Softball Opens 2017 Season Friday

Friday, February 10

Las Vegas, NV

6:45 PM

University of Louisville

Southern Utah

February 09, 2017 | Softball

2017 Softball Game Notes Championship Central Mountain West Network Link (UNLV game)

Cards will play five games at the UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic

The University of Louisville softball team will open the 2017 season at the UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic this weekend. The Cardinals will face Southern Utah Friday at 6:45 p.m. (ET) followed by a matchup against CSU Bakersfield at 9 p.m. (ET).

Tournament action continues on Saturday when Louisville takes on Indiana State and will play host UNLV in a game that will be televised on the Mountain West Network. The Cards will wrap up the weekend against Indiana State Sunday.

UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic Information
Dates: Feb. 10-12, 2017
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Venue: Eller Media Stadium
Television: Mountain West Network (UNLV)
Championship Central: UNLVrebels.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball

Louisville Softball Quick Hits
• The Cardinals are 10-7 in season-opening games and have won their first game of the season in each of the last five years.
•UofL has a 10-7 record in tournaments hosted by UNLV. This is Louisville's third time playing in the Sportco Kick-Off Classic. The Cards posted a 2-2 mark in the tournament in 2015 and went 4-1 in 2013. Prior to that UofL went 3-1 in 2009's Louisville Slugger Dessert Classic and had a 1-3 mark in the same tournament in 2005.
• Louisville was picked to finish second in the ACC Preseason Coaches' poll.
• UofL is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll.
•Eight starters are back from last year's team including All-ACC selections Maryssa Becker, Jordan McNary and Megan Hensley.
• The Cards return their top six hitters from last season, all of whom batted above .300.
• Louisville's returning players accounted for 33 of its 37 home runs in 2016.
• Along with their top offensive lineup, the Cardinals also return both pitchers from last season, all-ACC selections Maryssa Becker and Megan Hensley.
•Becker has been named to several preseason watch lists, including College Softball Madness, DI Softball News and Fastpitch News. She was also featured among ESPNW's top 25 NCAA Softball players (at No. 15).
• The Cardinals are coming off of a 35-17 campaign in 2016 and posted a 13-8 mark in ACC play to finish second in the league's regular season standings.
• Louisville made its 13th straight NCAA appearance in 2016.
• Sandy Pearsall enters her 18th season as UofL's head coach. After building the program from scratch in 2000, Pearsall has guided the Cardinals to six conference championships. Under her watch, Louisville has made 13 consecutive NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Cards against the opponents
Southern Utah
Series Record: First meeting
Last Meeting: Louisville will matchup with Southern Utah for the first time at the the 2017 UNLV Sportco Kick-Off Classic.
Scouting the Thunderbirds: Southern Utah finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 11-38. They are picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky Conference this season.
• The Thunderbirds are led by Kendall Kapitzke who had a .314 batting average, 37 hits, 28 RBIs, and 25 runs in 2016, while Morgan Leonard had a .282 batting average, 42 hits, 34 RBIs, and 27 runs. Kirsten Hostetler led the way on the mound last year, recording four wins with a 6.06 ERA in 79.2 innings of work.

CSU Bakersfield
Series Record: Louisville leads 1-0
Last Meeting: February 7, 2015 – Louisville defeated CSU Bakersfield 10-2 in six innings in Las Vegas at the 2015 Sportco Kick-Off Classic.
Scouting the Roadrunners: CSUB is coming off a 16-34 season that saw them capture the Western Athletic Conference Championship and make their first appearance in the NCAA tournament, where they fell to UCLA and Fresno State in the regionals.
• The Roadrunners were led by Julea Cavazos who finished with a .366 batting average, 60 hits, 21 runs and 12 RBIs. On the mound, they return Lyndsay Klimenko who was third on the team with a 5.41 ERA in 66.0 innings.

Indiana State
Series Record: Louisville leads 2-1
Last Meeting: May 16, 2015 – Indiana State defeated Louisville 2-1 in eight innings in the NCAA Regionals in Columbia, Mo.
Scouting the Sycamores: Indiana State completed the 2016 season with a 17-34 overall record.
• The Sycamores are led by Erika Crissman who put up a .354 batting average, 46 hits, 24 RBI's, and 19 runs in 2016. Fellow senior Mary Turitto had a .258 batting average, 41 hits, 27 RBIs and nine runs.

UNLV
Series Record: UNLV leads 2-0
Last Meeting: February 6, 2015 – UNLV defeated Louisville 4-0 in the 2015 Sportco Kick-Off Classic.
Scouting the Rebels: UNLV finished with a 24-31 overall record in the 2016 season. They are picked to finish sixth in the Mountain West Conference.
• The Rebels return Kwyn Cooper who batted .330 with 29 hits, 14 RBI's, and 18 runs scored last season, while Janine Petmecky batted .316 with 50 hits, 28 RBIs, and 21 runs. Cooper led the way on the mound with a 3.28 ERA in 91.2 innings pitched and seven wins, while Morgan Ettinger led the team with eight wins and a 4.52 ERA in 97.2 innings of work.

Looking Back
Louisville posted a 35-17 overall record and a 15-8 mark in the ACC for a second place finish in the regular season. UofL earned its 13th-straight NCAA regional appearance when it earned an at-large bid to the 64-team field. The Cardinals traveled to Columbia, Mo., for the second year in a row. Louisville fell 3-2 to Nebraska in the opening game and then lost 6-4 to BYU in an elimination game.

Louisville Softball Tabbed to Finish Second in 2017 ACC Preseason Coaches' Poll
The University of Louisville softball team was picked to finish second in the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season as voted by the league's 11 head coaches.
• Louisville, which finished second in the league and reached the semifinals of the tournament in
• In 2016, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame earned postseason berths, with the Seminoles finishing as the Women's College World Series semifinalist.

ACC Softball Predicted Order of Finish
1.       Florida State- 100 (10 first-place votes)
2.       Louisville – 86 (1 first-place vote)
3.       Notre Dame – 84
4.       North Carolina – 67
5.       Virginia Tech – 58
6.       Boston College – 57
7.       Syracuse – 48
8.       Pittsburgh – 44
9.       NC State – 30
10.   Georgia Tech – 17
11.   Virginia – 14

Becker Named to DI Softball News Top 50 Player of the Year Watchlist
The preseason accolades continue to add up for senior Maryssa Becker who has been named to the 2017 DI Softball News Top 50 Player of the Year Watchlist.
        Becker, a senior pitcher from Medford, Ore., led the Cardinals in hitting with a .411 average in 2016 and helped Louisville (35-17) to second-place regular-season finish and an NCAA tournament berth with her performances on the mound and at the plate. The two-time All-ACC First team and 2016 ACC Softball Championship All-Tournament Team selection finished last season with a 20-11 pitching record and 2.22 ERA while striking out 169 batters and walking just 33 in 204.2 innings. As a junior, she set a school single-season record for runs batted in with 60.
        In 2014, she became Louisville's first freshman National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region selection and was a top 25 finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year. Becker been among the team's leaders in batting average, home runs, doubles and RBIs in each of her seasons, is ranked in the top 10 of nearly every career pitching category.
        The D1 Softball News Player of the Year award recognizes the outstanding on-field performance of players across the country. This year's watchlist is comprised of student-athletes from 13 different athletic conferences. The SEC leads the way with 13 athletes represented, while the Pac 12 has 10. There are 35 different universities represented on the list.
        The list will be narrowed to the Top 25 names in April and the Top 10 finalists will be announced in May. The winner of the 2017 D1 Softball News Player of the Year will be announced at the conclusion of the WCWS.
• Becker also enters the 2017 season with College Sports Madness and Fastpitch News (FPN) Preseason All-America honors and stands fifth among the FPN 2017 TOP 50 NCAA Softball Hitters.
• She was profiled on ESPNW's Top 25 NCAA Softball Players (Feb. 7, 2017).

Cardinals Shine in the Classroom
The University of Louisville softball team has produced impressive results both on the field and in the classroom. Most recently, The Cardinals collectively achieved a 3.45 grade point average for the 2016 fall semester.
• Along with the impressive team GPA, 16 of 19 players were named to the Athletic Director's honor roll after earning a 3.0 or better GPA while five Cardinals registered a perfect 4.0. The softball team has posted a 3.0 or better GPA in 24 consecutive semesters dating back to the 2005 spring semester.

Pearsall Notches 900th Career Win in 2017
On April 23, 2016, 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.
Pearsall Highlights at Louisville
• Sandy Pearsall recently completed her 17th season at the helm after starting the program in 2000.
• She has registered a 654-332 record at Louisville; producing 13 consecutive winning seasons (15 winning seasons in the 17-year history of the program).
•Six conference championships in three conferences (C-USA, BIG EAST, American Athletic Conference
• Louisville has been ranked in the top 10 numerous times, reaching as high as No. 7 (as recently as 2013)
• Conference Coaching Staff of the Year three times: 2012 (BIG EAST); 2006 (BIG EAST); 2000 (Conference USA); NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2012)
• Off the field, her team was recognized as one of the nation's leaders in the 2015 Academic Progress Rate (APR) report.

Dual Threats
Two of Louisville's top offensive threats also doubled as the Cards' Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers. Maryssa Becker (who also played first base) led the team with a .411 batting average and 60 RBIs - she also threw a team-high 204.2 innings with 169 strikeouts and six shutouts to go along with a 2.22 ERA and a 20-11 overall record.
• Megan Hensley (15-6) carried a 2.48 ERA with three shutouts and 81Ks in 130.0 innings of work. She also led the team with 13 home runs and stands second on the team with 52 RBIs while splitting time in the outfield, at designated player and in the circle.
• Becker led the team with 16 multi-RBI games and 15 multi-hit games. Hensley is right behind her with 14 and 15 respectively.
• The two combined for 23 of Louisville's 37 home runs and 112 of its 281 RBIs.
• Becker was a 2016 All-ACC first team selection while Hensley earned second team honors.
• Hensley was a two-time ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week while Becker has earned the honor once this season.
• Hensley earned NFCA All-Southeast Region third team honors.

Homegrown Talent
The Cardinals' roster featured nine (of 19) players from the commonwealth of Kentucky. Caitlin Ferguson (Fr., INF, Versailles, Ky./Woodford County), Lillie Goetz (So., INF, Owensboro/Owensboro Catholic), Shelby Graybill (Fr., INF/C, Ft. Thomas, Ky./Highlands), Megan Hensley (So., P/UT, Ashland/Paul Blazer), Jordan McNary (Sr., OF, Madisonville/Hopkins County Central), Morgan Meyer (Sr., OF, Louisville/Mercy), Ashley Nikolao (Jr., UT, Flaherty/Meade County), Michala Riggle (So., C/1B, Louisville/Christian Educational Consortium), Jordan Vorbrink (So., OF, Louisville/Mercy).

Record watch
Senior 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:
• 4 RBIs to move to ninth the career list (128)
• 2 saves to tie for 1st in career saves (12)
• 1 shutout to move into a tie for 6th on the career list (14)

The Road Ahead
The Cardinals will face a challenging 2017 schedule which features nine games against top-25 opponents including 2016 national champion Oklahoma. UofL will also host two tournaments as part of a 26-game home slate.
• Among Louisville's opponents are eight teams that played in the 2016 NCAA tournament including national champion Oklahoma and fellow Women's College World Series participant Florida State. The Cardinals will play a total of nine games against teams ranked in the top 25 and will have four contests with teams who were receiving votes at the end of the 2016 season.

Louisville Softball Television Schedule Released
UofL will have 31 games televised nationally including four contests on ESPNU as announced by ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference office Tuesday. The television slate will include all of the Cardinals' 27 home games along with league games at Virginia Tech and North Carolina State.
        All 11 ACC institutions sponsoring softball will be featured multiple times throughout the season, with more than 100 games streaming on ACC Network Extra, Watch ESPN and the ESPN App. ESPN's broadcast schedule will include more than 600 college softball games.
        The Cardinals will appear on ESPN's ACC Monday twice this season – both in the month of April. Louisville will make its 2017 ESPNU debut on April 2 for the second game of the Cardinals' ACC matchup against No. 22 Notre Dame. The series finale will be also air on ESPNU as part of the network's ACC Monday package. Three weeks later, the Cards will return to the ESPN airwaves when No. 4/3 Florida State visits Ulmer Stadium. Game two of that series will be shown on ESPNU and the third game will be featured as part of ACC Monday on April 24.
• The remaining home games will be carried on ACC Network Extra.
        The 2017 ACC Softball Championship will take place May 11-13, with the first two days of competition being aired on ACC Network Extra, and the championship game on ESPN.