Checking in with Coach Holly Aprile

As the month of March began, the University of Louisville softball team was coming off of a stretch of four straight weeks on the road in February.

During that stretch, the Cardinals experienced some growing pains in the midst of a challenging schedule that featured 10 games against teams in the top 25 in the most recent rankings including: No. 9/9 Oregon, No. 13/11 Oklahoma State, No. 10/13 Alabama, No. 18/17 Michigan, No. 21/18 Baylor, No. 21/22 Mississippi State and No. 23/24 Missouri.

The team emerged from the month-long road swing with some impressive milestones, including a season-opening upset against No. 21/25 Ole Miss, a no-hitter from junior Chardonnay Harris against Penn State and handing then-10^th-ranked Oregon its first loss of the season.

UofL opened play at Ulmer Stadium by hosting the Red & Black Challenge. After dropping their first game 2-1 in extra innings to Illinois, the Cards posted three straight wins against Northwestern, Illinois and Evansville to finish the weekend. As Louisville looked to carry the home stand momentum into its ACC-opening series against Boston College, the landscape of life as everyone knew it changed.

How did your team react when they were told the news that their season would likely be over?
"To be honest, I didn't a conversation about the season being over with them directly, so we all handled it in our own way and then we connected through phone, text, and Groupme.

It was late on the afternoon of March 12th, when events unfolded for us. We were out on the practice field getting ready for our first ACC series against Boston College. We had a great practice and I was talking to Rodney New, our grounds manager as we finished up and when I grabbed my phone to check the weather, I found several messages that BC would not be coming. The initial reaction in that moment was surprise and obvious disappointment, but we were all upbeat and positive and I told them that it would likely be short-term and that we would all be resilient and adjust a little bit, and that the safety of everyone was our priority. I had no idea that everything would just stop like it did so rapidly."

And what is it now that we are three weeks out and have started to make adjustments?
"Today, the message is be safe, be with your family, and be resilient. We cannot change what has happened, but we can decide how we will respond. We are talking as a group once a week and making sure that online classes are going well. We are figuring out our in-home or limited equipment workouts and we are supporting each other. I think all student-athletes are used to having structure and most of them thrive in that environment. They may complain about it from time to time, but organization and discipline is important to their success both on and off the field, and this situation has definitely created some challenges. Our message is let's face those challenges head on and figure out how to be our best selves and help one another regardless of circumstance."

It seemed like the team had some real growth during the season as they began to gel entering ACC play. What would you say would be the "character" of this year's team?
"Our core values, being selfless, accountable, resilient, disciplined, and tough, always shape our character regardless of wins and losses. But those values are certainly tested when you have adversity. It's during chaotic and difficult times that you find out who you really are; what kind of a teammate you are. This team was finding their groove. We were battle-tested and we were more than ready for the next challenge…the ACC schedule. We were ready to attack it!"

How have you adjusted to a 'new normal'?
"I think that we are all still adjusting as we go. It's a 'one pitch at a time' mentality. For a while something new was happening every day, whether it be updates from the conference office or the NCAA, but now we have a bit of a schedule going. The team is tackling their class schedules, they are adapting and they have a good perspective. I think that we have to keep in mind that there are many people in our country and throughout the world who are ill, who are suffering or struggling economically and we all need to do our part to help one another."

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