Softball Hits the Road for Virginia Tech

The University of Louisville softball team will hit the road for a three-game ACC series at Virginia Tech this weekend. The teams will meet in a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. Friday and will play a single game Saturday at 12 p.m.

Quick Hits
• The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 22-13 overall record and a 6-4 mark in ACC play.
• Virginia Tech holds a 6-3 lead in the all-time series between the teams.
• UofL is currently fifth in ACC standings with a 6-4 league record. No. 1/2 Florida State (38-1-1, 18-0) stands first in the league with Boston College (23-13, 8-3) currently in second with NC State (14-25, 8-4) and North Carolina (31-11, 10-5) in third and fourth place respectively. The Hokies are currently eighth with a 5-13 conference record.
• Junior Nicole Pufahl leads the team with a .392 batting average, six home runs, 34 RBIs and 22 runs. The centerfielder also leads the Cards in multi-hit games (12) and multi-RBI games (9) and has reached via a walk or hit in the last eight games.
• Louisville has four players in the starting lineup batting over .300 on the season.
• Senior Maryssa Becker (17-8) paces the Cards in the circle with a 2.00 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 154.0 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .236 batting average.
• Senior Jordan McNary has reached base via a hit, a walk in 18 of her last 20 games and is a perfect 9-for-9 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.

Virginia Tech
Series Record: Virginia Tech leads 6-3
Last Meeting: April 9-10, 2016 – Louisville picked up a 12-3 win in game one of the series. Virginia Tech took game two 4-0, but the Cards clinched the series with a 2-1 win in the rubber-game.
• Megan Hensley took the win after allowing one earned run on five hits in 6.1 innings. Maryssa Becker held the Hokies scoreless and logged her third save of the season in 1.2 innings of relief. Brittany Sims was 1 for 3 with a double, a run and an RBI to lead the Cards at the plate.
• Maggie Tyler took the loss while giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits and striking out five in 6.0 innings.
Scouting the Hokies: Virginia Tech enters the weekend with a 16-24 overall record after a 5-3 win over Longwood on Tuesday. The Hokies stand eighth in the ACC with 5-13 mark.
• Virginia Tech was swept in a three-game weekend series by Pittsburgh. The Panthers took 11-5, 9-1 (5), and 8-0 wins in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• The Hokies are led offensively by Aysha Richardson who holds .361 batting average with a team-best 39 hits. Emma Strouth follows at .352 and leads the team with 28 RBIs, while Vanessa Gonzalez paces the Hokies in home runs (10).
• Carrie Eberle (7-6) leads Virginia Tech in the circle with a 3.97 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 105.2 innings and has logged one save.

Up Next
The Cards will take a break from ACC play with a pair of non-conference games when Liberty visits Ulmer Stadium Tuesday and Louisville hosts Western Kentucky Wednesday.

Up Last
Junior Jenna Jordan went 2-for-2 with an RBI to pace Louisville offensively, but the Cardinals could only muster four hits and tied a season high with four errors as No. 21/22 Kentucky evened the all-time series between the teams at 19 wins apiece with a 10-1 victory Wednesday evening.

Last Weekend
Louisville defeated host Boston College 5-3 in game one, but the Eagles went on to win the next two games 6-2 and 3-1 to claim the series.
Louisville 5 - Boston College 3
• Senior Morgan Meyer went 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI to help lead the University of Louisville softball team to a 5-3 win over host Boston College in game one of an ACC series Friday evening at BC's Shea Field.
• Becker picked up the win, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and striking out two in seven innings.
• Dreswick took the loss, allowing five unearned runs on five hits and striking out four in four innings. Weed had a double and two RBIs to lead the Eagles at the plate.
Boston College 6- Louisville 2
Boston College evened the series with a 6-2 win in game two.
• Megan Hensley took the loss, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and striking out three in 5.1 innings. Pufahl was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while freshman Caitlin Ferguson also had two hits to help pace the Cards offensively.
•Jessica Dreswick got the win after allowing two earned runs on eight hits and striking out three in a complete game effort. Sharabba led the Eagles at the plate going 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI.
Boston College 3 - Louisville 1
Senior Jordan McNary went 2-for-3 with an RBI, but a sixth-inning home run by Jordan Chimento lifted host Boston College to a 3-1 win in the rubber game of an ACC series Sunday afternoon.
•Becker took the loss after giving up three earned runs on six hits and striking out two in six innings.
•Dreswick picked up the win after surrendering one unearned run on four hits and striking out five in a complete game effort. Chimento led the Eagles offensively with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate and drove in all three runs.

Hitting for average
In the current starting lineup, four players are batting above .300 on the season. Junior Nicole Pufahl recently took over as the team's leading hitter with a .392 average. Senior Jordan McNary follows at .340 while freshman Caitlin Ferguson stands third at .338 and junior Jamie Soles rounds out the top hitters at .317.
• Before suffering a season-ending injury in the Feb. 25 game against California, junior shortstop Sidney Melton carried a .364 batting average.

Ferguson Takes Over
Caitlin Ferguson stepped into the role of Louisville's starting shortstop and leadoff hitter following junior Sidney Melton's season-ending injury in late February. Since that time, the freshman has settled into the role and is one of the top hitters on the team with a .338 average, seven doubles, 17 runs and 17 RBIs. She is second on the team with five multi-RBI games and stands third with nine multi-hit performances.

Pufahl's Time to Shine
Junior centerfielder Nicole Pufahl leads the Cardinals in most offensive categories while in the midst of a career-best season. The three-year starter carries a .392 batting average and a .657 slugging percentage with six home runs, seven doubles, 34 RBIs and 22 runs. She also has tallied a team-best 12 multi-hit performances and and nine multi-RBI games.

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 64 wins and needs one more to 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 585 strikeouts and stands fourth on the all-time list, needing five more to move into a tie for third with former All-American Tori Collins (2009-12). Kristen Wadwell (2007-10) holds the all-time record 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 (587) needs three 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 (64), needs one 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 98 walks, needs three 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 is second on 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 (17-8) carries a 2.00 ERA with 124 strikeouts in 154.0 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .235 batting average with three shutouts on the season, while Hensley (5-6) has a 3.03 ERA and 39Ks in 67.0 innings.
• 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.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Maryssa Becker

Caitlin Ferguson

Lillie Goetz

Shelby Graybill

Megan Hensley

Jenna Jordan

Jordan McNary

Sidney Melton

Morgan Meyer

Ashley Nikolao

Nicole Pufahl

Michala Riggle

Brittany Sims

Jamie Soles

Jordan Vorbrink

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