Louisville Comes Up Short Against Indiana in Opening Game of Knoxville Regional

Friday, May 19

Knoxville, Tenn.

3:00 PM

University of Louisville

Indiana

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

Louisville Comes Up Short Against Indiana in Opening Game of Knoxville Regional

May 19, 2023 | Softball

Box Score

Cards tally three home runs, but fall short against Indiana 4-3

By: Lori Harmon

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Louisville softball team scored a pair runs in the final two innings, but came up short in a 4-3 loss to Indiana in the opening game of the Knoxville Regional Friday afternoon at Tennessee's Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

The Cardinals (35-19) will return to action on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when they face Northern Kentucky in an elimination game.

Korbe Otis went 2-for-4 with a home run to lead the Cardinals who had a trio of longballs in the game with Taylor Roby adding to her school-record total and Vanessa Miller registering her first homer of the season.

Louisville jumped on the scoreboard early when Otis led off the game with her 10^th home run of the season

The Hoosiers (43-16) answered with two hits, including an RBI single by Sarah Stone in the home half of the first inning. Indiana pulled ahead in the second with an RBI hit by Brooke Benson and used back-to-back homers by Stone and Brianna Copeland to take a 4-1 lead.

Louisville began its late-inning rally when Roby led off the six by launching a shot over the left field fence, narrowing the lead to two runs. With the home run she is now tied for the NCAA lead with 23 this season.

Vanessa Miller started the seventh with her first homer of the year, pulling the Cards within a run. One out later, Maddi Grant earned a pinch hit walk to put the tying run on base with one out, but a pair of ground outs kept the final score at 4-3.

The Cardinals also had a scoring opportunity in the fourth inning when Roby was hit by a pitch and singles by Hannah File and Makayla Hurst loaded the bases with two outs, but a fielder's choice with an out at second base ended the threat.

Alyssa Zabala (14-10) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on six hits and striking out one in two innings of work. Roby held the Hoosiers in check in four innings of relief, scattering four hits and delivering one strikeout.

Copeland (22-3) picked up the win, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and striking out five in 6.1 innings. Stone paced the Hoosiers offensively, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

NOTES:

Easton Lotus extends her hitting streak to 11 games and has reached safely via a hit or walk in 14 straight games.
With her home run in Friday's game, Roby now has 23 on the season, moving into a tie with Tennessee's Kiki Milloy for national lead.
Otis now has 63 runs scored this season, one away from tying Melissa Roth's school record set in 2009.
Roby improves her season RBI tally to 57, three away from tying Maryssa Becker's program-best mark of 64 achieved in 2016.
The Cardinals' three homers in Friday's game move their season total to 61 as a team. Two more will tie the school record of 63 set in 2013.