Cards Play Host to No. 6/4 Duke This Weekend

GAME INFORMATION
Date: March 22-24, 2024
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Don Dobina Field at Ulmer Stadium
Admission: Free
Gates Open: One (1) hour prior to first pitch
Clear Bag Policy: A Clear Bag Policy remains in place at all UofL athletics facilities. Fans may bring one clear bag, either a one-gallon clear Ziploc-style storage bag, or a 12 x 6 x 12 inches clear tote bag.
Parking: Fans are encouraged to park in the Floyd Street Parking Garage for a $5 fee.
Twitter Updates: @LouisvilleSB
Coverage: Live Scoring |
Friday 6 p.m. - ACCNX Watch Link
Saturday, 1 p.m. - ACCNX Watch Link
Sunday, 12 p.m. - ACCNX Watch Link

The University of Louisville softball team will return to Ulmer Stadium for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series with No. 6/4 Duke this weekend. The Cards and the Blue Devils will open the series on Friday at 6 p.m. with game two slated for 1 p.m. Saturday. The teams will wrap up the weekend Sunday at 12 p.m. Admission is free and all games will air on ACCNX with Suzanne Bush handling play-by-play duties and Dr. Joanna Lane providing analysis.

QUICK HITS
• The Cards enter the weekend with a 19-10 overall record and an 0-3 mark in conference play.
• Louisville is hitting .296 as a team with five players carrying an average of .300 or better.
• The Cards have outscored opponents 158-104 with 21 home runs on the season.
• UofL was picked to finish sixth in the 2024 ACC preseason coaches' poll.
• The 2024 campaign marks the 25th season in program history. The program started in 2000 and boasts 15 NCAA tournament appearances and five conference championships.

PLAYER NOTES
• Chelsea Mack carries a seven-game hitting streak and leads the team with a .384 batting average.
• Riley Frizell has produced a team-best 32 RBIs and eight home runs, both career highs.
• Kiley Goff leads the team with 21 runs. She has been hit by a pitch 15 times in Louisville's 29 games this season and stands third in the nation in the hit by pitch per game category (0.52). She has also earned 18 walks and carries a .438 on-base percentage.
• Paige Geraghty leads the team with eight multi-hit games
• Vanessa Miller leads the team with a career-best 11 stolen bases and five multi-RBI games. The right fielder is tied for the team lead with five homers, and stands second with 19 RBIs.
• Alyssa Zabala (12-4) carries a 2.47 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 76.2 innings. Her 12 victories lead the ACC and stands tied for fourth in the national standings. The sophomore has earned eight of the last nine wins for the Cardinals.

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 145 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
Series Record: Duke leads 8-4
Last Meeting: March 11, 2023 - The Cardinals rallied, scoring seven runs in the final two innings to defeat the Duke Blue Devils 13-9 in Durham, North Carolina.
Scouting the Blue Devils: Duke comes into the weekend sitting at 24-2, winning five out of their six total conference matchups after their series win at Florida State.
• Duke leads the nation in ERA and is among the top 10 in batting average (8th), Scoring (7th), Shutouts (2nd), and Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (8th).
• Current ACC Player of the Week Claire Davidson leads all Duke hitters in Average (.432), OPS (1.378), home runs (7), and RBI (31).
• Jala Wright leads the charge for the Blue Devils pitching staff, with highs in wins (10) while maintaining a 0.39 ERA, ranking first in the nation.
• Lillie Walker is seventh in the nation with a 0.75 ERA.
• Cassidy Curd is first on the team with 64 strikeouts and ranks fourth in the nation in Strikeouts Per Seven Innings.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals will wrap up their four-game home stand on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when they play host to Indiana in an ACC Network televised contest.

LAST UP
The University of Louisville softball team battled, but came up short in an 8-7 loss to Miami (Ohio) Tuesday evening.
• The back-and-forth contest featured five lead changes that included the Cardinals scoring a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull ahead, but the RedHawks used a home run, a walk and a two-out double in the home half of the inning to emerge with the 8-7 win.
• In the game, the teams combined for 10 extra base hits, including five home runs, two for Louisville and three for Miami, who stands as the national leader in home runs per game.

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Players Mentioned

Riley Frizell

Paige Geraghty

Kiley Goff

Chelsea Mack

Vanessa Miller

Alyssa Zabala

University of Louisville Athletics