Softball Weekend Series Against Virginia Tech Altered Due to Weather

The University of Louisville softball team will play host to Virginia Tech in a three-game ACC series this weekend. Due to expected weather conditions, the teams will play a single game at 2 p.m. on Saturday and a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday at Ulmer Stadium. Admission is free. All three games will be shown on ESPN3 with Don Russell handling play-by-play duties and Stephanie Cantway providing analysis.

• The teams enter the weekend tied for second in ACC standings with identical 9-3 conference records. No. 8/9 Florida State stands atop the league with a 7-1 mark.

About Louisville:
• The Cardinals bring a 24-8 record into the weekend after losing two of three games at North Carolina, marking their first ACC series loss since April 3-4, 2015 when Virginia Tech swept a three-game series in Blacksburg. Sunday's doubleheader loss also marked the first back-to-back losses of the season for Louisville.
• The Cards recently snapped a season-high 12-game winning streak, the longest streak since the 2013 season when Louisville won 15 straight – a streak that spanned from March 30 through April 21.
• Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .430 batting average, 10 doubles and 44 RBIs. Freshman Megan Hensley is batting .380 with a team-high 10 home runs and stands second on the team with 37 RBIs. Sophomore Sidney Melton is batting .375 with a team-best 30 runs and 12 stolen bases.
• Becker (13-5) leads the pitching staff with a 2.01 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 121.2 innings. Hensley (11-3) carries a 2.45 ERA with 55 Ks in 85.2 innings of work.
More Cardinal Quick Hits
• Freshman Lillie Goetz has reached via a hit or a walk in each of her last 20 games. Becker has reached in 31 of the Cards' 32 games this season.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 214-93.
• 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 643-323 overall record at UofL and an 893-657 tally in her 30th season as a head coach.

Cards vs. Virginia Tech
Series Record: Virginia Tech leads 5-1
Last Meeting: April 4-5, 2015 - Virginia Tech swept Louisville in a three-game series in Blacksburg, Va. - handing the Cardinals their only series loss in their inaugural ACC season.
• The Hokies took game one 4-2 in nine innings and won both games of a doubleheader by scores of 2-0.
Scouting the Hokies: Virginia Tech enters the weekend with a 20-17 overall record and a 9-3 mark in ACC play.
•The Hokies are coming off of a midweek doubleheader split with sixth-ranked James Madison. In game one, Breanna Davenport's two-run single in the second inning put Virginia Tech on top while the defense and pitcher Maggie Tyler held the Dukes in check to secure the win marking the highest-ranked opponent win at Tech Softball Park.
• JMU took the second game by a score of 10-1.
• In ACC play, Virginia Tech's lost a pair of games to NC State (2-1, 7-5) and fell 1-0 to Georgia Tech. The Hokies posted three-game sweeps of Pittsburgh and Boston College.
• Virginia Tech is led offensively by Lauren Duff who is batting .414 with 29 hits and eight doubles. Olivia Lattin has a team-best 22 RBIs and five home runs while Chelseas Whitcomb also has five homers and a team-high 22 runs scored.
• Current ACC Pitcher of the Week Maggie Tyler carries a 15-9 record and a 3.32 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 138.1 innings of work.

Up next
Following this weekend's series, the Cardinals will travel to Bloomington, Ind. to face Indiana University on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Up Last
• Louisville was slated for a midweek game at in-state rival No. 15/16 Kentucky on Wednesday, but expected rain in the Lexington area forced the game to be cancelled.
• Prior to that, the Cardinals traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C. to face North Carolina in a three-game ACC series. Louisville won a rain-delayed game one on Saturday, but the Tar Heels swept a Sunday doubleheader to hand the Cards their first ACC series loss in a year.
• On the weekend, junior Maryssa Becker led Louisville offensively, batting .500 (5 for 10) with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs - she was also walked three times. Becker also picked up a complete game win in the series opener. Freshman Megan Hensley went .444 (4 for 9) with two home runs and five RBIs - she was walked twice.
Louisville 9 - North Carolina 5
Freshman Jordan Vorbrink went 3 for 3 with a double, a triple and a home run to help lift the University of Louisville softball team to a 9-5 win over North Carolina in the first of a three-game series Saturday evening. With the victory, Louisville extended it win streak to 12 games.
• The Cardinals overcame a 2-0 deficit using 11 hits in the - eight of them falling in for extra bases -including three home runs, two triples and three doubles. Junior Maryssa Becker was 3 for 4 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs to back a complete game win in the circle to improve to 13-4 on the season and notch her ninth straight victory.
North Carolina 6 - Louisville 5
In game one of the day, the Cards rallied to tie the score after being down 5-1 in the top of the third, but Berlynne Delamora's walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Tar Heels to a 6-5 win. The loss snapped Louisville's season high 12 game win streak.
• Becker took the loss after giving up one earned run on three this and striking out three in 5.1 innings of relief. McNary went 2 for 3 with a run to lead the Cards at the plate. Louisville outhit North Carolina 8-6 in the game, but left a season high 13 runners on base.
• Lauren Fuller got the win, allowing five runs, four earned, on eight hits and striking out four in a complete game effort. Delamora went 2 for 4 with three RBIs to pace the Tar Heels offensively.
North Carolina 8 – Louisville 6
In game two, Megan Hensley went 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs, but it wasn't enough as the Cards fell 8-6 in a game that featured four lead changes and two ties.
• Hensley took the loss, allowing three earned runs on three hits and striking out three in three innings of relief.
• Kendra Lynch got the win after giving up six earned runs on 10 hits and striking out six in 6.0 innings. Lauren Fuller held the Cards scoreless in one inning of relief to get the save. Lynch was 3 for 4 with four RBIs while Berlynne Delamora went 2 for 2 with three runs and an RBI.

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 .430 batting average and 44 RBIs - she also has thrown a team-high 121.2 innings and has 108 Ks while carrying a 2.01 ERA. • Freshman Megan Hensley stands second on the team with a .380 batting average and leads Louisville with 10 home runs while splitting time in the outfield, at designated player and in the circle. The rookie carries an 11-3 record and a 2.45 ERA in 85.2 innings of work.

Hitting for average
Louisville is hitting .325 as a team with 10 players batting above .300. Junior Maryssa Becker leads the team with a .430 average while freshman Megan Hensley follows at .380. Sophomore Sidney Melton rounds out the top three with a .375 average.

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 production
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.

McNary and Jordan putting the ball in play
Junior Jordan McNary is sixth in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strikeout" categories. The speedy outfielder has one strikeout in 66 at bats. She 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.
• Sophomore Jenna Jordan stands eighth in the category with one strikeout in 62 at bats. The catcher's lone strikeout of the season came on March 12 in the 6-1 win over Eastern Kentucky.

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:
• 10 RBIs to move into the top 10 on the career list (118)
• 4 RBIs to tie for 10th on single season list (48)
• 2 walks (offensively) to tie for 9th on the career list (59)
• 2 wins to tie for 6th in career wins (42)
• 1 saves to tie for 3rd in career saves (10)
• 3 shutouts to move into a tie for 7th on the career list (13)

Potent 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 18th in the nation in scoring with 6.67 points 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 10 home runs and is the first freshman in program history to hit 10 home runs.
• Hensley currently has 37 RBIs, placing her second among freshmen in program history in that category. She needs 13 more to tie (current director of softball marketing) Chelsea Bemis who had 50 in her freshman campaign in 2008.

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.

University of Louisville Athletics

Softball Weekend Series Against Virginia Tech Altered Due to Weather

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

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