Cards Set for Louisville Softball Classic

The University of Louisville softball team is set to host the Louisville Softball Classic this weekend. The Cardinals will welcome Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Illinois State, Jacksonville State and second-ranked Michigan to Ulmer Stadium for the tournament which will take place March 10-13.

Louisville will kick off the tournament on Thursday with a 4 p.m. matchup against Illinois State. The Cards will return to action on Friday when the face Jacksonville State at 2:30 p.m. and Dayton at 4:30 p.m. Saturday's lone Louisville game will feature in-state rival Eastern Kentucky at 12 p.m. The Cardinals will wrap up the weekend when they face second-ranked Michigan at 10 a.m. and Dayton at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

2016 Louisville Softball Classic Schedule
Thursday, March 10
Illinois State vs. Louisville - 4 p.m.
Friday, March 11
Jacksonville State vs. Illinois State - 10 a.m.
Illinois State vs. Eastern Kentucky - 12 p.m.
Jacksonville State vs. Louisville - 2:30 p.m.
Dayton vs. Louisville - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 12
Michigan vs. Illinois State - 10 a.m.
Eastern Kentucky vs. Louisville - 12 p.m.
Michigan vs. Dayton - 2:30 p.m.
Jacksonville State vs. Dayton - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 13
Michigan vs. Louisville - 10 a.m.
Eastern Kentucky vs. Michigan - 12 p.m.
Dayton vs. Louisville - 2:30 p.m.
Dayton vs. Eastern Kentucky - 4:30 p.m.

Admission is free
Game times are subject to change due to weather conditions
Parking: Fans are encouraged to utilize the parking garage on Floyd Street (enter on Floyd Street side at the stoplight). There is a flat $5 fee for parking.
• All six Louisville games in the Louisville Softball Classic will be carried on CardsTV. Click here to for subscription information http://gocards.com/watch/purchase.aspx#register

About Louisville:
• The Cardinals bring a 13-6 record into the weekend after taking two of three games in their opening ACC series against Georgia Tech.
• Freshman Megan Hensley leads the team with a .417 batting average and six home runs. Junior Maryssa Becker follows with a .396 batting average and has a team-best 24 RBIs.
• Hensley (8-2) carries a 1.73 ERA and is holding opponents to a .201 batting average. Becker (5-4) leads the pitching staff with 68 strikeouts in 65.1 innings.
• 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 631-320 overall record at UofL and an 881-654 tally in her 30th season as a head coach.
Cardinal Quick Hits
• Maryssa Becker has reached via a hit or walk in 18 of Louisville's 19 games.
• Becker recently registered her 100th career hit in the 3-0 loss to Nebraska on Feb. 21.
• Freshman Megan Hensley is on an eight-game hitting streak.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 104-52.

Cards against the field
Illinois State
Series Record: Louisville leads 6-5
Last Meeting: March 9, 2015 – The teams split a pair of games as part of the Louisville Softball Classic at Ulmer Stadium. The Cardinals won 10-2 in five innings before the Redbirds won the second game 4-3 in eight innings.
Scouting the Redbirds: Illinois State enters the tournament with a 7-15 clip after splitting a pair of games in the midweek with a win against Ball State and a 10 inning loss to No. 25 Central Florida. For the season, junior Jordan de los Reyes leads the team with a .310 average with 12 RBIs and has belted four home runs. Sophomore Riley Strandgard has scored 10 runs and has eight RBIs along with .294 average. Freshman Riley Hale leads the team with 15 RBIs and has hit three home runs.
In the circle, sophomore Sarah Finck leads a trio of pitchers with a 4-8 record and a solid 3.26 ERA while tossing five complete games. Freshman Ali Domkuski and senior Regan Romshek have also seen action with the two combining for 23 appearances.

Jacksonville State
Series Record: Louisville leads 2-0
Last Meeting: May 21, 2011 – Louisville won 12-0 in six innings in an elimination game of the Louisville Regional in the NCAA Tournament at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Gamecocks: Jacksonville State enters the tournament with a 9-10 overall record after defeating Kennesaw State in a midweek matchup. Senior Ella Denes leads the team with a .367 average while hitting two home runs and driving in 11 runs. Junior Taylor Sloan adds a .356 average along with a team-best 13 runs. Junior Emily Church adds a team-high three home runs and 17 RBIs along with her solid .317 average.
• In the circle, the Gamecocks have four pitchers who have carried the bulk of the action. Senior right-hander Casey Akenberger leads the team with a 4-2 record and a 2.79 ERA in 12 appearances. Junior righty Taylor West contributes a 3-2 record and two saves along with a 4.06 ERA.

Dayton
Series Record: First Meeting
Scouting the Flyers: The Flyers enter the weekend with a 7-8 clip after dropping a mid-week doubleheader with Eastern Kentucky. Junior Gabrielle Snyder leads the team with a .444 average and has scored a team-high eight runs. Sophomore Kailiee Budicin adds a .412 average and leads the team with 14 hits while adding seven RBIs. Senior Kathryn Hess adds a team-high three home runs with eight RBIs with her .281 average. Junior Katie Ryan leads the team with 11 RBIs and has hit two home runs on the season.
• In the circle, the Flyers hold an overall 2.24 ERA with four pitchers contributing on the mound. Sophomore left-hander Manda Cash boasts a microscopic 0.92 ERA along with her 1-2 record and two saves while holding opponents to a .128 clip. Snyder is 3-0 on the season with a 1.02 ERA in eight appearances. Freshman righty Jessica Gilliam boasts a 3-5 record with a 3.34 ERA in nine appearances while senior right-hander Emily Froment has a 3.89 ERA in eight appearances.

Eastern Kentucky
Series Record: Louisville leads 6-4
Last Meeting: Feb. 21, 2014 – EKU won 4-0 as part of the Cardinal Classic at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Colonels: Eastern Kentucky enters the weekend with a 14-5 overall record after sweeping a doubleheader from Dayton during the week. Senior Kayla Joyce leads the team with a .413 average and has scored 12 runs along with 10 RBIs. Junior shortstop Krisyln Campos adds a .397 average along with 14 runs while sophomore Paige Murphy boasts a team-high 16 runs and nine stolen bases with her .333 average. Freshman infielder Hannah Clark leads the team with three home runs and 14 RBIs while senior outfielder Sarah Fobbs has hit two home runs and is second on the team with 12 RBIs.
On the mound, right-handers Alex Sallberg and Haley Flynn carry the bulk of the pitching duties for the Colonels. Sallberg has appeared in 16 games and boasts a 4-1 record with four saves along with her 1.62 ERA. She has 63 strikeouts and has only allowed eight walks in 56 innings of work. Flynn adds a 9-3 record with a 2.29 ERA and has 68 strikeouts in 58 innings of work.

Michigan
Series Record: Michigan leads 18-3
Last Meeting: March 15, 2014 – Michigan won 9-1 in six innings at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Wolverines: The No. 2 Wolverines enter the weekend with an 18-2 overall record and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak. As a team, the Wolverines bat a collective .348 with three-time All-American and the 2015 espnW Softball Player of the Year Sierra Romero leading the team offensively with a .466 average. Along with a team-best seven home runs, Romero also leads the team with 30 runs and 39 RBIs. Romero won Big Ten Conference Player of the Week after batting .500 with 13 RBIs to help the Wolverines to a 6-0 clip last week. Sophomore Tera Blanco adds a .444 average along with two home runs and 23 RBIs while senior infielder Abby Ramirez contributes a .431 average and scoring 29 runs. Senior outfielder Sierra Lawrence adds 28 runs and a team-high seven stolen bases with her .397 average.
• In the circle, the Wolverines rely on two right-handers to carry the majority of the pitching load. Graduate student Sara Driesenga leads the team with a perfect 10-0 record along with a 2.18 ERA. 2015 All-American pitcher and junior Megan Betsa adds a 7-1 record along with a 3.06 ERA. She also has 76 strikeouts on the season and holds opponents to a .181 average.

Up next
Following this weekend, Louisville resume ACC play with a trip to Charlottesville, Va., where they will face the University of Virginia in a three-game series March 19-20.

Last time out
Louisville opened ACC play by taking two of three games against Georgia Tech. The Cards won the first game 12-3, but Tech took the second by a 5-2 margin. Louisville prevailed 5-4 to win the series.
• Maryssa Becker led the Cardinals with a .500 batting average (7 for 14) with two home runs, nine RBIs and five runs on the week. The junior reached in every gave via a hit or a walk, posting a career-high six RBIs with two home runs in a 3 for 4 performance in the 12-3 win over Georgia Tech in the Cards' ACC opener. She was walked three times – one intentionally - in the Cards 5-2 loss to the Yellow Jackets. In the rubber game, Becker's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth erased a 4-3 deficit and gave Louisville a 5-4 lead which stood as the final score – she also got the win in the circle while tying a career high with 11 strikeouts.
• Becker also registered a team-high .929 slugging percentage and .632 on-base percentage and while earning four walks and did not strike out in her 14 at bats. She has now reached via a hit or walk in 18 of Louisville's 19 games. She tarted every game at first base or pitcher and also tallied a 2-1 record with 19 strikeouts in 18 innings of work in four appearances in the circle. Her win in the 5-4 victory over Georgia Tech pushed her to No. 8 on Louisville's all-time list for wins.
Louisville 12 - Georgia Tech 3 (five innings)
Maryssa Becker went 3 for 4 with two home runs and six RBIs and got the win in the circle to lead the Cards to a 12-3 win over Georgia Tech in their ACC opener. Georgia Tech 5 - Louisville 2
Georgia Tech 5 - Louisville 2
In game two of the doubleheader, Louisville built a 2-0 lead, but Georgia Tech scored two runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh en route to a 5-2 win to even the series.
Louisville 5 - Georgia Tech 4
Maryssa Becker got the win in the circle and drove in the winning run with the Cards down 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth to help Louisville improve to 2-1 in ACC play.
Louisville built a 3-0 lead through five innings, but the Jacket used four hits and an error to score four runs in the top of the sixth. The Cards answered with Becker's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth.

• 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 1.84 ERA and held opponents to a .220 batting average while striking out 107 in 129.1 innings.
• Junior Maryssa Becker (5-4) carries a 2.01 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 65.1 innings of work. Freshman Megan Hensley leads the team with an 8-2 record and carries a 1.73 ERA while holding opponents to a .220 batting average.
• Louisville stands second in the ACC and stands 15th in the nation with a 1.84 ERA.
•The Cardinals also lead the league with a .220 opposing batting average.
• Hensley stands 19th in the nation with eight victories.

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 24 RBIs - she also has thrown a team-high 65.1 innings and has 68Ks while carrying a 2.04 ERA. Freshman Megan Hensley leads the team with a .417 batting average and six home runs while splitting time in the outfield, at designated player or in the circle. The rookie hurler carries an 8-2 record and a 1.73 ERA in 60.2 innings of work.

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:
• 5 starts to tie for 6th in career starts (58)
• 1 win to tie for 8th in career wins (31)
• 2 saves to tie for 3rd in career saves (10)
• 2 shutouts to move into a tie for 8th on the career list (10)

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