Sunday, February 14
Corpus Christi, Texas
10:00 AM
University of Louisville
4-1
6
vs
1
Sam Houston State
0-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Sam Houston State
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
4
Louisville
0
0
2
1
1
2
X
6
6
2
Softball Beats Sam Houston State 6-1
February 14, 2016 | Softball
Hailey Smith's three RBIs help Cards to 6-1 win over Sam Houston State
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Senior Hailey Smith drove in three runs to help the University of Louisville softball team to a 6-1 win over Sam Houston State in its final game of the Islanders Invitational Sunday morning. The Cardinals improve to 4-1 on the season.
"I think today we started out sluggishly and we definitely weren't as sharp as we were yesterday," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "I thought Madi Norman did a good job once she settled in and Megan (Hensley) came in and helped us out. We hit some great shots, we just couldn't find the hole early on and once we did we opened the game up. Defensively we were a little sloppy today, I think we lost focus, but we will get that corrected as we look ahead to another tough weekend."
Sam Houston State (0-3) used an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead in the second. Tiffany Castillo connected on an infield single. An error on Jennie Kieval's fielder's choice moved Castillo to third and Samantha Belongia's RBI hit put the Bearkats on the scoreboard. Kievall attempted to add to the lead as she rounded third and headed home, but sophomore centerfielder Nicole Pufahl fielded Belongia's hit and rifled a throw to sophomore catcher Jenna Jordan who tagged Kieval out at the plate for the third out of the inning.
The Cards answered with senior Hailey Smith's two-run double in the home half of the third. Freshman Lillie Goetz reached and moved to second on a two-base error and junior Maryssa Becker followed with a walk. One out later, Smith delivered a hit to centerfield to give Louisville a 2-1 lead.
UofL added another run in the fourth when sophomore Alison Szydlowski registered a one-out double. After a groundout by sophomore Jessica Adell sent Szydlowski to third, sophomore Sidney Melton's base hit to centerfield made the score 3-1.
Smith tallied her third RBI of the game to give the Cards a 4-1 lead in the fifth. Becker was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second when freshman Megan Hensley reached on an error. Smith's single to centerfield plated Becker.
Louisville tacked on two more unearned runs in the sixth. Melton delivered a one-out single, stole second and Goetz followed with a walk to place two runners on. An error on Becker's sacrifice bunt attempt sent Melton home and Goetz to third. Hensley's fielder's choice saw Goetz safe at the plate for the 6-1 final.
Hensley (2-0) got the win, holding the Bearkats scoreless on one hit and striking out two in 5.0 innings of relief. After entering the game in the third inning, she allowed one single and hit a batter and went on to retire 14 of the next 15 batters she faced. Sophomore Madi Norman got the start and surrendered one unearned run on two hits in 2.0 innings.
Smith went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Melton was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run to lead the Cardinals at the plate.
Lindsey McLeod (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs, two earned, on six hits and striking out three in 5.1 innings of work.
The Cardinals return to action next weekend when they head to Raleigh, N.C. for the ACC/Big Ten Class where they will face Nebraska and Wisconsin.
"I think today we started out sluggishly and we definitely weren't as sharp as we were yesterday," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "I thought Madi Norman did a good job once she settled in and Megan (Hensley) came in and helped us out. We hit some great shots, we just couldn't find the hole early on and once we did we opened the game up. Defensively we were a little sloppy today, I think we lost focus, but we will get that corrected as we look ahead to another tough weekend."
Sam Houston State (0-3) used an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead in the second. Tiffany Castillo connected on an infield single. An error on Jennie Kieval's fielder's choice moved Castillo to third and Samantha Belongia's RBI hit put the Bearkats on the scoreboard. Kievall attempted to add to the lead as she rounded third and headed home, but sophomore centerfielder Nicole Pufahl fielded Belongia's hit and rifled a throw to sophomore catcher Jenna Jordan who tagged Kieval out at the plate for the third out of the inning.
The Cards answered with senior Hailey Smith's two-run double in the home half of the third. Freshman Lillie Goetz reached and moved to second on a two-base error and junior Maryssa Becker followed with a walk. One out later, Smith delivered a hit to centerfield to give Louisville a 2-1 lead.
UofL added another run in the fourth when sophomore Alison Szydlowski registered a one-out double. After a groundout by sophomore Jessica Adell sent Szydlowski to third, sophomore Sidney Melton's base hit to centerfield made the score 3-1.
Smith tallied her third RBI of the game to give the Cards a 4-1 lead in the fifth. Becker was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second when freshman Megan Hensley reached on an error. Smith's single to centerfield plated Becker.
Louisville tacked on two more unearned runs in the sixth. Melton delivered a one-out single, stole second and Goetz followed with a walk to place two runners on. An error on Becker's sacrifice bunt attempt sent Melton home and Goetz to third. Hensley's fielder's choice saw Goetz safe at the plate for the 6-1 final.
Hensley (2-0) got the win, holding the Bearkats scoreless on one hit and striking out two in 5.0 innings of relief. After entering the game in the third inning, she allowed one single and hit a batter and went on to retire 14 of the next 15 batters she faced. Sophomore Madi Norman got the start and surrendered one unearned run on two hits in 2.0 innings.
Smith went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Melton was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run to lead the Cardinals at the plate.
Lindsey McLeod (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs, two earned, on six hits and striking out three in 5.1 innings of work.
The Cardinals return to action next weekend when they head to Raleigh, N.C. for the ACC/Big Ten Class where they will face Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hensley, Megan (2-0)
L: McLeod, L. (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Belongia, S. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Castillo, T. 1
SB: Watson, B 1
HBP: Carpenter, C 1
Batting:
2B: Smith, Hailey 1 ; Szydlowski, Alison 1
RBI: Melton, Sidney 1 ; Hensley, Megan 1 ; Smith, Hailey 3
SH: Becker, Maryssa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Melton, Sidney 1 ; Goetz, Lillie 2 ; Becker, Maryssa 1 ; Meyer, Morgan 1 ; Szydlowski, Alison 1
SB: Melton, Sidney 2
HBP: Becker, Maryssa 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
3b/dp
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballRHP/1B
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF/OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballC
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