Softball Downs North Carolina Central 8-0

Sunday, April 17

Louisville, Ky.

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

30-9

North Carolina Central

4-38

N.C. Central

Louisville

April 17, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

Becker tosses one-hit shutout, Hensley connects on a three-run homer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Junior Maryssa Becker tossed a one-hit shutout and sophomore Sidney Melton went 2 for 2 with three runs as the Cards beat North Carolina Central 8-0 to complete a three-game sweep on Sunday at Ulmer Stadium.

The Cardinals (30-9) jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first when Melton led off the bottom of the first with a walk, stole second and came home on junior Maryssa Becker's RBI single.

The Eagles (4-38) had a chance to score in the third inning when Aleyah Evans delivered a one-out single and stole second. Markell Wylie reached on an error and stole second to place two runners in scoring position with two outs. Becker issued a strikeout to end the threat and did not allow another runner to reach the rest of the game, retiring the last 10 batters she faced.

Louisville scored three more runs in the home half of the third. Melton singled and Becker walked to set up Megan Hensley who crushed a shot off of the top of the scoreboard in left centerfield. The freshman's team-best 13^th homer of the season gave the Cards a 4-0 lead.

The fifth inning brought another run for the Cards. Melton drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on Becker's double to make the score 5-0.

The Cards used two hits and three errors to put up a three-spot in the sixth. Pinch-hitter sophomore Ashley Nikolao reached on a two-base error. Sophomore Jamie Soles followed with an RBI single. Another miscue allowed freshman Jordan Vorbrink to reach. One out later, Melton beat the throw on an infield hit which brought Soles home and an error on the play scored Vorbrink for the 8-0 final.

Becker (17-6) allowed one hit and struck out seven en route to her fifth complete-game shutout of the season and second in as many days. She also went 2 for 2 with a double and two RBIs while scoring a run. Hensley finished the game with three RBIs.

Dominique Wilson (0-9) took the loss after giving up four earned runs on three hits in three innings.

Louisville will resume ACC play when the Cards host Syracuse in a three-game series next weekend.

NOTES:

With the win, Louisville moves to 30-9 marking the 13^th straight season with 30 or more wins dating back to 2004. The Cards have posted at least 30 wins 15 times in the 17 year history of the program with a record 55 victories in 2012.
Sophomore Sidney Melton is now 15-for-15 in stolen bases on the season
Junior Maryssa Becker has reached via a hit or error in all but two of Louisville's 39 games this season – she leads the team with 13 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games.
With 52 RBIs on the season Becker stands fifth on Louisville's single season list. She needs one more to move into a tie for third (53), two more to tie for second (54) and three more to tie for first (55).
Becker currently has 116 career RBIs and needs two more to move into Louisville's all-time top 10 (118).
Freshman Megan Hensley is now tied for fourth on Louisville's single season list for home runs with 13. She needs three more to move into a tie for second (16) and four more to move into