Photo by: Paige Kuwata | Louisville Athletics
Cards Travel to Cal for Second ACC Road Series of the Season
April 01, 2026 | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville softball team (30-7, 6-3 ACC) continues its road swing with a cross-country trip to Cal (12-25, 2-10 ACC) from April 2-4 for the second ACC road series of the season. The games will take place at 5 p.m. ET (Thursday), 5 p.m. ET (Friday), and 3 p.m. ET (Saturday) on ACCNX.
Louisville is coming off a 12-4 (6 inn.) victory over EKU, led by Madison Pickens, who posted her first-career multi-home run game, knocking two different three-run shots to left field for a career-high six RBIs for the sophomore. Chelsea Mack backed up the offense with three hits on four trips to the plate and one run scored. Bri Despines tabbed two doubles in her two at-bats, scoring four times and bringing in one runner. Alyssa Zabala (8-2) picked up the win in the circle after tossing 3.2 no-hit innings with six strikeouts and just one walk.
QUICK HITS
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
Louisville is coming off a 12-4 (6 inn.) victory over EKU, led by Madison Pickens, who posted her first-career multi-home run game, knocking two different three-run shots to left field for a career-high six RBIs for the sophomore. Chelsea Mack backed up the offense with three hits on four trips to the plate and one run scored. Bri Despines tabbed two doubles in her two at-bats, scoring four times and bringing in one runner. Alyssa Zabala (8-2) picked up the win in the circle after tossing 3.2 no-hit innings with six strikeouts and just one walk.
QUICK HITS
- Chelsea Mack leads the team with a .476 batting average, tallying 60 hits in 126 at-bats, 41 runs scored, 28 stolen bases, and 16 RBIs. Her 28 stolen bases rank first in the NCAA.
- Bri Despines is second on the team with a .422 average, posting 43 hits, 38 runs, 12 doubles, four home runs, and 38 RBIs, with a .696 slugging percentage.
- Madison Pickens is third on the team with a .420 average, collecting 47 hits, 38 runs, nine doubles, three triples, six home runs, and 42 RBIs.
- Louisville leads the ACC in stolen bases (86) and triples (20), and is fourth in the conference in on-base percentage (.449). The Cards rank fourth in the ACC and 15th nationally with a .357 batting average on the season.
- Through 76 games, five Cardinals have at least 25 RBIs and six have recorded at least 30 hits.
- Sophomore Anna Wise leads the Louisville pitching staff with a 2.93 ERA and eight wins in 55 innings pitched, giving up just 23 earned runs and striking out 36 so far.
- Senior Alyssa Zabala leads the team with 72 strikeouts and seven wins in 81.1 innings. She has made a team-high 25 appearances in 13 starts, limiting opponents to a .233 batting average.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
- Series Record: Cal leads 3-1
- At Louisville: Cal leads 1-2
- Last Meeting: February 25, 2017 – No. 21-ranked Cal won 5-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic
- Scouting the Golden Bears: Cal is 12-25 so far this season with a 2-10 bid in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Golden Bears are returning from a 10-game road trip where they faced No. 10 Florida State for a three-game set, split midweek matchups with Dayton and Ohio State and took one out of three games from Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
- Sophomore Layna Gerhard leads the Cal pitching staff with a 5.49 ERA and 1.92 WHIP over 37.0 innings in 15 appearances. Maya McGowan and Taylor Peacock have consistently appeared in the circle for the Golden Bears, combining for 106 total innings, 30 strikeouts, five wins and one save.
- Over 35 games, Gator Robinson and Maddie Rey are leading the offense with .316 and .321 batting averages, respectively. The pair have totaled 57 hits, 47 runs, 14 doubles and eight homes on the year.
- Catcher Anya German is batting at a .208 clip with a 1.115 OPS. German ranks fourth in the ACC with six runners caught stealing this year.
- Steve Singleton is in his first year as a head coach after serving as an assistant coach and associate head coach for the Texas Longhorns from 2019 to 2025. With the Longhorns, Singleton was named D1Softball's Assistant Coach of the Year in 2024 and was named to the ATEC/NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year in 2025.
Players Mentioned
C/UT
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OF
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C/UT
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RHP
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