Cards Hit the Road for North Carolina

GAME INFORMATION
Dates:: April 19-21, 2024
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Venue: Anderson Softball Field
Twitter Updates: @LouisvilleSB
Coverage: ACCNX
April 19, 5 p.m. - Live Scoring | ACCNX Watch Link
April 20, 2 p.m. – Live Scoring | ACCNX Watch Link
April 21, 12 p.m. - Live Scoring | ACCNX Watch Link

The University of Louisville softball team will conclude its seven-game road swing with an Atlantic Coast Conference series at North Carolina this weekend. The teams will open the series on Friday at 5 p.m. with game two taking place on Saturday at 2 p.m. and the finale slated for Sunday at 12 p.m.

CARDINAL QUICK HITS
• The Cards enter the weekend series with a 24-19 overall record and a 5-10 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
• 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.
• Alyssa Zabala (17-11) carries a 2.84 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 128 innings. Her 17 victories lead the ACC and stand 13th in the national standings. The sophomore has earned the last seven wins and 14 of the last 15 for the Cardinals.
• Riley Frizell paces the Cardinals with a .338 batting average, 11 home runs, 43 RBIs and a .669 slugging percentage.
• Daisy Hess leads the team with 28 runs, 30 walks and a .468 on-base percentage. The fifth-year senior shortstop has reached base safely via a hit or walk in 21 of the last 22 games.
• Kiley Goff stands second on the team with 24 runs. She has been hit by a pitch 20 times in Louisville's 43 games and leads the nation in that category. Goff has also earned 27 walks and carries a .451 on-base percentage.
• Vanessa Miller leads the team with a career-best 12 stolen bases and stands second on the team with nine homers and 29 RBIs - both are career highs for the senior right fielder.

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 152 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 NORTH CAROLINA
Series Record: North Carolina leads 12-11
Last Meeting: April 8-10, 2022 at Ulmer Stadium - The Cardinals took the series opener 9-4 and the Tar Heels evened the tally with a 9-5 win in game two. Louisville prevailed 5-2 to claim the series.
Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina enters the weekend with a 28-14 record following a 2-1 Liberty on Wednesday. The Tar Heels are currently seventh in the ACC standings 8-10 mark in league play.
• The Tar Heels boast a .351 team batting average, good for second in the conference and fourth in the nation.
• Alex Coleman has been a force for the UNC offense, standing second in the nation with 65 hits. She also leads the team in batting average (.471), runs (41), and stolen bases (19).
• Isabela Emerling leads the team with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs.
• Nikki Harris (6-3) leads the pitching staff with a 2.13 ERA, while Kenna Raye Dark (8-3) has carried the bulk of the pitching duties in her 21 appearances with 86.0 innings of work. Britton Rogers (8-5) has dealt a team-best 55 strikeouts in 57 innings.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals will return to Ulmer Stadium for their final home weekend as No. 21/19 Clemson visits Ulmer Stadium for a three-game ACC series.
• Throughout the weekend, Louisville will honor the senior class of 2024. That class of eight student-athletes includes: Mia Forsythe, Riley Frizell, Paige Geraghty, Kiley Goff, Daisy Hess, Gabby Holloway, Vanessa Miller and Bailee Richardson.

LAST UP
The Cardinals lost a 6-2 decision at Eastern Kentucky Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season.
• The Colonels scored all of their runs in the second inning, capitalizing on four hits - including a two-run homer by Lilly Davis - and a pair of errors to plate six runs, two of which were earned.
• After the Cardinals left the bases loaded in the sixth inning, Maddi Grant's two-run homer made the score 6-2.

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Players Mentioned

Mia Forsythe

Riley Frizell

Paige Geraghty

Kiley Goff

Maddi Grant

Daisy Hess

Gabby Holloway

Vanessa Miller

Bailee Richardson

Alyssa Zabala

University of Louisville Athletics