University of Louisville
8-3
Kent State
3-7
Cards Conclude Day 1 of the USF Tournament
February 21, 2025 | Softball
Louisville defeated Kent State, 13-3, but fell to Wisconsin, 4-1
The Cards move to 8-4 on the season with three games left to play in the USF Tournament.
The Cards started off the day with a dominant performance, run-ruling Kent State in five innings. Kent State struck first in the second when Miklesh's RBI single scored Libler, putting the Golden Flashes up 1-0. Louisville responded in the bottom of the second, as Easton Lotus grounded out to tie the game at 1-1.
Louisville then exploded for seven runs in the third, highlighted by a Madison Pickens RBI single, a Taylor Monroe error that brought in another unearned run, and a pair of stolen bases, including Lotus stealing home. By the end of the third, Louisville had built an 8-1 lead.
Kent State mounted a response in the fourth, with Miklesh driving in two runs on a single to cut the deficit to 8-3. However, Louisville kept the pressure on, adding three more runs in the bottom of the inning. A Katie Thatcher groundout, a wild pitch, and a Char Lorenz RBI groundout extended the lead, making it 11-3. Ava Venturelli capped the scoring with a two-run single, securing an impressive 13-3 win for Louisville.
The Cards faced Wisconsin in the afternoon game but could not get the come-from-behind win. In a tight game, Wisconsin struck early with two unearned runs in the second inning. Bojan's single up the middle drove in Conger and Linkletter to put the Badgers up 2-0. Louisville responded in the fifth, with Bri Despines bringing in Katie Thatcher to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Cardinals continued to battle, but in the fifth, Wisconsin added another run as Kuffel doubled to center, scoring Schlosser to make it 4-1.
The Cards will return to the field tomorrow for two games against Michigan (9 a.m.) and USF (1:30 p.m.). The matchup against USF will be streamed on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Booe, Sam (2-1)
L: POCHIE (0-2)
Batting:
2B: LIBLER 1
RBI: MIKLESH 3
Base Running:
RUNS: LIBLER 2 ; UTENDORF 1
Batting:
2B: Lotus, Easton 1
RBI: Lotus, Easton 3 ; Lorenz, Char 1 ; Venturelli, Ava 2 ; Pickens, Madison 1 ; Monroe, Taylor 1 ; Thatcher, Katie 2 ; Alexander, Ally 1
SH: Mack, Chelsea 1 ; Monroe, Taylor 1 ; Alexander, Ally 1
SF: Alexander, Ally 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lotus, Easton 1 ; Lookadoo, Camryn 1 ; Williams, Jordan 1 ; Lorenz, Char 1 ; Despines, Bri 1 ; Pickens, Madison 1 ; Monroe, Taylor 2 ; Grant, Maddi 2 ; Janda, Riley 1 ; Thatcher, Katie 1 ; Alexander, Ally 1
SB: Lotus, Easton 2 ; Lorenz, Char 1 ; Thatcher, Katie 1
HBP: Despines, Bri 1
