Louisville Surges Past Purdue, No. 23/25 UCF on Final Day of Knights Classic

Sunday, February 26

Orlando, FL

11:00 AM

University of Louisville

9-4

Purdue

8-5

Louisville

Purdue

Louisville Surges Past Purdue, No. 23/25 UCF on Final Day of Knights Classic

February 26, 2023 | Softball

Box Score

Cards rally from 3-0 deficit to beat Purdue 4-3, offense continues to surge in 15-5 win over host UCF

By: Lori Harmon

ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Louisville softball team's offense erupted on the final day of the UCF Knights Classic as the Cardinals overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat Purdue 4-3 and registered season-highs in runs and hits to beat host No. 23/25 UCF 15-5. The Cardinals finish the weekend with a 4-1 record in the tournament.

Louisville (10-4) will return to action on Tuesday at 5 p.m. when the Cards play host to Bellarmine in their home opener.

Louisville 4 - Purdue 3
In the first game of the day, the Cardinals used home runs by Korbe Otis and Hannah File to overcome a 3-0 deficit to beat Purdue 4-3.

Offensively for the Cardinals, Otis went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs and Daisy Hess went 2-for-3 with a run to lead the Cardinals at the plate. Roby (4-1) picked up the win holding Purdue scoreless and allowing one hit with one strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief. Zabala shut down the Boilermakers, retiring five straight batters with four strikeouts in 1.2 innings.

Purdue (8-5) struck early with three runs in the first inning, using a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, walk and RBI single to take a 3-0 lead.

The Cards countered with three runs in the fifth inning. Senior Elana Ornelas got things started when she beat the throw for an infield single and took second on an error. After moving to third on Paige Geraghty's groundout, Ornelas crossed the plate when sophomore Easton Lotus reached safely on a bunt single. A two-out hit by senior Daisy Hess set up sophomore Korbe Otis' powerful two-run shot over the left field fence which tied the game at 3-3.

Hannah File led off the top of the sixth with her first home run of the season to put the Cards on top 4-3.

The Boilermakers had a chance to score in the bottom of the sixth when hits by Banks and George placed runners on the corners, with one out, but Alyssa Zabala entered the game in the circle and struck out the next two batters to preserve the Cardinals' lead. The freshman would go on to retire the side in order in the seventh to earn her first career save.

Louisville15 - UCF 2 (5 inn.)
The Cardinals' offense erupted with a season-high 15 runs and 16 hits led by Roby's two home runs and three doubles by Otis in the final game of the tournament.

Otis went 3-for-3, tying a school record for doubles in a game and scored a pair of runs while driving in two. Roby went 3-for-4, tying her career-high with four RBIs and two homers while scoring twice. Gordon went 3-for-4 with two runs and Vanessa Miller finished the game with a 2-for-2 performance at the plat with a double, two runs and two RBIs.

Zabala (5-1) picked up the complete game win after giving five earned runs on eight hits and striking out three in five innings of work.

The Cards jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second, highlighted by Daisy Hess' three-run triple. Freshman Sarah Gordon got the frame started with a single and walks to Vanessa Miller and Ally Alexander loaded the bases for Easton Lotus whose ground ball to third base plated Gordon. One out later, Hess cleared the bases when she smashed a triple to centerfield.

The Knights (9-8) got on the scoreboard in the second when Chloe Evans led off with a triple and crossed the plate when Katie Burge reached safely on a bunt single to make the score 4-1.

The Cards countered in the third when Hannah File singled and scored on Vanessa Miller's RBI double. A sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Ally Alexander extended Louisville's lead to 6-1.

Louisville's offense continued with a three-spot in the fourth. Otis connected on a one-out double and Roby followed with a towering shot over the fence in left centerfield for her fourth home run of the season and adding to her school-record home run tally of 44. File followed with a double and was lifted for pinch runner Mia Forsythe come came on Miller's base hit to give the Cards a 9-1 lead.

The fifth inning brought six more runs, highlighted by Otis' two-run double and Roby's two-run homer to help Louisville extend its lead to 15-1.

UCF capitalized on four hits to tack on three runs in the home half of the seventh, bringing the final score to 15-5.