Softball Set for Louisville Classic

March 09, 2017 | Softball

Tournament Central Live Scoring ACC Network Extra Watch Link (Louisville games)Softball Game Notes - Louisville Softball Classic

Cards will play host to Ohio, IUPUI, Northern Iowa and Wright State this weekend

The University of Louisville softball team returns to action this weekend when the Cardinals play host to Ohio, IUPUI, Northern Iowa and Wright State for the Louisville Softball Tournament. The Cards will face Ohio Friday at 12:30 and IUPUI at 3 p.m. Admission is free.

Dates: March 10-12, 2017
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Ulmer Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra (Louisville games)
Live Scoring/Tournament Central: GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball

Louisville Tournament Schedule
Friday
10 a.m.        Ohio vs. Northern Iowa
12:30 p.m.           Ohio vs. Louisville
3 p.m.                  IUPUI vs. Louisville
5:30 p.m.      IUPUI vs. Nothern Iowa
Saturday
10 a.m.                       IUPUI vs. Ohio
12:30 p.m. Northern Iowa vs. Louisville
3 p.m.      Wright State vs. Louisville
5:30 p.m.       Wright State vs. IUPUI
Sunday
10 a.m.        Northern Iowa vs. Ohio
12:30 p.m. Northern Iowa vs. Louisville
3 p.m.             Ohio vs. Wright State

• Louisville brings a 12-7 record into the weekend after a 4-1 showing in the home-opening Red & Black Tournament.

• Senior Tiarra leads the team with a .400 batting average, fellow senior Maryssa Becker and junior Pufahl are tied for second on the team with a .396 average - Pufahl has driven in a team-best 20 RBIs and Becker follows closely with 19 and has four homers on the year.

• Becker (8-4) also leads the Cards in the circle with a 1.34 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 68.0 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .229 batting average.

• 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.

IUPUI
Series Record: Louisville leads 3-1
Last Meeting: February 22, 2014 – Louisville won 12-1 in five innings at Ulmer Stadium in the Cardinal Classic.
Scouting the Jaguars: IUPUI enters the Louisville Tournament with an overall record of 5-15. They are coming off a 1-4 showing at the Wooo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, Ark. The Jaguars got their lone win against Nebraska in the first game of the tournament.
• The Jaguars are led by Maggie Good who is hitting .368 and leads the team with five home runs and 22 RBIs. Alyssa Matson stands second on the team with a .361 average. Nickole Finch has collected three wins with 45 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched. Erica Tharp has added 51 innings in the circle and 24 strikeouts.

Ohio
Series Record: Louisville leads 6-2.
Last Meeting: March 9, 2014 – Louisville won 22-4 in five innings at Ulmer Stadium in the Red & Black Classic.
Scouting the Bobcats: Ohio brings in a 12-2 record prior to their meetings with Dayton and Western Kentucky. They went 4-1 at the Tennessee Invitational last weekend.
• Morgan Geno leads the Bobcats at the plate with a .389 batting average and is second with 10 RBIs. Alex Day leads the team with 11 runs. Savannah Jo Dorsey (6-1) has a 0.99 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 49.2 innings, while opposing batters are only batting .129 against her. Danielle Stiene has logged 31.2 innings with a 3.09 ERA and 52 strikeouts.

Wright State
Series Record: Louisville leads 3-0
Last Meeting: February 27, 2011 – Louisville won 10-0 in six innings at Ulmer Stadium in the Red & Black Tournament.
Scouting the Raiders: Wright State comes into the weekend with an overall record of 3-12 after going 1-3 at the Blues City Classic.
• Libby Pfeffer leads the Raiders with a batting average of .381. Junior Honnah Susor has a team-high 16 hits. Ashley Sharp leads the team in wins with 2 and has pitched 45.1 innings and tallied 16 strikeouts.

Northern Iowa
Series Record: Louisville leads 3-1.
Last Meeting: March 2, 2002 – Northern Iowa won 7-5 at Ulmer Stadium in the Cardinal Spring Tournament.
Scouting the Panthers: Northern Iowa brings in a 10-8 record to the Louisville tournament this weekend after going 3-2 at the Mizuno Classic in Stillwater, Okla.
•The Panthers are led by Macey Wolfe who is batting .315 with 13 RBIs. •Bailey Lange adds 13 RBIs and three homeruns. Lange also leads the team in the circle with 50.2 innings pitched with a 2.90 ERA and 52 strikeouts. Jaci Spencer adds a 4-2 record and a 2.22 ERA with 34.2 innings and 47 strikeouts.

Up Next
Louisville will continue its 14-game home stand next week when the Cardinals open ACC play with a three-game series against Pittsburgh.

Last Weekend
Louisville posted a 4-1 record at it home-opening Red & Black Tournament. The Cards opened the tournament with a pair of eight-run rule wins, defeating Indiana State 14-6 and Wisconsin Green Bay 8-0 Friday. Louisville went on to beat Wisconsin Green Bay 4-3 and Bowling Green 1-0 Saturday before falling 8-6 to Indiana State in eight innings in the tournament finale Sunday - snapping a season-high five game win streak.
• Junior NIcole Pufahl led the Cards offensively on the weekend, batting .588 (10-for-17) with a double, a home run, 12 RBIs and four runs. She posted a career- high four hits and seven RBIs in the 14-6 win over Indiana State and had multi-hit performances in four games on the weekend.

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.

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 three home runs and a .641 slugging percentage. Sophomore Megan Hensley is hitting .302 with five doubles and two homers and has accounted ties Becker with a team-high 17 RBIs.
• In the circle, Becker (6-4) carries a 0.97 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 50.2 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .206 batting average with two shutouts on the season, while Hensley (2-2) has a 2.79 ERA and 15 Ks in 32.2 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 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.

Hitting for average
In the current starting lineup, five players carry a batting above .300 on the season. Senior Tiarra Sanabria leads the way at .400 with Maryssa Becker and junior Nicole Pufahl tied for second at .396. Junior Alison Szydlowski carries a .357 average and senior Jordan McNary rounds out the top four at .328.

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 (55), needs six more to tie for fifth
• Sixth in career strikeouts (524) needs 20 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 86 walks, needs 15 more to tie for fifth.

The Road Ahead
The Cardinals 2017 schedule 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.

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