Friday, February 10
Las Vegas, NV
6:45 PM
University of Louisville
17
vs
3
Southern Utah
Cards Open Season with Two Wins
February 10, 2017 | Softball
Becker drives in 10 runs, including a school-record eight RBI against CSU Bakersfield
LAS VEGAS – Senior Maryssa Becker registered 10 RBIs on the day – including a school-record eight against CSU Bakersfield – and picked up a win in the circle to lead the University of Louisville softball team to a pair of wins on the first day of the UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic. The Cardinals (2-0) outscored their opponents 30-5 on the day, beating Southern Utah 17-3 and CSU Bakersfield 13-2.
"I thought we did some really good things today in terms of how we want to play our game and being aggressive out there," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "In the first game, I thought that there were times that we became very passive and didn't take advantage of trying to play the game all the way through at an aggressive level."
Louisville 17 – Southern Utah 3 (5 innings)
In game one, sophomore Megan Hensley and junior Nicole Pufahl had five RBIs each and junior Sidney Melton tied a school record with four runs as the Cardinals opened the season with a 17-3 win over Southern Utah.
The Cardinals jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Melton led off with a single and stole second. Senior Jordan McNary followed with a walk to place two on for Becker's RBI double. Hensley's hit plated McNary and junior Pufahl's sacrifice fly brought the score to 3-0.
Louisville added two more runs in the second inning. Melton and Becker each singled to set up Hensley's two-run double.
The Cards used three hits, two walks and an error to put up a seven-spot – all with two outs - in the third. Junior Jenna Jordan got the offense started with a double and senior Morgan Meyer walked. All runners were safe when Melton reached on a fielder's choice. McNary's infield hit brought Jordan home. Melton and McNary crossed the plate on an error and Pufahl's three-run single brought the score to 12-0.
The fourth inning brought five more Louisville runs behind RBI hits from McNary, Becker and Hensley. Pufahl added a two-run single to cap the Cardinals' scoring a 17-0.
Southern Utah (0-1) got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. Nicole Simonson drew a one-out walk, Sarah Murphy was hit by a pitch and Payton Hart singled to load the bases. One out later, Karlee Manzione RBI hit plated Simonson. Morgan Leonard's two-run double brought the score to 17-3.
Becker (1-0) did not allow a run and scattered two hit while striking out four in four innings. Sydney Warinner surrendered three runs in one inning of relief.
Louisville belted out 14 hits including three doubles in the game. Melton went 3 for 4 with four runs while Hensley was 3 for 4 with five RBIs. McNary and Becker each went 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs apiece.
Hanna Wynn (0-1) took the loss after giving up 11 runs, six earned, on nine hits and striking out one in 2.2 innings. Leonard paced the Thunderbirds offensively, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
Louisville 13- CSU Bakersfield 2
In game two, Becker belted out two home runs including a grand slam and a three-run homer en route to a school-record eight-RBI performance to lead the Cards past CSU Bakersfield 13-2.
The Roadrunners (0-1) took an early lead in the bottom of the second inning when Nadia Amezcua singled, Kaylynn Burt reached on a fielder's choice and Cydney Curran walked to load the bases for Julea Cavazos' RBI hit.
The Cardinals answered with four runs in the top of the third. Sophomore Blaire Bass reached on an infield single and sophomore Jordan Vorbrink was hit by a pitch and Melton's infield hit loaded the bases for McNary's RBI single. Vorbrink crossed the plate when Becker reached on a fielder's choice and moved to third on an error. Hensley singled Becker home to give Louisville a 4-1 lead.
Bakersfield got a run back in the home half of the third when Chris Hipa reached on an error and eventually scored on Josie Flores' RBI hit.
Louisville put up a five-spot in the fourth inning, highlighted by Becker's second career grand slam. Szydlowski led off the frame with a hit and Vorbrink was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. An error allowed Melton to reach and McNary's fielder's choice sent Szydlowski home. Becker followed with a shot over the left field fence to bring the score to 9-2.
The Cards tacked on four more runs in the fifth. Szydlowski doubled and moved to third on Vorbrink's base hit. A bunt single by Melton loaded the bases for McNary's fielder's choice which saw Vorbrink out at second, but sent Szydlowski across the plate. Becker stepped up to the plate and drilled her second homer of the game to give Louisville a 13-2 advantage.
Hensley (1-0) got the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits and striking out four in five innings. Melton and Szydlowski finished the game with two hits and two runs apiece while McNary was 1 for 4 with three runs and three RBIs and Vorbrink was 1 for 1 with two runs. Sophomore Blaire Bass went 2 for 3 with a run.
Summer Evans (0-1) took the loss after giving up 13 runs, 10 earned, on 11 hits in 4.2 innings of work. Cavazos led the Roadrunners at the plate with a 2 for 3, one RBI performance.
We talked about it between games and they came out and did some things in that second game that I've been wanting them to do – to try and to challenge themselves and to put the other team's defense on notice and they did some great things," said Pearsall. "When we had bases loaded, we scored. We capitalized on our opponents' mistakes, which is something you have to do, and sometimes we forced those mistakes with our speed. I thought Maryssa Becker was solid in the circle today and Megan Hensley got off to a bit of a rocky start, but then she settled in did a great job."
Louisville (2-0) will return to action on Saturday when the Cards face Indiana State at 12 p.m. and UNLV at 2:15 p.m. on day two of the Sportco Kick Off Classic.
NOTES:
• Louisville improves to 11-7 in season openers. The Cardinals have now won their last six season opening games.
• Maryssa Becker now has 24 career home runs and moves into a tie for 10th on Louisville's all-time list.
• Becker has 134 career RBIs and moves into eighth on Louisville's career list.
• Becker's eight RBIs surpassed the previous record (7) held by Katie Keller (twice in 2013) and Melissa Jacobo (2002).
• The 17 runs against Southern Utah were the most since March 26, 2016 when Louisville beat NC State 19-3
"I thought we did some really good things today in terms of how we want to play our game and being aggressive out there," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "In the first game, I thought that there were times that we became very passive and didn't take advantage of trying to play the game all the way through at an aggressive level."
Louisville 17 – Southern Utah 3 (5 innings)
In game one, sophomore Megan Hensley and junior Nicole Pufahl had five RBIs each and junior Sidney Melton tied a school record with four runs as the Cardinals opened the season with a 17-3 win over Southern Utah.
The Cardinals jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Melton led off with a single and stole second. Senior Jordan McNary followed with a walk to place two on for Becker's RBI double. Hensley's hit plated McNary and junior Pufahl's sacrifice fly brought the score to 3-0.
Louisville added two more runs in the second inning. Melton and Becker each singled to set up Hensley's two-run double.
The Cards used three hits, two walks and an error to put up a seven-spot – all with two outs - in the third. Junior Jenna Jordan got the offense started with a double and senior Morgan Meyer walked. All runners were safe when Melton reached on a fielder's choice. McNary's infield hit brought Jordan home. Melton and McNary crossed the plate on an error and Pufahl's three-run single brought the score to 12-0.
The fourth inning brought five more Louisville runs behind RBI hits from McNary, Becker and Hensley. Pufahl added a two-run single to cap the Cardinals' scoring a 17-0.
Southern Utah (0-1) got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. Nicole Simonson drew a one-out walk, Sarah Murphy was hit by a pitch and Payton Hart singled to load the bases. One out later, Karlee Manzione RBI hit plated Simonson. Morgan Leonard's two-run double brought the score to 17-3.
Becker (1-0) did not allow a run and scattered two hit while striking out four in four innings. Sydney Warinner surrendered three runs in one inning of relief.
Louisville belted out 14 hits including three doubles in the game. Melton went 3 for 4 with four runs while Hensley was 3 for 4 with five RBIs. McNary and Becker each went 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs apiece.
Hanna Wynn (0-1) took the loss after giving up 11 runs, six earned, on nine hits and striking out one in 2.2 innings. Leonard paced the Thunderbirds offensively, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
Louisville 13- CSU Bakersfield 2
In game two, Becker belted out two home runs including a grand slam and a three-run homer en route to a school-record eight-RBI performance to lead the Cards past CSU Bakersfield 13-2.
The Roadrunners (0-1) took an early lead in the bottom of the second inning when Nadia Amezcua singled, Kaylynn Burt reached on a fielder's choice and Cydney Curran walked to load the bases for Julea Cavazos' RBI hit.
The Cardinals answered with four runs in the top of the third. Sophomore Blaire Bass reached on an infield single and sophomore Jordan Vorbrink was hit by a pitch and Melton's infield hit loaded the bases for McNary's RBI single. Vorbrink crossed the plate when Becker reached on a fielder's choice and moved to third on an error. Hensley singled Becker home to give Louisville a 4-1 lead.
Bakersfield got a run back in the home half of the third when Chris Hipa reached on an error and eventually scored on Josie Flores' RBI hit.
Louisville put up a five-spot in the fourth inning, highlighted by Becker's second career grand slam. Szydlowski led off the frame with a hit and Vorbrink was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. An error allowed Melton to reach and McNary's fielder's choice sent Szydlowski home. Becker followed with a shot over the left field fence to bring the score to 9-2.
The Cards tacked on four more runs in the fifth. Szydlowski doubled and moved to third on Vorbrink's base hit. A bunt single by Melton loaded the bases for McNary's fielder's choice which saw Vorbrink out at second, but sent Szydlowski across the plate. Becker stepped up to the plate and drilled her second homer of the game to give Louisville a 13-2 advantage.
Hensley (1-0) got the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits and striking out four in five innings. Melton and Szydlowski finished the game with two hits and two runs apiece while McNary was 1 for 4 with three runs and three RBIs and Vorbrink was 1 for 1 with two runs. Sophomore Blaire Bass went 2 for 3 with a run.
Summer Evans (0-1) took the loss after giving up 13 runs, 10 earned, on 11 hits in 4.2 innings of work. Cavazos led the Roadrunners at the plate with a 2 for 3, one RBI performance.
We talked about it between games and they came out and did some things in that second game that I've been wanting them to do – to try and to challenge themselves and to put the other team's defense on notice and they did some great things," said Pearsall. "When we had bases loaded, we scored. We capitalized on our opponents' mistakes, which is something you have to do, and sometimes we forced those mistakes with our speed. I thought Maryssa Becker was solid in the circle today and Megan Hensley got off to a bit of a rocky start, but then she settled in did a great job."
Louisville (2-0) will return to action on Saturday when the Cards face Indiana State at 12 p.m. and UNLV at 2:15 p.m. on day two of the Sportco Kick Off Classic.
NOTES:
• Louisville improves to 11-7 in season openers. The Cardinals have now won their last six season opening games.
• Maryssa Becker now has 24 career home runs and moves into a tie for 10th on Louisville's all-time list.
• Becker has 134 career RBIs and moves into eighth on Louisville's career list.
• Becker's eight RBIs surpassed the previous record (7) held by Katie Keller (twice in 2013) and Melissa Jacobo (2002).
• The 17 runs against Southern Utah were the most since March 26, 2016 when Louisville beat NC State 19-3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
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