Cards Host Bellarmine in Home Opener on Tuesday

Tuesday, February 17

LOUISVILLE, KY

6:30 PM

University of Louisville

Bellarmine University

Madison Pickens celebrates during the game against Bellarmine at Ulmer Stadium on February 26.

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

February 16, 2026 | Softball

Louisville Game Notes

Louisville will play host to crosstown foe Bellarmine at 6:30 p.m. ET on ACCNX.

By: Kennedy Knisley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville softball team will open up the home season on Tuesday when they host crosstown foe Bellarmine at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

The Cardinals are coming off of a 3-1 weekend in South Carolina, defeating Boston (twice) and Kennesaw State at the Carolina Classic.

The Cards opened with a 3-0 shutout of Boston behind a complete-game, three-hit performance from Alyssa Zabala. Bri Despines drove in two runs while Chelsea Mack, Madison Pickens and Jordan Williams each scored. Louisville fell 9-1 to South Carolina despite doubles from Easton Lotus and Camryn Lookadoo and an RBI double by Despines in the first inning.

UofL bounced back with a 4-0 win over Kennesaw State, capitalizing on walks to plate three early runs before Riley Janda added a solo home run. Madi Reeves earned her first win of the season with four strikeouts in a complete-game effort. The Cards closed the weekend with a 5-3 win over Boston, highlighted by Pickens' RBI triple and a four-run fourth inning. Pickens, Despines, Lookadoo and Thatcher each recorded an RBI, and Zabala secured the save.

QUICK HITS

Camryn Lookadoo leads the team with a .455 batting average, tallying 10 hits and a team-high four doubles.
Madison Pickens has a team-high three triples and nine RBIs, paving her way to a team-high 20 total bases and a .800 slugging percentage.
Bri Despines is second on the team with a .435 batting average but leads with nine RBIs and four doubles.
Chelsea Mack leads the Cards with 12 hits and eight stolen bases in 29 at-bats.
Brooke Gray leads the pitching staff with a 1.35 ERA and two wins in 10.1 innings pitched, allowing just two earned runs this season.
Six Cards have at least three RBIs and four Cards have double-digit hits through the first nine games. Five Cards have tallied multiple stolen bases this season.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS

Series Record: Louisville leads 3-0
Last Meeting: February 26, 2025 - Louisville defeated Bellarmine 10-0 in five innings.
Scouting the Knights: Bellarmine is 1-8 under first-year head coach Whitney Arion.
The Knights lost 14 players to graduation or the portal from last year's squad. Arion and staff brought in eight new faces in seven freshmen and one transfer.
Sophomore Lele Bennett joined the Knights after spending her freshman year at Memphis where she made 27 appearances, 15 starts, in the circle in 105.0 innings pitched. She joined senior Elli Jensen (67.2 career IP), sophomores Makenzie Cowburn, Ally Richardson and Natalie Kerr (9.1 combined innings) and freshman Emme Yee on the pitching staff.
Seniors Madison Davis and Jacklyn Zuege highlight the returning group as the pair finished as two of the team's top hitters in 2025. Davis made 31 starts and 35 appearances last season, coming in second on the team with a .250 BA and ranked third with four doubles. Zuege made 37 starts at second base, ranking fourth on the team with 21 hits and a .208 BA while leading in OBP (.365).
Arion was a four-time All-Conference selection at Louisville, highlighted by a first-team All-ACC selection as a senior in 2015. The shortstop helped lead the Cards to four NCAA Tournament appearances. Across four seasons as a starter, Arion turned in a .295 batting average with 36 doubles, four triples, 24 home runs, 131 RBI, 116 runs and eight stolen bases. She owns the record for the most assists in a single season with 143 in 2015 and is also tied for ninth with her 226 career starts.