Cards Come Up Short in 4-3 Regional Final Loss to Northwestern

Sunday, May 19

Evanston, Ill.

7:15 p.m.

University of Louisville

35-23

Northwestern

47-11

Louisville

Northwestern

Photo by: Jermaine Bibb | Louisville Athletics

Cards Come Up Short in 4-3 Regional Final Loss to Northwestern

May 19, 2019 | Softball

Box Score Northwestern 4 - Louisville 3 Postgame Press Conference

Louisville rallies late, but falls 4-3 to the overall No. 16 seed in game seven of the Evanston Regional

By: Lori Korte

The University of Louisville rallied twice, but fell short in a 4-3 loss to the overall No. 16 seed Northwestern in game seven of the Evanston Regional Sunday evening.

"I thought we battled," said UofL head coach Holly Aprile. "We just couldn't do enough. We knew that it wasn't going to be an easy thing to do even though we were up (a game entering Sunday's regional final). I'm really proud of them."

After falling behind 2-0 in the fourth inning, the Cardinals (35-23) quickly evened the score in the fifth. The No. 18/17 Wildcats (47-11) regained the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. Louisville answered again with a run in the seventh, but ultimately fell short in the regional final. Northwestern advances to face top-seeded Oklahoma in a Super Regional.

Redshirt senior Sidney Melton had a hit, a stolen base and drove in a pair of runs while junior Celene Funke registered her nation-leading 13^th triple of the season and scored a run to help lead the Cardinals at the plate.

Sophomore Danielle Watson (12-15) took the loss after giving up four earned runs while scattering three hits and striking out four in 6.0 innings.

Much like the Saturday's matchup between the teams, game seven featured a pitcher's duel through three and a half innings with neither team able to register a hit. The Wildcats broke through with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Maeve Nelson walked and moved to third on Nikki Cuchran's base hit to set up Morgan Newport's two-run double.

The Cardinals countered in the top of the fifth when junior Caitlin Ferguson earned a leadoff walk, sophomore Kyra Snyder followed with a hit and freshman Rebecca Chung was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. A wild pitch sent Ferguson home and redshirt senior Sidney Melton followed with an RBI single to even the score at 2-2. Senior Megan Hensley walked to load the bases, but the Cards stranded all three to end the inning.

Northwestern answered with a pair of runs of their own in the home half of the fifth. A pair of walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for Nikki Cuchran's two-run single to put the Wildcats back on top 4-2.

Louisville had a scoring opportunity in the sixth when sophomore Maddy Newman reached on an error to start the frame and junior Caitlin Ferguson followed with a single to put two on with no outs. Sophomore Kyra Snyder sent a ground ball to shallow left field and Newman was called out on a play at third base. The Cards would go on to strand two in the inning.

The Cardinals used stellar defense to hold the Wildcats at bay in the sixth. Funke chased down a line drive to the fence in left center field for the first out of the inning. After a walk allowed a Northwestern runner to reach, Melton, Newman and Snyder teamed for a 5-4-3 double play to send the game to the seventh inning.

Funke started the final frame with her 13^th triple of the season and crossed the plate on a groundout by Melton to pull Louisville within a run. But the Cards would get no closer as a flyout and a groundout kept the score at 4-3.

Danielle Williams (31-6) picked up the complete game win, giving up three earned runs on four hits and striking out six. Cuchran went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Cardinals finish the season with a 35-23 overall record. After earning the program's 14^th NCAA regional bid and first since 2016. Additionally, Louisville reached the regional final for the fifth time in school history after advancing through the winner's bracket for the first time.

"I'm just tremendously proud of how we played and the way we battled," said Aprile. "We won a lot of big games throughout the year and we won a big game yesterday. I didn't think we played great in the first game today, but they were still good battles. [In the second game] we were in position to win and that's what we ask of our pitchers. There is a sense of pride for what they did and the way they fought."

NOTES:
• Louisville made its 14^th NCAA appearance and first since 2016. This marks the first time the Cardinals have advanced to a regional final through the winner's bracket, the fifth regional final in program history and the first since 2012 at the Louisville Regional.
• Louisville's 35 wins mark the most victories in a season since 2016 when the Cards posted a 35-17 record.
• As a team, Louisville registered a program-record 106 stolen bases in 122 attempts on the season. The previous record was 68 (95 attempts), set in the 2010 season.
• As a team, Louisville posted 31 triples, matching the school record set in 2005.
Sidney Melton
• Redshirt senior Sidney Melton finishes her career as Louisville's single-season stolen base leader with 35. She also has 63 career stolen bases and stands second on Louisville's all-time list.
• She finishes her career ranked fifth on Louisville career list for runs with 157.
Celene Funke
• Junior Celene Funke registered a school record 13 triples and led the nation in that category. She also stands tied for second on Louisville's all-time list and needs 11 more to tie Audrey Rendon (2004-07) for first.