Louisville Set for ACC Championship

Thursday, May 9

Tallahassee, FL

1:30 p.m.

University of Louisville

North Carolina

Megan Hensley pitches the ball during the game against Georgia Tech on Don Dobina Field at Ulmer Stadium on April 21.

Photo by: Jermaine Bibb | Louisville Athletics

May 08, 2019 | Softball

2019 SB gamenotes ACC FoxSports/RSN Championship Central Ticket Information

Fifth-seeded Cards will take on fourth-seeded North Carolina Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

By: Lori Korte

The University of Louisville softball team will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. for the 2019 ACC Championship where the fifth-seeded Cards will take on fourth-seeded North Carolina Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

The Cardinals finished the regular season with a 33-20 overall record and a 12-12 mark in ACC play to earn the No. 5 seed in the ACC tournament.

Louisville and fourth-seeded North Carolina (33-17, 17-7 ACC) met during the regular season April 26-28 at Ulmer Stadium with the Tar Heels taking games one and two by scores of 6-0 and 10-7 respectively. UofL won game three 6-1.

North Carolina leads the all-time series between the teams 8-7. The Cardinals and the Tar Heels have never met in the ACC tournament.

The winner of Thursday's matchup will advance to Friday's semifinal game at 1:00 p.m. to face either top-seeded Virginia Tech or the winner of Wednesday's first-round contest between No. 8 NC State and No. 9 Syracuse.

The championship game will take place Saturday at 12 p.m.

ACC Championship Information
Dates: May 9-11, 2019
Location: Tallahassee, Fla. | JoAnne Graf Field
Television: Thursday/Friday- RSN; Saturday – ESPN
Live scoring: TheACC.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball

Cardinal Quick Hits
• Louisville enters the ACC Championship with a 33-20 overall record and a 12-12 mark in ACC play. The Cardinals finished the regular season third in the league's Atlantic Division behind Florida State (19-5) and Notre Dame (18-6) while ranking fifth in the overall ACC standings.
• Redshirt senior Sidney Melton was selected to the All-ACC second team, marking the second straight season she has earn all-conference honors. Charley Butler and Rebecca Chung were named to the ACC All-Freshman team.
• Louisville is led at the plate by Melton who is batting .343 and has reached safely in the last 17 game. Melton has career-best 32 stolen bases and recently took over sole possession of Louisville's single season record in that category.
• Junior Celene Funke paces the team with 46 runs.
• Funke leads the nation in triples with 12 and owns Louisville's single season record in that category. Louisville leads the nation in triples per game.
• In the circle, redshirt freshman Taylor Roby leads team with a 13-4 record and a 2.61 ERA.
• As a team, Louisville has registered a program-record 99 stolen bases in 114 attempts on the season. The previous record was 68 (95 attempts), set in the 2010 season
• With the win in the opening game of the Georgia Tech series, head coach Holly Aprile collected her 300th career victory.
• The Cardinals' 7-2 win in game two marked their 30th victory of the season, extending the program's streak to 16 straight seasons with 30 or more wins.
• Louisville finished the season with a 16-5 record at Ulmer Stadium.
• Megan Hensley and Sidney Melton were selected to the 2019 Preseason All-ACC Team.
• The 2019 campaign marks Louisville's 20th season as a program and first under new head coach Holly Aprile's tutelage.
• The Cardinals were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Division and fifth overall as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches.
The Aprile Era
2019 marks the first season under new head coach Holly Aprile following the retirement of Sandy Pearsall, who began the program in 2000. Aprile is the second head coach in Louisville softball history.
• Prior to her arrival at Louisville, Aprile, 2018 ACC Coach of the Year spent 10 seasons (2009-18) as Pittsburgh's head coach and five years (2004-08) as an assistant. In 2018, she earned ACC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Panthers to the 2018 ACC Coastal Division title and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament.

Player quick hits

• Redshirt senior Sidney Melton has reached safely via a hit or a walk in 17 straight games.
•Melton is climbing Louisville's single season and career lists in runs and stolen bases.
• She recently took over the school record for stolen bases in a season and ranks second on Louisville's all-time list.
• Melton set a school record with four stolen bases against Morehead State (March 12).
• The third baseman ranks fifth on Louisville's all-time list for career runs (152).
• Senior Megan Hensley stands among team leaders in home runs (11) and RBIs (41) as well as shutouts, while standing second in ERA (3.04) and strikeouts (89). She is ranked in the top 10 on UofL career record lists several pitching and hitting categories.
• Junior Celene Funke is having a career-best season with 46 runs, eight doubles, 12 triples, three home runs, 26 stolen bases and 25 RBIs. She leads the team with 18 multi-hit games and seven multi-steal games.
• Junior Caitlin Ferguson has a career-high 32 runs and tied a career high in home runs (4).
• Sophomore Kyra Snyder put together a 13-game on-base streak (March 16-April 6) - and is currently riding a 14-game streak of reaching safely.
• Sophomore Maddy Newman has established career highs in runs (26), and RBIs (13).
• Sophomore Jordyn Wolfe has career highs in runs (20) and stolen bases (7).
• Sophomore Danielle Watson connected on her first career double, home run this season. She has also dealt a career-high 150 strikeouts.
      • Watson recently moved into Louisville's top 10 lists for career strikeouts (255) and appearances (70).
• Freshman Charley Butler was sidelined by injury prior to the North Carolina series. Prior to that, she was an integral part of the Carinals' outfield. The left fielder has made some outstanding defensive plays and was recently among ESPN SportCenter's Top 10 Plays (No. 8) after a diving catch in foul territory for an out in the 10-9 win over No. 3/3 Florida State (April 8).
      • Her first career hit was a home run (vs. Bradley, Feb. 24).
•Freshman Rebecca Chung has been one of Louisville's top hitters throughout the season. She leads the team with 12 multi-RBI games. Her three-run double in the seventh lifted the Cards to a 10-9 win over No. 3/3 Florida State (April 8). She also threw out a school-record four base stealers in that game.
      • She earned ACC Co-Player of the Week honors on April 9.
      • Chung put together 10-game hitting streak (March 8-23).
      • Chung's two-run double in the fifth put the Cards ahead for good in the 11-10 win over Georgia Tech to ensure the series sweep (April 21).
• Redshirt freshman Taylor Roby leads the team in wins. She got the win in the circle and registered the game-winning hit against No. 24/23 Kentucky (April 17).

Three Cards earn ACC honors

Redshirt senior Sidney Melton was selected to the second team while Charley Butler and Rebecca Chung were named to the All-Freshman team.
• Melton takes home her second straight All-ACC nod after earning first team honors last season. The 2019 preseason All-ACC selection posted a .388 batting average with 17 runs, 31 hits, 13 RBIs with 18 stolen bases against ACC opponents. She owns the school record for stolen bases in a game (4) and season (32).
• Butler led the team with a .407 average in 18 conference games. The freshman outfielder tallied 10 runs, seven RBIs and seven stolen bases in conference play before being sidelined by injury.
• Chung batted .263 against league opponents with two home runs, four doubles and 12 RBIs. The freshman catcher also set a school record with four runners caught stealing in the series-clinching 10-9 win against Florida State.

Louisville earns No. 5 seed in ACC Championship

The University of Louisville softball team has earned the No. 5 seed in the 2019 ACC Championship and will face fourth-seeded North Carolina Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Florida State's JoAnne Graf Field.
• The winner of Thursday's matchup will advance to Friday's semifinal game at 1:00 p.m. to face either top-seeded Virginia Tech or the winner of Wednesday's first-round contest between No. 8 NC State and No. 9 Syracuse.

CARDS AGAINST THE FIELD

North Carolina
Series Record: UNC leads 8-7; teams have never met in ACC postseason play
Last Meeting: Louisville and North Carolina (33-17, 17-7 ACC) met during the regular season April 26-28 at Ulmer Stadium with the Tar Heels taking games one and two by scores of 6-0 and 10-7 respectively. The Cardinals won game three 6-1.

Up next

Louisville will await its NCAA fate which will be announced Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Should the Cardinals earn a bid, it would mark their 14th overall appearance and first since 2016.

Up last

The Cardinals closed the regular season with a three-game series at NC State last weekend - and suffered their only sweep against an ACC opponent this year.
NC State 2 - Louisville 1
Madison Cousineau's home run in the sixth helped the Cardinals erase a 1-0 deficit, but an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh lifted NC State to a 2-1 win in the final game of the regular season.
• Sidney Melton, Celene Funke and Maddy Newman each had a pair of hits and Cousineau collected Louisville's only RBI as the Cards outhit the Wolfpack 8-4.

NC State 7- Louisville 6/11 innings
• A solo home run by NC State's April Visser in the 11th inning lifted the Wolfpack to a 7-6 win over the Cardinals in game two of an ACC series Saturday at Dail Stadium.
• The walk-off homer capped a wild game which saw three lead changes and two ties as each team rallied to erase a three-run deficit.
• Rebecca Chung went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, Megan Hensley also had a home run and scored twice while Kyra Snyder connected on a two-run double to help pace the Cardinals at the plate.
• Taylor Roby (13-3) took the loss after a valiant effort in the circle, surrendering three earned runs on three hits and striking out five in 10.0 innings.
• Saturday's 11-inning game marked the most innings the Cardinals have played in a game since May 19, 2006 when they fell 1-0 to Virginia Tech in 12 innings in the opening game of the Knoxville Regional.

NC State 4 - Louisville 3
A late-inning rally fell short as UofL lost its ACC series opener 4-3 to NC State Friday at Dail Softball Stadium.
•After falling behind 4-1 Cardinals fell behind 4-1 through five innings, the Cardinals scored a run in the sixth, added a run in the seventh and had the go-ahead run on first, but came up short in the 4-3 loss.
• Sidney Melton scored a run, had an RBI and registered her school-record 29th stolen base of the season while Celene Funke scored a run and set UofL's single-season mark with her 11th triple of the year.

Louisville No. 36 in NCAA RPI

Louisville appears at No. 36 in the NCAA most recent RPI report released on May 6 - dropping eight spots from last week.
• UofL is no stranger to facing quality competition and this season is no different with 24 of its 53 games against teams in the top 50.
• Below is a list of Louisville's 2019 opponents who are included among the NCAA's top 50 in the RPI followed by the Cardinals' record against them this season.
5. Florida State: 2-1
11. Northwestern: 0-3
13. Tennessee: 0-1
15. Kentucky: 1-0
16. Michigan: 1-1
21. Auburn: 0-1
24. Virginia Tech: 1-2
29. North Carolina: 1-2
30. Missouri: 1-0
34. Notre Dame: 1-2
40. Lipscomb: 0-1
46. Cal State Fullerton: 1-0
48. Indiana: 1-0

Cards reach 30-win mark for 16th straight season

On April 21, the Cardinals defeated Georgia Tech 7-2 to clinch the ACC series and reach their 30th win of the season.
• Louisville has now posted 30 or more victories in 16 straight seasons (dating back to 2004). The Cards have posted at least 30 wins 18 times in the 19 year history of the program with a record-setting 55 victories in 2012.
Louisville Softball Year-by-Year Breakdown
2019................................................................... 33-20
2018................................................................... 33-20
2017................................................................... 31-19
2016*................................................................. 35-17
2015*................................................................. 30-19
2014*................................................................. 36-22
2013*................................................................. 47-13
2012*......................................... 55-5 (program-best)
2011*................................................................. 38-20
2010*................................................................. 41-19
2009*................................................................. 48-11
2008*................................................................. 31-23
2007*................................................................. 37-25
2006*................................................................. 45-11
2005*................................................................. 43-20
2004* ................................................................ 41-19
2003................................................................... 24-26
2002................................................................... 27-28
2001................................................................... 40-26
2000................................................................... 36-26
* Earned NCAA Regional bid

Cards swiping records

• As a team, Louisville has registered a program-record 99 stolen bases in 114 attempts on the season. The previous record was 68, set in the 2010 season.

Dynamic duo

• Celene Funke has spent the majority of the season as Louisville's leadoff hitter followed by Sidney Melton - the combination has proven to be very effective for the Cards. Between the two of them, they have produced 88 runs and 38 stolen bases.

Triple crown

Junior Celene Funke is leads the NCAA with 12 triples on the season. In the May 3 game against NC State, surpassed Audrey Rendon (2005) on Louisville's single season list and now owns the record with 12.
• The centerfielder has 14 triples in her career and is third on Louisville's all-time list. She needs one more to move into a tie for second with Kristin Austin (2009-12).
• UofL leads the nation in triples per game .57 and has tallied an ACC-best 30 triples.
•The total ranks second on the program's all-time record list, needing one more to tie for first with the 2005 Cardinals.

Melton on a scoring run (record watch)

Melton recently improved her career run tally to 152 and stands fifth on Louisville's all-time list. She needs six more to tie Audrey Rendon (2004-07) for fourth.
• Last year, the speedy infielder led the team with 45 runs and moved into a five-way tie for ninth place among the all-time single season leaders.

Melton record watch: stolen base edition

Sidney Melton set a school record with four stolen bases in the 8-0 win over Morehead State on March 12.
• With her stolen base against NC State on May 3, she took sole possession of Louisville's single-season record with 29 and extended the tally with 30 on the season.
• She now has 63 stolen bases in her career, placing her second on Louisville's all-time list. Audrey Rendon (2004-07) holds the record with 82.

Funke in a foot race (also stolen bases)

• Celene Funke is on Melton's heels with 26 stolen bases and is fourth among the Cardinals' single-season leaders. She needs one more to tie Audrey Rendon (2005) for third.
• Funke recently pushed her career stolen base total to 45, good for seven on Louisville's all-time list. She needs one more to move into a three-way tie for fifth with Candi Hicks (2004-07), and Kristin Austin (2009-12).

Funke running toward single-season top five

Celene Funke now has a career-high 46 runs on the season and is tied for seventh on UofL's single season record list. She needs four more to move into a three-way tie for fifth with Jordan Trimble (2013) and Audrey Rendon (2005).

Hittting for average

Louisville's starting lineup features four players who are batting over .300 on the season. Redshirt senior Sidney Melton leads the charge at .343 while junior Celene Funke is second at a .332 clip. Junior Celene Funke (.332), and freshman Rebecca Chung (.311) round out the top hitters.

Balanced pitching

All three of Louisville's starting pitchers have evenly contributed to the team's success in the circle.
• Redshirt freshman Taylor Roby (13-4) leads the team in wins and ERA (2.61).
• Senior Megan Hensley has collected a team-high four shutouts and stands second with a 3.04 ERA.
• Sophomore Danielle Watson (11-13) is holding opponents to a .220 average. She leads the Cardinals with 150 strikeouts in 142.0 innings.

Chung's Cannon

Freshman Rebecca Chung has had a stellar rookie season offensively, but she has also made her presence known behind the plate. The catcher recently set a school record when she threw out a career-high four would-be base stealers in Louisville's 10-9 win against No. 3/3 Florida State on April 8.
• She also drove in the game-winning run against the Seminoles with a walk-off three-run double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

Hensley a dual threat

For the fourth straight season, Megan Hensley stands among the Cardinals' leaders both in the circle and at the plate. The senior leads the pitching staff with four shutouts and stands second in ERA (3.06), strikeouts (89) and innings pitched (101.1).
• She also leads the Cards with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs.
• Hensley is ranked among UofL's top 10 in several pitching and hitting categories.

Hensley record Watch: A lot of them

Megan Hensley has entered Louisville's top career list in several categories.
• Tied for first for grand slams with four, along with Lacy Wood (2003-06).
• Fifth with nine career saves and needs one more to tie for fourth with Tori Collins (2009-12).
• Third in career RBI (170) with Alicja Wolny (2010-13). She needs four more to tie Courtney Moore (2011-14) for second.
• Tied for third in career home runs (36) and needs two more to tie Chelsea Bemis for second (2008-11).
• Seventh in career appearances (121). Tori Collins (2009-12) stands sixth at 142.
• Seventh in career games started in the circle (84). Carlisa Connell (2011-14) is sixth with 98.
• Seventh in career innings pitched (534.1). Caralisa Connell is sixth with 608.0.
• Seventh in career wins (50). Jessica Rak (2000-03) stands in sixth place with 65 victories.
• Eighth in career strikeouts (367), Aja Sherman (2002-05) is seventh with 463.
• Tied for eighth in career complete games (32). Needs nine more to move into a tie for seventh with Aja Sherman (2002-05).
• Tied for tenth in career complete shutouts (10). Needs three more to move into a tie for seventh with Caralisa Connell (2011-14).
• Tenth in career walks (offensively) with (61). Needs six more to tie Whitney Arion (2012-15) for eighth.

Cardiac Cards

In the month of April, the Cardinals came out on the winning end of a quite a few dramatic games.
•On April 8, the Cards used a walk-off double by Rebecca Chung to upend No. 3/3 Florida State, handing the Seminoles their first ACC series loss since 2012.
•On April 17, Taylor Roby's walk-off single in the seventh lifted the Cards to a 8-7 win after No. 24/23 Kentucky plated two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game. The win snapped a three-game skid against the Wildcats.
• On April 21, Louisville overcame deficits of 5-0 and 10-6 to complete a series sweep of Georgia Tech while under time constraints due to the Yellow Jackets' travel.
• In a game which featured three lead changes and a tie and 21 combined runs, Louisville used a late-inning rally to take the lead for good, entering the bottom of the fifth trailing 10-8 with 15 minutes remaining before the game was called, Megan Hensley delivered a two-out single and scored on Roby's double to cut the lead to one. Ferguson walked to help set up Chung's two-run double which made the score 11-10. The game was called due to a drop-dead time in the top of the sixth inning.
• On April 23, the Cardinals were down 4-3 with two outs in the top of the seventh at Marshall. Then, Celene Funke doubled and scored on a triple by Sidney Melton and Megan Hensley followed with a double of her own to put Louisville ahead 5-4.

Home sweet home

Louisville compiled a 16-5record at Ulmer Stadium this season with three wins over ranked opponents (No. 3/3 Florida State twice and No. 24/23 Kentucky).
• The Cards went 4-0 in their home-opening Cardinal Classic and followed with a doubleheader sweep of Morehead State. UofL continued it perfect home record by taking the first two games of the ACC series against Syracuse but fell 4-2 in eight innings to the Orange. The Cards resumed their winning ways with a 5-2 victory over Indiana. Louisville suffered another extra-inning setback when Lipscomb prevailed 5-4 in eight. Louisville's fourth loss came at the hands of No. 3/3 Florida State on April 6.