Lacrosse wins at Cincinnati...Softball faces UK Wednesday...WE have a final four

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


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GAME REPORT: UofL 1 -UK 0 in softball


-Cards now 28-0 with win over Kentucky


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The University of Louisville got a lead-off home run from Kristin Austin in the fourth inning to manufacture the only run they needed to defeat Kentucky 1-0 in Lexington Weds. evening.


They also survived a slight scare in the bottom of the seventh from UK to hold on for the win. Tori Collins and Chelsea Leonard combined for seven pitched innings with just two hits allowed, but the Cats had runners on the corners with two out. Leonard clinched the win, though by striking out UK's Emily Gaines for the win.


The teams went through the first three innings with just two UK hits...Chandra Bell baffling the Cards from the pitching stripe and allowing just one base runner...a walk to Katie Keller in the first inning. 


Kristin Austin came to the plate in the top of the fourth and soon changed that, though, leading off with a line drive shot deep to left center that easily cleared the fence. Katie Keller followed with a double to right center...but Bell composed herself enough to get out of the inning by getting Taner Fowler to flt out to center, Alicja Wolny to fly out to left and Jordan Trimble getting sent to the dugout on a called third strike.


Collins cruised along for the Cards until the bottom of the sixth. After getting UK's Emily Jolly to pop out to third, Kara Dill singled to right. UofL coach Sandy Pearsall called on Leonard to relieve Collins and the Cards got out of the inning with no further damage done. 


The Cards started the top of the seventh with a Kayla Soles single but couldn't advance her against Rachel Riley, who had taken over pitching duties to start the sixth inning. 


UK mounted a last-ditch rally in the bottom of the seventh when Ginny Carroll drew a walk with one out. Ellen Weaver struck out for the second out...but Lauren Cumbess reached on a Cardinal fielding error an Carroll advanced to third. That set the stage for Leonard striking out Gaines to end the contest. 


Louisville returns to action this weekend with three games in Chicago against DePaul.


28-0. The only undefeated team in NCAA D1 softball. And, the first win of the week for CARDINAL SPORTS against the UK Wildcats !!! Carry it over to Saturday, CARDS!  


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-Lacrosse defeats Bearcats 18-7


-Cards vs. Cats Wednesday (in softball)


-FINAL Four WBB is set


-The roving reporter report.


Louisville lacrosse jumped out to a 13-2 first half lead against Cincinnati Tuesday at Nippert Stadium and cruised to 18-7 win over the Bearcats in BIG EAST conference play. Louisville (3-6, 1-1) got four goals from Nikki Boltja en route to the win. 


"The first half was one of our strongest we have played in five years." head coach Kellie Young commented after the match. "We showed great team play, beautiful transition and stingy defense." 

Louisville jumped out to a 4-0 advantage and three of Boltja's goals came during a 10-1 run that gave Louisville the 11 point first half lead. 


The Cards continued their "rotating goalie" strategy...Danielle Pawliw getting the start and Ashley Herbst finishing in the second half. Louisville returns to action on April 5th. They'll host Loyola, MD at the Louisville lacrosse stadium.


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Louisville softball travels to Lexington Wednesday for a game against the Kentucky Wildcats. Louisville moved to #11 in the nation with a three game sweep of Pittsburgh this weekend. They are 27-0 on the season. 


UK is 15-16 on the season and last time out took two out of three on the road against #21 Auburn. The Cats are led by Kara Dill (.407) and Rachel Riley offensively. Chandra Bell (8-5) has a 2.57 ERA on the pitching stripe for UK.


The Cards pitching trio of Tori Collins, Caralisa Connell and Chelsea Leonard have a combined ERA of 1.05 and are holding opponents to a batting average of .166. The Cardinal hurlers have struck out 195 opponent batters and have 12 shutouts so far this year. 

Louisville has a team batting average of .341 and is outscoring opponents 155-33 this year. Alicja Wolny is batting .426 and Taner Fowler has a .414 average and leads the Cards with five home runs so far.


Last year, the two teams split the series...Louisville winning at Ulmer 6-0 and UK taking the Lexington contest 14-8. 


Game time is 6 p.m. It would be nice to get a mid-week win in over Kentucky so that Louisville can go 2-0 against UK in sporting activities this week, right?


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UConn and Notre Dame are joining Stanford and Baylor in the NCAA Women's Final Four in Denver. 

The Huskies had a tight first half against Matthew Mitchell's UK Wildcats Tuesday night in Rhode Island, taking a two point lead at half-time on a buzzer-beating Kelly Faris layup off a Tiffany Hayes pass. 


Connecticut gradually pulled away in the second stanza, holding the Cats scoreless over a six minute stretch and leading by over 20 points several times before the final 80-65 outcome. Tiffany Hayes had 22 for Geno's gang and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 18. We'll give Matty grudging compliments on the job he did with the Kentucky women this year. They did get further than the Lady Cards and beat Louisville in the regular season. Wait until next year, though...MM.

Connecticut will get a 4th match with Notre Dame in the Pepsi Center. The Irish blasted Maryland 80-49 in the second regional final game Tuesday night to earn their berth to Denver. Skylar Diggins recorded a triple-double against the Terps.


The FINAL FOUR begins Sunday...Stanford and Baylor meeting in the other semi-final game


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'The minute you start talking about what you are going to do if you lose...you have lost.' 
-George Shultz

Kentucky or Louisville? The decision is as tough as trying
to convince a seemingly hung jury to decide on a
conviction. 

Yep. 'The Game' is getting closer. The fans are getting more edgy and uptight. In the spirit of research and human interest, I decided to do a little "poll" today after work to get the lay of the land in my area on this 'Saturday Night Special' between UofL and UK in the NCAA semifinals. I did not want to influence comments in any way...so I got out my Bears t-shirt and Dixie Beer cap and hit several business establishments within a five mile drive of our stately estate  and manor. 


Nice afternoon for a drive. I rolled down the windows and blasted a little Jimmy Buffett for the neighbors.  

It is good to know the will of the people in the areas you spend your consumer dollars.


My first stop was the post office. It is usually a mid-afternoon stop for me anyway, and I needed stamps..so I was multi-tasking here. Dangerous... but still within the realm of my control. Not using real names here in some cases...the Post Office is in enough trouble as it is. I didn't get names in a couple of instances. So, sue me. 


(Clarence) is a big UofL fan. He talked about the rivalry. He's never stepped foot in the KFC YUM! Center..."I need to go down there and take in a game someday"...He also feels UofL will have their work cut out for them Saturday. "You going up against a team that already has 5 NBA players, you know it's gonna be tough. This ain't Prairie View. I hope the Cards can pull it off, man." (For the record -- Prairie View A&M was 15-16 on the season and did not play Louisville or Kentucky this year.) I purchased my stamps and moved on.

Didn't wear the usual UofL gear today

Next, I went to the "chain" pharmacy I usually frequent. They've just opened up a new facility near me and I hadn't explored it very closely...so I went in with my debit card and expectations. 


Never pass on a good deal.


I spoke with (Matilda) a clerk at the store while she was stocking shelves. She didn't understand what all the fuss was about ("they play each other all the time, right?") but noted that a lot of people had been buying school-fandom related gear that the store carried and surmised that this was good for the economy and her place of employment.

Could the guy maybe
been Lachlan MacLain?

"I did have this guy looking for blue plastic plates and blue plastic utensils. We have the blue plates but not the blue forks and stuff. He actually got upset about that, kinda in a kidding way, but I'm thinking to myself...really? Upset about not being able to buy blue spoons?" she confined. She has no pick in the game, is not a sports fan and wishes that people would put the same time and effort into animal adoption as they do events like this. I declined the opportunity to adopt a puppy and headed to checkout. I do send money to the Kentucky Humane Shelter each year. I could end up there someday.


While standing in the checkout line, I asked the lady in front of me about the game. She was wearing a UK sweatshirt. (Beth) has recently retired and she and her husband would love to travel to the game in New Orleans but has heard that tickets were scarce and expensive. Also that lodging was even scarcer and expensive. Is 'scarcer' a proper word to use here? Sounds OK to me... 


"I hope the Cats can pull it off. They had a rough time with Louisville in the regular season and that little Smith guy acted like he could score on the Cats anytime he wanted to." she fretted. "Still, I think UK will win. By about 10-12 points."

Maybe I should have gone for pizza...

Next stop was food. All this on-the-scene-journalism was making me hungry. I chose a "buffet style" restaurant and was seated. My waitress had a UofL button on her apron. She also spoke very little English but after determining I wanted ice water with lemon to drink with the buffet...she shyly responded to my question about the game. 


"Go UL. I live here in Louisville. I hope they win." she commented in broken English. I smiled and went to raid the chicken-on-a-stick bin. While cruising the steam tables, I was next to a guy in a Eastern Kentucky t-shirt. I asked his opinion on the game while he studied the beef with pepper and onions steak. 


"Cats." he offered and gave me the once-over. "And Packers in the Central" he added. Hadn't he heard about the Bears getting Michael Bush and Brandon Marshall? I nodded wisely. "Gotta love Rodgers." I replied and walked slowly away. 


Detente is wise when encountering a hungry man at an "all you can eat" place.

After stuffing my gut, I went to my regular gasoline stop. Wincing at the almost $4 a gallon pricing, I nevertheless swiped my card, filled up the tank and went inside for a couple of other items. The cashier nodded. She recognized me as a regular and I placed my items on the counter. I noticed a table set up with both school's items...hats, shirts and trinkets. I asked which school was getting the most sales. She thought and replied "Probably UofL. The young kids, they love the Cardinals." I asked her pick on the game. "UK" she whispered. "But don't tell the manager. She's crazy UofL." 

no...Kim Mulkey is NOT my
neighbor...I just like the pic and
it's our web site so I can put it
on here if I want. Nyah, nyah!!
Sonja wants to know why the guy
in the suit is seemingly yelling
at Kim's derriere... Hmm. 

I returned home and surveyed my results. This is where my pocket voice recorder came in handy. It had been a busy assignment. The results were 3-2 UK, with one abstention. If you counted the manager that the cashier feared, make it 3-3. And, UofL stuff was selling better. I felt I needed a tie-breaker. I went outside and saw my neighbor in her back yard with her dogs. I headed over...she had no idea that the balance of this article's poll hung on her answer. 


(Mary) walked over to the fence and offered me some freshly picked asparagus from her garden. Sonja loves asparagus, so I accepted the offer. She went inside and came out with a plastic bag half-filled with the green-stemed vegetable. We chatted. I waited for the right opportunity to strike. Finally, a lull in the rambling conversation about the other neighbors, her coming across a snake in her side yard and her dogs.


I popped the question. With a steely glint in her eyes and stern look across her face she squinted in the late afternoon sun and slowly spoke. 

"Kentucky. My late (husband) Ralph...he loved the Cats. You remember?" 


I did remember. 


So, there it is. UK will win the Saturday match-up, in a close mandate by the average Joe's and Jane's and Ralph's out there.


Aw, what the heck? Go ahead and give it your best shot anyway, Cards. I'll be in the slight minority cheering for you. 


As the late general and United States president Dwight D. Eisenhower once said..."In preparing for battle I have always found that PLANS are useless but PLANNING is indispensable." 


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