Softball Splits Syracuse Doubleheader

Saturday, April 23

Louisville, Ky.

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

31-9, 12-4

SYRACUSE

24-20, 8-10

Syracuse

Louisville

April 23, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Cards and Orange each take 4-0 wins in doubleheader split

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville softball team traded a pair of 4-0 games with Syracuse in an ACC doubleheader on Saturday at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards (31-10, 12-5 ACC) and the Orange (24-21, 9-10) will meet in the rubber game on Sunday at 12 p.m. Louisville will honor seniors Morgan Hart, Hailey Smith and Brittany Sims prior to the game.

"In the first game we did a great job defensively, with our pitching and our offense got going," said Pearsall. "In the second game, it really came down to the one inning where we didn't play defensively, we made errors and we made mental mistakes and it cost us. On the other side of it, obviously our offense didn't show up. I thought we weren't as aggressive as a team as we were in the first game."

Louisville 4 – Syracuse 0
In game one, junior Maryssa Becker tossed a complete game shutout and freshman Megan Hensley drove in two runs as the Cardinals won the series opener 4-0. The win also marked Pearsall's 900^th career victory with 650 at UofL since starting the program in 2000.

After a scoreless first inning, Louisville broke through with a run in the second when sophomore Nicole Pufahl earned a leadoff walk, took second on sophomore Jenna Jordan's sacrifice bunt and came home on senior Brittany Sims' RBI single.

The Cards used two walks and four hits to put up a three-spot in the fourth. Back-to-back singles by juniors Morgan Meyer and Jordan McNary set up sophomore Sidney Melton's RBI hit. One out later, freshman Megan Hensley smacked a two-run single to bring her season total to 50 –tying Louisville's freshman RBI record.

Louisville had several scoring chances in the game, but left bases loaded in the second and fourth, stranding a total of 12 in the game.

Becker (18-6) struck out three and scattered five hits en route to her sixth shutout of the season. After allowing a hit in the fourth, she went on to retire the next nine batters before allowing a two-out single in the seventh. Hensley and McNary each had two hits in the game.

Jocelyn Cater (11-8) took the loss after giving up three earned runs on five hits and striking out one in five innings. Sammy Fernandez had two hits to pace the Orange offensively.

Syracuse 4 – Louisville 0
In game two, Syracuse's AnnaMarie Gatti held the Cards to two hits – both by Pufahl – and handed Louisville its fourth shutout of the season as the Orange took game two by a score of 4-0. The loss also snapped Louisville's six-game win streak.

The only runs in the game came in the third inning when the Orange took advantage of five hits -including a three-run double by Hannah Dossett - to take a 4-0 lead. Back-to-back one-out hits by Fernandez and Maddi Doane put two runners on for Corrine Ozane whose high pop-up to third fell in for a hit after the Louisville infielders lost it in the midday sun. With the bases loaded, Dossett sent a three-run double to left field to put the Orange up 3-0. Rachel Burkhardt's RBI hit made the score 4-0.

Gatti and the Syracuse defense held the Cards in check, allowing a runner to move into scoring position just twice in the game. In the second inning, Pufahl singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sims, but was stranded there. The sophomore centerfielder also registered Louisville's second hit of the game in the seventh inning. She took second on a wild pitch and third on Sims' groundout, but Gatti got junior Sarah Lopesilvero to ground out to second to preserve the shutout.

Hensley (13-4) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and striking out four in seven innings.

AnnaMarie Gatti (11-10) struck out two in a complete game effort. Fernandez led the Orange with a pair of hits for the second consecutive game.