Softball Hits the Road for Syracuse

The University of Louisville softball team will hit the road to face Syracuse in a three-game ACC series this weekend. The teams will meet in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Friday and will play a single game Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Due to recent snow and field conditions, the games will be played at Onondaga Community College.

Weekend Information
Date: March 24-25, 2017
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Venue: Onondaga Community College
Television: None
Live Scoring: suathletics.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball

About Louisville
• Louisville brings an 18-8 record into the weekend after snapping a six-game win streak with a 10-1 loss to No. 21/22 Wisconsin on Wednesday. Prior to that, the Cardinals opened ACC play with a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh last weekend.
• UofL is currently second in the ACC standings with a 3-0 league record - behind No. 1/2 Florida State (28-1-1, 9-0).
• The Cards recently wrapped up a 12-game home streak and posted a 10-2 record during the stretch.
• Senior Tiarra Sanabria leads the team with a .385 batting average. Junior Jamie Soles follows at .375. Junior Nicole Pufahl has driven in a team-best 24 RBIs on the season. Senior Maryssa Becker is hitting .347 and leads the team with 18 runs and four homers - she has reached via a hit or walk in each of the last 12 games.
• Becker (13-5) also paces the Cards in the circle with a 1.81 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 108.0 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .227 batting average.
• Louisville is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll and the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.
• Senior Jordan McNary has reached base via a hit, a walk in 14 of the last 16 games and is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases.
• 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.

Syracuse
Series Record: Louisville leads 19-9
Last Meeting: May 12, 2016 - Louisville defeated Syracuse 1-0 to advance in the ACC Championship in Raleigh, N.C. The Cardinals also won the season series on April 23-24. The teams split a doubleheader both winning 4-0. Louisville won the rubber match 6-2 the next day at Ulmer Stadium.
• The bulk of the series history takes place from 2006-13 when both teams were members of the Big East Conference.
Scouting the Orange: Syracuse enters the weekend with a 17-9 overall record and a 3-3 mark in ACC play. The Orange are coming off a 2-1 showing this weekend at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets took the first game 8-7 in 10 innings. Syracuse won the next two 6-2 and 7-5 to win the series in Atlanta. • In their conference opener, the Orange dropped two at North Carolina State 3-0 and 8-7. Syracuse won the second half of a Saturday doubleheader 11-5 over the Wolfpack.
• Syracuse is led at the plate by Sydney O'Hara who boasts a team best .493 batting average with eight homers and 28 RBIs. Alexa Romero has a team-best 6-3 record with 71 strikeouts in 66.2 innings of work. Sydney O'Hara (5-2) carries a 1.54 ERA with 91 Ks in 50.0 innings.

Up Next
The Cardinals will return to Ulmer Stadium for a four-game homestand starting with a midweek contest against Indiana on March 29. Louisville will then play host to Notre Dame in a three-game ACC series April 1-3. Games two and three of that series will be televised on ESPNU.

Up Last
The University of Louisville softball team fell 10-1 in five innings to No. 21/22 Wisconsin behind Kaitlyn Menz's no-hitter Wednesday afternoon at Ulmer Stadium. The loss snapped a season-long six game win streak for the Cardinals and marked the first time Louisville has been held without a hit since March 25, 2006 when Michigan defeated the Cardinals 3-0 in seven innings behind Lorilyn Wilson no-hitter.

Last Weekend
The Cardinals opened ACC play by sweeping Pittsburgh in a three-game series.
• Freshman shortstop Caitlin Ferguson and junior second baseman led the Cards at the plate on the weekend - both posted a .500 average with Ferguson going 6-for-12 with two runs and four RBIs and Soles going 5-for-10 with four runs and four RBIs.
• Maryssa Becker picked up two wins and a school-record 12th-career save while striking out 19 and scattering 11 hits in 14.2 innings of work.
Louisville 7 - Pitt 6
In Friday's game, Louisville prevailed 7-6 behind Tiarra Sanabria's two-out walk-off RBI single in a contest that featured five lead changes and three ties. Senior Maryssa Becker fanned nine to get the win.
Louisville 5 - Pitt 2
Junior Alison Szydlowski and sophomore Lillie Goetz drove in two runs apiece to help the Cards to a series-clinching 5-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Sophomore Megan Hensley got the win, allowing two runs, one earned on five hits and striking out two in six innings and paced the Cards offensively with two hits.
Louisville 8 - Pitt 2
Junior Jamie Soles and freshman Caitlin Ferguson recorded two RBIs to help UofL complete an ACC series sweep of Pittsburgh with an 8-2.
Becker got the win, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight while scattering four hits in six innings. Soles went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs while Ferguson finished the game with a 2-for-4, two run, two RBI showing at the plate. McNary, Becker and Hensley each had a pair of hits in the game.

Hitting for average
The Cardinals are hitting .305 as a team. In the current starting lineup, seven players are batting above .300 on the season. Senior Tiarra Sanabria leads the way at .385 with junior Jamie Soles following at .375. Freshman Caitlin Ferguson stands third at .53 while junior Nicole Pufahl follows closely at .351. Senior Jordan McNary is hitting at a .337 clip with senior Maryssa Becker right behind her at .347. Junior Alison Szydlowski carries a .326 average to round out the top eight.
• Before suffering a season-ending injury in the Feb. 25 game against California, junior shortstop Sidney Melton carried a .364 batting average.

Becker Ties School Record with Twelfth Career Save
On March 18, Maryssa Becker entered the game in relief in the seventh inning during game two of Louisville's ACC series with Pitt. The Cards were leading 5-1, but the Panthers had the bases loaded with no outs in the inning with the tying run at the plate. After surrendering a run on a groundout, Becker proceeded to strike out the next two batters to pick up her school-record tying 12th career save.
• Becker is currently tied with Chelsea Leonard (2010-12) and Catherine Bishop (2004-07) and needs one more save to own the record outright.

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 and moved her to sixth on Louisville's all-time list. She currently has 60 wins and needs five more move into a tie for fifth along with Jessica Rak (2000-03). Kristen Wadwell (2007-10) owns the record with 94 victories.
• 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. Becker has 559 strikeouts and stands fifth on the all-time list, needing one more to move into a tie for fourth with Jessica Rak (2000-03). Kristien Wadwell (2007-10) holds the all-time recrod with 696.

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 own the record for career saves (12)
• Fourth in career strikeouts (563) needs 27 more to tie for third.
• Currently sixth on Louisville's career list for shutouts (16); needs five more to tie for fifth.
• Sixth on the list for career wins (60), needs five more to tie for fifth
Hitting
• Tied for fifth on Louisville's all-time list with 145 career RBIs... needs 20 more to move into a tie for fourth.
• Sixth with 91 walks, needs 10 more to tie for fifth.
• Ninth with 26 home runs - needs one more to tie for eighth

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 21 RBIs. Sophomore Megan Hensley has six doubles and two homers and has driven in 17.
• In the circle, Becker (13-5) carries a 1.81 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 108.0 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .227 batting average with three shutouts on the season, while Hensley (5-3) has a 2.25 ERA and 32Ks in 53.0 innings.
• The duo is picking up where it left off last season. Listed 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.

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

Sidney Melton

Morgan Meyer

Ashley Nikolao

Nicole Pufahl

Michala Riggle

Tiarra Sanabria

Jamie Soles

Alison Szydlowski

Jordan Vorbrink

University of Louisville Athletics