Cards Set for Bama Bash

The University of Louisville softball team's tough early season slate continues this weekend when the Cardinals travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for the Bama Bash. The Cardinals will open the weekend on Friday with contests against Penn State and Wichita State. Saturday, Louisville will take on Wichita State again followed by a matchup against host No. 10/13 Alabama. Tournament action will conclude Sunday with another game against the Crimson Tide.

Louisville's games against Alabama will be aired on the SEC Network Plus

Bama Bash Information
Dates: February 21-23, 2020
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Venue: Rhoads Stadium
Television (Alabama games only): SECN+
Radio (Alabama games only): 93.3 (praise933.com)
Live Scoring: Rolltide.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball

Louisville's Weekend Schedule (All times Eastern)
February 21, 2020
Louisville vs. Penn State, 12 p.m. | Live stats
Louisville vs. Wichita State, 2:30 p.m. | Live stats
February 22, 2020
Louisville vs. Wichita State, 12 p.m. | Live stats
Louisville vs. Alabama, 2:30 p.m. | Live stats | SEC Network Plus Watch Link
February 23, 2020
Louisville vs. Alabama, 2:30 p.m. | Live stats | SEC Network Plus Watch Link

Cardinal Quick Hits
• The Cardinals bring a 2-7 record into the weekend after going 1-3 at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a win against Wisconsin and losses the Badgers and No. 11/8 Michigan.
• Sophomore Cassady Greenwood paces the Cards offensively with a .500 batting average (9-for-18).
• Redshirt sophomore Taylor Roby leads the team with four home runs and eight RBIs. She also carries a 2-3 record in the circle and a 1.91 ERA.
• Senior Caitlin Ferguson has driven in a team-high four RBI and is tied with Roby for the team lead with two home runs.
• Celene Funke was recently selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2020 Senior CLASS Award.
• Funke was named to the 2020 Preseason All-ACC Team as voted on by the league's 13 head coaches.
• Additionally, the Cardinals were picked to finish fifth in the overall regular season standings.
• In 2019, the Cardinals posted a 35-23 overall record and a 12-12 mark in ACC play for a third place finish in the league's Atlantic Division and fifth in the overall conference standings.
• The 2020 squad features 12 letterwinners from last year's team with the addition of five freshmen and two junior transfers from Auburn.
• UofL will play 18 regular season games at Ulmer Stadium which will also serve as the host site for the 2020 ACC Softball Championship May 6-9. Louisville registered a 16-5 record at Ulmer Stadium in 2019.

The Aprile Era
The 2019 campaign marked Louisville's 20th season as a program and first under new head coach Holly Aprile's tutelage. Aprile took over the reins following the retirement of Sandy Pearsall, who began the program in 2000.
• 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

• 2020 Preseason All-ACC selection Celene Funke registered two triples in the Cardinals' opening weekend, extending her career total to 17 and placing her in second place on Louisville's all-time list. She needs nine more to tie Audrey Rendon (2004-07) for first.
• Redshirt sophomore Taylor Roby was named to the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team. She currently leads the team with four home runs and eight RBI. She has already tied last year's home run tally.
• Roby has reached safely in six straight games.
• Junior Maddy Newman recently snapped a five-game hitting streak.
• Newman and freshman Jenna Servi leads the team with two stolen bases. She has started all nine games at third base.
• Sophomore Cassady Greenwood has tallied a team-best four multi-hit games this season.

Cards against the field
Penn State
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Nitany Lions: Penn State enters the Easton Bama Bash with a 5-5 record after losing their last game of the UCF Knights Classic to Villanova. The Nittany Lions are led by Kaitlyn Morrison, Kennedy Legg, and Claire Swedberg who are batting .441, .360, and .333, respectively. Penn State boasts wins against Cal, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Michigan State, and Iowa State.

Wichita State
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Shockers: Wichita State (5-6) brings a three-game llosing skid into the weekend. The Shockers are led by Madison Perrigan, who was awarded an American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll selection after putting up 4 RBIs, two doubles, a home run, and a .500 batting average at the Bobcat Classic. In their first two weekends, the Shockers have picked up wins against Maryland, Lamar, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, St. Louis, and UTSA. Of Wichita State's six losses, two of them have come against 4th/3rd ranked Texas.

Alabama
Series Record: Alabama leads 4-0
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2011 - Alabama won 9-8 in the 2011 Bama Bash.
Scouting the Crimson Tide: No. 10/13 Alabama carries a 4-5 record, including an 8-0 win over previously top-ranked Washington. With an exception to North Carolina, all of Alabama's losses have come at the hands of ranked opponents. The Tide are led by head coach Patrick Murphy, who led Bama to a College World Series appearance last season, and Lexi Kilfoyl who was named SEC Freshman of the Week for her one-hit shutout over Washington.

FUNKE NAMED 2020 SENIOR CLASS AWARD® CANDIDATE
Celene Funke has been named a candidate for the 2020 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate softball.
• To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
•An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
• Funke becomes the third Senior CLASS Award candidate in program history and the first since 2014 when Katie Keller was a Top 10 Finalist. The three-year starter is a team leader each of the award categories. The two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American was a 2020 All-ACC Preseason selection, led the nation in triples last season and is member of the UofL Student-Athlete Advisory Committee along with serving as an ACC representative to the NCAA.
• She earned her undergraduate degree in finance in May 2019 and is currently pursuing her MBA.

SISTER ACT

• Louisville's roster features two sets of sisters: the Schindlers and the Greenwoods.
• Junior pitcher Paige Schindler and outfielder Riley Schindler are among 22 sets of twins in NCAA Division I softball who play for the same team.
• Junior outfielder Carmyn Greenwood recently transferred to Louisville from Auburn, joining her sister, Cassady who is a sophomore catcher for the Cardinals.
• All four sisters saw action in the Feb. 8 game against Texas State. Carmyn Greenwood was in left field while sister Cassady was catching and Riley Schindler was playing right field while Paige was pitching.

DUAL THREAT

Taylor Roby has been strong both in the circle and at the plate for the Cardinals. The redshirt sophomore leads the team with four home runs (tying a career high) and eight RBI and paces the pitching staff with a 1.91 ERA and 21 strikeouts while collecting two wins in seven appearances.
• Last season, Roby led the team with a 2.62 ERA, three saves and a 14-4 record in the circle. She also stood third on the team with four home runs.

TURN TWO

The Cardinals have turned eight double plays this season and lead the ACC with 0.89 per game. The total also stands tied for third with Florida Atlantic in the NCAA standings. FIU and UTEP lead the way with 1.0 double plays per game.

CARDS ON THE AIR

At the start of the 2020 season, the Cardinals will have 20 games televised nationally including one contest on ESPNU. The television slate feature all of the Cardinals' 18 home games.
• All 13 ACC institutions sponsoring softball will be featured multiple times throughout the season. ACC Network (ACCN), the 24/7 national platform dedicated to ACC sports, will offer a vast schedule of ACC softball games for the 2020 season with 36 games, including 20 conference matchups, beginning Wednesday, Feb. 12.
• The Cardinals will appear on ESPN's ACC Monday on April 17 for the third game of its home ACC matchup against Notre Dame.
• Louisville's game at in-state rival Kentucky will be carried on the SEC Network.
• The remaining home contests will be carried on the ACC Network or ACC Network Extra.

TRIPLE CROWN

Celene Funke led the NCAA with 13 triples on the season. In the May 3 game against NC State, she surpassed Audrey Rendon (2005) on Louisville's single season list and now owns the record with 13.
• The centerfielder has 17 triples in her career and is second on Louisville's all-time list, needing nine more to move into a tie for first with Audrey Rendon.
• Last season, UofL led the nation in triples per game .53 and tallied an ACC-best 31 triples.
•The total is tied for first with the 2005 squad on the program's all-time record list.

HOME SWEET HOME

Louisville compiled a 16-5 record at Ulmer Stadium in 2019 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.

TOUGH SLATE
The Cardinals are in the midst of a challenging 2020 schedule which includes nine opponents who are ranked among the NFCA and USA Softball top 25, including top 10 foes: Michigan, Florida State and Alabama. Additionally, five opponents are receiving votes.

FUNKE NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-ACC TEAM - CARDS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH
Celene Funke has been named to the 2020 Preseason All-ACC Team as voted on by the league's 13 head coaches. Additionally, the Cardinals were picked to finish fifth in the overall regular season standings.
• Funke, a senior from Carmel, Ind. registered a team-best 48 runs and stood second with a .324 batting average and 29 stolen bases last season. The speedy centerfielder led the nation and holds Louisville's single-season record with 13 triples.
• UofL will play 17 regular season games at Ulmer Stadium which will also serve as the host site for the 2020 ACC Softball Championship May 6-9.
2020 ACC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1 - Florida State
2- Virginia Tech
3- Notre Dame
4 - North Carolina
5 - Louisville
6 - Georgia Tech
7 - NC State
8- Duke
10- Clemson
11- Virginia
12 - Pitt
13 - Boston College

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caitlin Ferguson

Celene Funke

Carmyn Greenwood

Cassady Greenwood

Maddy Newman

Taylor Roby

Paige Schindler

Riley Schindler

Jenna Servi

University of Louisville Athletics