Softball Plays Host to No. 11 Kentucky

The University Louisville softball team will play host to in-state rival No. 11 Kentucky on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased online or by calling 502-GO-CARDS.

The game will be shown on ESPN3 with Don Russell handling play-by-play duties and Stephanie Cantway providing color analysis.

About Louisville:
• The Cardinals bring a 32-10 overall record into the midweek game. With a 13-5 record in conference play, the Cards now stand second in the league behind Florida State (16-1).
• Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .425 batting average, 13 doubles and 53 RBIs. Freshman Megan Hensley is batting .372 with a team-high 13 home runs and stands second on the team with 50 RBIs. Sophomore Sidney Melton rounds out the top three hitters with a .342 average and a team-best 40 runs and 15 stolen bases.
• Becker (19-6) leads the pitching staff with a 1.73 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 162 innings. Hensley (13-4) carries a 2.33 ERA with 72 Ks in 108.1 innings of work.
• Becker has reached via a hit or walk in 40 of Louisville's 42 games this season.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 272-109.
• The Cardinals are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.
• 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 651-325 overall record at UofL and a 901-659 tally in her 30th season as a head coach.

Louisville vs. Kentucky
Series Record: Louisville leads 19-17
Last Meeting: April 21, 2015 - Louisville won 8-0 in six innings at Ulmer Stadium - prior to that, Kentucky had won the last four games in the series. In the teams' first 2015 meeting, the Wildcats won 4-0 at John Cropp Stadium.
•The teams were slated to play earlier this season on April 6 in Lexington, but inclement weather forced the game to be cancelled.
Scouting the Wildcats: Kentucky enters the game with a 39-11 overall record and ranked No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25 poll. Last weekend, the Wildcats upset No. 4 Alabama 3-2 in game one of an SEC series, but fell 7-1 and 3-2 in the next two games.
•The Wildcats are led offensively by Sylver Samuel who is batting .370 and has 19 stolen bases. Abbey Cheek carries a .329 batting average with a team-best nine home runs and 48 RBIs.
• The bulk of UK's pitching duties are split between Kelsey Nunley and Meagan Prince. Nunley (18-5) carries a 1.31 ERA with six shutouts and 163 strikeouts in 138.2 innings of work while Prince (17-4) has a 1.87 ERA with 105 strikeouts and five shutouts in 131.1 innings.

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. 18/19 Notre Dame. The Cards will wrap up the regular season on the road against No. 6/7 Florida State.

Up Last
Last weekend, the Cards took two of three games against Syracuse to move to 13-5 in ACC play and now stand second in the league.
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. Becker 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.
Syracuse 4 – Louisville 0
In game two, Syracuse's AnnaMarie Gatti held the Cards to two hits – both by Pufahl – and handed Louisville's 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. Megan Hensley took the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and striking out four in seven innings.
Louisville 6 - Syracuse 2
Senior Brittany Sims went 2 for 3 with three RBIs to help lead the University of Louisville softball team to a 6-2 series-clinching win over Syracuse. Maryssa Becker picked up the win after allowing two runs, one earned, on seven hits and striking out one in a complete game effort. Smith finished the game with a double and two RBIs.

Pearsall Notches 900th Career Win
On April 23 the Cardinals defeated Syracuse 4-0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Ulmer Stadium. With the win, head coach Sandy Pearsall registered 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.

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 is 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 on April 18 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.

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 .425 batting average and 53 RBIs - she also has thrown a team-high 162.0 innings and has 141 Ks while carrying a 1.73 ERA.
• Freshman Megan Hensley stands second on the team with a .372 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 13-4 record and a 2.33 ERA in 108.1 innings of work.
• They are tied for the team lead with 13 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games apiece.
• The two combine for 20 of Louisville's 32 home runs and 103 of its 250 RBIs - both are ranked in the top 20in the nation in RBIs (Becker stands at No. 8 while Hensley is No. 19).

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 .318 as a team with nine players batting above .300. Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .425 average while freshman Megan Hensley follows at .372. Sophomore Sidney Melton rounds out the top three with a .342 average.

Jordan and McNary putting the ball in play
• Sophomore Jenna Jordan is seventh in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strikeout" category with one strikeout in 77 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 28th in the nation with three strikeouts in 83 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:
• 1 RBI to move into the top 10 on the career list (118)
• 1 RBI to tie for second on the single season list (54)
• 2 RBIs to tie for first (55)
• 2 walks (offensively) to tie for 7th on the career list (69)
• 2 saves to tie for 1st in career saves (12)
• 1 shutout to move into a tie for 6th on the career list (14)
- 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.

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 50 RBIs, and is tied for first for most RBIs as a freshman at Louisville - (current director of softball marketing) Chelsea Bemis who also had 50 in her freshman campaign (2008).
• 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 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.

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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

University of Louisville Athletics