Softball Opens 2022 at FAU First Pitch Classic

WEEKEND INFORMATION
Louisville at FAU First Pitch Classic
Date: February 10-12, 2022
Location: Boca Raton, Fla.
Venue: FAU Softball Stadium
Television: CUSA.com (vs. FAU only)
Schedule
Thursday
UL vs. FAU, 4:00 p.m. - Live Stats | CUSA TV
UL vs. FAU, 6:00 p.m. - Live St ats | C USA TV
Friday
UL vs. Bethune Cookman - 2:00 p.m. - L ive Stats
UL vs. Indiana - 4:30 p.m. - Live Stats
Saturday
UL vs. Ohio State - 9:00 a.m. - Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @LouisvilleSB
Louisville Game Notes

The University of Louisville softball team will open the 2022 season this weekend when the Cardinals travel to Boca Raton, Florida for the FAU First Pitch Classic.

Louisville will take on host FAU in a doubleheader on Thursday followed by Friday contests against Bethune Cookman and Indiana. UofL will wrap up the five-game road trip against Ohio State on Saturday.

"We're really looking forward to the challenge of our first tournament," said UofL head coach Holly Aprile when she addressed the media on Tuesday. "We have a challenging schedule overall and we're ready to go. We've prepared well and we are excited."

Watch the complete press conference with Aprile, Carmyn Greenwood and Taylor Roby here.

LOUISVILLE QUICK HITS
Louisville finished the 2021 season with a 21-28-1 overall record and a 15-21-1 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
• The Cardinals return 15 players from last year's team including National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Southeast Region and All-ACC selections Carmyn Greenwood and Taylor Roby.
• Among the returners are 12 upperclassmen including seven seniors and five juniors, as well as senior transfer Hannah File (James Madison) and graduate transfer Kendall Smith (Western Kentucky).
• Louisville was picked to finish sixth in the ACC in a preseason vote by the league's head coaches.
• Graduate senior Carmyn Greenwood was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Softball team.
• Greenwood returns after leading Louisville with a .430 batting average, 74 hits and 31 runs.
• Redshirt senior Taylor Roby led the Cardinals with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs. She also amassed a team-best 12 wins in the circle while posting a 2.96 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 165.2 innings.
•The Cards are 13-9 in season-opening games and have won their first game of the season in eight of the last 10 years.

THE APRILE ERA
• Holly Aprile is entering her fourth 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 66-64-1 record and guided the Cardinals to an NCAA regional final appearance in 2019.
• 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 ACC tournament.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals will return to the state of Florida next weekend when they travel to Gainesville for the University of Florida's T-Mobile Tournament. Louisville will face Villanova, Florida A&M, No. 6/5 Florida and No. 20/18 Duke in non-conference matchup.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Florida Atlantic
Series History: Florida Atlantic leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Florida Atlantic defeated No. 18/19 Louisville 3-0 on February 8, 2014 at the FAU Kick-Off Classic.
Scouting the Owls: Florida Atlantic is coming off a 12-35 season in 2021 and returns 17 players from last season's team including Caitlyn Cunningham, who was named to the 2021 Conference USA All-Freshman team after recording 39 hits with a .289 batting average. Head coach Joan Joyce is in her 28th season leading the Owls and is 15 wins away from reaching 1,000 victories for her career.

Bethune-Cookman
Series History: Louisville leads 1-0
Last Meeting: No. 16/17 Louisville defeated Bethune-Cookman 8-1 at the Jacksonville University Tournament on February 15, 2013.
Scouting the Wildcats: Bethune-Cookman did not compete in 2021, but returns 14 players from the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. The Wildcats are welcoming seven freshmen to the 2022 roster. Laura Watten is in her 14th season as head coach of Bethune-Cookman.

Indiana
Series History: Louisville leads 18-3
Last Meeting: Louisville defeated Indiana 5-2 on March 26, 2019 at Ulmer Stadium.
Scouting the Hoosiers: Indiana returns 13 players from last season's 25-19 team and welcomes six newcomers. Among the returners is 2021 All-Big Ten First Teamer Grace Lorsung, who hit .274 with 29 hits and three home runs in her freshman season. Grayson Radcliffe returns after hitting .315 and five home runs in 2021, leading to All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Head coach Shonda Stanton is in her fifth season leading the Hoosiers.

Ohio State
Series History: Louisville leads 8-6
Last Meeting: Ohio State defeated Louisville 4-0 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on February 18, 2018.
Scouting the Buckeyes: Ohio State is coming off a 24-19 season in 2021 and returns 17 players from last year's team. Fifth-year senior Niki Carver is among the top returners with 113 hits in her career and 76 career RBI. Allison Smith led the Buckeyes with 12 wins in 2021 and 134 strikeouts, earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly is in her 10th season at the helm and holds the best winning percentage in program history at .612.

CARMYN GREENWOOD NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC
Carmyn Greenwood, a graduate senior, earned 2021 NFCA All-Southeast Region first team honors after a career-best season in which she led the Cardinals with a .430 batting average, 74 hits, nine doubles and 31 runs. She also paced the team with 23 multi-hit games and is tied for eighth on Louisville's list for single season hits. The All-ACC second team selection led the conference in hits and stood second in batting average.
• The outfielder from Birmingham, Alabama completed her second season at UofL last year after transferring to from Auburn prior to the 2020 COVID-19-shortened campaign.
• The graduate senior, earned 2021 NFCA All-Southeast Region first team honors after a career-best season in which she led the Cardinals with a .430 batting average, 74 hits, nine doubles and 31 runs. She also paced the team with 23 multi-hit games and is tied for eighth on Louisville's list for single season hits. The All-ACC second team selection led the conference in hits and stood second in batting average.
• The outfielder from Birmingham, Alabama completed her second season at UofL last year after transferring to from Auburn prior to the 2020 COVID-19-shortened campaign.

CARDS PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH IN ACC
Cardinals were picked to finish sixth in a vote by the league's 13 head coaches.
• Florida State was voted the preseason favorite to win the 2022 ACC softball title. The Seminoles, who advanced to their fourth NCAA Women's College World Series last season and played for the national championship, received eight first-place votes and tallied 137 points.
• Clemson collected two first-place votes and 128 points to finish second in the voting, while Virginia Tech earned 126 points with two first-place votes to occupy third. Duke was fourth with 119 points and the remaining first-place vote, while Notre Dame rounded out the top five with 99 points.
• Louisville was picked sixth with 86 points, while Georgia Tech was tabbed seventh (72). North Carolina and NC State were eighth and ninth, respectively, with 63 and 57 points. Virginia (36), Pitt (35), Syracuse (29) and Boston College (27) rounded out the poll.

CARDS ON TV
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' 17 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.
• ACCN will feature the preliminary rounds of the ACC Softball Championship, May 6-8 at Louisville's Ulmer Stadium. ESPN will carry the ACC Softball Championship game on Saturday, May 9.

TOUGH SLATE
Louisville's 2022 slate is highlighted by six teams in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls including: No. 5/6/6 Florida, No. 9/8 Arkansas, No. 10/13 Virginia Tech, No. 14/15 Clemson, No. 18/20 Duke, No. 20/19 Kentucky.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah File

Carmyn Greenwood

Taylor Roby

Kendall Smith

University of Louisville Athletics