Louisville Set for ACC Pod Weekend

WEEKEND INFORMATION
Louisville at ACC Pod Weekend
Dates: February 18-21, 2021
Location: Raleigh, N.C./Durham, N.C.
Venues: Dail Softball Stadium/Duke Softball Stadium
Live Scoring: GoPack.com/GoDuke.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball
Admission: Not open to spectators
Louisville Game Notes
Weekend Schedule
Thursday, February 18
Louisville vs. Virginia (at NC State), 1:30 p.m.
Live scoring | Watch Link
Louisville at NC State, 4:00 p.m.
Live scoring | Watch Link
Friday, February 19
Louisville at NC State (DH), 11:00 a.m.
Live scoring | Game 1: Watch Link Game 2: Watch Link
Saturday, February 20
Louisville vs. Virginia (at Duke), 1:30 p.m.
Live scoring | Watch Link
Sunday, February 21
Louisville vs. Virginia (at NC State), 11:00 a.m.
Live scoring | Watch Link

The University of Louisville softball team will travel to North Carolina for the 2021 ACC Pod Weekend to face NC State and Virginia three times apiece. All games will be shown on the ACC Network Extra.

The Cardinals will open up the tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina on Thursday when the Cards take on Virginia at 1:30 p.m. and follow with a matchup against host NC State at 4 p.m. On Friday, Louisville will face the Wolfpack again in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. The Cards will travel to Duke for a Saturday matchup against Virginia at 1:30 p.m. and close out the weekend on Sunday with an 11 a.m. contest with the Cavaliers at NC State's Dail Stadium.

About Louisville Softball
• Louisville brings an 0-2 record into the weekend after falling to No. 8 Alabama 5-0 and 4-0 in a doubleheader on Sunday. The twinbill was a late schedule adjustment following the rainout of the Carolina Classic.
• After two games, Makayla Hurst, a junior transfer from Utah leads the team with a .667 batting average after going 2-for3 in the 4-0 loss at No. 8/8 Alabama.
• Jennifer Leonhardt, a graduate senior transfer from the University of Southern Indiana, leads the team with a 0.00 ERA after allowing three unearned runs and scattering four hits in six innings of work while striking out three in 6.0 innings against No. 8/8 Alabama.

The Aprile Era
• Holly Aprile is in her third season as UofL's head coach. With the 2020 campaign suspended prior to its midway point due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Aprile has compiled a 45-36 record and guided the Cardinals to an NCAAregional final appearance in 2019 during her time at the helm.
• 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

• Celene Funke registered three triples in 2020, extending her career total to 18 and placing her in second place on Louisville's all-time list. She needs eight more to tie Audrey Rendon (2004-07) for first.
• Funke was 13-for-13 in stolen bases last season. She stands at No. 3 on Louisville's all-time stolen base list - she needs six more to tie Sidney Melton (2015-19) for third. Audrey Rendon (2004-07) holds the record with 82.
• Taylor Roby led the team with seven home runs and 16 RBI in 2020. The home run tally marked a career high for Roby.
• Last season, third baseman Jenna Servi was the only freshman who has started every game. She stood fourth on the team with a .271 batting average.
• Carmyn Greenwood tallied a team-best nine multi-hit games this season, her sister, Cassady stood right behind her with eight.

Scouting the opponents

Virginia
Series Record: UofL leads 13-4
Last Meeting: April 6-8, 2018 at Ulmer Stadium - The Cardinals took the first two games of the series by scores of 14-7 and 16-1, but the Cavaliers closed it out with a 17-12 win in the final game
Scouting the Cavaliers: UVA brings a 1-1 overall record into the ACC Pod Weekend. The Cavaliers fell 5-2 to No. 14 Georgia in their season opener, but rebounded to beat South Alabama 9-4 at Georgia's Red & Black Showcase. The final two games of the tournament were canceled due to rain.
• Virginia has been picked to finish twelfth in the 2021 ACC Preseason Coaches' poll. During the shortened 2020 season, the Cavaliers posted a 10-12 record. Virginia returns nine starters including Junior, Bailey Winscott who in 2020 was ranked 52nd nationally in toughest-to-strikeout, averaging 24 at-bats per K. She also led the team with a perfect 7-for-7 mark in stolen bases. Also returning, Junior, Aly Rayle who last year led the Cavaliers with a 2.91 ERA and finished second in ACC with 9.0 strikeouts per seven innings.

NC State
Series Record: Louisville leads 10-6.
Last Meeting: NC State swept Louisville in a three-game series played in Raleigh May 3-5, 2019. The Wolfpack took the opening game 4-3. NC State prevailed 7-6 in an 11-inning game to clinch the series and completed the sweep with a 2-1 victory.
Scouting the Wolfpack: NC State's season-opening series against Longwood was canceled due to rain. The Wolfpack will now open the 2021 campaign against Boston College on Wednesday in the first game of the ACC Pod Weekend.
• NC State returns its entire starting lineup from last season, including Tatyana Forbes, a 2021 preseason All-ACC Softball Team select who was also placed on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List. The graduate student stood out in 2020 with national and top ACC rankings in hits with 43 (second nationally), a batting average of .593 (fifth nationally), and earned an on-base percentage of .593 (eighth nationally).
• The Wolfpack posted a 19-6 overall record and 3-0 in ACC play before the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19. NC State was picked to finish eighth in the ACC
Preseason Coaches Poll and is receiving votes in the newest USA Softball/ESPN.com coaches poll released on Feb. 16.

Up Next

• Louisville will continue its three-week roadswing when the Cards hit the road for Gainesville, Fla., to take on No. 5/6 Florida in a two-game series February 27-28.

Cards in 2020

• Louisville posted a 10-13 overall record in 2020 while in the midst of a challenging schedule that featured 10 games against teams in the top 25. The season came to an end on the eve of the Cardinals conference opener against Boston College.
• The Cardinals return 14 letterwinners and welcome seven newcomers to the 2021 squad.
• Sophomore Cassady Greenwood paced the Cards offensively with a .386 batting average (17-for-44). her sister, redshirt junior Carmyn Greenwood stood second at .373.
• Redshirt sophomore Taylor Roby led the team with seven home runs and 16 RBIs. She also carried a 5-7 record in the circle with a team-best 2.00 ERA.
• Maddy Newman led the Cards with 13 runs and is second on the team with eight stolen bases.
• Celene Funke finished the season on a 10-game hitting streak. The senior centerfielder also had a team-best 13 stolen bases and three triples.
• During the early season, 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 Chardonnay Harris against Wichita State and handing then-10th-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.

Cards Picked to Finish Seventh in the ACC
The University of Louisville softball team was picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference released its preseason coaches poll.
2021 ACC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1) Florida State (141 pts, nine first-place votes)
2) Virginia Tech (136 pts, four first-place votes)
3) Notre Dame (114 pts)
4) Duke (99 pts)
5) North Carolina (96 pts)
6) Clemson (88 pts)
7) Louisville (81 pts)
8) NC State (78 pts)
9) Georgia Tech (61 pts)
10) Syracuse (39 pts)
11) Pitt (31 pts)
12) Virginia (28 pts)
13) Boston College (22 pts)

Tough Road Ahead

Louisville's 2021 slate is highlighted by five team in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason coaches' Top 25 polls including: No. 5/6 Alabama, No. 6/5 Florida, No. 13/14 Florida State, No. 12/12 Kentucky, No. 14/15 Virginia Tech, and No. 18.19 Duke.
• Ulmer Stadium is set to host 20 games throughout the season, including two tournaments in March: the Cardinal Classic and the Red & Black Challenge.
• Fans will notice that this year's schedule will include some changes compared to previous seasons.
• In response to the ongoing pandemic, the annual ACC/Big Ten challenge has been cancelled and the ACC has implemented four-game series to limit travel between conference opponents.
• The Cardinals will host the ACC Tournament from May 12-15, where the top 10 conference teams will be eligible to participate this year.

Home Sweet Home

Louisville has a 20-6 overall record at Ulmer Stadium in the last two seasons under head coach Holly Aprile.
• The Cardinals compiled a 4-1 record in the shortened 2020 season. Prior to that, Louisville registered a 16-5 record at Ulmer Stadium in 2020 with three wins over ranked opponents (No. 3/3 Florida State twice and No. 24/23 Kentucky).

Sister Act

• Louisville's roster features two sets of sisters: the Schindlers and the Greenwoods.
• Senior outfielder Carmyn Greenwood transferred to Louisville from Auburn in the 2020 season, joining her sister, Cassady who is a junior catcher for the Cardinals.
• Senior pitcher Paige Schindler and outfielder Riley Schindler are among 21 sets of twins in NCAA Division I softball who play for the same team. Paige Schindler is sidelined this season due to injury.
• All four sisters saw action in the Feb. 8, 2020 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.

Super Seniors

UofL has two "super seniors" on its roster in the form of graduate students Celene Funke and Jennifer Leonhardt, both of whom are utilizing an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA following the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign.
          Funke (Carmel, Ind.) was leading the team in stolen bases (13-for-13) and triples (3) when her senior season came to an abrupt halt after 23 games. In 2019, she led the nation in triples and set a school record with 13 while registering a team-best 48 runs and standing second with a .324 batting average and 29 stolen bases. The speedy centerfielder currently stands second on Louisville's career list for triples (18) and third on the all-time stolen base list with 62.
          Funke is also the program's first three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American (2018, 2019) and is pursuing her MBA after earning her undergraduate degree in finance in May 2019.
          Leonhardt returns to her hometown after completing her career at the University of Southern Indiana where she was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American. The right-handed pitcher will play for the Cardinals while attending UofL's School of Dentistry.
          Leonhardt led the USI to the 2018 NCAA Division II national title and earned Most Outstanding Player of the 2018 NCAA Division II Softball Championship Series honors.
          As her senior campaign was cut short, Leonhardt carried a 7-3 record with a 1.63 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of work. She also led the team with a .386 batting average.
          Leonhardt finished her career at USI as the program's all-time leader in wins (83), strikeouts (787) and complete game shutouts (35) while standing second in saves (8) and innings pitched (730.2). At the plate, she registered a .327 career batting average with 87 RBIs and 74 runs.

Taking it back to 2019

In UofL's last full season, 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.
• Louisville earned an at-large bid to the Evanston Regional and opened NCAA postseason play with a 9-5 win over Southern Illinois and followed with a 2-1 upset of host No 18-17 Northwestern to advance to the regional final for the fifth time in school history and the first since the 2012 Louisville Regional.

Cards Excel in the Classroom
The Cardinals turned in impressive academic results in the fall semester earning a team GPA of 3.351. It marks the program's 31st straight semester with a collective GPA of 3.0 or higher - a streak dating back to the fall of 2005.
• The Cardinals also achieved some outstanding individual accomplishments as 19 out of 25 student-athletes will be named to the Athletic Director's honor roll after posting a mark of 3.0 or better. Eleven players made the Dean's List with a GPA of 3.5 or better.
• Senior Celene Funke and freshman Gabby Holloway earned Dean's Scholar status after posting a perfect 4.0 GPA - Funke did so while pursuing her MBA.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Celene Funke

Carmyn Greenwood

Cassady Greenwood

Chardonnay Harris

Gabby Holloway

Makayla Hurst

Jennifer Leonhardt

Sidney Melton

Maddy Newman

Taylor Roby

Paige Schindler

Riley Schindler

Jenna Servi

University of Louisville Athletics