Softball Hosts Syracuse in Final Home Weekend

Saturday, April 23

Louisville, Ky.

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

SYRACUSE

April 22, 2016 | Softball

Saturday's doubleheader features the annual Pink Game; Cards will celebrate Senior Day on Sunday

The University Louisville softball team will play host to Syracuse in a three-game ACC series in its final weekend at Ulmer Stadium.

•The Cardinals and the Orange will play a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday which also marks Louisville's annual "Pink Day" to promote breast cancer awareness and research. The Cards will wear custom-made pink jerseys which will be auctioned off with proceeds being donated to the Livestrong Foundation through the YMCA.
• Prior to Sunday's 12 p.m. game, Louisville will honor seniors Morgan Hart, Brittany Sims and Hailey Smith on Senior Day.
• All three games will be carried on ESPN3 with Don Russell carrying play-by-play duties and Stephanie Cantway provided analysis.

About Louisville:
• The Cardinals bring a 30-9 overall record and a five-game win streak into the weekend. With an 11-4 record in conference play, the Cards now stand third in the ACC while Syracuse is in fifth place with an 8-9 league tally.
• Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .446 batting average, 13 doubles and 52 RBIs. Freshman Megan Hensley is batting .383 with a team-high 13 home runs and stands second on the team with 48 RBIs. Sophomore Sidney Melton is batting .362 with a team-best 39 runs and 15 stolen bases.
• Becker (17-6) leads the pitching staff with a 1.84 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 148 innings. Hensley (13-3) carries a 2.21 ERA with 68Ks in 101.1 innings of work.
• Hensley was recently named a top 25 finalist for the Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year.
• Head coach Sandy Pearsall is in her 17th season at the helm and is one win away from her 900th career victory and 650th win at Louisville. Since starting the program in 2000, she has led the Cardinals to six conference championships and 12 NCAA appearances. Pearsall has a 649-324 overall record at UofL and an 899-658 tally in her 30th season as a head coach.
• Junior Maryssa Becker has reached via a hit or walk in 37 of Louisville's 39 games this season.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 262-103.
• The Cardinals are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.

Cards vs. Syracuse
Series Record: Louisville leads 16-8
Last Meeting: The Cardinals swept a three-game series last season, winning a doubleheader 15-11 and 5-4 and taking game three by a score of 13-7.
Scouting the Orange: Syracuse brings a 24-19 overall record into the weekend after splitting a midweek doubleheader with Colgate. On Wednesday, the Orange defeated the Raiders 10-3 in game one, but came up short with a 3-2 loss in the nightcap. Syracuse stands fifth in the ACC with an 8-9 league record.
• Sammy Fernandez leads the Orange offensively with a .340 average, eight doubles, four triples, 27 runs and 13 stolen bases. Corinne Ozanne has a team-best 12 homers and 30 RBIs on the season.
• Syracuse has a trio of pitchers who share duties in the circle. AnnaMarie Gatti (10-10)has logged in a team-high 120.1 innings with four shutouts and has a 2.73 ERA. Jocelyn Cater (11-7) leads the pitching staff in wins and strikeouts with 115 Ks in 117.2 innings of work while compiling a 2.97 ERA. Sydney O'Hara (3-2) carries a 1.20 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 58.1 innings and four saves. She is holding opponents to a .160 batting average.

Tough Road Ahead
The remainder of Louisville's regular season schedule features three teams in the top 25 including a pair of three-game ACC series on the road. The Cards will open the stretch against No. 11/11 Kentucky in their home finale at Ulmer Stadium. The following weekend will bring a road trip to South Bend, Ind. to face No. 18/18 Notre Dame. The Cards will wrap up the regular season on the road against No. 7/8 Florida State.

Up Last
Last weekend, the Cardinals posted two eight-run-rule wins and three shutouts in a three-game sweep of North Carolina Central at Ulmer Stadium. Louisville took both games of a doubleheader winning 9-0 and 5-0 and wrapped up the series with an 8-0 victory on Sunday.

Hensley Named to Schutt Sports/NFCA Top 25 Freshmen List
Megan Hensley has been selected as one of the Top 25 Finalists for the 2016 Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I National Freshman of the Year.
• Hensley (Ashland, Ky.) is in the midst of a record-setting rookie season at Louisville. She has started every game while splitting time between pitcher, the outfield and designated player. Her team-best 13 home runs are the most by a freshman in program history and place her third on Louisville's single season list. She stands second on the team with a .383 batting average and 48 RBIs. In the circle, she carries a 13-3 record and a 2.21 ERA. She earned ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 15.
• She becomes the second Louisville player to be named to the Top 25 list following junior Maryssa Becker who earned the honor in 2014 when the award was initially established.

Becker Named College Sports Madness ACC Softball Player of the Week
Maryssa Becker was named the College Sports Madness ACC Softball Player of the Week after leading the Cardinals - both offensively and in the circle - to a 4-0 record on the week.
• Becker batted .636 with two doubles, four runs and six RBIs - she was walk twice to allow for a .692 on-base percentage.
• She posted a 3-0 record did not allow a run in three appearances and 13.2 innings of work. She struck out 22 and only issued one walk on the week while collecting her fourth and fifth shutouts of the season.
• In the 12-2 victory over Indiana, she entered the game in the third inning with Louisville leading 3-2 and two Hoosier runners aboard, after issuing her lone walk of the week, went on to retire seven of the next eight batters she faced, the other reached on a walk. She notched her 15th win of season, a career high.
• Becker tied a career high for strikeouts with 11 and scattered three hits in the 9-0 win over North Carolina Central on Saturday and followed that performance with another shutout win on Sunday – this time tossing her second one-hitter of the season.

Up Last in the ACC
Louisville took two of three games against Virginia Tech in an ACC series at Ulmer Stadium April 9-10.
Louisville 12 - Virginia Tech3 (five innings)
The University of Louisville softball team used a nine-run fifth inning to break open a 3-3 tie in a 12-3 win over Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon at Ulmer Stadium. Junior Maryssa Becker went 2 for 2 with two runs and two RBIs and got the win in the circle while freshman Megan Hensley hit a three-run walk-off home run to end the game in five innings.
Virginia Tech 4 - Louisville 0
The Cardinals were held scoreless for only the third time this season and left five runners on as Virginia Tech's Maggie Tyler struck out seven in a complete game shutout to pull the Hokies even in the ACC series.
Louisville 2 - Virginia Tech 1
In game two of the doubleheader, the Cardinals scored two runs in the second and held on for a 2-1 win to clinch the series.

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 .446 batting average and 52 RBIs - she also has thrown a team-high 148.0 innings and has 137 Ks while carrying a 1.84 ERA.
• Freshman Megan Hensley stands second on the team with a .383 batting average and leads Louisville with 13 home runs while splitting time in the outfield, at designated player and in the circle. The rookie carries a 13-3 record and a 2.21 ERA in 101.1 innings of work.
• The two combine for 20 of Louisville's 32 home runs and 100 of its 240 RBIs - both are ranked in the top 15 in the nation in RBIs (Becker stands at No. 8 while Hensley is No. 12).

Cards reach 30 win mark for 13th straight season
On April 17, the Cardinals defeated North Carolina Central to notch their 30th win of the season. Louisville has now posted 30 or more victories in 13 straight seasons (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.

Power trip
The Cardinals connected a pair of grand slams in back-to-back games against North Carolina State (March 26) and Western Kentucky (March 30). Louisville now has four grand slams on the season, setting a school record for most grand slams in a season and a game (twice).
• 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 - efficient offense
Freshman Lillie Goetz has two home runs on the season and she had made the most of them, connecting on grand slams both times.
• Goetz is the first Louisville freshman to hit two grand slams in the same season.

Hitting for average
Louisville is hitting .324 as a team with 10 players batting above .300. Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .446 average while freshman Megan Hensley follows at .383. Sophomore Sidney Melton rounds out the top three with a .362 average.

Jordan and McNary putting the ball in play
• Sophomore Jenna Jordan is fifth in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strikeout" category with one strikeout in 75 at bats. The catcher's lone strikeout of the season came on March 12 in the 6-1 win over Eastern Kentucky.
• Junior Jordan McNary stands 14th in the nation with two strikeouts in 78 at bats. The speedy outfielder played in 26 games with no strikeouts before her first K of the season in the 8-6 loss to North Carolina on April 3.

Becker 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:
• 2 RBIs to move into the top 10 on the career list (118)
       • 1 RBI to tie for third on single season list (53)
       • 2 RBIs to tie for second (54)
       • 3 RBIs to tie for first (55)
• 4 walks (offensively) to tie for 8th on the career list (67)
• 2 saves to tie for 1st in career saves (12)
• 1 shutout to move into a tie for 7th on the career list (13)
- On April 12, Becker got the win in relief in the Cards' 12-2 victory over Indiana. In doing so, she registered her 15th win of the season - a career high for wins. She also moved to sixth on Louisville's career wins list with 42.
- Also in the IU game, Becker drove in a pair of runs to give her 48 on the season and move her into Louisville's top 10 list for single season RBIs.

High-octane 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.
• Louisville is ranked 21st in the nation in scoring with 6.51 runs per game.

Rookie sensation
Freshman Megan Hensley is in the midst of an impressive rookie campaign. The pitcher/outfielder/designated player leads the team with a 13 home runs and is the first freshman in program history to hit 10 or more home runs.
• Hensley currently has 48 RBIs, placing her second among freshmen in program history in that category. She needs two more to tie (current director of softball marketing) Chelsea Bemis who had 50 in her freshman campaign (2008).
• She 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 a tie for first (17).

Homegrown Talent
The Cardinals' roster features 11 (of 21) 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.