season in the league. Louisville earned a fourth place finish during the regular season.
Columbia Regional Information
Dates: May 15-17
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Venue: University Field
Television: ESPN3 - Click here for the ESPN 3 Watch Link
Click here for Tournament Central
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball
Columbia Regional Schedule
Friday. May 15
Game 1: Louisville (30-17) vs. Kansas (38-13), 5:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 2: Missouri (39-14) vs. Indiana State (26-29), 7:30 p.m. (SEC +)
Saturday, May 16
Game 3: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 4: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 5: Loser G3 vs. Winner G4, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sunday, May 17
Game 6: Winner G3 vs. Winner G5, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
• All times Eastern
The winner of the Columbia Regional will advance to a Super Regional to play the winner of the UCLA Regional which features the overall No.7 seed UCLA, San Diego State, Texas and CS Northridge
About Louisville
• The Cardinals carry a 30-17 overall record and posted a 16-7 mark in their inaugural season of ACC play.
• Senior Kelsi Jones leads the Cardinals with a .375 average, 36 runs and 17 doubles. Sophomore Maryssa Becker has driven in a team-high 39 RBIs and has nine home runs on the season.
• Becker (14-7) also leads the Cardinals' pitching staff with a 2.22 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 157.1 innings. Freshman Shelby McCombs (10-5) follows with a 2.87 ERA and 69 Ks in 105.0 innings of work.
• 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 12 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 619-313 as the Cardinals' head coach.
CARDS AGAINST THE COLUMBIA REGIONAL FIELD
Kansas (38-13)
Series Record: Tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Feb. 12, 2010 - Then-No. 21/22 Louisville won 10-2 in their 2010 season opener at the Marriott Tournament. Chelsea Bemis went 2-for-3 with three RBI while Kristen Wadwell tossed a complete game for the victory.
Scouting the Jayhawks: Kansas enters the NCAA post season with a 38-13 overall record and is receiving votes in both coaches polls. The Jayhawks earned an at-large bid after setting a program record with 38 victories in a season. KU is making its 12th NCAA appearance, with its best finish coming in 1992 when it reached the WCWS. The Jayhawks finished their regular season schedule with a three-game sweep over Iowa State.
• Kansas is hitting .319 as a team with six starters carrying averages of .300 or above. Chaley Brickey carries a team-best .393 average with 13 home runs, 55 RBIs and scoring a team-leading 49 runs. Daniella Chavez adds a team-high 15 home runs and 65 RBIs along with her .353 average. Alicia Pille leads the Jayhawks in the circle compiling a 23-6 record with a 2.90 ERA and 184 strikeouts.
No. 12/13 Missouri (39-14)
Series Record: Louisville leads 6-5
Last Meeting: February 13, 2015, Missouri won 5-1 in the Dot Richardson's National Collegiate Softball Invitational. Kelsi Jones led the Cardinals with two hits and a RBI. Madi Norman pitched four shutout innings in relief, allowing only two hits.
Note: The teams met in the UCLA Regional in 2004 and the Cardinals defeated the Tigers 1-0 in extra innings, marking the Cardinals' first win in postseason history.
Cardinal connections: Senior Kelsi Jones transferred to Louisville after playing her freshman and sophomore seasons at Mizzou.
• Assistant coach Jay Miller also returns to his old stomping grounds after serving as the Tigers' head coach for 15 seasons (1987-2002). During his tenure, he led Mizzou to a pair of WCWS appearances (1991 and 1994) and five NCAA appearances.
• Freshmen Madi Norman (Tipton) and Alison Szydlowski (Imperial) also hail from the state of Missouri.
Scouting the Tigers: Missouri brings a 39-14 overall record into the regional and is No. 12 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I coaches poll and No. 13 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches poll. Mizzou is hosting its seventh straight NCAA Regional making its 19th NCAA appearance after receiving an at-large bid and the No. 10 overall seed. The Tigers have been to the WCWS six times in program history most recently in 2011.
• In their most recent game, the Tigers fell 5-2 in the second round to eventual champion Auburn in the SEC Championships.
• Missouri is hitting .321 as a team with six starters carrying averages of .300 or above. Sami Fagan leads the Tigers offensively with a .381 average with 11 home runs and a team-high 61 RBIs. Amanda Sanchez and Kirsten Mack are tied atop the team lead with 14 home runs apiece. The Tigers have speed on the bases with Taylor Gadbois leading the team with 36 stolen bases while Emily Crane is a perfect 25-for-25 in stolen bases.
• Tori Finucane and Paige Lowary split time in the circle for the Tigers. Finucane leads the Tigers with a 19-8 record with a 3.00 ERA in 137.2 innings while Lowary boasts an 18-5 record with a 3.12 ERA in 152.2 innings.
Indiana State (26-29)
Series Record: Louisville leads 2-0
Last Meeting: March 15, 2006 - Then-No. 21 Louisville rallied to score two runs in the sixth inning to edge Indiana State 2-1 at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Sycamores: Indiana State (26-29) makes their first postseason appearance after winning the automatic bid from the Missouri Valley Conference. The Sycamores knocked off four straight higher seeds to become the first eight seed to win the MVC Tournament.
• Megan Stone leads ISU offensively in multiple categories. Stone boasts a .416 average along with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs while having a .753 slugging percentage.
• Taylor Lockwood sees the majority of the time in the circle for the Sycamores, boasting a 17-13 average with a 3.30 ERA in 47 appearances.
Cardinal Quick Hits
• Louisville has outscored opponents 257-160 this season
• In their inaugural ACC season, the Cardinals won six of their eight conference series. The Louisville/Florida State series ended at 1-1 after the deciding game was rained out. Virginia Tech was the only team to win a series, sweeping the Cards in three games April 3-4 in Blacksburg.
• Maryssa Becker has thrown six complete game shutouts this season including Louisville's wins over No. 8/10 Florida State (1-0), No. 17/19 Kentucky (8-0, 6 inn.), and Western Kentucky (1-0).
ACC sends conference-record seven teams to NCAA
Louisville is one of a conference-record seven ACC teams to earn a bid to the 64-team NCAA Softball Championship. League champion Florida State earned the overall No. 9 seed while Notre Dame was tabbed as the No. 16 seed. North Carolina, NC State, Pitt and Virginia Tech also earned at-large bids.
Last Up:
NC State 3 - Louisville 2
The University of Louisville softball team fell 3-2 to NC State in the first round of the ACC tournament Thursday at Tech Softball Field Thursday afternoon. • The game featured an even matchup between the fourth-seeded Cardinals and the fifth-seeded Wolfpack. NC State held a 5-4 edge in hits and stranded six runners and committed four errors, while Louisville left seven runners on base and had three errors in the game.
Cards place three on All-ACC first team
The University of Louisville's Whitney Arion, Maryssa Becker and Kelsi Jones were selected to the 2015 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Softball first team in a vote by the league's 11 head coaches.
• Arion, a senior from Delphi, Ind., earned her fourth straight all-conference honor after batting .388 with 15 runs and a team-best 20 RBIs against conference opponents. The shortstop belted out five doubles, a triple and three home runs in ACC action while starting all 23 of Louisville's conference games.
• Becker, a sophomore from Medford, Ore., picked up her second straight all-conference nod after posting a 6-3 record in the circle with 2.03 ERA, three complete game shutouts and 61 strikeouts in 82.2 innings in league play. She started all 23 of Louisville's conference games, splitting time between pitcher, first base and designated player. Offensively she carried a .311 batting average with four home runs, 19 RBIs and nine runs against ACC opponents. She became Louisville's first ACC Pitcher of the Week on April 13.
•Jones, a senior from Carmel, Ind., led the Cardinals offensively in ACC play with a .400 average, nine doubles, 19 runs and four stolen bases. She also connected on two home runs and a triple. The outfielder became Louisville's first ACC Player of the Week on March 24.
Jones and Sims earn academic honors
Kelsi Jones and Brittany Sims have been named to the 2015 Capital One Academic Softball All-District II first team. Both will be eligible for Capital One Academic All-America® consideration which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
• Jones, a senior psychology major Carmel, Ind, leads the Cardinals with a .375 batting average, 36 runs and 17 doubles. The outfielder earned first team All-ACC honors in 2015.
• Sims, a junior chemistry major from Lexington, Ky., carries a 333 batting average with 27 runs, five home runs and 15 RBIs as the Cardinals' starting second baseman.
• To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
2015 Cards reach 30 win mark for 12th straight season
On May 3, the Cardinals defeated Pitt 9-4 to notch their 30th win of the season. Louisville has now posted 30 or more victories in 12 straight seasons (dating back to 2004). The Cards have posted at least 30 wins 14 times in the 16 year history of the program with a program-record 55 victories in 2012.
Senior Salute
The senior class of 2015 has helped the Cardinals to 165 wins, two conference tournament titles, one regular season conference championship, and four NCAA regional appearances. During the last four years, Louisville has spent 34 weeks in the top 25 reaching as high as seventh in the nation and staying in the top 10 during nine ranking periods.
Soggy season
The Cardinals have had eight games cancelled due to weather this season. As a result, Louisville has only played 47 games, the fewest in school history at this point in the season. The next closest season-low came in 2003 when the Cards played 50 games.
The following is a list of weather-impacted games in 2015:
• The entire Eastern Kentucky Invitational (four games: Kent State-twice; Western Michigan, Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 21-22)
• The second game of the DePaul doubleheader (April 8)
• The third game of the Florida State series (April 13)
• Two games in the series against Ole Miss (April 17 and 19)
Hitting for average
The Cardinals are batting .308 as a team with seven players hitting .300 or above. Kelsi Jones leads the team with a .375 average while Jordan McNary follows closely at a .364 clip.
Balance of power
Louisville has belted out 42 home runs through 47 games this season. - which ranks sixth on the school's list for home runs in a season. Fourteen different players have registered one homer with nine connecting on multiple round-trippers. Maryssa Becker leads the team with nine.
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. On May 3, she moved into the top 10 with 223 career starts. She needs two more to tie Audrey Rendon for ninth.
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 seventh on Louisville's list of career strikeout leaders with 284. 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 produced her 100th career run. She currently has 116 in her career, needing one 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 12 consecutive NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Fountain of youth
The graduation of six senior multi-year starters including two All-Americans from last year's team has left the Cardinals with some big shoes to fill. The Cardinals' most recent starting lineup featured five underclassmen on the field with both active pitchers also being underclassmen.
New neighborhood, familiar faces
The 2015 season marks 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.
• In 2014, the Cardinals competed in their lone season in the inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference.
• 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.
• The following is a breakdown of the Cards' inaugural conference seasons:
Conference First season UofL Conference RecordACC 2015 16-7 (Earned No. 4 seed in championship)American* 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
Cards solid in classroom
The University of Louisville softball team worked hard on the field and in the classroom. As a team, the Cards posted a 3.34 GPA in the fall semester and bested that mark with a 3.425 spring GPA - the best in program history. Additionally, 17 players were named to the Athletic Director's honor roll after posting a 3.0 GPA or higher in the fall and 20 players earned the distinction in the spring .
