Saturday, April 7
LOUISVILLE, KY
4:00 PM
University of Louisville
26-12, 0
16
vs
1
VIRGINIA
11-27, 0
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Virginia
0
0
0
0
1
1
4
2
Louisville
4
5
5
2
X
16
14
1
Cards Score Season-High 16 Runs to Clinch Virginia Series
April 07, 2018 | Softball
Hensley drives in five, Pufahl collects four RBIs as Cards beat Virginia 16-1
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Junior Megan Hensley had three hits, drove in five runs and picked up the win in the circle to help the University of Louisville softball team beat Virginia 16-1 in five innings Saturday afternoon at Ulmer Stadium. With the series-clinching win, the Cardinals (26-12) improve to 6-5 in the ACC. The teams will wrap up the weekend Sunday at 12 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Admission is free.
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In addition to Hensley's performance at the plate, senior Nicole Pufahl went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a home run while collecting four RBIs. Sophomore 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.
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"I thought we came out and set a great tone early on," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "After that, we continued to be disciplined in the box. Both of our pitchers did a good job today and defensively we made the plays we had to make."
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The Cardinals jumped to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Junior Sidney Melton got the offense started with a leadoff single and moved around to third on a pair of wild pitches. Freshman Maddy Newman walked and stole second to set up sophomore Caitlin Ferguson's two-run double. Hensley followed with a double to bring home Ferguson and eventually scored on freshman Kyra Snyder's sacrifice fly.
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Louisville put up a five-spot in the second behind Hensley's two-run double and Pufahl's three-run homer. Junior Sidney Melton earned a walk, Newman was hit by a pitch and Ferguson walked to load the bases for Hensley who doubled off of the fence in center field. Pufahl followed with a shot over the center field fence for her second home run of the season.
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The offense continued in the third as the Cards used four hits, two walks and an error to add five more runs, bringing the score to 14-0. Newman led off the home half of the inning with her first career triple and Ferguson walked to set up Hensley's two-run single. Pinch-runner freshman Riley Schindler crossed the plate on Pufahl's first double of the game and eventually scored on a single by Celene Funke. Melton's infield hit plated freshman Kyra Snyder who had reached on a walk.
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The fourth inning brought two more Louisville runs. Ferguson's third walk of the game and Pufahl's second double of the contest set the table for back-to-back RBI hits by junior Blaire Bass and senior Alison Szydlowski to extend the Cardinals' lead to 16-0.
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The Cavaliers (11-27, 2-12 ACC) got on the scoreboard in the fifth when Lacy Smith and Molly Keshin drew back-to-back walks and Ashley Jennings connected on a two-out RBI hit for the 16-1 final.
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Hensley improved to 11-5 with the win, holding UVA scoreless and scattering two hits with one strikeout in three innings of work. Snyder tossed two innings of relief and gave up two hits while allowing one earned run. Newman scored a career-high three runs and Funke finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
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Smith (5-8) took the loss, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and striking out two in two innings of work.
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In addition to Hensley's performance at the plate, senior Nicole Pufahl went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a home run while collecting four RBIs. Sophomore 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.
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"I thought we came out and set a great tone early on," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "After that, we continued to be disciplined in the box. Both of our pitchers did a good job today and defensively we made the plays we had to make."
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The Cardinals jumped to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Junior Sidney Melton got the offense started with a leadoff single and moved around to third on a pair of wild pitches. Freshman Maddy Newman walked and stole second to set up sophomore Caitlin Ferguson's two-run double. Hensley followed with a double to bring home Ferguson and eventually scored on freshman Kyra Snyder's sacrifice fly.
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Louisville put up a five-spot in the second behind Hensley's two-run double and Pufahl's three-run homer. Junior Sidney Melton earned a walk, Newman was hit by a pitch and Ferguson walked to load the bases for Hensley who doubled off of the fence in center field. Pufahl followed with a shot over the center field fence for her second home run of the season.
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The offense continued in the third as the Cards used four hits, two walks and an error to add five more runs, bringing the score to 14-0. Newman led off the home half of the inning with her first career triple and Ferguson walked to set up Hensley's two-run single. Pinch-runner freshman Riley Schindler crossed the plate on Pufahl's first double of the game and eventually scored on a single by Celene Funke. Melton's infield hit plated freshman Kyra Snyder who had reached on a walk.
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The fourth inning brought two more Louisville runs. Ferguson's third walk of the game and Pufahl's second double of the contest set the table for back-to-back RBI hits by junior Blaire Bass and senior Alison Szydlowski to extend the Cardinals' lead to 16-0.
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The Cavaliers (11-27, 2-12 ACC) got on the scoreboard in the fifth when Lacy Smith and Molly Keshin drew back-to-back walks and Ashley Jennings connected on a two-out RBI hit for the 16-1 final.
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Hensley improved to 11-5 with the win, holding UVA scoreless and scattering two hits with one strikeout in three innings of work. Snyder tossed two innings of relief and gave up two hits while allowing one earned run. Newman scored a career-high three runs and Funke finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
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Smith (5-8) took the loss, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and striking out two in two innings of work.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hensley, Megan (11-5)
L: Lacy Smith (5-8)
Batting:
2B: Kate Covington 1
RBI: Madi Traver 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lacy Smith 1
HBP: Allison Davis 1 ; Olivia Gott 1
Batting:
2B: Ferguson, Caitlin 1 ; Hensley, Megan 1 ; Pufahl, Nicole 2
3B: Newman, Maddy 1
HR: Pufahl, Nicole 1
RBI: Melton, Sidney 1 ; Ferguson, Caitlin 2 ; Hensley, Megan 5 ; Pufahl, Nicole 4 ; Snyder, Kyra 1 ; Bass, Blaire 1 ; Szydlowski, Alison 1 ; Funke, Celene 1
SF: Snyder, Kyra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Melton, Sidney 2 ; Newman, Maddy 3 ; Ferguson, Caitlin 4 ; Hensley, Megan 2 ; Schindler, Riley 1 ; Pufahl, Nicole 3 ; Snyder, Kyra 1
SB: Melton, Sidney 1 ; Ferguson, Caitlin 1
HBP: Newman, Maddy 1 ; Jordan, Jenna 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
4
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
2B/OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
INF
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