Saturday, February 13
Corpus Christi, Texas
11:00 AM
University of Louisville
2-1
7
vs
2
Iowa
1-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Louisville
3
1
0
0
1
2
0
7
10
0
Iowa
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
5
2
Softball Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader at Islanders Invitational
February 13, 2016 | Softball
Cards beat Iowa 7-2 and Texas A&M Corpus Christi 8-1
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Sophomore Nicole Pufahl went 4 for 8 with five RBIs on the day to help lead the University of Louisville softball team to a pair of wins on day two of the Islanders Invitational on Saturday. The Cardinals defeated Iowa 7-2 and Texas A&M Corpus Christi to improve to 3-1 on the season.
"I was really pleased with our offense today," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "I thought we attacked aggressively and brought good energy. We also had some great pitching performances today from Megan Hensley and Maryssa Becker."
Louisville 7 - Iowa 2
In Saturday's first game, junior Maryssa Becker and freshman Lillie Goetz had three RBIs apiece to help the Cards avenge Friday's loss with a 7-2 win over Iowa.
The Cardinals jumped on the scoreboard with three runs in the first inning. Freshman Jordan Vorbrink reached on an error, stole second and came home on junior Maryssa Becker's RBI single. Freshman Megan Hensley walked and senior Morgan Hart's base hit loaded the bases for freshman Lillie Goetz's two-run single which put Louisville up 3-0.
The Hawkeyes (1-2) responded with a run in the home half of the inning when Kaitlyn Mullarkey was hit by a pitch and infield singles by Katy Taylor and Holly Hoffman loaded the bases and a two-out wild pitch to brought Mullarkey home to make the score 3-1.
Louisville got the run back in the second. Junior Jordan McNary beat the throw for an infield single, took second on Vorbrink's sacrifice bunt and scored on Becker's second RBI hit of the day to push the Cards' lead to 4-1.
Iowa added another run to cut the Louisville lead to two. Taylor was safe on a play at first for an infield single to start the home half of the inning. Sammi Gyerman's groundout moved the runner to third and she crossed the plate on a single by Claire Fritsch.
The Cards stretched the lead back to three runs in the fifth when Goetz drew a bases-loaded walk. Hensley delivered a two-out single, Hart walked and Pufahl's hit set up the RBI for Goetz.
Louisville tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Back-to-back singles by junior Morgan Meyer and McNary set up Vorbrink's RBI hit which plated Meyer and sent McNary to third. Becker's groundout brought McNary home to increase the Cards' lead to 7-2.
Hensley (2-0) got the win giving up two earned runs on five hits and striking out three in a complete game effort. Becker went 2 for 4 with three RBIS while Goetz was 1 for 3 and drove in three runs. McNary went 2 for 4 with two runs.
Erin Riding (0-2) took the loss allowing five runs, two earned, on seven hits and striking out one in 4.2 innings. Taylor paced the Hawkeyes with a 2 for 4 performance at the plate.
Louisville 8 - Texas A&M Corpus Christi 1
In game two, Pufahl went 3 for 4 with a home run and five RBIs to lead the Cardinals to an 8-0 win over the host Islanders. Louisville struck early with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Becker drew a two-out walk and Hensley followed with a hit and an error on the play allowed both runners to move into scoring position to set up Pufahl's two-run single.
The Cards added two more runs to take 4-0 lead in the fourth. Pufahl led off the frame with her second hit of the day and sophomore Jenna Jordan was safe on an infield hit. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch to set up sophomore Sidney Melton's hit to centerfield.
The Islanders got on the scoreboard in the fifth when Cosette Hernandez reached on a third-strike wild pitch. She came around to score when Candice Hadd singled to make it a 7-1 game.
Louisville tacked on its final run in the seventh when Becker connected on a leadoff single. Hensley's base hit placed runners on the corners and Becker came home on an RBI hit by freshman Lillie Goetz for the 8-1 final.
Becker (1-1) got the win allowing one earned run on five hits and striking out five in 7.0 innings. In addition to Pufahl's performance, Hensley went 2 for 4 with two runsand Goetz was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Stephanie Flores (0-1) took the loss after surrendering one earned run on three hits in 2.0 innings. Colleen Bentke gave up six runs, four earned, on eight hits in 5.0 innings of relief. Hadd led the Islanders with a 2 for 3 performance at the plate.
The Cardinals will conclude the weekend when they face Sam Houston State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
"I was really pleased with our offense today," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "I thought we attacked aggressively and brought good energy. We also had some great pitching performances today from Megan Hensley and Maryssa Becker."
Louisville 7 - Iowa 2
In Saturday's first game, junior Maryssa Becker and freshman Lillie Goetz had three RBIs apiece to help the Cards avenge Friday's loss with a 7-2 win over Iowa.
The Cardinals jumped on the scoreboard with three runs in the first inning. Freshman Jordan Vorbrink reached on an error, stole second and came home on junior Maryssa Becker's RBI single. Freshman Megan Hensley walked and senior Morgan Hart's base hit loaded the bases for freshman Lillie Goetz's two-run single which put Louisville up 3-0.
The Hawkeyes (1-2) responded with a run in the home half of the inning when Kaitlyn Mullarkey was hit by a pitch and infield singles by Katy Taylor and Holly Hoffman loaded the bases and a two-out wild pitch to brought Mullarkey home to make the score 3-1.
Louisville got the run back in the second. Junior Jordan McNary beat the throw for an infield single, took second on Vorbrink's sacrifice bunt and scored on Becker's second RBI hit of the day to push the Cards' lead to 4-1.
Iowa added another run to cut the Louisville lead to two. Taylor was safe on a play at first for an infield single to start the home half of the inning. Sammi Gyerman's groundout moved the runner to third and she crossed the plate on a single by Claire Fritsch.
The Cards stretched the lead back to three runs in the fifth when Goetz drew a bases-loaded walk. Hensley delivered a two-out single, Hart walked and Pufahl's hit set up the RBI for Goetz.
Louisville tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Back-to-back singles by junior Morgan Meyer and McNary set up Vorbrink's RBI hit which plated Meyer and sent McNary to third. Becker's groundout brought McNary home to increase the Cards' lead to 7-2.
Hensley (2-0) got the win giving up two earned runs on five hits and striking out three in a complete game effort. Becker went 2 for 4 with three RBIS while Goetz was 1 for 3 and drove in three runs. McNary went 2 for 4 with two runs.
Erin Riding (0-2) took the loss allowing five runs, two earned, on seven hits and striking out one in 4.2 innings. Taylor paced the Hawkeyes with a 2 for 4 performance at the plate.
Louisville 8 - Texas A&M Corpus Christi 1
In game two, Pufahl went 3 for 4 with a home run and five RBIs to lead the Cardinals to an 8-0 win over the host Islanders. Louisville struck early with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Becker drew a two-out walk and Hensley followed with a hit and an error on the play allowed both runners to move into scoring position to set up Pufahl's two-run single.
The Cards added two more runs to take 4-0 lead in the fourth. Pufahl led off the frame with her second hit of the day and sophomore Jenna Jordan was safe on an infield hit. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch to set up sophomore Sidney Melton's hit to centerfield.
The Islanders got on the scoreboard in the fifth when Cosette Hernandez reached on a third-strike wild pitch. She came around to score when Candice Hadd singled to make it a 7-1 game.
Louisville tacked on its final run in the seventh when Becker connected on a leadoff single. Hensley's base hit placed runners on the corners and Becker came home on an RBI hit by freshman Lillie Goetz for the 8-1 final.
Becker (1-1) got the win allowing one earned run on five hits and striking out five in 7.0 innings. In addition to Pufahl's performance, Hensley went 2 for 4 with two runsand Goetz was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Stephanie Flores (0-1) took the loss after surrendering one earned run on three hits in 2.0 innings. Colleen Bentke gave up six runs, four earned, on eight hits in 5.0 innings of relief. Hadd led the Islanders with a 2 for 3 performance at the plate.
The Cardinals will conclude the weekend when they face Sam Houston State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hensley, Megan (2-0)
L: Riding, Erin (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Vorbrink, Jordan 1 ; Becker, Maryssa 3 ; Goetz, Lillie 3
SH: Vorbrink, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McNary, Jordan 2 ; Vorbrink, Jordan 1 ; Becker, Maryssa 1 ; Hensley, Megan 2 ; Meyer, Morgan 1
SB: Vorbrink, Jordan 1 ; Pufahl, Nicole 1
Batting:
RBI: Fritsch, Claire 1
SH: Fritsch, Claire 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mullarkey, Kaitlyn 1 ; Taylor, Katy 1
SB: Mullarkey, Kaitlyn 1
HBP: Mullarkey, Kaitlyn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP/1B
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballP/UT
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
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