Tuesday, March 18
Highland Heights, KY
4:30 PM
University of Louisville
18-10
15
at
4
Northern Kentucky
11-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Louisville
3
0
1
4
3
4
0
15
21
0
Northern Ky.
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
4
7
0
Louisville Grabs 15-4 Victory in Six Innings at NKU
March 18, 2025 | Softball
The Cards move to 18-10 on the season with a weekend series at UNC on deck.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The University of Louisville softball team defeated Northern Kentucky, 15-4 (6 inn.) on Tuesday evening. The Cardinals move to 18-10 on the season and remain at 2-4 in the ACC.
Redshirt freshman Char Lorenz led the team with five RBIs on four hits, three of which were doubles. Junior Bri Despines and Freshman Riley Janda each contributed three RBIs while senior Maddi Grant tallied two of her own.
The Cards started off the first frame hot with a lead-off triple from Easton Lotus followed by Chelsea Mack drawing a walk and stealing second. Despines then singled, driving in two runs as both Lotus and Mack scored. Despines also stole second before Char Lorenz doubled to left center, bringing her home for a 3-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Alyssa Zabala had two clean innings, prohibiting any offensive production by the Norse in the first two frames.
Lorenz tallied her second double of the afternoon to lead off the third inning and Ally Alexander brought her home with a single. However, the Cards were unable to produce any more runs in the third, leaving their lead at 4-0.
The Norse added two on the board thanks to a pair of singles from Rhoads and Pastin that cut the Cards' lead to 4-2 heading into the fourth inning.
Louisville had a burst of momentum in the fourth frame as Mack led off with a single up the middle and quickly stole second. Despines followed with a double, putting runners on second and third. Lorenz then tallied her third double, driving in two runs as Mack and Despines scored, extending the lead to 6-2.
Taylor Monroe and Alexander both flied out to left field, but Maddi Grant kept the offense rolling with a two-run homer to right center, bringing Lorenz home and making it 8-2.
Zabala allowed another run from the Norse after a trio of singles, forcing Katie Thatcher in as relief with the bases loaded. Flores scored on a wild pitch by Thatcher, giving the Norse its fourth and final run of the game.
The fifth inning began with Madison Pickens drawing a walk, followed by Lotus bunting for a single. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance and Mack reached on a bunt single, loading the bases.
Despines delivered an RBI single up the middle, scoring Pickens and keeping the bases loaded. Lorenz followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing in Lotus to extend the lead to 10-4. Ava Venturelli pinch-hit for Monroe and grounded out to shortstop, but it was enough to bring in Mack for another run and stretch the lead 11-4.
In the sixth and final inning, Jordan Williams pinch-hit and led off with a single up the middle. Pickens launched a double to put runners on second and third before Janda came to pinch-hit for Mack. The freshman came up clutch with a three-run homer to left center, the first of her career, scoring Pickens and Williams to extend the lead to 14-4. Despines kept the momentum going with a triple to left field, and Lorenz followed with an RBI single through the left side, bringing Despines home to make it 15-4.
Katie Thatcher got her first collegiate win in the circle, allowing no hits in 2.2 innings and striking out one.
The Cards will continue their road swing as they head to North Carolina this weekend (March 21-23) for their first ACC road series. The Friday, Saturday, Sunday matchups are scheduled for 5 p.m., 2 p.m., and 12 p.m., respectively. All games will be broadcast on the ACCNX.
Redshirt freshman Char Lorenz led the team with five RBIs on four hits, three of which were doubles. Junior Bri Despines and Freshman Riley Janda each contributed three RBIs while senior Maddi Grant tallied two of her own.
The Cards started off the first frame hot with a lead-off triple from Easton Lotus followed by Chelsea Mack drawing a walk and stealing second. Despines then singled, driving in two runs as both Lotus and Mack scored. Despines also stole second before Char Lorenz doubled to left center, bringing her home for a 3-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Alyssa Zabala had two clean innings, prohibiting any offensive production by the Norse in the first two frames.
Lorenz tallied her second double of the afternoon to lead off the third inning and Ally Alexander brought her home with a single. However, the Cards were unable to produce any more runs in the third, leaving their lead at 4-0.
The Norse added two on the board thanks to a pair of singles from Rhoads and Pastin that cut the Cards' lead to 4-2 heading into the fourth inning.
Louisville had a burst of momentum in the fourth frame as Mack led off with a single up the middle and quickly stole second. Despines followed with a double, putting runners on second and third. Lorenz then tallied her third double, driving in two runs as Mack and Despines scored, extending the lead to 6-2.
Taylor Monroe and Alexander both flied out to left field, but Maddi Grant kept the offense rolling with a two-run homer to right center, bringing Lorenz home and making it 8-2.
Zabala allowed another run from the Norse after a trio of singles, forcing Katie Thatcher in as relief with the bases loaded. Flores scored on a wild pitch by Thatcher, giving the Norse its fourth and final run of the game.
The fifth inning began with Madison Pickens drawing a walk, followed by Lotus bunting for a single. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance and Mack reached on a bunt single, loading the bases.
Despines delivered an RBI single up the middle, scoring Pickens and keeping the bases loaded. Lorenz followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing in Lotus to extend the lead to 10-4. Ava Venturelli pinch-hit for Monroe and grounded out to shortstop, but it was enough to bring in Mack for another run and stretch the lead 11-4.
In the sixth and final inning, Jordan Williams pinch-hit and led off with a single up the middle. Pickens launched a double to put runners on second and third before Janda came to pinch-hit for Mack. The freshman came up clutch with a three-run homer to left center, the first of her career, scoring Pickens and Williams to extend the lead to 14-4. Despines kept the momentum going with a triple to left field, and Lorenz followed with an RBI single through the left side, bringing Despines home to make it 15-4.
Katie Thatcher got her first collegiate win in the circle, allowing no hits in 2.2 innings and striking out one.
The Cards will continue their road swing as they head to North Carolina this weekend (March 21-23) for their first ACC road series. The Friday, Saturday, Sunday matchups are scheduled for 5 p.m., 2 p.m., and 12 p.m., respectively. All games will be broadcast on the ACCNX.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Thatcher, Katie (1-0)
L: B. Ballis (4-7)
Batting:
2B: Despines, Bri 1 ; Lorenz, Char 3 ; Pickens, Madison 1
3B: Lotus, Easton 1 ; Despines, Bri 1
HR: Janda, Riley 1 ; Grant, Maddi 1
RBI: Janda, Riley 3 ; Despines, Bri 3 ; Lorenz, Char 5 ; Venturelli, Ava 1 ; Alexander, Ally 1 ; Grant, Maddi 2
SH: Monroe, Taylor 1
SF: Lorenz, Char 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lotus, Easton 2 ; Mack, Chelsea 3 ; Janda, Riley 1 ; Despines, Bri 3 ; Lorenz, Char 2 ; Grant, Maddi 1 ; Williams, Jordan 1 ; Pickens, Madison 2
SB: Mack, Chelsea 2 ; Despines, Bri 2
CS: Lorenz, Char 1
HBP: Grant, Maddi 1
Batting:
RBI: J. Rhoads 1 ; O. Pastin 1 ; M. Brow 1
Base Running:
RUNS: C. Beatty 1 ; S. Wulker 1 ; V. Flores 1 ; M. Brow 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
3
H
4
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
4
RBI
5
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/C
/ SoftballC/UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF/C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/UT
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
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