Cardinals Fall 2-0 at No. 6/5 Florida

Sunday, February 28

Gainesville, FL

10:00 AM

University of Louisville

3-6

Florida

11-0

Louisville

Florida

Photo by: Sydney Calle

February 28, 2021 | Softball

Box Score

By: Lori Harmon

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Louisville softball team fell 2-0 to host No. 6/5 Florida Sunday afternoon at Karen Seashole Stadium.

Taylor Roby went 2-for-3 and Jennifer Leonhardt registered a season-best six strikeouts in the game to lead the Cardinals on the day.

The Cardinals (3-6) will return to action next weekend when they play host to Bradley, DePaul and Miami (Ohio) in home-opening Cardinal Classic.

The game featured a pitchers' duel through the first two and a half innings with Florida's Katie Chronister and Louisville's Gabby Holloway retiring every batter they faced. Florida (11-0) broke through in the home half of the third when Jaimie Hoover delivered the first hit of the game, took second on a sacrifice hit by Kalie Reis and scored on Hannah Adams' RBI single. Charla Echols' sacrifice fly gave Florida a 2-0 lead.

Louisville and Florida each tallied three hits, but the Cardinals were unable to push runs across.

The Cardinals had a scoring opportunity in the top of the fourth when Taryn Weddle reached on third strike wild pitch and moved to third when Roby connected on the Cardinals first hit of the game to place runners on the corners with one out. Chronister delivered a strikeout and got a groundout to end the threat.

The Cardinals had a runner in scoring position after back-to-back two-out singles by Weddle and Roby, but they could not capitalize.

Graduate senior Jennifer Leonhardt entered to pitch in relief in the bottom of the third and held the Gators in check, retiring 11 of the 13 batters she faced, a pair of walks accounted for the only Florida runners in the final 3.2 innings of the contest.

Holloway (1-2) took the loss, allowing two earned runs on three hits.

Chronister (5-0) picked up the win, holding Louisville scoreless on three this and issuing eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Elizabeth Hightower picked up the save retiring all three batters she faced and issuing two strikeouts in the seventh inning.