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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Softball goes to 17-0 with Saturday wins


-Manual holds off Marion County 58-54 to win Kentucky Girls State Tournament title.


-Congratulations to Louisville men's hoops...the BIG EAST Tournament winner. 


-Look what we've done now...and other tidbits.


Louisville softball went to 17-0 on the season with two wins Saturday in the Red and Black Tournament at Ulmer Stadium. 

Alicja Wolny's two run homer in the 5th inning ended the
first game. (Photo @howielindsey)

The first victim was the St. Louis Billikens, who fell 9-0 to the Cards in five innings. Louisville jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With one out, Kristin Austin drew a walk, Katie Keller doubled and Taner Fowler drove in Austin with a sharply hit single. Another single from Alicja Wolny filled the bases. Jordy Trimble's single scored Keller and Hannah Kiyohara singled to drive in Fowler and Trimble. Whitney Arion took it from 4-0 to 6-0 with a single that brought in Wolny and Trimble to close the inning's run production.


Louisville added another run in the second when Austin led off with a triple and scored on Fowler's second single of the day. 


The Cards won the game in the bottom of the fifth with the mercy rule...Taner Fowler collecting her second single of the day and coming home on Wolny's  fence clearing blast which made it 9-0 and ended the game.  


Caralisa Connell picked up her fifth win of the year, going all five innings and allowing two hits while striking out three Billiken batters. 


Michigan was next and Louisville got on the board first with a run in the second inning. Whitney Arion's single to left scored Katelyn Mann, who had reached on a fielder's choice. 


The Cards went up 2-0 in the fourth when Trimble doubled to open the inning and got to the plate on a Mann sacrifice fly. 


Tori Collins started for Louisville at pitcher and gave up the lone Michigan run in the top of the fifth. She went five innings, getting eight strikeouts, allowing a run and scattered four hits. Kristin Austin made the fielding play of the day in the fifth inning...chasing down a deep fly to right-center with runners at first and third and two outs. Her catch got the Cards out of the inning. 

Caralisa Connell won today (Photo @howielindsey)

Chelsea Leonard came in for the final two innings, striking out three, allowing two hits and issuing two walks....getting her first save of the year. The Wolverines threatened in the top of the seventh with one out...a walk, then an interference call on a grounder had runners on first and second. Leonard struck out the next batter, though and got the final UM batter to ground out to Keller. 


This Cardinal softball team is something special. The stands were full yesterday to watch them play. I estimated the crowd to be around 800 or so. This group delivers on the mound and at bat...as well in the field. I think Sandy Pearsall "slow played" me earlier this year when she told me that the team's youth and inexperience was going to be a worrying point. Here's how a couple of those "youth" are doing...


--Whitney Arion, FR, .333 average and 3 home runs.
-- Katie Keller, SO, .333 average and 3 home runs.
--Taner Fowler, SO, .440 average and 5 home runs.


Pearsall has 18 players on the roster, 4 freshmen, 7 sophomore, 4 juniors and 3 seniors. Pearsall starts two freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors and a senior. 
The Cards get a rematch with St. Louis Sunday at 3 p.m.


(Does anyone know how to rotate pictures? Obviously, we don't.) 


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Manual High School is the 2012 Kentucky Girls High School Basketball State Tournament champions defeating Marion County 58-54 Saturday night. 

Manual celebrates the win. (AP photo)

Manual got to the finals with a semifinal win over Paul Dunbar 84-55. Marion County punched their ticket by defeating Lincoln County 61-40. 


April Wilson had 23 for the winners and LeAsia Wright added 21. For Marion County, Makayla Epps had 23 and Kyvin Goodin-Rogers finished with nine points and nine rebounds. 


At the half it was Manual 30-23. Marion County rallied to take a 41-40 lead in the third quarter and drew within one at 52-51 with 1:51 left in the contest but Manual scored six of the final nine points of the game. 


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Congratulations to the Louisville men's basketball squad winning the BIG EAST Tournament 50-44. A defensive struggle and low scoring affair, it is the lowest point total in the final game in BIG EAST Tournament history. Peyton Siva was named MVP.


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Don't forget about the CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Women's Basketball Bracket Challenge! You can enter by clicking on the computer in the picture at the top, left corner of the site. 


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You can now access CARDINAL COUPLE as a straight dot.com site. That's right...we are now available at www.cardinalcouple.com . No need to type blogspot in there anymore. 


You can still access it that way if you want, but...hey, save eight keystrokes if you wish. 


www.cardinalcouple.com
www.cardinalcouple.blogspot.com


Two ways to get here, but the same outstanding journalism we hope to achieve someday no matter how you type it. 


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The University of Louisville women's basketball team will have a Selection Viewing and Party Monday night at the PNC Plaza in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium from 6-8 p.m. Season ticket holders were sent letters about it. Meet the Lady Cards, eat, drink and do the funky chicken and watch with Walz to see where the team gets sent and seeded. WE'LL have one or more of the intrepid CARDINAL COUPLE writers there and several readers have indicated that they're attending..so storm the gates and capture the flag, troops! 


Due to previously scheduled commitments, Sonja and I cannot attend, but we'll be watching the process on ESPN and hope for a favorable seed, close location and beatable opponent. Are we asking too much here? Nashville sounds pretty good to us, eh?
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