Softball Opens ACC Play Against Pitt Friday at 2 p.m.

The University of Louisville softball team will open Atlantic Coast Conference play with a three-game series against Pittsburgh this weekend at Ulmer Stadium. Friday's series-opening game will be played at 2 p.m. – moved up from the originally scheduled time of 4 p.m. due to rain in the forecast. The teams will also play Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m. Admission is free.

Weekend Information
Dates: March 17-19, 2017
Friday – 2 p.m.; Promotion: St. Patrick's Day
Saturday – 1 p.m.; Giveaway: Louisville Softball koozies (first 250 fans)
Sunday – 12 p.m.; Promotion: Family Fun Day; Giveaway: Louisville Softball sunglasses (first 250 fans)
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Ulmer Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball

About Louisville
• Louisville brings a 15-7 record into its conference-opening weekend after going 3-0 in the Louisville Softball Classic last weekend.

• The Cards are in the midst of a 12 home streak, so far, they have produced a 7-1 record at Ulmer Stadium in 2017.

• Senior Tiarra Sanabria leads the team with a .429 batting average, junior Nicole Pufahl stands second at a .381 clip and has driven in a team-best 23 RBIs on the season. Senior Maryssa Becker rounds out the top three hitters with a .361 average and leads the team with 17 runs and four homers.

• Becker (11-4) also leads the Cardinals in the circle with a 1.26 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 89.0 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .225 batting average.

• Louisville is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll - the Cards are two spots outside the top 25.

• Senior Jordan McNary has reached base via a hit or a walk in each of the last 13 games and is a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases.

• Sandy Pearsall is in 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.

Pittsburgh
Series Record: Louisville leads 16-2
Last Meeting: May 2-3, 2015 - Louisville won games two and three of the season-finale series in Pittsburgh. The Panthers won the first game 2-1 and the Cards came back to take the nightcap of the doubleheader 12-0. Louisville won the rubber-game 9-4.
• The bulk of the series history takes place from 2006-13 when both teams were members of the Big East Conference.
Scouting the Panthers: Pitt enters the weekend with a 14-8 overall record and an 0-3 mark in ACC play. The Panthers are coming off of a 1-3 showing at the JMU Invitational where they beat East Carolina 5-2 on the opening day and went on to fall 2-0 to No. 13/14 James Madison and 8-3 to ECU in Saturday's doubleheader before closing out the weekend with an 11-0 loss to JMU Sunday.
• In their conference opener, the Panthers were swept at North Carolina 5-1, 6-2 and 9-8 in nine innings.
• Pitt is led at the plate by Alex Solak who boasts a .407 batting average with two homers and 19 RBIs. Brittany Knight has a team-best 8-4 record with 26 strikeouts in 74.1 innings of work. Kayla Harris (6-4) carries a 2.81 ERA with 31 Ks in 64.2 innings.

Up Next
Louisville will wrap up its 12-game home stand with a midweek matchup against No. 23/24 Wisconsin before resuming ACC play with a three-game series at Syracuse next weekend.

Last Weekend
Louisville posted a 3-0 record in the weather-shortened Louisville Softball Classic last weekend. The Cards opened the tournament with a 2-1, eight-inning win against Ohio University and followed with a 7-2 victory over IUPUI. After Saturday's action was cancelled due to inclement weather, Louisville concluded the weekend by beating Northern Iowa 8-5.
• Freshman Caitlin Ferguson helped lead the Cards to three wins on the weekend. The shortstop posted a .455 batting average (5-for-11) with four RBIs and two runs. She had at least one hit in each of the three games played and recorded two multi-hit games. Her two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth lifted the Cards to a 2-1 win over Ohio on Friday and on Sunday, she tied a career high with two doubles and three RBIs in the 8-5 win over Northern Iowa.
• Maryssa Becker posted a 1-0 ERA and picked up all three wins in the circle to help the Cardinals to a 3-0 performance on the weekend. The senior pitcher registered 20 strikeouts in 21 innings and held opponents to a .214 batting average while allowing only three earned runs. In Louisville's 2-1, eight inning win against Ohio, the only run in the game was unearned as Becker struck out nine and scattered four hits while turning in a complete game effort. She entered the game in relief and tossed six innings to pick up the win against IUPUI and wrapped up the weekend with a complete game which included seven strikeouts against Northern Iowa.

Dual Threats
Two of Louisville's top offensive threats also double as the Cards' Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers. Senior Maryssa Becker leads the team with four home runs and is second with 19 RBIs. Sophomore Megan Hensley has five doubles and two homers and has driven in 17.
• In the circle, Becker (11-4) carries a 1.26 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 89.0 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .225 batting average with three shutouts on the season, while Hensley (4-3) has a 2.13 ERA and 29Ks in 46.0 innings.
• The duo is picking up where it left off last season. Below are their accomplishments in 2016.
      • Becker led the team with 16 multi-RBI games and 15 multi-hit games. Hensley was 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 earned NFCA All-Southeast Region third team honors.

Hitting for average
In the current starting lineup, seven players are batting above .300 on the season. Senior Tiarra Sanabria leads the way at .429 with junior Nicole following at .381. Senior Maryssa Becker rounds out the top three at .361 while junior Jamie Soles follows at a .357 clip. Junior Alison Szydlowski stands fifth on the team with a .353 average while senior Jordan McNary (.338) and freshman Caitlin Ferguson (.324) complete list of .300 hitters.

Becker Sets Single Game RBI Mark
In the Cards' 13-2 win over CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 10, Maryssa Becker connected on an RBI single, a three-run homer and a grand slam, producing eight RBIs and setting a school record. She surpassed the previous record (7) held by Katie Keller (twice in 2013) and Melissa Jacobo (2002).

Becker Earns 50th Career Win, Notches 500th Strikeout
On Feb. 12, senior Maryssa Becker tossed a two-hit, complete game shutout to help the Cardinals to a 1-0 win over Indiana State. The victory marked the 50th of Becker's career, moving her to sixth on Louisville's all-time list. She now has 53 wins and needs 12 more move into a tie for sixth along with Jessica Rak (2000-03). Kristen Wadwell (2007-10) owns the record with 94 wins.
• In the Feb. 24 game against California, Becker registered her 500th career strikeout. She becomes only the sixth player in program history to earn at least 500 career Ks and stands sixth on the all-time list, needing 44 more to move into a tie for fifth.

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:
Pitching
• Needs 1 save to tie for 1st in career saves (12)
• Currently sixth on Louisville's career list for shutouts (16)
• Sixth on the list for career wins (58), needs three more to tie for fifth
• Sixth in career strikeouts (540) needs four more to tie for fifth
Hitting
• Stands seventh on Louisville's all-time list with 143 career RBIs... needs two more to move into a tie for fifth.
• Tied for sixth with 89 walks, needs 12 more to tie for fifth.

Becker Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate
Maryssa Becker was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate softball.
• Becker, a senior pitcher from Medford, Ore., is a four-year starter who has been among the Cardinals' pitching and offensive leaders throughout her career. She is a two-time All-ACC first team and 2016 ACC Softball Championship All-Tournament Team selection and was named to American Athletic Conference second team her freshman season. 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.
• In 2016, Becker set a school single-season record for runs batted in with 60, is ranked among Louisville's top 10 in career RBIs and home runs. She also stands in the top 10 of nearly every career pitching category at UofL.
• The chemistry major was named the 2016 ACC Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year is a two-time ACC All-Academic selection. She earned American Athletic Conference All-Academic honors in 2015 and has been named to UofL's Athletic Director's honor roll (3.0 semester GPA) in each of her semesters. She also is a two-time Dean's List member.
•Becker becomes Louisville softball's third Senior CLASS Award candidate following Katie Keller who was a top 10 selection in 2014 and Kristi Cunningham who earned the honor in 2009.
• The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
• The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2017 Women's College World Series®.
• ABOUT THE AWARD: An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.

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

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maryssa Becker

Caitlin Ferguson

Lillie Goetz

Shelby Graybill

Megan Hensley

Jordan McNary

Morgan Meyer

Ashley Nikolao

Nicole Pufahl

Michala Riggle

Tiarra Sanabria

Jamie Soles

Alison Szydlowski

Jordan Vorbrink

University of Louisville Athletics