SCHEDULE CHANGE: Softball Hosts Virginia in Single Game Friday at 2 p.m.

Due to a change in the weather forecast, the schedule for the University of Louisville's home softball series against Virginia has been altered. The Cardinals and the Cavaliers will now play a single game Friday at 2 p.m. The teams will meet again Saturday afternoon – with the time yet to be determined (contingent upon the weather). The series will conclude with a single game Sunday at 12 p.m.

Team Notes
• The Cardinals bring a 24-12 overall record and a 4-5 mark in ACC play into the weekend. Most
• Louisville is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll for the fifth straight week and the seventh time this season.
• 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 709-361 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 (10-5) follows with a 2.65 ERA and 96Ks in 121.2 innings and is limiting opponents to a .238 average.
• Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson leads the team with a .363 average and 34 RBIs as well as multi-hit games (12) and multi-RBI games (10).
• Sophomore Celene Funke leads the team with 11 stolen bases.
• Junior Sidney Melton has scored a team-high 29 runs and is 9-for-9 in stolen bases.
• Senior centerfielder Nicole Pufahl needs one more RBI to reach 100 in her career.
• 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
Virginia
Series Record: Louisville leads 11-3
Last Meeting: April 28-30, 2018 | The Cardinals clinched the series with 7-5 and 11-3 wins in the first two games. UVA took game three with a 7-3 win on Louisville's senior day.
Scouting the Cavaliers Virginia enters the weekend with an 11-25 overall record following a 12-1 loss to Radford on Tuesday. The Cavaliers carry a 2-10 mark in ACC play, most recently going 1-2 in a series against North Carolina las weekend. In Friday's series opener, UVA lost 8-0 . Saturday, the Tar Heels took game one of a doubleheader 11-7, but the Cavaliers won the finale 10-5.
• Allison Davis leads the team with a .387 batting average with 33 runs, nine home runs, 33 RBIs and nine stolen bases.
• Erika Osherow (5-11) has shouldered the bulk of the pitching load and carries a 5.58 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 100.1 innings. Lacy Smith (5-7) has a 4.81 ERA with 49 Ks in 84.1 innings of work.

Up last: The Cards fell 8-0 to No. 20/21 Kentucky Wednesday at John Cropp Stadium.
• The host Wildcats jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second and then used six hits, a walk and an error to put up a six-spot in the fifth.
• Megan Hensley took the loss, allowing eight runs, six earned, on 15 hits and struck out three in 4.2 innings. Melton paced the Cardinals with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate.
• Erin Rethlake picked up the win, scattering four hits and striking out five in 5.0 innings. Peyton went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs to lead the Wildcats offensively.

Up Next: The Cardinals will hit the road for a three-game ACC series at Syracuse April 13-15.

Recapping last weekend
The Cardinals took two of three games in an ACC series against NC State over the weekend at Ulmer Stadium. Louisville won game one of the series-opening doubleheader 4-2, but the Wolfpack answered with a 6-1 victory in game two. Louisville clinched its second-straight ACC series with a 7-0 win.
• Sidney Melton led Louisville with a .750 (6-for-8) performance at the plate. The junior shortstop scored four runs with a walk and a and posted a .778 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage. Junior Megan Hensley picked up two wins, scattering six hits and striking out 12 in 14.0 innings while holding the Wolfpack to a .125 batting average.
Louisville 4 - NC State 2
After falling behind 1-0 early in the game, the Cards scored three in the fourth and added an insurance run in the fifth to take the series opener. Junior Megan Hensley scattered two hits and struck out five to get the win in the circle, she also doubled and scored a run to help her cause.
• Junior Sidney Melton went 2-for-2 while Pufahl delivered a double, scored, and drove in a run. Jordan also finished with a run and an RBI to help the Cardinals outhit the Wolfpack 6-2.
• Devin Wallace took the loss, allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits and striking out one in 6.0 innings. Garner and Jade Caraway delivered the Wolfpack's two hits.
NC State 6 - Louisville 1
In game two of the doubleheader, NC State scored a run in the third, put up a four-spot in the fifth and tacked on a final run in the seventh en route to a 6-1 win to even the series.
• Danielle Watson took the loss, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and striking out four in 4.2 innings. Freshman Paige Schindler allowed one earned run on four hits and struck out one in 2.1 innings of relief. Newman went 2-for-4 while Melton went 1-for-2 with a run. Ferguson's sacrifice fly drove in the Cards' lone run.
• Kama Woodall picked up the win after surrendering one earned run on five hits and striking out two in a complete game effort. Garner went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double and two RBI to pace the Wolfpack at the plate.
Louisville 7 - NC State 0
Megan Hensley tossed a complete game shutout and went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI to help lead the Cards to a 7-0 win over North Carolina State in the deciding game of an ACC series.
• Hensley struck out seven and scattered four hits in six innings to move to 10-4 on the season. The Cards belted out 15 hits in the game. In addition to Hensley's three-hit performance at the plate, Funke also went 3-for-3 with a triple, a run and an RBI. Melton went 3-for-4 with three runs, an RBI and a stolen base.
• Devin Wallace took the loss after giving up three earned runs on six hits and striking out one in 1.1 innings. Kaylee Kobziak, Angie Rizzi, Moor and Jones each had a hit for the Wolfpack.

Melton ties school 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 now stands second on the team with nine stolen bases (9-for-9) and has 27 stolen bases, needing three more to enter Louisville all-time top 10.

Louisville/Indiana game postponed, reschedule for April 18
Due to inclement weather, Tuesday's University of Louisville 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 are hitting .301 collectively as a team with eight players batting over .300 on the season. Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson leads the way with a .363 average. Sophomore Celene Funke is hitting at a .356 clip with junior Megan Hensley following closely at .343. Junior Madison Cousineau stands fourth at .333. Freshman Maddy Newman (.326), senior Nicole Pufahl (.324), junior Sidney Melton (.321) and freshman Kyra Snyder (.301) round out the Cardinals' 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 239 Ks and recently moved into 10th place 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 eight in appearances (80) - needs six more to move into a tie for seventh with Aja Sherman (2002-05) .
• Eighth in career games started in the circle (53), needs four more to tie for seventh with Aja Sherman (2002-05).
• Ninth in career wins (34), needs one more to move into a tie for eighth with Rachel LeCoq (2013-14).
• Ninth in career strikeouts (239), needs 23 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 105 runs in her career and needs 12 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 a .363 batting average, nine doubles and 34 RBIs. She is the only player to start every game for the Cards season.
• Sophomore Celene Funke is second on the team with a .356 batting average, and is a team-best 10-for-10 in stolen bases.
• Freshman Maddy Newman stands fifth on the team with a .326 batting average and has scored 12 runs with five stolen bases. She has played in 27 games with 17 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 34 games at first base or in the circle and carries a .301 batting average.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Softball Hosts Virginia in Single Game Friday at 2 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Madison Cousineau

Caitlin Ferguson

Celene Funke

Megan Hensley

Sidney Melton

Maddy Newman

Nicole Pufahl

Paige Schindler

Kyra Snyder

Danielle Watson

University of Louisville Athletics