No. 25 Softball Travels to North Carolina

The No. 25 University of Louisville softball team will travel to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina in a three-game ACC series April 2-3. All three games will be shown on ESPN3. The teams will meet in a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday and will wrap up the series on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Series Info: Louisville vs. North Carolina
Date: April 2-3, 2016
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Venue: Anderson Stadium
Television: ESPN3
Live scoring: GoHeels.com
Twitter updates: @UofLSoftball

About Louisville:
• The Cardinals bring a 23-6 record into the weekend after sweeping ACC opponent North Carolina State in a three-game series last weekend and picking up a 12-0 win over Western Kentucky in a midweek matchup.
• The Cards have won their last 11 games- the longest streak since the 2013 season when Louisville won 15 straight – a streak that spanned from March 30 through April 21.
• Louisville carries an 8-1 mark in ACC play and is currently second in the early-season league standings.
• Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .422 batting average, seven doubles and 37 RBIs. Sophomore Sidney Melton is batting .395 with a team-high 27 runs and 12 stolen bases. Freshman Megan Hensley is batting .374 with a team-high eight home runs.
• Becker (12-4) leads the pitching staff with a 1.65 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 106.1 innings. Hensley (11-2) carries a 2.23 ERA and is holding opponents to a .230 batting average.

More Cardinal Quick Hits
• Freshman Lillie Goetz has reached via a hit or a walk in each of her last 17 games. Becker has reached in 28 of the Cards' 29 games this season.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 194-74.
• Junior Maryssa Becker has now collected eight wins and a save in her last nine appearances.
• Louisville has scored in double figures in its last four games and has run-rule victories in three of its last four games.
• 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 891-654 tally in her 30th season as a head coach.

Cards against the field
North Carolina
Series Record: Louisville leads 5-3
Last Meeting: The Cardinals took two of three games. The Tar Heels took game one of the series 4-2, but Louisville won the second game 9-2 and posted a 6-4 win in the series finale.
Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina enters the weekend with a 17-17 overall record and a 3-6 mark in ACC play. The Tar Heels are coming off of a pair of midweek wins, defeating USC Upstate 4-2 and UNC Greensboro 5-2. Last weekend UNC was swept by No. 11 Florida State.
• The Tar Heels are led offensively by Kristen Brown who carries a .383 batting average with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs and 26 runs. Destiny DeBerry follows with a .347 average, 21 runs and 20 stolen bases.
• Kendra Lynch (15-13) has shouldered most of the pitching duties logging in 168.2 innings with 3.98 ERA and 98 strikeouts.

Up next
Following the weekend series, the Cards will head to Lexington, Ky., for a midweek game against in-state rival No. 12/14 Kentucky on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Up Last
Louisville 12 – Western Kentucky 0
The No. 25 University of Louisville softball team used grand slams by freshmen Lillie Goetz and Megan Hensley to help spark a 12-0 win over host Western Kentucky on Wednesday evening. The Cardinals (23-6) extended their season-high win streak to 11 games while junior Maryssa Becker (12-4) picked up her eighth-straight win.
• Becker (12-4) scattered four hits and struck out five en route to her third shutout of the season. She also went 1 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs at the plate to help lead the Cards who had 11 hits in the game with every player in the starting lineup recording at least one hit. Melton went 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI while McNary also went 2 for 3 with a run and an RIB. Hensley and Goetz each had a hit and four RBIs in the game.

Up last in ACC play
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 crack 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 1.87 ERA and held opponents to a .225 batting average while striking out 149 in 191.1 innings.
• Junior Maryssa Becker (12-4) carries a 1.65 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 106.1 innings of work and has picked up nine 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 ninth in the nation with a 1.87 ERA.
• Hensley stands 19th in the nation with three saves.

• The 'S' word
The Cardinals have won a season-high 11 straight games dating back to the 5-4 win over Georgia Tech on March 6. The string of wins stands tied for eighth on the all-time list.
• During that stretch, junior Maryssa has batted .440 (15 for 34) with a home run, two doubles, 10 walks, 10 runs and 17 RBIs. Sophomore Sidney Melton has registered a .455 batting average (20 for 44)with a triple, six RBIs, seven stolen bases and 17 runs.
• Becker has posted a 1.46 ERA and notched an 8-0 record along with a save while striking out 41 in 48.0 innings and holding opponents to a .210 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 .422 batting average and 39 RBIs - she also has thrown a team-high 106.1 innings and has 98 Ks while carrying a 1.65 ERA. Freshman Megan Hensley stands third on the team with a .374 batting average and leads Louisville with eight 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 .326 as a team with 10 players batting above .300. Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .422 average while sophomore Sidney Melton follows at .395. Freshman Megan Hensley rounds out the top three with a .374 average.

Power trip
The Cardinals have connected a pair of grand slams in each of their last two games totalling four on the season and setting a school record for most grand slams in a season and a game.
• On March 26, freshman Lillie Goetz and junior Maryssa Becker each had a grand slam to highlight a 15-run third inning, marking the first time a Louisville team had two grand slams in the same inning - and game.
• Four days later, in the Cards' March 30 contest at Western Kentucky, Goetz delivered her second grand slam in as many games and one inning later, Hensley registered another.
• Goetz becomes the first Louisville freshman to hit two grand slams in the same season.

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 62 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:
• 15 RBIs to move into the top 10 on the career list (118)
• 2 walks (offensively) to tie for 9th on the career list (59)
• 3 wins to tie for 6th in career wins (42)
• 1 saves to tie for 3rd in career saves (10)
• 3 shutouts to move into a tie for 7th on the career list (13)

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 on the roster 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

Jenna Jordan

Sarah Lopesilvero

Jordan McNary

Sidney Melton

Morgan Meyer

Ashley Nikolao

Michala Riggle

Brittany Sims

Kayla Soles

Jordan Vorbrink

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