SCHEDULE CHANGE: Softball Will Play a Doubleheader at Syracuse Friday at 2 p.m.

Friday, April 13

Syracuse, NY

2:00 PM

University of Louisville

Syracuse

Louisville Softball v Virginia | Game 2 | Ashley Nikolao

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Softball Will Play a Doubleheader at Syracuse Friday at 2 p.m.

April 11, 2018 | Softball

Louisville Game Notes vs Syracuse

Due to inclement weather in the forecast, Friday's Louisville/Syracuse game has been changed to a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.

By: Lori Korte

Due to inclement weather in the forecast, Friday's Louisville/Syracuse game has been changed to a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.. The teams are slated to wrap up the series Saturday at 1 p.m. All three games will be aired on the ACC Network Extra.

Team Notes
• The Cardinals bring a 26-13 overall record and a 6-6 mark in ACC play into the weekend after taking two of three games against Virginia in last weekend's ACC series.
• On March 4, Louisville defeated Eastern Illinois 6-0 to mark the 700th win in school history - all under head coach Sandy Pearsall who started the program in 2000. She now has a 711-362 mark at UofL.
Individual Notes
• Freshman Danielle Watson (13-7) carries a team-best 2.35 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 104.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .207 batting average. Junior Megan Hensley (11-5) holds a 3.20 ERA and leads the pitching staff with 100Ks in 131.1 innings.
• Hensley leads the team with a .382 batting average and four home runs. The junior also has a team-best 14 multi-hit games.
• Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson leads the team with 37 RBIs and 11 multi-RBI games.
• Sophomore Celene Funke leads the team with 14 stolen bases.
• Junior Sidney Melton is on a seven game hitting streak and has reached base in the last 13 games. She leads the team with 25 runs and is 12-for-12 in stolen bases.
• Sandy Pearsall is in her 19th season as UofL's head coach. After building the program from scratch in 2000, Pearsall recently achieved her 700th victory at Louisville. She 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.

Cards against the field
Syracuse
Series Record: Louisville leads 20-9
Last Meeting: March 25, 2017 - Louisville scored seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 7-1 lead and held off a Syracuse rally in the bottom of the seventh to win 7-4. Inclement weather and field conditions forced the cancellation of the final two games of the series.
• 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 an overall record of 18-17 and 4-10 in ACC play.
• Bryce Holmgren paces the Orange with a .434 batting average, 43 hits and 20 walks.
• Alexa Romero leads Syracuse in the circle, as she has compiled a 12-10 record to go along with a 1.88 ERA, 191 strikeouts and 12 complete games.
• AnnaMarie Gatti (5-6) is also relied upon by Syracuse as she has started 15 games pitching 73.2 innings while striking out 55.

Up Next: The Cardinals will travel to Bloomington, Ind. on April 18 for a rescheduled game against Indiana. After that, Louisville will head to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on Florida State in a three-game ACC series.

Recapping last weekend
Louisville scored 42 runs in three games while taking two of three contests against Virginia at Ulmer Stadium. On the weekend, Junior Megan Hensley turned in a .727 batting average (8-for-11) with two home runs and three doubles to help account for a 1.545 slugging percentage. She knocked in a team-best 13 RBIs and scored five runs. She had at least two hits – at least one extra-base hit per game - and four RBIs while scoring at least one run in each game of the series.
Louisville 14 - Virginia 7
Megan Hensley belted out two home runs and collected four RBIs to help lead Cards to a 14-7 win against Virginia in the opening game of an ACC series.
• In a game that featured three lead changes, senior Jenna Jordan went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, Hensley finished 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs and freshman Maddy Newman drove in three runs to pace Louisville offensively. Freshman Kyra Snyder picked up her first collegiate win after holding Virginia scoreless and striking out three while scattering three hits in four innings of relief.
• Erika Osherow took the loss, allowing eight runs, four earned, on four hits in two innings. Busby led the Cavaliers with two hits and four RBIs. Davis, Osherow and Lacy Smith also registered two hits as Virginia held a 12-10 edge in hits in the game.
Louisville 16 - Virginia 1
Megan Hensley had three hits and drove in five runs and picked up the win in the circle to help UofL beat Virginia 16-1 in five innings to clinch the series.
• In addition to Hensley's performance at the plate, Nicole Pufahl went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a home run while collecting four RBIs. Caitlin Ferguson tied a school record with four runs after registering a double and three walks. In the game, Louisville outhit Virginia 14-4 and scored in every inning, registering the most runs since Feb. 10, 2017 when the Cards beat Southern Utah 17-3.
•Hensley held UVA scoreless and scattered two hits with one strikeout in three innings of work. Kyra Snyder tossed two innings of relief and gave up two hits while allowing one earned run. Maddy Newman scored a career-high three runs and Celene Funke finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
• Lacy Smith took the loss, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and striking out two in two innings of work.
Virginia 17 - Louisville 12
Louisville fell 17-12 to Virginia in the series finale at Ulmer Stadium. The 17 runs were the third most allowed in program history, following 18 surrendered to Arizona on May 16, 2009 and 19 given up against UCLA on May 18, 2013.
• The Cardinals took a 5-2 lead entering the fourth, but Virginia scored five runs in the fourth to take a 7-5 lead. Louisville evened the score in the home half of the fourth, but a six-run fifth proved to be too much to overcome.
• Alison Szydlowski went 3-for-4 and tallied three RBIs on the afternoon. Megan Hensley also had a solid day with two hits and a team-leading four RBIs. As a team, the Cardinals outhit Virginia 15-14 and scored runs in every inning but the second.
• Kyra Snyder took the loss after giving up six runs, two earned on six hits in 1.1 innings of relief. Sidney Melton and Maddy Newman each had two hits and scored two runs. Celene Funke also finished the game with two hits and added a stolen base.
• Erika Osherow picked up the win, allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits and striking out one in four innings. Ingraham led the Cavaliers at the plate with a 3-for-4, seven RBI performance.

Hensley surpasses 100 career RBIs
On April 6, Megan Hensley hit two home runs to help the Cardinals beat Virginia 14-7. With her first home run of the game, a three-run shot, she achieved and surpassed her 100th career RBI. She now has 112 and needs 16 more to move into Louisville's career RBI list, tying Lacy Wood (2003-06) for 10th with 128.

Funke fast
Sophomore Celene Funke (pronounced Funky) is a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen bases to lead the Cardinals. The speedy outfielder needs two more to enter Louisville's top 10 list, joining Shannon Nord (2004), Vanessa James (2010) and Jennifer Esteban (2012) who are in a three-way tie for tenth with 16. Coleen Coughlin owns the school record with 28 stolen bases in 2000.

Ferguson matches single-season run record
In the Cardinals' April 7 16-1 win over Virginia Caitlin Ferguson tied a school record with four runs after registering a double and three walks.
• She becomes the 12th player in program history to score four runs in a game and the first since Sidney Melton accomplished the feat against Southern Utah on Feb. 10, 2007.

Melton ties school single game record with three stolen bases
On March 23, junior Sidney Melton recorded three stolen bases in Louisville's 5-3 win at Duke. In doing so, it marked the sixth time in program history that a player accomplished the feat and the first time since April 12, 2014 when Kelsi Jones swiped three against Connecticut.

Melton also moves into top 10 in career stolen bases
Melton now stands second on the team with 12 stolen bases (12-for-12) to move her career total to 30. She is now tied with Kristi Cunningham (2006-09) for 10th on Louisville's all-time list and needs four more to tie Kenzie Meisenburg (2001-02) for ninth.

Louisville/Indiana rescheduled for April 18
Due to inclement weather the Cards' March 20 softball game at Indiana was postponed with a make-up date slated for April 18 at 5 p.m.

Pearsall, Louisville reach 700 wins
On March 4, 2018, the University of Louisville softball team defeated Eastern Illinois 6-0 in the final game of the Red & Black Classic at Ulmer Stadium.
Pearsall Highlights at Louisville
• Sandy Pearsall is in her 19th season at the helm after starting the program in 2000.
• She has registered a 709-361 record at Louisville; producing 14 consecutive winning seasons (six winning seasons in the 18-year history of the program).
•Six conference championships in three conferences (C-USA, BIG EAST, American Athletic Conference
• Louisville has been ranked in the top 10 numerous times, reaching as high as No. 7 (as recently as 2013)
• Conference Coaching Staff of the Year three times: 2012 (BIG EAST); 2006 (BIG EAST); 2000 (Conference USA); NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2012).

Hitting for average
The Cardinals lead the ACC with a .311 team batting average and boast eight players batting over .300 on the season. Junior Megan Hensley recently took over as the team's leading hitter with a .382 average. Sophomore Celene Funke follows at a .363 clip. Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson stands third with a .352 mark. Junior Sidney Melton (.336), freshman Maddy Newman (.333), junior Madison Cousineau (.321), senior Nicole Pufahl (.319) and senior Alison Szydlowski (.300) round out the top hitters.

Life is grand for Hensley
Megan Hensley connected on a grand slam in Louisville's 9-4 win against Northern Illinois on March 14 marked the first since Feb. 17, 2017 when Hensley launched a grand slam in the 9-0 win over Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Hensley connected on her first career grand slam as a freshman on March 30, 2016 when the Cards beat Western Kentucky 12-0.
• She leads the current team with three career grand slams. Lacy Wood (2003-06) holds the school record with four.

Hensley registers 200th strikeout
In the March 14, 9-4 win against Northern Illinois, Megan Hensley picked up the win while striking out six in 4.2 innings of relief. In doing so, she registered and surpassed her 200th career strikeout. She now has 243Ks and recently moved into a tie for eighth among Louisville's all-time strikeout leaders.

Watson off to stellar start
Freshman Danielle Watson has been impressive in her debut as a Cardinal. The right-handed pitcher is tied for third in the ACC with a 13-7 record.
• Watson carries a 2.35 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 104.1 innings while holding opponents to a .207 batting average.
•The Osceola, Ind., native made her debut in the Cardinals 5-3 win over UCF. In that game, she surrendered one earned run and struck out five while scattering four hits in 5.0 innings.

Hensley climbing the record book
Junior RHP Megan Hensley has entered Louisville's top career list in several categories.
• Fifth with six career saves with seven and needs two more to tie for fourth with Tori Collins (2009-12).
• Tied for eighth in appearances (83) - needs three more to move into a tie for seventh with Aja Sherman (2002-05) .
• Eighth in career games started in the circle (56), needs one more to tie for seventh with Aja Sherman (2002-05).
• Tied for eighth career wins (35), needs seven more to move into a tie for seventh with Aja Sherman (2002-05).
• Ninth in career strikeouts (243), needs 19 more to tie Tara McClure (2000-01 for eighth.

Pufahl eclipses 100 career runs
Senior Nicole Pufahl scored her 100th career run on March 10 when the Cardinals' 10-6 defeated Eastern Michigan at Ulmer Stadium. The senior outfielder now has 110 runs in her career and needs seven more to move into a tie for 10th with Sara Bausher (2002-05) and Alicja Wolny (2010-13) on Louisville's all-time list for career runs.
• She also needs one more RBI to reach 100 in her career.

Youthful impact
Along with the veteran leadership from the upperclassmen on the field, several underclassmen have also made valuable contributions. Entering the weekend, Louisville's top two hitters are underclassmen.
• Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson has started every game at shortstop, third base or first base and leads the team with 11 doubles and 37 RBIs. She is the only player to start every game for the Cards season.
• Sophomore Celene Funke is second on the team with a .363 batting average, and is a team-best 14-for-14 in stolen bases.
• Freshman Maddy Newman stands fifth on the team with a .333 batting average and has scored 18 runs with seven stolen bases. She has played in 31 games with 21 starts.
• Freshman RHP Danielle Watson (13-7) leads the pitching staff and is fourth in the ACC with 13 wins. She carries a team-best 2.35 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 104.1 innings of work.
• Freshman Kyra Snyder has started 37 games at first base or in the circle and carries a .294 batting average.