Cards Hit the Road for Coastal Carolina's Battle at the Beach

The University of Louisville softball team will go back on the road for the third week of the season when the Cardinals travel to Conway, S.C. for Coastal Carolina's Battle at the Beach.

Battle at the Beach Information
Date: Feb. 23-25 2024
Location: Conway, S.C.
Venue: St. John Stadium
Twitter Updates: @LouisvilleSB | Louisville Game Notes

Weekend Schedule All Times Eastern
Friday, February 23
10 a.m. - Louisville vs. Furman | Live Scoring
3:30 p.m. – Louisville at Coastal Carolina | Live Scoring | Live Stream
Saturday, February 24
12:30 p.m. - Louisville vs. Furman | Live Scoring
6:00 p.m. - Louisville at Coastal Carolina | Live Scoring | Live Stream
Sunday, Feb. 25
12:00 p.m. - Louisville vs. Bowling Green| Live Scoring

QUICK HITS
• At 10-1 on the season, Louisville is off to its best start since 2012. The Cardinals opened the season with eight straight wins before falling 6-3 at FAU last Friday at the Joan Joyce Classic. Louisville rebounded for a pair of shutout wins over Maine (8-0) and Michigan (2-0) on their final day of the tournament.
• For the second straight week, Louisville is receiving votes (No. 35) in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches Poll.
• Louisville's pitching staff has recorded six shutouts and carries a 1.26 ERA through the first 11 games of the season. UofL's six shutouts lead the ACC and tie for first in the nation along with Arizona, Boston and Oklahoma.
• The Cards have outscored opponents 64-14 with eight home runs on the season while limiting opponents to just one.
• The Cardinals return 11 letterwinners from last year's squad led by all-ACC selections Daisy Hess, Easton Lotus and Alyssa Zabala. Louisville also welcomes 11 newcomers including six freshmen and five transfers to the 2024 roster.
• UofL was picked to finish sixth in the 2024 ACC preseason coaches' poll.
• In 2023, the Cardinals posted a 36-20 overall record and a 16-7 ACC mark in the 2023 season - the 16 ACC wins were also tied for the most in since the Cardinals joined the league in 2015. UofL also earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament (Knoxville Regional), marking the 15th NCAA appearance in program history.
• The 2024 campaign marks the 25th season in program history. The program started in 2000 and boasts 837 wins, 15 NCAA tournament appearances and five conference championships.

PLAYER NOTES
•Sophomore Alyssa Zabala (4-1) carries a 1.64 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.
• Freshman Brooke Gray (3-0) has not allowed a run in four appearances with 13 Ks in 10.2 innings.
• Five players are hitting at a .300 clip or better with Paige Geraghty's .353 average leading the way
• Riley Frizell has reached safely via a hit or walk in the last nine games. The senior first baseman has tallied a team best four home runs and 13 RBIs.

THE APRILE ERA
• Holly Aprile is in her sixth season as UofL's head coach. During her time at Louisville, which includes the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, the Cardinals have amassed 135 wins and earned a pair of NCAA regional appearances with the 2023 Knoxville Regional and the 2019 NCAA Evanston Regional finals. She was named the Leadership Playbook 2022-23 Collegiate Coach of the Year.
• Prior to her arrival at Louisville, Aprile, the 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.

CARDS AGAINST THE FIELD
Furman
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Paladins: Furman owns a 7-2 record prior to a Wednesday matchup against South Carolina. The Paladins hosted the Furman Invitational and began the tournament with wins over IUPUI and Towson before dropping an 8-4 contest to Georgetown. Furman bounced back with a 9-3 win over Lipscomb to close out the weekend.
• Ashlee Lykins leads the time with a .375 batting average. Sierra Tufts (4-0) carries a 1.83 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 23 innings. Lauralee Scott (2-0) holds a 1.20 ERA with three strikeouts in 11.2 innings of work.
• Stacey Johnson-Whitfield is entering her third season at the helm.

Coastal Carolina
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Chanticleers: Coastal Carolina enter the week with a 4-4 overall record prior to a Wednesday contest at College of Charleston.
• The Chanticleers opened the season with four wins over Syracuse, George Washington, Bucknell and Campbell at their Kickin' Chicken Classic. In last weekend's Spring Games they fell to Liberty, Kansas, Ohio State, and Penn State.
• The Chanticleers are led by Delaney Keith, who carries and .417 batting average, and Indya Smith who is hitting .400 early in the season. Raelee Brabham (3-2) carries a 1.62 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 26 innings and Nicolette Picone (1-2) carries a 2.71 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.
• Kelley Green is entering her 15th season at the helm.

Bowling Green
Series Record: Louisville leads 3-1
Last meeting: March 4, 2017 - Louisville defeated Bowling Green 1-0 at Ulmer Stadium in the Red & Black Classic.
Scouting the Falcons: This marks Bowling Green's opening weekend. The Falcons are coming off a 9-41 campaign in 2023.
• Senior catcher Reagan Williamson was second on team in batting average (.246) and on base percentage (.360) and led the team in walks with 20.
• Junior RHP Scarlet Anderson led the team with five wins.
• Candace Fenton-Bockbrader enters her second season as head softball coach at her alma mater.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals will play host to Western Kentucky in their home opener on Feb. 27 before going back on the road for the USF Tournament.

LAST UP
UofL wrapped up an 11-game (10 day) road swing to start the season by going 4-1 in FAU's Joan Joyce Classic. After starting the tournament with victories over Seton Hall and FAU to extend their season-opening win streak to eight games, the Cards fell 6-3 in a rematch with host FAU. They rebounded on Sunday with back-to-back shutouts against Maine and Michigan.

Cards Hit the Road for Coastal Carolina's Battle at the Beach

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Players Mentioned

Riley Frizell

Paige Geraghty

Brooke Gray

Daisy Hess

Easton Lotus

Alyssa Zabala

University of Louisville Athletics