Softball Opens Season This Weekend at UCF Friends of Jaclyn Invitational

Friday, February 9

Orlando, FL

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

Butler

Softball Opens Season This Weekend at UCF Friends of Jaclyn Invitational

February 08, 2018 | Softball

READ: SEASON-OPENER NOTES

Cards will play five games in their season-opening weekend

By: Lori Korte

The University of Louisville softball team will open the 2018 season this weekend when the Cardinals travel to Orlando, Fla. for UCF's Friends of Jaclyn Invitational.

The action begins on Friday when the Cardinals face Butler at 12 p.m. followed by a matchup with host UCF at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, Louisville will take on North Florida at 11 a.m., and end the day with a non-conference tilt against North Carolina at 4 p.m. The Cards will wrap up the weekend on Sunday when they face Illinois at 9 a.m.

Louisville Schedule at UCF Friends of Jaclyn Invitational
Feb. 9 - Louisville vs. Butler, 12 p.m.
Feb. 9 - Louisville vs. UCF, 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 - Louisville vs. North Florida, 11 a.m.
Feb. 10 - Louisville vs. North Carolina, 4 p.m.
Feb. 11 - Louisville vs. Illinois, 9 a.m.

Cardinal Quick Hits
• Louisville is coming off of a 31-19 campaign in 2017. The Cardinals finished the season with a 14-8 mark in ACC play which placed them second in the final ACC regular season standings.
• The Cardinals return six starters from last season including 2017 all-ACC selection senior Nicole Pufahl and all-ACC freshman team member sophomore Caitlin Ferguson as well as 2016 all-ACC selection junior Megan Hensley.
• The Cardinals were picked to finish fourth in the ACC regular season according to a poll by the league's 12 head coaches.
• Pufahl led the 2017 Cardinals offensively, producing a .366 batting average, 43 RBIs, 37 runs and belting out eight home runs.
• Hensley returns as Louisville's only starting pitcher. The junior righthander carried a 9-9 record in the circle and a 2.98 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 122.0 innings of work.
• With the graduation of four senior starters from the 2017 squad, the Cardinals will field a young team this year with eight freshmen, one redshirt freshman and two sophomores.
• Sandy Pearsall enters her 19th 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 NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Up Next: Louisville will travel to Raleigh, N.C. for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge next weekend. NC State will serve as the host site as the Cardinals take on Ohio State and Northwestern.
• The third annual event has expanded this year to feature 10 schools from each conference, playing four games each at five campus sites over a three-day period from Feb. 16-18, 2018.
• The ACC posted a 19-13 record last year, winning the Challenge. ACC teams are a combined 31-33 record in the first two years of the Challenge, with Florida State and Pitt tallying perfect 4-0 marks last year.

Cards against the UCF Friends of Jaclyn field
Butler
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Bulldogs: Butler is coming off of a 23-29 campaign and was picked to finish third in the 2018 Big East preseason conference poll after an 11-9 league record and fourth place finish last season. The Bulldogs are led by a pair of All-Big East second team selections. Jenna Foreman led the Bulldogs with a .373 batting average, 34 runs and 30 stolen bases. Kaitlin Doud batted .267 with five home runs and 26 RBI. She also carried a team-best eight wins in the circle with a 3.73 ERA.

UCF
Series Record: Louisville leads 3-2
Last Meeting: May 11, 2014 - The Cardinals won the inaugural 2014 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship with a 3-2 win over UCF at Houston's Cougar Stadium. Senior - and tournament Most Outstanding Player - Katie Keller was two for two with a home run, a triple and two runs while fellow senior Rachel LeCoq held the Knights in check through the final six innings of the game, scattering two hits and striking out three after entering the game in relief in the second inning.
Scouting the Knights: UCF was picked to finish fourth in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Knights posted a 29-23 record in 2017 and stood third in the conference with an 11-7 league record. Back from last year's team are five all-conference selections including first-team picks Cassady Brewer and Kyra Klarkowski and second team selections Jazmine Esparza, Alea White and Courtney Rotton.

North Florida
Series Record: UNF leads 2-0
Last Meeting: The Cardinals fell to the Ospreys 3-1 on February 16, 2008.
Scouting the Ospreys: North Florida is coming off of a 31-27 record and a 9-9 mark in Atlantic Sun play in 2017. The Ospreys return 10 players from the 2017 squad including 2018 Preseason Player of the Year and 2017 NFCA All-American Navia Penrod along with 2017 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year Kayla McGory and fellow ASUN preseason selection Dominica Cocuzza.

North Carolina
Series Record: Louisville leads 6-5
Last Meeting: April 2-3, 2016 in Chapel Hill - Louisville took the first game 9-5, but the Tar Heels won the second half of the doubleheader 6-5 and secured the series with an 8-6 win in game three.
Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina returns 15 letterwinners from the 2017 team, which finished 40-21 and reached both the ACC Championship final and the NCAA Regional final for the first time in program history. The Tar Heels are receiving votes in both national coaches' polls, and were picked to finish second in the ACC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Among UNC's leading returners are ACC Freshman of the Year Brittany Pickett who batted .299 with 12 homers and 27 RBIs and fellow all-ACC selection Leah Murray who registered a .370 batting average with 47 runs and 38 stolen bases.

Illinois
Series Record: Illinois leads 3-1
Last Meeting: The Cardinals defeated the Illini 8-3 at Ulmer Stadium on February 10, 2012.
Scouting the Illini: Illinois finished their 2017 season with an overall record of 39-20 and NCAA Regional Final appearance. The Illini, who are receiving votes in both preseason national coaches' polls, return 19 letterwinners from last season including 2017 NFCA first-team All-American Stephanie Abello who batted .307 with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs along with fellow Big 10 selection Leigh Farina who posted a .293 batting average with 30 runs and 15 RBIs.
CARDINAL CONNECTIONS: UofL assistant coach Kassie Stanfill came to Louisville after two seasons as the associate head coach at Illinois under Tyra Perry. Former Illini pitching standout Breanna Wonderly, who graduated in 2017, is also on Louisville's staff as a graduate manager.

Pufahl leads the way
Centerfielder Nicole Pufahl returns as Louisville's offensive leader in most categories on the heels of a career-best season. The three-year starter carried a .366 batting average and a .614 slugging percentage with eight home runs, 12 doubles, 43 RBIs and 37 runs. She also has tallied a team-best 15 multi-hit performances and and 12 multi-RBI games.

2018 Season Outlook/Position Breakdown
Pitcher
After sharing pitching duties with four-time all-conference selection and 2017 graduating senior Maryssa Becker for the past two seasons, Megan Hensley will take over the reins as the Cardinals' only returning starting pitcher. The junior right-hander turned in an impressive rookie campaign and had a solid sophomore season while battling injury. She has tallied 24 career wins in the circle and carries a 2.72 career ERA with 143 strikeouts in 252.0 innings of work.
• Hensley has also been one of Louisville's most consistent hitters, producing a .314 career batting average with 16 home runs and 156 RBI in her two seasons.
• Freshman Danielle Watson also had a good fall and preseason and is expect to help carry the load along with Butler Community College transfer Darrianne Hale and freshmen Kyra Snyder and Paige Schindler who will also contribute a great deal in the circle. Once redshirt freshman Sydney Warinner becomes completely healthy, she will bolster the pitching platoon.

Catcher
Jenna Jordan turned in a solid performance her junior season after starting 40 games at catcher. While contributing offensively with a .284 batting average, 20 runs and 18 RBIs, she also helped the Cardinals' battery produce a 2.74 team ERA.
• Madison Cousineau, a junior transfer from Mississippi State has also been impressive behind the plate with a good arm and will provide another option at catcher

First base
The Cardinals look to find a new first baseman after the graduation of three-year starter Tiarra Sanabria. Freshmen Kyra Snyder and Danielle Watson have both practiced at the position and each could see time there while the other is taking over pitching duties.

Second base
Jamie Soles is coming off of her best season since joining the Cardinals in 2016. Last year, she started 41 games at second base and, despite a nagging injury, held the position while finishing the year with a .287 average, 14 runs and 18 RBIs.
• Maddy Newman is another option at second. The freshman possesses tremendous speed and has the ability to cover a lot of territory.

Shortstop
Caitlin Ferguson stepped into the role of Louisville's starting shortstop following junior Sidney Melton's season-ending injury in late February. The 2017 all-ACC freshman selection settled into the role with a .274 average, nine doubles, 18 runs and 21 RBIs.
• When we last saw redshirt junior Sidney Melton, she was leading the team with a .364 batting average, 12 runs and three stolen bases in the third week of the 2017 season. After suffering a season-ending injury last February, Melton has been working hard to return to the field and could see action in the Cardinals' opening weekend.

Third base
Alison Szydlowski made the move from catcher to third base last season and will pick up where she left off when the 2018 campaign begins. The senior started a career-best 39 games and returns as Louisville's second leading scorer with a .300 batting average, 21 runs and drove in 18 RBIs.
• Senior Ashley Nikolao has also seen time at third and, after battling injury, has worked hard to compete for playing time.
• Freshman Madison Ciaccio is growing as a player both offensively and defensively and will bring depth to the position.

Left field
With the graduation of two-time all-conference selection Jordan McNary, the Cardinals will, once again, search for a new face in left field. Junior Blaire Bass recently made the move from the infield to the outfield and has been impressive while freshman Jordyn Wolfe brings speed and quickness to the position.

Centerfield
For the past three years, senior Nicole Pufahl has anchored down the centerfield position and has turned in some exciting defensive performances along the way. Freshman Riley Schindler is making steady progress while adjusting to the collegiate game and will provide valuable depth in the outfield.

Right field
As with the left side of the outfield, the Cardinals must also look to replace an all-conference performer in 2017 senior Morgan Meyer. Sophomore Celene Funke, one of the fastest players on the team, will be an option to take over the starting role, along with freshman Catie Barber who is developing her game and is gaining confidence.

The Road Ahead
The Cardinals 2018 schedule, which features games against six teams who qualified for the 2017 NCAA Tournament and eight opponents who are ranked or are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA top 25 polls of 2017. The Cardinals will play 23 games at Ulmer Stadium, including two tournaments.

Cards on the air
At the start of the 2018 season, the Cardinals will have 25 games televised nationally including one contest on ESPNU. The television slate feature all of the Cardinals' 23 home games.
• All 12 ACC institutions sponsoring softball will be featured multiple times throughout the season, with more than 220 games streaming on ACC Network Extra, Watch ESPN and the ESPN App. ESPN's broadcast schedule will include more than 650 college softball games.
• The Cardinals will appear on ESPN's ACC Monday on April 23 for the third game of its ACC matchup against preseason ACC favorite Florida State.
• Louisville's matchup at in-state rival Kentucky will be carried on the SEC Network.
• The remaining home games will be carried on ACC Network Extra.