Cards Set for ACC Softball Championship

Wednesday, May 9

Atlanta, GA

1:00 PM

University of Louisville

Syracuse

Louisville Softball v Virginia | Game 1 | Sidney Melton

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

May 08, 2018 | Softball

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Eighth-seeded Louisville will open the tournament against ninth-seeded Syracuse Wednesday at 1 p.m.

By: Lori Korte

The University of Louisville softball team will open the 2018 ACC Softball Championship against Syracuse Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Georgia Tech's Shirley C. Mewborn Field.

The eighth-seeded Cardinals bring a 32-19 overall record into the tournament and compiled a 10-12 mark in ACC play while ninth-seeded Syracuse stands at 30-19 on the season and was 9-12 against conference opponents. The teams split a regular season doubleheader at Syracuse on April 13 with Louisville taking game one 3-2 and Syracuse winning the nightcap 4-3. The third game of the series was canceled due to inclement weather.

The teams have met once in ACC tournament play in 2016 when the second-seeded Cardinals picked up a 1-0 win against the seventh-seeded Orange.

The winner of Thursday's game will move on to face top-seeded Florida State Thursday at 11 a.m. in the quarterfinals.

Louisville Notes
• The Cardinals recently collected their 30th win, marking the 15th straight year with at least 30 wins.
• 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 716-366 mark at UofL.
Individual Notes
• Megan Hensley (16-7) leads the pitching staff with 131 strikeouts in 174.0 innings. Freshman Danielle Watson (14-10) is holding opponents to a 222 batting average and has struck out 103 in 126.2 innings of work. Freshman Kyra Snyder (1-2) carries a 3.07 ERA.
• Hensley leads the Cards with nine home runs and 49 RBIs and is tied with sophomore Celene Funke with a team-best .359 batting average. Funke also leads the team with 17 stolen bases.
• Junior Sidney Melton leads Louisville with 44 runs.
• 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 vs. Syracuse
Series Record: Louisville leads 21-10*
* The majority of the series history between Louisville and Syracuse dates to when they were both members of the Big East Conference.
Scouting the Orange: Syracuse enters the weekend with a 30-19 overall record after finishing the season with a 9-12 mark in ACC play to earn the No. 9 seed in the tournament. The Orange have won nine of their last 10 games. In their most recent conference series, Syracuse fell 6-1 to North Carolina, but rebounded for a 1-0 win in game two. The third game of the series was cancelled due to weather.
• Bryce Holmgren leads the Orange with a .412 batting average and 33 RBIs followed by Gabby Teran's .322 average and 24 RBI mark. Alicia Hansen is hitting .300 with a team-best 41 runs and four homers and stands third with 22 RBIs.
• Syracuse is led in the circle by Alexa Romero who carries a 17-12 record and a 1.76 ERA with 260 strikeouts in 166.2 innings while holding opponents to a .143 batting average. AnnaMarie Gatti (12-6) holds a 3.12 ERA with 93 Ks in 116.2 innings.

Recapping 2018 series vs. Syracuse
April 13 | Syracuse, N.Y.
Game 1: UL 3 - SU 2 |Game 2: SU 4 - UL 3
The Cards split an ACC doubleheader at Syracuse, taking the opener 3-2 and falling 4-3 in game two. The rubber-game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Louisville 3 - Syracuse 2
Megan Hensley struck out eight to pick up the win in the circle and notched her fifth home run of the season to help the Cardinals open the series with a 3-2 win.
• Hensley surrendered two earned runs on five hits and struck out eight in a complete game effort. She recorded one hit along with Melton, Wolfe, Snyder and Alison Szydlowski.
• Alexa Romero took the loss after giving up three earned runs on four hits and striking out five in 4.2 innings. Five different players had a hit for the Orange.
Syracuse 4 - Louisville 3
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cardinals fell behind 2-0 and rallied with two runs in the seventh to take a 3-2 lead, but the Orange answered with a pair of runs in the home half of the inning to even the series at a game apiece.
• Nicole Pufahl went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Maddy Newman finished 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI to lead the Cardinals at the plate.
• Snyder took the loss, allowing one earned run on two hits in 0.2 innings of relief. Watson gave up three earned runs on seven hits and struck out three in six innings of work.
• AnnMarie Gatti got the win after surrendering two runs, one earned on seven hits and striking out five in seven innings. Sammy Fernandez, Teran and Mayfield each had a pair of hits to lead the Orange at the plate.

Recapping last week
The Cardinals started the week with its home finale, a 13-10 victory over Marshall. The following day, Louisville hit the road for its final ACC series at Pitt where the Panthers prevailed 9-8 in a slugfest which saw nine home runs between the teams, and then Pitt sealed the series with a 10-2 victory. Game three was rained out.
Louisville 13 - Marshall 10
Megan Hensley's two-out grand slam in the bottom of the fifth erased a three-run deficit and aided her cause in the circle as the Cards defeated Marshall 13-10 in their home finale Wednesday evening at Ulmer Stadium.
• Hensley and Nicole Pufahl tallied four RBIs apiece and each connected on a home run in a wild fifth inning which saw both teams combine for 16 runs and two lead changes. Sidney Melton went 2-for-3 and scored three runs. Alison Szydlowski had two hits and scored two runs while Jordyn Wolfe add a pair of hits and scored a run to help pace the Cardinals. Louisville outhit Marshall 12-9 with five hits falling in for extra bases.
Pitt 9 - Louisville 8
The Cardinals matched school record with six home runs to overcome a 7-1 deficit, but ultimately fell 9-8 to host Pittsburgh in the ACC series opener Friday afternoon at Pitt's Vartabedian Field.
• Caitlin Ferguson belted out two home runs and drove in three to lead the Cardinals as they totaled 11 hits, six of which went over the fence tying a school record set on March 25, 2015 against Middle Tennessee. Sidney Melton and Madison Cousineau, Alison Szydlowski and Jenna Jordan also connected on home runs in the game.
• The Panthers connected on three home runs of their own to build a 7-1 lead before the Cards rallied to even the score in the fifth. Pitt went on to tally two more runs in the sixth to prevail 9-8 and take the first game of the series.
Pitt 10 - Louisville 2
The Cards dropped 10-2 decision against Pittsburgh Saturday at the Panthers' Vartabedian Field.
• Kyra Snyder went 2-for-2 with an RBI to lead the Cardinals at the plate.

Hensley sweeps national weekly awards
Megan Hensley earned ESPNW, USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Week and Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Player of the Week honors for the period ending on April 29.
• She becomes the second player in program history to sweep the national awards, joining Katie Keller who collected both on March 5, 2013.
• Hensley led her team at the plate and in the circle as the Cardinals went 3-1 on the week which featured a three-game sweep of ACC opponent Boston College to clinch a spot in the 2018 ACC Championship.
• The junior from Ashland, Ky., hit .500 (6-for-12) with a double, three home runs, nine RBIs and scored five runs on the week – at least one in each game. After connecting on a solo homer to give Louisville an early lead in the eventual 3-1 loss at No. 8/10 Florida State, she used a pair of home runs to account for all four RBIs in the 4-2 series opener against Boston College. Hensley went on to drive in two more including the game-winning run in the 3-2 victory to clinch the series against the Eagles and capped the weekend with two more RBIs in the 8-0 win to help the Cards complete the sweep.
• Hensley's performance at the plate backed her efforts in the circle, where she posted a 3-1 record and a 1.25 ERA in 22.1 innings of work with her only loss coming at the hands of No. 8/10 Florida State in Tallahassee. She also issued 11 strikeouts and held opponents to a .232 batting average and tossed two complete games.

Hensley named ACC Pitcher of the Week
Megan Hensley has been named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 29.
• In the Cardinals' ACC sweep of Boston College over the weekend, Hensley started all three games in the circle and picked up three wins to help Louisville clinch a spot in the 2018 ACC tournament.
• The junior from Ashland, Ky., posted a 0.43 ERA against the Eagles, allowing three runs, one earned, and striking out seven. She surrendered 14 hits to hold the Eagles to a .230 batting average while tossing 16.1 out of 19 total innings for the Cardinals. Hensley completed the weekend with a complete game shutout to move to 15-7 on the season.
• On the week, Hensley posted a 3-1 overall record and a 1.25 ERA in 22.1 innings of work with her only loss coming at the hands of No. 8/10 Florida State in Tallahassee.

Cards reach 30-win mark for 15th straight season
On April 29, the Cardinals beat Boston College 3-2 to notch their 30th win of the season.
• Louisville has now posted 30 or more victories in 15 straight seasons (dating back to 2004). The Cards have posted at least 30 wins 17 times in the 19 year history of the program with a record-setting 55 victories in 2012.

Cards clinch a spot in ACC Championship field
The Cardinals swept Boston College in a three-game series to secure a spot in the 2018 ACC Championship.
• Louisville has made the conference postseason in each of its four seasons as an ACC member as well as each of the 19 years in program history dating back to 2000, its inaugural season in Conference USA.

Senior salute
Prior to Saturday's game, Louisville honored seniors Jenna Jordan, Ashley Nikolao, Nicole Pufahl, Jamie Soles and Alison Szydlowski. As a class, the 2018 seniors have collected 128 wins, played in two NCAA regionals. All five players have been integral in the Cardinals' success since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference their freshman season.

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. Hensley became the 16th player in school history to reach the 100 RBI milestone.
• Her grand slam in the 13-10 win against Marshall on May 2 moved her into a tie for tenth place Lacy Wood (2003-06) on Louisville's career RBI list. She needs two more to tie Whitney Arion (2012-15) for ninth place.

Pufahl joins 100 RBI and run clubs
Senior Nicole Pufahl recently became the 12th player in school history to reach over 100 in both runs (116) and RBIs (108).
In the April 13, 4-3 loss at Syracuse, senior Nicole Pufahl connected on a two-run single to record her 100th and 101st career RBIs. She became the 17th player in program history to reach the 100 RBI mark and currently has 108.
• She scored her 100th career run on March 10 when the Cardinals' 10-6 defeated Eastern Michigan at Ulmer Stadium. The senior outfielder now has 116 runs in her career and needs one 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.

Hensley enters Louisville's top 10 list for career home runs
With her grand slam in the 13-10 win over Marshall (May 2), Megan Hensley tallied her 25th career home run and moved into a tie for tenth on Louisville's career home run list. She needs one more to tie Maryssa Becker (2014-17) for ninth place.

Funke slides into top 10 stolen base record book
Sophomore Celene Funke (pronounced Funky) is 17-for-18 in stolen bases to lead the Cardinals. The speedy outfielder recently entered Louisville's top 10 list for stolen bases in a single season joining Kristin Austin in a tie for ninth. She needs one more to move into a three-way tie for seventh along with Jennifer Esteban and Audrey Rendon. Coleen Coughlin owns the school record with 28 stolen bases in 2000.

Melton among Louisville's career leaders in stolen bases
Sidney Melton is a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen bases and recently moved her career total to 33 to move into tenth place on Louisville's all-time list, needing two more to tie Kenzie Meisenburg (2001-02) for ninth.

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 running toward the record book
Melton leads the team with 44 runs and needs one more to move into a five-way tie for ninth place among the all-time single season leaders. Two more runs would place her in a tie for seventh.

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 became 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.

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 717-365 record at Louisville; producing 14 consecutive winning seasons (17 winning seasons in the 19-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 .304 team batting average and feature eight players batting over .300 on the season. Junior Megan Hensley and sophomore Celene Funke are tied atop team standings with a .359 average. Junior Madison Cousineau stands third at .333. Junior Sidney Melton follows with a .329 mark. Freshman Maddy Newman (.326), sophomore Caitlin Ferguson (.322) and seniors Alison Szydlowski (.316) and Nicole Pufahl (.306) round out Louisville's top hitters.

Life is grand for Hensley
Megan Hensley connected on a grand slam to erase a three-run deficit in the Cardinals' 13-10 victory over Marshall (May 2) for her second grand slam of the season.
• She also registered one 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 four career grand slams and is tied with Lacy Wood (2003-06) to hold the school career 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 274Ks and recently moved into a tie for eighth among Louisville's all-time strikeout leaders.

Watson off to solid start
Freshman Danielle Watson has been impressive in her debut as a Cardinal.
• Watson (14-10) carries a 3.15 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 126.2 innings while holding opponents to a .216 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 eight career saves and needs one more to tie for fourth with Tori Collins (2009-12).
• Seventh in appearances (92). Tori Collins (2009-12) stands sixth at 142.
• Seventh in career games started in the circle (64). Carlisa Connell (2011-14) is sixth with 98.
• Tied for seventh in games finished (31), needs five more to tied Tori Collins (2009-12) for sixth.
• Seventh in career innings pitched (426.0). Caralisa Connell is sixth with 608.0.
• Eighth career wins (40), needs two more to move into a tie for seventh with Aja Sherman (2002-05).
• Ninth in career strikeouts (274), needs eight more to tie Tara McClure (2000-01) for eighth.
• Ninth in career complete games (26). Needs six more to move into a tie for eight with Tara McClure (2000-01).
• Tied for tenth in career home runs with 25 - needs one more to move into a tie for ninth with Maryssa Becker (2014-17).

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 48 games at shortstop, third base, first base or right field and is second on the team with 40 RBIs and four home runs.
• Sophomore Celene Funke tied for the team lead with a .359 batting average and leads the way with 17 stolen bases.
• Freshman Maddy Newman stands fifth on the team with a .326 batting average and has scored 21 runs with seven stolen bases. She has played in 41 games with 33 starts.
• Freshman RHP Danielle Watson has collected 14 wins and carries a 3.15 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 126.2 innings of work.
• Freshman Kyra Snyder has started 50 games at first base or in the circle and carries a.285 batting average