Friday, February 20
Fort Myers, Florida
2:30 PM
University of Louisville
8-3
10
vs
6
University at Buffalo
3-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Louisville
0
1
1
3
3
2
0
10
17
3
Buffalo
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
6
9
1
Louisville Goes 2-0 on First Day of Gulf Coast Classic
February 20, 2026 | Softball
FORT MYERS, Fla. -Â The University of Louisville softball team went 2-0 on the first day of the Hampton Inn Gulf Coast Classic, winning 10-6 over Buffalo before grabbing a tight 3-2 win over host FGCU on Friday evening.
Anna Wise pitched to her second win of the season in the game against the Bulls and took her first save of the season in game two. Alyssa Zabala appeared in both games, notching her third win of the year, and combining for five strikeouts between the two games.
Taylor Monroe matched a career-high four RBIs in game one, going 3-for-4 and scoring one run. Monroe was one of eight Cardinals to score a run on the day, with Riley Janda leading the pack by crossing home three times on the day.
Monroe drove in Janda for the first run of the day in the top of the second. UofL held it down in the home half of the inning, getting an out at home to protect the lead. Easton Lotus scored in the top of the third after a groundout, and Louisville took its 2-0 lead to the bottom of the inning.
Buffalo tacked on six runs in the third, but the Cards added three runs in the next half inning to shrink the deficit to one. Another three-run inning in the top of the fifth saw UofL retake the lead following an RBI double from Katie Thatcher and a two-RBI single by Monroe.
Camryn Lookadoo drew a one-out walk to start the sixth and moved to second on a passed ball. A single from Bri Despines drove in Lookadoo, and another single by Madison Pickens put Despines on third. Pickens was caught stealing, but the throw down to second allowed Despines to cross home and put Louisville's 10th run on the board.
Zabala came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings and allowed just one base runner through seven batters to close out the 10-6 win for the Cards.Â
Against FGCU, Louisville struck first in the top of the third after a leadoff single and stolen base from Monroe. After two outs, Monroe moved to third and a single from Mack drove her in for the 1-0 lead.Â
Zabala continued to put up scoreless frames from the circle, and she got backup from her offense after an RBI single from Pickens plated Despines for a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
The Eagles scored two in home half of the fifth on a two-run homer to center field to even the score at 2-all. Each pitcher tossed a scoreless sixth before Lookadoo sent Williams home on a sacrifice fly for the game-winning run in the top of the seventh.
Zabala pitched clean to two batters in the bottom of the inning, and Wise came in for two pitches of relief to end the game and seal the second win of the day.Â
The Cards will be back in action for day two of the tournament tomorrow, facing Wisconsin at 12:15 p.m. and UConn at 2:30 p.m.
Â
Anna Wise pitched to her second win of the season in the game against the Bulls and took her first save of the season in game two. Alyssa Zabala appeared in both games, notching her third win of the year, and combining for five strikeouts between the two games.
Taylor Monroe matched a career-high four RBIs in game one, going 3-for-4 and scoring one run. Monroe was one of eight Cardinals to score a run on the day, with Riley Janda leading the pack by crossing home three times on the day.
Monroe drove in Janda for the first run of the day in the top of the second. UofL held it down in the home half of the inning, getting an out at home to protect the lead. Easton Lotus scored in the top of the third after a groundout, and Louisville took its 2-0 lead to the bottom of the inning.
Buffalo tacked on six runs in the third, but the Cards added three runs in the next half inning to shrink the deficit to one. Another three-run inning in the top of the fifth saw UofL retake the lead following an RBI double from Katie Thatcher and a two-RBI single by Monroe.
Camryn Lookadoo drew a one-out walk to start the sixth and moved to second on a passed ball. A single from Bri Despines drove in Lookadoo, and another single by Madison Pickens put Despines on third. Pickens was caught stealing, but the throw down to second allowed Despines to cross home and put Louisville's 10th run on the board.
Zabala came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings and allowed just one base runner through seven batters to close out the 10-6 win for the Cards.Â
Against FGCU, Louisville struck first in the top of the third after a leadoff single and stolen base from Monroe. After two outs, Monroe moved to third and a single from Mack drove her in for the 1-0 lead.Â
Zabala continued to put up scoreless frames from the circle, and she got backup from her offense after an RBI single from Pickens plated Despines for a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
The Eagles scored two in home half of the fifth on a two-run homer to center field to even the score at 2-all. Each pitcher tossed a scoreless sixth before Lookadoo sent Williams home on a sacrifice fly for the game-winning run in the top of the seventh.
Zabala pitched clean to two batters in the bottom of the inning, and Wise came in for two pitches of relief to end the game and seal the second win of the day.Â
The Cards will be back in action for day two of the tournament tomorrow, facing Wisconsin at 12:15 p.m. and UConn at 2:30 p.m.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wise, Anna (2-2)
L: Watters, Emily (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Thatcher, Katie 1
3B: Williams, Jordan 1
RBI: Mack, Chelsea 1 ; Despines, Bri 2 ; Williams, Jordan 1 ; Thatcher, Katie 1 ; Monroe, Taylor 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Lotus, Easton 2 ; Despines, Bri 1 ; Pickens, Madison 1 ; Thatcher, Katie 1 ; Monroe, Taylor 1 ; Janda, Riley 3 ; Lookadoo, Camryn 1
SB: Mack, Chelsea 3 ; Janda, Riley 1
CS: Pickens, Madison 1
HBP: Monroe, Taylor 1
Batting:
RBI: Nagel, Abbey 1 ; Allen, Nicole 2 ; Delaney, Brianna 1 ; Hopf, Ardyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nagel, Abbey 1 ; Terwilliger, Reagan 1 ; Allen, Nicole 1 ; Smithson, Isabella 1 ; Gorman, Emily 1 ; von Kolen, Tabitha 1
SB: Gorman, Emily 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
4
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballC/UT
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
RHP
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