Softball Travels to Western Kentucky for Midweek Game

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville softball team will travel to Bowling Green, Ky. to take on in-state rival Western Kentucky on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (EDT).

About Louisville:
• The Cardinals bring a 22-6 record into the weekend after sweeping ACC opponent North Carolina State in a three-game series last weekend.
• Louisville is No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Today Softball Top 25 released on March 29.
• The Cards have won their last 10 games- the longest streak since the 2013 season when Louisville won 15 straight – a streak that spanned from March 30 through April 21.
• Louisville is 8-1 in ACC play and is currently second in the early-season league standings.
• Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .420 batting average, seven doubles and 37 RBIs. Sophomore Sidney Melton is batting .384 with a team-high 25 runs and 12 stolen bases. Freshman Megan Hensley is batting .371 with a team-high seven home runs.
• Becker (11-4) leads the pitching staff with a 1.73 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 101.1 innings. Hensley (11-2) carries a 2.23 ERA and is holding opponents to a .230 batting average.

Cards against the field
Western Kentucky
Series Record: Louisville leads 15-3
Last Meeting: April 29, 2015 - Maryssa Becker tossed a one-hit shutout and Kelsi Jones backed her with a leadoff home run in the sixth to lift the University of Louisville softball team to a 1-0 win over in-state rival Western Kentucky at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Hilltoppers: Western Kentucky enters the week with an 11-15 overall record. The Hilltoppers are coming off of a three-game Conference USA series against North Texas last weekend. WKU opened the series with a 6-3 eight-inning victory, but fell 9-4 and 9-6 in the final two games.
• The Hilltoppers are led offensively by Jordan Mauch who is hitting .351 with six home runs and 21 RBIs. Brooke Holloway follows with a .347 batting average, five home runs, 18 runs and three stolen bases.
• Hannah Parker (6-9) has shouldered the majority of pitching duties, logging in 96.0 innings in the circle with 82 strikeouts and a 3.86 ERA. Kathryn Downing (5-2) carries a 3.82 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 47.2 innings of work.

Up next
Following the midweek game, Louisville will continue ACC play with a three-game series at North Carolina. All three games will be shown on ESPN3.

More Cardinal Quick Hits
• Freshman Lillie Goetz has reached via a hit or a walk in each of her last 16 games. Becker has reached in 27 of the Cards' 28 games this season.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 182-74.
• After going 3-4 with a save in her first 10 appearances of the season, junior Maryssa Becker has now collected eight straight win and a save in her last 10 appearances
• Head coach Sandy Pearsall is in her 17th season at the helm. Since starting the program in 2000, she has led the Cardinals to six conference championships and 12 NCAA appearances. Pearsall has a 640-320 overall record at UofL and an 890-654 tally in her 30th season as a head coach.

Last time out
Louisville 10 – NC State 1 (5 innings)
Freshman Lillie Goetz went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and fellow freshman Megan Hensley added a three-run homer to back junior Maryssa Becker who struck out six while collecting her seventh straight win in the circle.

Louisville 12 – NC State 9
In game two, sophomore Sidney Melton went 4 for 5 with three runs and an RBI as the Cardinals defeated the Wolfpack 12-9 in a slugfest that saw a combined 25 hits.
• Freshman Megan Hensley (11-2) got the win, allowing nine runs, six earned, on 10 hits and striking out four in 5.0 innings. Becker gave up only one hit in two innings while collecting her second save of the season. Sims went 2 for 2 with three RBIs and a run. Becker and Pufahl also had two hits apiece in the game.

Louisville 19 - NC State 3 (five innings)
A 15-run third inning that featured grand slams by freshman Lillie Goetz and junior Maryssa Becker propelled the University of Louisville softball team to a 19-3 win over North Carolina State in the finale of a three-game ACC series on Sunday at Ulmer Stadium. The victory completed a three-game sweep for the Cardinals (22-6) and improved their conference record to 8-1.
Becker (11-4) earned her eighth straight win with four strikeouts in the circle and collected five RBIs in the game while Goetz went 2 for 4 with her first home run and a career-best four RBIs. Senior Brittany Sims went 1 for 2 with three RBIs and sophomores Sidney Melton, Jenna Jordan and junior Sarah Lopesilvero had two hits apiece for the Cards who totaled 12 hits in the game.

Cards break into top 25
Louisville is ranked No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 as announced by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball on March 29.
• This marks the Cardinals' first appearance in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 since Feb. 18, 2014 when they were ranked No. 23. Prior to that, UofL appeared in the rankings for 33 straight weeks spanning from the beginning of the 2012 season through the beginning of the 2014 season.
• Louisville achieved its highest ranking at No. 7 on May 15, 2012. The Cardinals appeared in the top 10 for the final five weeks of that season.
About the USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA/USA Softball Regions as well as members of the National and Local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.

Stingy pitching
The Cards have been impressive in the circle through their first month of the season. Louisville's pitching staff has posted a combined 1.92 ERA and held opponents to a .225 batting average while striking out 144 in 186.1 innings.
• Junior Maryssa Becker (11-4) carries a 1.73 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 101.1 innings of work and has picked up eight wins and a save in her last 10 appearances. Freshman Megan Hensley leads carries an 11-2 record and with a 2.23 ERA while holding opponents to a .230 batting average.
• Louisville stands second in the ACC and is 11th in the nation with a 1.92 ERA.
• Hensley stands 19th in the nation with three saves.

• The 'S' word
The Cardinals have won a season-high 10 straight games dating back to the 5-4 win over Georgia Tech on March 6. The string of wins stands tied for ninth on the all-time list.
• During the 10-win span, junior Maryssa has batted .452 (14 for 31) with a home run, two doubles, five walks, seven runs and 15 RBIs. Sophomore Sidney Melton has registered a .447 batting average (17 for 38)with a triple, five RBIs, six stolen bases and 15 runs.
• Becker has posted a 1.67 ERA and notched a 7-0 record along with a save while striking out 36 in 42.0 innings and holding opponents to a .203 batting average.

Dual Threats
Two of Louisville's top offensive threats also double as the Cards Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers. Junior Maryssa Becker (who also plays first base) leads the team with a .420 batting average and 37 RBIs - she also has thrown a team-high 101.1 innings and has 93Ks while carrying a 1.73ERA. Freshman Megan Hensley stands third on the team with a .371 batting average and leads Louisville with seven home runs while splitting time in the outfield, at designated player and in the circle. The rookie carries an 11-2 record and a 2.23 ERA in 81.2 innings of work.

Hitting for average
Louisville is hitting .323 as a team with nine playeres batting above .300. Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .420 average while sophomore Sidney Melton follows at .384. Freshman Megan Hensley rounds out the top three with a .371 average.

McNary making contact
Junior Jordan McNary is one of six players in the nation with zero strikeouts on the season and is tied for first in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strikeout" categories. The speedy outfielder has not struck out in 59 plate appearances this season.

Becker career record watch
Junior Maryssa Becker is ranked among the top 10 in several career categories at Louisville. The following is a list of milestones she will reach in the near future:
• 3 walks (offensively) to tie for 10th on the career list (57)
• 4 wins to tie for 6th in career wins (42)
• 1 saves to tie for 3rd in career saves (10)
• 1 shutout to move into a tie for 8th on the career list (10)

Potent Offense
On March 26, Louisville used a 15-run third inning - which included grand slams by freshman Lillie Goetz and junior Maryssa Becker - en route to a 19-3 win over NC State.
• The 19 runs are the second most in school history behind a 22-4 win over Ohio University on March 9, 2014.
• The two grand slams in the third inning marked the first time in program history that Louisville has hit a pair of grand slams in the same inning – or game.
• Goetz's grand slam was the first since March 9, 2015 when Kayla Soles hit one against Illinois State.

Homegrown Talent
The Cardinals' roster features 11 (of 22) players from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Jessica Adell, Morgan Hart, Morgan Meyer, Michala Riggle and Jordan Vorbrink all hail from Louisville. Lillie Goetz (Owensboro), Megan Hensley (Ashland), Sarah Lopesilvero (Simpsonville), Jordan McNary (Madisonville), Ashley Nikolao (Flaherty), Brittany Sims (Lexington) round out the other players from the Commonwealth.

Youth Factor
With six underclassmen in its most recent starting lineup and only three seniors on the team, it is fair to say that the 2016 Cardinals are a young team. Three of the four pitchers are underclassmen with junior Maryssa Becker serving as the veteran on the staff.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jessica Adell

Maryssa Becker

Lillie Goetz

Morgan Hart

Megan Hensley

Kelsi Jones

Jenna Jordan

Sarah Lopesilvero

Jordan McNary

Sidney Melton

Morgan Meyer

Ashley Nikolao

Michala Riggle

Brittany Sims

Kayla Soles

Jordan Vorbrink

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