Cardinals Head to UNC for First ACC Road Series

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville softball team will continue its road trip to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a weekend series against the North Carolina Tar Heels. This is the first ACC road series of the season for the Cards.

UofL (18-10, 2-4 ACC) started the road swing with a 15-4 victory, in six innings, over NKU on Tuesday night. The Louisville bats tied a program record for most hits in a game with 21.

Senior Maddi Grant grabbed her first home run of the year, and freshman Riley Janda belted her first career homer in the win. Redshirt freshman Char Lorenz tallied five RBIs on four hits, including three doubles. Junior Bri Despines also added four RBIs on three hits with one double, one triple, and two stolen bases. Sophomore Katie Thatcher threw 2.2 innings in relief without allowing a hit or a baserunner.

Games against the Tar Heels are slated for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with first pitches at 5 p.m., 2 p.m., and 12 p.m., respectively. All games will be broadcast on ACCNX.

Quick Hits

Char Lorenz leads all Louisville hitters with 36 RBIs in 13 games. Bri Despines is next on the board, with 23 RBIs in 13 games.
Lorenz became the third player in program history to record three doubles in one game. She and Despines each contributed four hits as well.
Riley Janda's pinch-hit home run against NKU was the first of her career.
Chelsea Mack remains first in the ACC in stolen bases after taking two from the Norse. She now has 14 bags on 16 attempts.

About North Carolina
Series Record: UNC leads 14-12
Home Record: UofL leads 6-4
Away Record: UNC leads 6-4
Last Meeting: UofL lost the 2024 series 2-1. On April 20, 2024, North Carolina took the final two games, 7-6 (DH 1) and 9-1 (DH 2, 6 inn.).
Scouting the Tar Heels: UNC is 23-7 on the season with a 4-2 record in conference play. North Carolina swept Pitt in its ACC opener and took one game from Clemson last weekend. The Tar Heels are coming off a 3-1 loss to No. 21/22 Liberty on Wednesday night, marking the first time all season that the Tar Heels have lost back-to-back games.

Pitcher Kenna Raye Dark has tossed 11 complete games in 2025, the most by any pitcher in the ACC. Dark has a 10-5 record so far, including six shutouts, with a 2.40 ERA and 84 strikeouts.
Infielder Kat Rodriguez leads the UNC offense with a 0.432 batting average. In 30 games, Rodriguez has a conference-leading 44 RBIs on 38 hits, including three home runs.
As a team, UNC is second in the conference with 216 runs, 271 hits, and 203 RBIs. They rank third in the ACC and ninth nationally with a 0.362 batting average on the year.
The Tar Heels are led by second-year head coach Megan Smith Lyon, who has a 53-27 overall record.

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Players Mentioned

Bri Despines

Maddi Grant

Riley Janda

Char Lorenz

Chelsea Mack

Katie Thatcher

University of Louisville Athletics