Softball curtails Creighton...WBB welcomes DePaul Saturday

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Collins shuts down Creighton 8-0


-Lady Cards hoops vs. DePaul Saturday at noon


-Lacrosse downs Longwood 19-8


The University of Louisville softball team got off to a great start in the three game weekend series against the previously undefeated Creighton Jays...winning the first game 8-0. 


Thank the strong left arm of Tori Collins for part of that. 

The senior pitcher left the Jays in the wake of her pitching prowess, allowing no runs and just one hit in a complete game performance that pushed her record to 6-0 on the season. She struck out 12 Jays en route to the win.


She had some major help from the Cardinal bats. 


The game featured a defensive, pitchers battle for the first four and one half innings. It was scoreless when the Lady Cards came to bat in the bottom of the fourth. 


That soon changed. 

Keller blasted a two run
homer in the 4th. inning

Kristin Austin led off the inning with a booming triple. She didn't have far to go after that...Katie Keller scored both of them with a moon-shot base clearer to left. 


That was all the scoring Collins would actually need..but there was plenty more to follow.


Taner Fowler drew a walk and Kirsten Straley came in to run for her. Jordy Trimble's double moved her to third and Straley scored on a wild pitch to Alicja Wolny. Singles from Wolny, Hannah Kiyohara and Whitney Arion drove in three more runs and in her second plate appearance of the inning...Keller drove in the seventh run of the inning with a sacrifice fly. 

The Cards tacked on one more score in the bottom of the sixth when Jennifer Esteban singled, moved to third on a Austin double, and scored when Keller singled. 


The teams play two Saturday. First game scheduled for noon. Tough break on the scheduling for today's action...forcing UofL women's sports fans to have to decide between hoops and softball. One wishes the softball could have been pushed back to maybe 3 p.m. or later to give UofL fans a great afternoon and early evening of Cardinal women's athletics.


IF you choose hoops today, why not head over after the UofL WBB game and cheer them on, Cardinal fans? 


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Doug Bruno brings the DePaul Blue Demons to town tomorrow to play the Lady Cards in the KFC YUM! Center tomorrow at noon. 


You remember DePaul don't you? They piled it on the Lady Cards earlier this month in Chicago. A game that was rough to listen to on the radio and probably even rougher to have to sit through in person...if you're a 
Lady Cards fan. 


DePaul has been kinda up and down since then. A nice win over West Virginia after being down at the half by 14 and then a puzzling loss to Syracuse last time out. 

The Blue Demons are 8-6 in conference like Louisville and after the Cards, have a winnable one to end the season when they host Cincinnati. 

Time to shut Anna down

Still the same suspects on board for the Blue Demons...Anna Martin, Katherine Harry, Brittany Hrynko and the rest. Payback and revenge factor in play for Louisville? 


Oh, you betcha. The loss earlier this month sparked a couple of "players only" meetings and a dedication and re-commitment by the players (and least most of them) to work harder and get better. It's been sorta successful...Louisville is 2-3 since the loss..but the losses came against UConn, Notre Dame and West Virginia. 


Not exactly Little Sisters of the Poor or Miss Mary's DayCare. 

Time to rise and shine
Bria...

Louisville will need to stop the double-double capabilities of Martin and Harry (sounds like a 60's comedy act doesn't it?) But, these two Blue Demons are quite serious and will take advantage of every weakness Louisville shows them. 

Time to send Doug home with an "L".

Time for Becky to have a big senior farewell game in front of the YUM! faithful. Time for Shoni to shoot like Xavier's on the floor. Time for Bria to shake the freshman slump she's been mired in and time for Asia and the front liners to rebound, block out, score second chance points and block shots. 


Time to win, Lady Cards. Go get it done.


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Congratulations to Louisville Lacrosse. Opening the season on the road with a win against Longwood 19-8. Seven goals for Nikki Boltja in the win. 


Good start to what looks to be a rebuilding season for the Lady Lacrosse team. One step at a time, one win at a time...


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Cardinal Softball in good hands with Pearsall

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friday cardinal couple...

-Sandy Pearsall had depth, experience and speed for Cardinal softball this year.

- A thriller in Memorial...

-One last chance to grab the bread...

-Watson replies

(With no UofL women's basketball news to report today, we use this opportunity to catch you up on two of our favorite sports at UofL...women's softball and men's baseball....Enjoy!)


CARDINAL COUPLE got the rare chance to hear both UofL women's softball head coach Sandy Pearsall and head baseball coach Dan McDonnell share the same stage last night and after hearing both speak about their programs...it's easy to get excited about both their upcoming seasons. We'll focus mainly on the softball team today...because that's what we do here at CARDINAL COUPLE...women's sports. Before we do, though...WE promised Coach Dan that we'd plug his upcoming Louisville Baseball Winter Camps. Here's the details...

-January 14-15, 21-22 at Jim Patterson Stadium (or various indoor facilities if weather dictates).

-Camp information.
Session 1-Pitcher/Catcher/Infielder Speciality Camp
Saturday, January 14th. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Session 2-Hitting Camp
Sunday, January 15th. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Session 3-Hitting Camp
Saturday, January 21st. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Session 4 - Pitcher/Catcher/Infielder Speciality Camp
Sunday, January 22nd. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

The camps are open to anyone in grades 1-12.

Coach Dan had this to say about them...

I'd like to invite everyone to the 2012 Winter Baseball camps. Our camps will be held at Jim Patterson Stadium and other indoor facilities on the University of Louisville campus. We will be offering two hitting camps and two defensive speciality camps. Our staff will help you improve your game through lectures, drills and game situations. The baseball season is right around the corner and we want to help you get ready!

Cost for the camps is $100 per session. Any camper attending multiple camps will receive a $25 discount off each additional purchase. You can contact Brian Murdorf at 502.852.1217 or bmundorf@louisville.edu for registration forms and more information.

The chance to learn and prosper from the teachings of the Cardinal baseball coaches is a great opportunity. Paul wishes they'd been around when he was struggling to hit a curve ball or hit the plate with a throw. No Derek Jeter here...

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Coach Sandy Pearsall is Louisville softball. She took the job in 2000 to build the program from scratch. It's gone well for her and the University of Louisville. Four straight BIG EAST Tournaments at Ulmer Stadium. NCAA Regionals. One of the most competitive programs in the BIG EAST year in and year out. As Sandy prepares for 2012 (the team is already practicing) she's faced with some interesting challenges and great potential. Gone via graduation is the left side of the infield in Chelsea Bemis (3B) and Colby Wherry (SS). Competition is intense for these two spots and Coach Sandy informed me that she just might put two freshmen in the spots, duplicating what she did four years ago when Wherry and Bemis were freshmen.

Trimble can do it all!

Returning, though...are some pretty valuable and skilled players. Jordan (Jordy) Trimble sat out last season after breaking a ankle chasing a fly ball. She's back....Cardinal fans and looking great on the field. Pearsall let us know that the versatile Louisville Manual grad could play any of the nine positions on the field and she'd been seeing some time on the pitching mound in addition to her outfield skills. The bat has never been a problem for the redshirt sophomore and she's wowing the team and staff with her prowess. Look for Jordy to have a big season for the Lady Cards.

She's one of many that return with valuable game experience. Starters Alicia Wolny (1B), Jennifer Esteban (OF), Maggie Ruckenbrod (C), Kristin Austin (OF), Katie Keller (INF) and Hannah Kiyohara (INF/OF) all return to give the Cards a solid and powerful batting lineup. The three main pitchers on Pearsall's staff from last year return as well in Caralisa Connell, Tori Collins and Chelsea Leonard.

Recruiting has also been good for Coach Sandy. The freshmen are Trista Cox (C/1B), Kayla Soles (SS/3B) Kirsten Straley (OF) and Whitney Arion (SS/3B/OF). Arion had a great fall exhibition season with the squad and all four girls will compete for playing time.

Another great aspect for Cardinal softball this season is that beer will be available for purchase at home games. Whether or not that has kept attendance from capacity or not is anyone's guess...but it's nice to know that the ladies get the same privileges and concession capabilities as Coach Dan's team this year. None in the press box for us, of course...we'll have to sneak out and watch a few innings from the first base line and avoid Jack Wimsett...

Coach Pearsall is also having a skills camp...but it's full...so I guess we won't be sending Sonja out to run the bases with her gazelle speed and grace. Both coaches have banquets coming up, though...and here's the information on them...

SOFTBALL BULLPEN CLUB DINNER
Saturday, Jan. 28th. 7:30 p.m. @ The Galt House
Speaker is Natasha Watley - two time Olympic medalist.

BASEBALL
Friday, Feb. 3rd. 7 p.m. @ South Wing-KEC Center
Speakers are former Cardinal Trystan Magnuson and former New York Yankee pitcher Andy Pettite.

We encourage our readers to support both these programs with your attendance at their games. WE took in softball a lot last year and really enjoyed the atmosphere, action and abilities of the Cardinal players. Ulmer Stadium is state of the art - the best softball park in the BIG EAST - and a great place to watch a game. The outfield berm is a fun, party atmosphere if you don't want to do the bleachers thing. Same goes for Jim Patterson Stadium, where Coach Dan's guys do battle. Both softball and baseball are great family venues as well and we hope are readers will "take themselves out to the ballpark" and root on both these top-flight and talented squads. 

CARDINAL COUPLE plans an interview with "Coach P" in a couple of weeks to get a little more in-depth on the season and squad and we invite you to join us at the Softball Bullpen Club Dinner.

Not to worry, the Lady Cards basketball team plays at 2 p.m. that Saturday...so you've got plenty of time to do both. For ticket information to the banquets, check out http://www.uoflsports.com/

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Mathies (#1) celebrates the winning bucket over
the Lady Vols last night in Lexington. 

Got back home last night to catch most of the second half of the women's basketball game between top 10 Kentucky and Tennessee. What a thriller that one was! We're by no means ready to don blue shirts and memorize the Kentucky fight song, but you had to be impressed with the efforts of senior Kentucky guard A'dia Mathies against Pat's Vols. 34 points and a game winning, floating, driving score from the paint for the Louisville Iroquois grad with 4.3 seconds to go. A sold-out Memorial Coliseum. Pretty good stuff for a Thursday night in mid-January... 

We knew the Cats had something special when they trounced the Lady Cards earlier this season. They impressed us even more last night with their domination of Tennessee early and then their rally to regain the lead after the Vols seemingly had the game won. This Pat Summitt's squad was missing Tabor Spani last night, but played with a lot of confidence and pride to overcome a 11 point UK lead and take a three point advantage late in the game. Got a feeling we'll be seeing both of these squads march deep into the NCAA Tournament this March. 

As for Mathies, it may have been the best individual performance we've seen out of a player so far this season. Our Sandy Walker was at the game and hopefully she'll stop by later today with a few observations and comments. UK  61- Tennessee 60 in a classic fight to the final buzzer. South end girl...representin'...

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WE'D also like to remind you that you have one more chance to win a $25 Panera Gift Card if you can correctly pick the winner and closest to the final score of the Louisville vs. Rutgers game Saturday afternoon. Frankly, we're gonna brag a little bit...since two CARDINAL COUPLE staffers have won the previous two contests...David Watson (St. John's) and Paul (USF). Think you have what it takes to knock us off our lofty perches? E-mail your winner and final score guess to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com by 1 p.m. Saturday. We'll even give you our picks for the game...

Paul. I see a hard fought battle, maybe overly defensive at times, but a close contest, low scoring that has Rutgers prevailing on their home court. Let the boo birds chirp, but I'm going Rutgers 56 - Louisville 51. I still love ya' Lady Cards...make a liar out of me!

Sonja. Walz vs. Stringer. What a matchup! The two are also good friends but they probably won't be bestowing compliments on each other during the forty minutes or war. Gotta stay with my Lady Cards in this one...they pull off the upset of #8. Let's say Louisville 63 - Rutgers 61.

David. The UofL men's team has had their burp at the banquet this season with the inexplicable loss to Providence in the Dunkin' Donut Arena. Time for the Lady Cards to have theirs. The experienced and deep Scarlet Knight squad gives Walz and company all they want. Rutgers 69 - Louisville 47.  Go ahead, blast away at me, readers. I'm used to it. Just don't bring my mama into it.

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(We've received several e-mails and comments that have been unfavorable on a couple of David Watson remarks in his columns. WE have forwarded these to him and offered him a chance to reply. His comments are below. CARDINAL COUPLE does not always agree with columns written by our writers and contributors and their remarks are not the official stance of CARDINAL COUPLE on the items they address. Watson's words below)

First, let me start off by saying that the way Paul and Sonja have always described CARDINAL COUPLE to me is that it is the fan voice of UofL women's sports. Fans aren't always in agreement all the time. They have different viewpoints. Paul and Sonja run them all, though, unless profanity or obscenity gets involved. As it should be. 

Several of you have taken offense on a couple of comments I've made over the last couple of days. I would tell those of you upset with me that you have the right to be so. We're in America, land of the free and home of the brave. My comments were not designed to hurt or belittle any current, former or potential UofL women's basketball players. I am a big fan of the program and of many other UofL sports teams. If I have offended anyone with comments I've made, I am sorry I hurt your feelings or dismayed you. That was not my intent. I have been told that my sense of humor and sarcasm is hard to take at times.

That is something I must work on. Once again, apologies to those who have trouble with it.
Please rest assured that I respect and admire the young college athletes that compete in sport. I have a daughter that will be one next fall. I know what they go through.

Finally, I'd like to thank Paul and Sonja for giving me the chance to write for CARDINAL COUPLE and chance to address these items in an open forum. There are blogs and sites out there that would not.

I'll try to do better. I applaud the UofL fans out there that take time to read this blog and that faithfully cheer on women's sports at UofL. I'm a fan, too. I always will be.

GO CARDS and thanks for the comments.

David L. Watson

(Having known David for several years, I can testify on his great level of fan support. He drives in from Central Indiana dozens of times each year to watch various UofL sporting activities. Although we may not agree with his comments and phrasing at times...we will never censure or strongarm anyone who wishes to contribute here. We've suggested a more mild and moderate aprroach to him...he agrees that it's probably needed. Paul)
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From a UofL trustee...name withheld

God bless Cardinal Couple. The day in, day out support they give UofL women's athletics, free of charge, is amazing. They let everyone speak. They do not restrict. I hope the readers of this site appreciate that. They do this with scant funding, no corporate backing and no official  of Louisville monetary support.

If you don't like it, my advice to you is to quit accessing the site. As a trustee and avid supporter of ALL UofL sports, I am very grateful for this site and the freedoms and accesibility it provides. I hope they continue to make it available. All people can write here and comment here. They promote UofL women's sports day in and day out. Our local newspaper and media outlets do not. As an individual who has seen times in years past where my freedoms and rights were not upheld, I thank Cardinal Couple for being what they are. God bless you Paul, Sonja, David, Jenny, Sandra and all who give this site to us.
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Cardinal Softball: Pinkston hired as Director of Operations

Lisa Pinkston has joined the University of Louisville softball team as
Director of Operations.

UofL head softball coach Sandy Pearsall comments:

"We're excited to have Lisa come back and join our staff. She was instrumental in helping us establish the softball program at UofL and helped lay the groundwork for our success. She was a leader during her time here and has continued to be involved with the program."

If the name sounds familiar, Pinkston was one of the inaugural players on the first UofL softball team back in 2000. She played four years for Pearsall, as a catcher, and was also captain of the team for four years. After graduation, she went to Louisville Sacred Heart and served as an assistant coach and head coach from 2005-2007.

Her duties will include scheduling, community and alumni relations, travel arrangements, and organizing camps, clinics, and marketing.

Maybe she can get CARDINAL COUPLE an interview with the elusive Sandy Pearsall as well...

Welcome back, Lisa. You were a big part of the initial growth of Cardinal softball on the field and we're confident that the future is in good hands with you as an administrator.

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OK, how about a Tuesday quiz for you on womens' sports at UofL?

1) How many womens' sports teams are there currently at UofL?

a) 8
b) 10
c) 12
d) 14

2) Can you match the coach with the team?

a) Jeff Walz ....................1) Field Hockey
b) Leonard Yelin............ 2) Basketball
c) Pam Bustin ................3) Softball
d) Sandy Pearsall.......... 4) Volleyball

3) Which of these are not a womens' sport at UofL?

a) Lacrosse
b) Rowing
c) Curling
d) Golf

4) Match the sport with the venue:

a) Softball....................... 1)Ralph Wright
b) Field Hockey............. 2) Trager Field
c) Tennis......................... 3) Bass-Rudd Center
d) Swimming................. 4) Ulmer Stadium

5) Match the player with the sport:

a) Sara Maude-Juneau........ 1) Basketball
b) Asia Taylor....................... 2) Volleyball
c) Lola Arslanbekova ...........3) Softball
d) Chelsea Bemis.................. 4) Golf


How did you do?

1) 12 womens' sports at UofL. Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track/Field, Volleyball.

2) Jeff Walz - Basketball
Leonard Yelin - Volleyball
Pam Bustin - Field hockey
Sandy Pearsall - softball

3) No curling at UofL.

4) Softball - Ulmer Stadium
Field Hockey - Trager
Tennis - Bass-Rudd
Swimming - Ralph Wright

5) Sara Maude-Juneau - Golf
Asia Taylor - Basketball
Lola - Volleyball
Chelsea - Softball


KEY:

5 out of 5. You really know your Cardinal womens' sports! (Or you Googled the answers)
4 out of 5. Not bad. Try to read CARDINAL COUPLE more often to get a perfect score next time
3 out of 5. Average. Try to get to more womens' sports events than just basketball
2 out of 5. OK. Lace up the sneakers and run 5 laps around Cardinal Park.
1 out of 5. Be careful. Coach Walz may have you running windsprints.
0 out of 5. You must be a UK fan visiting the site...

Pearsall adds Scott to Softball coaching staff

Courtney Scott has joined the University of Louisville coaching staff. Scott was an All-American catcher during her playing days at UC-Berkley and played in four Women's College Softball tournament...leading the Golden Bears to the championship in 2002 and 2nd place in 2003. She also played in the pros...catching for the NYNJ Juggernaut and in Japan for three years. She also served as a graduate assistant on the nationally recognized Oklahoma Sooners team.

Most recently, she was an assistant at Maryland where she worked with the pitchers and catchers for two years and was a recruiter. With the young Cardinal pitching staff and graduation of Melissa Roth at catcher for the 2011 season, Scott's experience and knowledge will be of great benefit as Louisville competes in the Big East.

"We're happy and pleased to have Courtney on our staff." says Pearsall. "She brings a wealth of experience as a player and a coach. She's a high caliber person, player and coach and will share her great ideas and enthusiasm with our program. She is one of the top assistants in our game."

Another Maryland assistant lands at the 'Ville. We all know how that worked out when Jeff Walz came to Louisville. Here's to shutouts and low ERA's.

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Churchill Downs conducted it's final "Friday Night Under The Lights" last evening and it was a boot-scootin' , beer drinking, barbecue eating cowboy and cowgirl affair. Over 32,000 were in attendance and the party was still going full blast when Paul left after midnight. His highlight of the evening? Cashing in on big BIG TALL PAUL in the 4th race...minutes after talking to trainer Paul McGee and his lovely wife Angie. The little buckaroo ended up home sporting a cowboy hat, bandanna and sheriff's badge that weren't part of his attire when he left the house. He claims he has no idea how he got them. I suspect his henchman in arms Tom...but sometimes it's best to let sleeping bears lie. HAPPY 4TH TO EVERYONE...and if you're looking for a few hours of fun on Sunday...Churchill will be offering $1 hot dogs and beers and free admission on the final day of their Spring Meet. Derby winner from 2009 MINE THAT BIRD returns to the track that day for the FIRECRACKER.

Just look out for 6'4" cowboys that have a mischevious gleam in their eyes.

McCoughtry named Player of the Week

Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry has been named WNBA Eastern Conference player of the week as the first week of the WNBA concludes. The former University of Louisville All-American helped lead the Dream to a perfect 4-0 record.

It was a very good week for the Baltimore, MD native. She averaged 21 pts., grabbed 5.5 rebounds and dished out 3 assists per game. Angel went off for 32 points against the Connecticut Sun and scored in double figures for each game.

In her sophomore season in the WNBA, Angel has proved to be a "go-to" small forward for Atlanta and seems to mesh well with the rest of the Dream's front line this year. The #1 pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft, McCoughtry needed a little adjustment time to the big league...but once she was inserted into the Dream's starting lineup, her full court play and court awareness helped the Dream make the WNBA playoff in only their second year of having a franchise.

Keep flying high, Angel.

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Although Louisville softball did not advance to the NCAA Softball Tournament Super Regionals, they did tie for the best record of the four Big East teams that were in the field of 64. None of the Big East schools made it to the round of Sweet Sixteen.

Louisville and Notre Dame posted 2-2 records to lead the way for the Big East. The Irish ended up losing to #2 ranked Michigan in the Ann Arbor region. The Cards were eliminated by #15 Tennessee. The Vols and Wolverines will try to get to Oklahoma City in a 3 game series against each other in Ann Arbor in the Super Regional.

DePaul ended their year by going 1-2 in the Columbia regional. Syracuse dropped both games in the College Park regional.

Out of the sixteen teams advancing, the Pac 10 leads the way with six member schools winning in regional play. Washington, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, California and Arizona continue toward the prize. The SEC has four teams still penciled in...Georgia, Tennessee, #1 seed Alabama and Florida. The University of Kentucky went 1-2 in the Columbus regional.

Missouri, Oklahoma, Michigan, Hawaii, Lousiana-Lafayette and BYU round out the winners.

Playing softball for Hawaii...yeah, I think I could have handled that back in my college days.

Softball wins two to advance to regional final

Jordan Trimble's hot bat helped the Cards take two Saturday in Knoxville.

With their backs to the wall after losing to Virginia yesterday, Sandy Pearsall's University of Louisville softball team knew that wins would be the only thing able to get them to the regional final on Sunday against Tennessee. They pulled off the feat, beating Ball State 5-1 and Virginia 7-4 Saturday to reach the final game.

After watching the Vols send Virginia to the losers bracket, Louisville faced Ball State. BSU took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first but Louisville tied the game in the top of the third with back to back doubles by Vanessa James and Melissa Roth.

The Cards took the lead in the top of the fourth when Alicja Wolny's single brought home Jordan Trimble. Louisville added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh for the final margin.

Tori Collins (18-5) went the distance for Louisville on the mound...allowing
seven hits and striking out six

The Cards started off the rematch against Virginia by scoring two runs in the top of the first when Trimble singled, Chelsea Bemis drew a walk and both scored on a Wherry double.

Louisville added a run in the fourth with another Trimble single and another Wherry double. The top of the seventh saw Louisville increase the lead to 7-0 when Jennifer Esteban opened with a single, Austin drew a walk and Roth loaded the bases after getting hit by a pitch. Trimble responded with a 2 RBI double and Roth scored next when Bemis grounded out. Wherry blooped a single to bring home Trimble to end Louisville's scoring.

The Cavs did rally for four runs in the bottom of the seventh...but Kristen Wadwell was able to finish the game and get the win. She allowed four runs, two earned, on seven hits and struck out three to improve her record to 18-11.

The Cards will face Tennessee at 1 p.m. Sunday in the finals. If they win, they'll play the Vols again for the championship.

Cards fall to Cavs 1-0

The University of Louisville women's softball team opened play in the NCAA Knoxville Regional Friday with a 1-0 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers. In the double elimination format, the Cards next face Ball State Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Louisville had several chances to tie or win the game, especially in the late innings. The Cards had runners in scoring position in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings but could not get one across the plate.

Their best opportunity came in the bottom of the seventh when they managed to load the bases with two outs but Colby Wherry lined a shot to the first baseman to end the game.

Virginia scored the only run of the gsame in the top of the fifth when Alison Pittman tripled and then scored on a fielder's choice.

Tori Collins (17-5) took the loss for the Cards...allowing only four hits and fanning five in six innings of work.

Louisville next faces a Ball State squad that fell to Tennessee 5-0 in the second game. The Ball State Cardinals are making their first NCAA softball tournament appearance in 12 years.

The winner today survives and will play the loser of the Virginia vs. Tennessee game. The loser goes home.

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Angel McCoughtry pours in 32 for the Atlanta Dream last night in a win over the Connecticut Sun. Atlanta is undefeated and getting great play out of Angel, Sancho Lyttle and Shalee Lehming.

That's our girl...Get her the ball and get out of the way..
Written by Paul
5/22/10

Roth, Bemis selected for All-Region team

Back to back honors for the Cards' California connection of Melissa Roth and Chelsea Bemis when it was announced yesterday that they had been selected for the NFCA All-Region squads. Both made the teams in 2009.

For Roth, another first team apperance. She led Louisville in batting average (.398), home runs (16) RBI's (47) and runs scored (57).

Bemis made the second team...which is a little surprising considering she was the Big East Player of the Year. Her second half of the season spurt helped her bat .311. She put 12 over the fence and drove in 44 base runners.

Congratulations to both...who are also elgible for All-America honors.

Louisville begins regional play today at 4 p.m. in Knoxville, TN against the Virginia Cavaliers. This is the Cards seventh straight NCAA apperance.


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CARDINAL COUPLE got a nice e-mail from Portland, OR. sports writer Jerry Ulmer yesterday. He writes some really great article about the Portland high school sports scene. He pretty much told us that they're in the dark in Portland as much as we are in the 'Ville when it comes to high school recrruit Shoni Schimmel. With that info, we here at CARDINAL COUPLE are going into the "watched pot never boils" mode and we won't mention her again (promise!) until a decision is offered by her.

A noted psychologist once recalled a club that he and his brother formed as kids where the requirements for membership were based on standing in the corner of their bedroom and not thinking about polar bears. We're doing the same but substituting the girl we're not mentioning for the bears.

Written by Sonja
5/21/10

Softball selected for NCAA Tournament

The University of Louisville softball team has been selected to play in the NCAA 2010 Softball Tournament and will begin action Friday, May 21st. in Knoxville, TN, against Virginia. If they win, they advance to face the winner of the Tennessee vs. Ball State game. It is a double elimination format..so the Cards must win three games to move on to Super Regional play. Louisville did not face any of the three teams headed to Knoxville during the 2010 season but did go 1-1 against Virginia last year.

Although the Cards were not ranked in the top 16 teams and did not receive a first and second round home field advantage...the draw isn't a bad one for Louisville. Tennessee was the #15 seed overall in the rankings and a total of 64 teams will vye for the final eight spots...which will be played at the ASA Hall of Fame softball stadium in Oklahoma City, OK. Speculation is that if the Cards had been able to defeat Syracuse in the finals of the Big East Tournament...they would have received first and second game home field advantage.

A total of four Big East teams are in the tournament. Notre Dame will play in Ann Arbor and face Illinois State in the first round. DePaul also got in and takes on Illinois in Columbia, MO. Automatic qualifier Syracuse opens with Oklahhoma in College Park, MD. None of the Big East schools were selected for opening round regional sites.

Other area schools taking part in the Championships include Kentucky. The Wildcats travel to Columbus, OH and are paired against host school Ohio State in the first round.

The Division I championships are played over three weekends. Four teams are sent to 16 regional sites and go through the double elimination format beginning Friday. The winning 16 teams go to one of 8 Super Regional sites...where they play a best out of three series against an opponent that would begin May 28th. Those winning 8 teams head to Oklahoma City for the World Series championships that start June 3rd. That format is also a best of three against an opponent...consisting of a quarterfinal, semifinal and final series for the winners...ending June 9th.

NCAA.com has a downloadable, printable bracket at their site and information was used from their site in this article.

Good luck Lady Cards!

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Angel McCoughtry and the Atlanta Dream are off to a 2-0 start in the WNBA. McCoughtry has 20 points Friday night and 11 Sunday. Chamique Holsclaw is listed on the Dream roster but has not participated in either game this season.

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Just a couple of days remain until the late signing period is over for women's college basketball hopefuls. Louisville waits along with several other schools to hear where Shoni Schimmel is headed. The availibility of information on who she is deciding between is basically sparse and boardering on non-existant. One internet speculation being circulated is that she has already decided on a school but members of her family are trying to get her to change her pick...preferring another school. Another circulated rumor is that her mom..who was also her high school coach...has been offered an assistant's job at another school if Schimmel shows up there to play.

For the straight stuff and accurate facts, remember that here at Cardinal Couple...if we tell you it happened, it actually happened...

Tick, tock. Tick, tock...

By Paul 5/17/10

Cards fall to Syracuse 2-1 in Big East Championship game

The softball Cards lose a close one to the 5th seeded Syracuse Orange on Saturday at Ulmer Stadium. For Louisville, just a case of not being able to get the runners to the plate ..as they stranded eight base runners in the game.

Syracuse borrowed a page from the Louisville strategy playbook by jumping on the opponent early and relying on pitching. The 'Cuse was able to push a run across the plate in both the first and second innings against Cardinal pitching.

Louisville's lone run came in the bottom of third when Melissa Roth opened the inning with a walk, moved to second on a Jennifer Esteban single and then raced home on a wild pitch from Syracuse hurler Jenna Caira.

The Cards had a chance to tie it in their last at bat. Roth walked and was granted second base on an illegal pitch. She was thrown out on a Esteban fielder's choice...but Esteban advanced to second with a steal while Chelsea Bemis was at bat. The game ended, though on a double play when Bemis drilled one down the first base line that the Syracuse first baseman made an incredible catch on and tossed the ball to second to double up Esteban who thought the ball got thru for a hit.

Jenna Caira got the win for the gusty Syracuse team but she needs to restudy the rulebook about what and what not a pitcher can do while on the mound. I know she got called for at least 10 illegal pitches during the game...the last one got Syracuse coach so mad that he stormed the field, argued the call with the umpires and got tossed from the game.

Syracuse gets the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with the Big East tournament win. It is expected that Louisville, Notre Dame and DePaul will receive at large bids to the tournament. The selection show will be on ESPNU Sunday night at 10 p.m.

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Congratulations to LOOKIN AT LUCKY, Bob Baffert and new jockey Martin Garcia for their win in the Preakness Saturday. FIRST DUDE held on for second and JACKSON BEND got third. Took then a while to sort out the photo for second.

Best racing story of the day. Very good friend of ours sends Paul to the track with a couple of dollars for wagers. He plans on getting these bet and then off to Ulmer for softball. He uses one of the automatic wagering machines and keys in the information. Since the friend had slightly overpaid him for the amount of wagers she wanted...Paul adds a couple of horses to the bet on the bottom leg of the trifecta. He likes the bet the way he had created it and punches out a duplicate ticket of it for him.

You guessed it. He added JACKSON BEND in the third spot. They already had LOOKIN AT LUCKY on top with SUPER SAVER...and about 4 or 5 horses picked to run second...including FIRST DUDE. The trifecta paid $1385 for a $1 wager. They also hit the exacta which paid $94.30 on a dollar. He never made it to Ulmer...and yes, the IRS will get their share of it...

The best part is that she knows about the exacta but Paul hasn't told her yet about the addition to win the trifecta for both of them. We're having lunch this afternoon with her and he'll present her the winning ticket then.

By Sonja
5/17/10

Cards advance to final of Big East Tournament.

The Softball Cards advance to the finals with a 5-2 win over Notre Dame. Once again, a case of the Cards jumping on the opponent early and relying on pitching to seal the deal.

The game started out with a bang when Melissa Roth smashed the first pitch of the game over the right field fence to put the Cards up 1-0. Back to back singles by Jennifer Esteban and Alicja Wolny made it 2-0 and then a couple of Notre Dame fielding errors allowed Esteban to score a third run. Katelyn Mann's sacrifice fly got Wolny to home plate and the Cards had a 4-0 lead.

Cardinal pitcher Tori Collins kept Notre Dame in check for four innings..allowing the Irish a run in the third and one in the fourth. Kristen Wadwell tossed the final three innings and allowed no Irish hits or further scores. Louisville tacked on an insurance run in the 5th when Kristin Austin drove in Betty White.

In the first game of the day, #5 seed Syracuse pulled the upset on #1 DePaul with a 3-2 win. DePaul led the Orange 2-1 going into the sixth inning, thanks to a solo home run by Becca Hentiak but the Syracuse got run producing hits by Hallie Gibbs and Lacey Kohl to put the 'Cuse up 3-2 and they were able to hold the Blue Demons scoreless inthe final two innings.

Louisville and Syracuse will play in the title game Saturday at 5 p.m.

Cards romp Pitt 9-1 in Big East Softball Quarterfinal

Kristen Wadwell picked up the win for the Cards...who allowed only three Panthers hits in the 9-1 win.

Another case of Louisville jumping on an opponent early during Thursday night's game in Ulmer Stadium. The Cards struck for one run in the first and three runs in the second to build a lead that Pitt couldn't catch up with.

Louisville struck first with a double steal in the first inning that scored a run on a wild throw and after Pitt tied the game in the top of the second on a passed ball, the #3 seeded Cards got busy in the bottom of the second with (4) straight singles by Jordan Trimble, Kristin Austin, Vanessa James and Jennifer Esteban to go up by three.

Louisville sealed the deal in the bottom of the sixth when Alicja Wolny singled, Trimble crushed a triple off the right center fence and Austin singled her home. A Melissa Roth's double brought in Austin to make it 8-1 and Roth scored the game ender on a Esteban single and wild throw by Pitt.

Wadwell recorded eight strikeouts in 5 innings on the mound. Louisville recorded 13 hits against the #6 seeded Pitt squad and Esteban and Trimble went a combined 7-7 at the plate.

Other Big East quarterfinal action at Ulmer Stadium today:

(GAME 1)

SYRACUSE 4 - VILLANOVA 3

The 2010 Big East softball tournament started Thursday morning with a battle between #4 Syracuse and #5 Villanova. Under sunny skies and humid temperatures, the teams kicked off the 10 a.m. game with fireworks in the first inning. After Syracuse went down in order in the top of the first, Nova started with four straight hits, sent seven batters to the plate and jumped out 2-0 on the Orange.

They kept the lead until the top of the 3rd, when the 'Cuse responded with 3 runs, keyed by a Hallie Gibbs two run double. Syracuse would add an insurance run in the top of the seventh when center fielder Veronica Grant got to the plate on a fielders choice after drawing a walk to start the inning. Villanova mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh, opening the inning with two singles...but winning pitcher Jenna Caira retired the next three batters, allowing one run on a passed ball at the plate.

Gibbs went 2-4 for the winning Orange, driving in 2 runs and scoring once. Cara went the distance on the mound, giving up 9 hits and striking out 3.

(GAME 2)

DEPAUL 3 - RUTGERS 0

An hour and fifteen minute rain delay interrupted the bottom of the first inning in the Blue Demons vs. #8 seeded Scarlet Knights battle. When play resumed, DePaul scored the only run it turned out they would need when Alex Morocco scored on Brittany Yniguez's fly ball to left field. Becca Heteniak tossed six innings of two hit softball and Bree Brown came in for the final inning for the #1 seeded Blue Demons.

Katie Voss crashed a two run homer to left center in the fourth inning to complete the scoring for the Blue Demons.

(GAME 3)

NOTRE DAME 6 - PROVIDENCE 2

Christina Lux continued her love affair with Ulmer Stadium, driving in four runs for the Irish in the win. The first baseman slapped a 2 run single in the first to put the Irish ahead to stay. Sadie Ritzenberg rattled the fence in the second for a 2 RBI double in the second inning and Lux completed the #2 seeded Notre Dame run total in the 3rd with a 2 run homer.

#7 seeded Providence rallied for two runs in their final at bat in the seventh but Brittany O'Donnell saved the win for starter Jody Valdivia, who left the game in the 5th inning after taking a line drive off the leg.

Friday's action wiil have the Orange facing DePaul in the 2:30 opener and Louisville battling the Irish at 5 p.m.

Bemis named Player of the Year in Big East Softball

UofL third baseman Chelsea Bemis was voted Player of the Year in Big East softball for 2010. The award for the junior slugger was announced last night at the Big East Championship Banquet. Her selection was no surprise to Cardinal softball fans who have watched her safely swat almost everything that was tossed to her this year for Sandy Pearsall's softball Cards.

Bemis also was a unanimous selection to the 1st Team All-Big East squad. Cardinal pitcher Tori Collins and catcher Melissa Roth joined Bemis on the first team selections. First baseman Alicja Wolny was selected for the second team and Kristin Austin and Colby Wherry got third team honors.

Big East Tournament play begins Thursday morning with a 10 a.m. start pitting #4 Villanova against #5 Syracuse. The rest of the quarterfinal round is as follows:

12:30 p.m. #1 DePaul vs. #8 Rutgers
4:00 p.m. #2 Notre Dame vs. #7 Providence
6:30 p.m. #3 Louisville vs. #6 Pittsburgh

First round action will be available on Big East TV and the Thursday quarterfinal package can be purchased for $7.95 if you can't make the games. Go to BigEast.org and click on the link to register and purchase what looks to be an exciting first day of Big East softball action.

The Friday semifinals and Saturday final will be shown on CBS College Sports. A 5 p.m. first pitch is set for Saturday, which makes it tough on those wanting to see if Calvin Borel and SUPER SAVER can win the Preakness.

The winners of game 1 and game two start the action Friday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for the Championship can be purchased at Ulmer Stadium for either single sessions or the full package.

Should Louisville defeat the Panthers in the single elimination tournament, they would face the winner of the Notre Dame vs. Providence game at 5 p.m. Friday. Louisville did not play their quarterfinal opponent Pittsburgh during the 2010 regular season. Ace hurler Cory Berliner will probably draw the starting assignment for Pittsburgh.

The Panthers did play a couple of non-Big East opponents that Louisville also faced...losing to Kentucky and splitting a two game set with Morehead State.

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Also on tap this evening is the 2010 Cardinal Caravan tour at Captain's Quarters. Louisville players and coaches will address the crowd and the cheerleaders and LadyBirds will be performing as well. Louie the Cardinal Bird may have to fly back and forth from the Caravan and Ulmer Stadium to ruffle his feathers for both events...and it is not known yet whether the UofL Pep Band will be playing at the diamond or down by the river.

The Caravan kicked of the 2010 tour in Owensboro Wednesday night.

CARDINAL COUPLE will recap all the quarterfinal action for you beginning Thursday night with a report on each of the four games.

Written by Sonja
5/13/10

Bemis earns Big East Player of the Week honors

Louisville's hard hitting junior third baseman has been selected as the Big East Player of the Week for her efforts against the Huskies. She ended the final week of the regular season going 5 for 8 (.625) and drove home eight runs. Her torrid hitting included two double and two home runs. She also crossed the plate four times.

Bemis led the Big East during the regular season in slugging percentage.

She and the rest of the Softball Cards will play 6:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Big East Tournament Thursday night here at Ulmer Stadium. Louisville finished in third place for the regular season standings.

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I absolutely hate the conflict that has developed here between the Cards softball tournament opener and the Cardinal Caravan Thursday night at Captain's Quarters. Originally, I swear I saw the the 3rd ranked team in the Big East final regular season standings would face the 6th ranked team to begin the tournament at 10 a.m. Thursday when I checked out the bracket pairings and times earlier in the week over at a Big East site. This worked out well for fans who wanted to attend both softball and the showcase of Louisville players and coaches. The official tournament draw that was released Sunday night, though...had the #3 vs. #6 at 6:30 p.m.

I can understand moving the UofL game to a later time and hoping to get a larger attendance...since more people will be home from work and able to attend and bring the kids. Putting it up against the popular Cardinal Caravan, though...which returns after a one year absence...makes no sense. Perhaps the Big East tournament officials didn't know about the gathering by the river.

Maybe the rains will delay one or both of the activities. The long range weather forecast for Louisville on Thursday doesn't look all that great. As if all this wasn't bad enough, yours truly also has a regularly scheduled monthly club meeting that same night.

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We all appreciate a little humor on the golf course. Usually. Who could forget Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray in CADDYSHACK? Adam Sandler and his golf antics in HAPPY GILMORE? Even Kevin Costner's tribulations in TIN CUP. The NCAA frowns on such nonsense, though and disqualified Norte Dame golfer Annie Brophy for joking around about her scores during the final round of the Central Regional Saturday at Otter Creek Golf Course. Brophy was keeping an accurate scorecard during the 18 holes but was telling people in charge of driving around the course and keeping track of the scores for the leaderboard that she was 6 under par after the first nine holes.

Brophy intended on turning in her actual scores at the end of her round...explaining that she wasn't lying or cheating on her score and actually keeping an accurate record of her strokes..but the NCAA got wise to her antics and disqualified her after 14 holes.

The problem? Seems that the scores Brophy was reporting had the teams from Florida State, Oregon and Kent State waiting around to see if they might be bumped by the Irish from finishing in the top eight and advancing to the NCAA Championships.

Brophy later admitted that her actions were not funny and she wasn't considering the long term effects of her kidding around. I wonder if she's majoring in Theatre or Political Science at Notre Dame.

(And people used to have problems with me replacing their golf ball with a hollowed out plastic one when they weren't looking. I submit the crown and title to you, Annie.) MANANANANAAAAAAAAA...NOONAN!

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You may have noticed a new link in the "Sites We Recommend" at the top left of our site. THEY'RE PLAYING BASKETBALL is a great site that has a lot of articles about women's basketball and other related topics. Be sure to check out the article about Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant juggling her responsibilities as a head coach and mother. This was a great find by Sonja and I've made this site a "must read". Thanks to Sue for allowing us to post her link and spread the word.

Written by Paul (Happy bithday...Boats!)
5/11/10

Softball Cards sweep UConn series with 7-3 win

Louisville ended the regular season on a high note with a 7-3 win at UConn. The Cards swept the series and goes into the Big East Tournament as the third seed.

The Cards pounced on UConn early in Sunday's game...scoring three runs in the top of the first. Melissa Roth led off with a single and advanced when Jennifer Esteban's fielder's choice was mishandled...leaving both runners safe. Chelsea Bemis continued with her torrid hitting streak and singled in Roth. Esteban scored on a throwing error when Bemis stole second and Colby Wherry's single got Bemis to the plate for an early 3-0 lead.

The Cards continued the scoring in the second inning when Kristin Austin single and advanced to third on a Roth double. Esteban reached on a fielder's choice that left all runners safe. Austin scored on a Bemis sacrifice fly and the Cards tacked on another run when Roth made it to the plate on a passed ball...giving Louisville a 5-0 advantage.

UConn got two runs back in the fourth on a home run blast from Amy Vaughn but countered with a run in sixth when Alicja Wolny's double scored Esteban. The final Cardinal score came in the seventh when Katelyn Mann drew a walk and touched the plate on a Vanessa James double. UConn tacked on a meaningless run in the bottom of the seventh to make the final 7-3.

Kristen Wadwell picked up her 17th win of the year. She struck out three and allowed seven hits in six innings.

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The field has been set for the Big East tournament which will begin Thursday in Louisville. The Cards finished in third place with a 16-6 record. Notre Dame and DePaul tied for first. Louisville will start against 6th seed Pittsburgh Thursday morning. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. The full rankings are:

#1 DePaul
#2 Notre Dame
#3 Louisville
#4 Villanova
#5 Syracuse
#6 Pittsburgh
#7 Providence
#8 Rutgers

Written by Paul
5/10/10

Softball Cards take two at UConn

Tori Collins and Kristen Wadwell combined to hold the Huskies to just one run in two games Saturday. Louisville swept the double header 5-0 and 10-1.

Louisville (36-16, 15-6) weathered a hour long rain delay that postponed the start of the first game and, at first, it looked like the Cards' bats might be a little waterlogged as well. The teams remained scorless after four innings and just had three hits between them. The Cards finally got the base paths busy in the top of the fifth inning when Melissa Roth and Jennifer Esteban drew walks and Chelsea Bemis sent them home with her deep home run to centerfield...her 11th of the year.

Alicja Wolny started off the Cards half of the sixth inning with a fence clearer to right and the Cards tacked on the final run of the game later in the inning when Kristin Austin came home on a bases loaded Esteban walk.

Collins got the win, going 4 innings and allowing just the one hit. Kristen Wadwell finished the final three innings and preserved the one hitter for Louisville.

Game Two saw the Cards hit the board first when Wolny and Katelyn Mann started the inning with singles and reached home plate on a triple by Austin. Vanessa James' single scored Austin and the Cards built a 3-0 lead.

Louisville tacked on 3 more runs in the 4th inning when Roth singled, Esteban reached on an error and Bemis banged another one into the parking lot...putting Louisville up 6-1.

The Cards were just getting warmed up. In the sixth, Roth doubled and Esteban drew a walk that allowed Colby Wherry to connect for a three run blast down the left field line to give the Cards a 9-1 advantage. They closed out the scoring later in the inning when Wolny singled and raced home on a Jordan Trimble single.

Wadwell was credited with the win. She pitched three innings of shutout softball for Louisville and Collins allowed just one run and three hits in three innings.

The teams conclude the series and the regular season for each on Sunday. Louisville hosts the Big East tournament beginning Thursday. Let's hope the weather holds up...the long range weather forecast is for rain in the Louisville area beginning Tuesday and continuing until Friday.

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Louisville women's golf finished the third and final day of the NCAA Central Regional in 14th place....missing the cut for the NCAA Championships. The Cards were led by Laura Anderson's 74 on the final day. Anderson returns for her final season next year along with junior Sara-Maude Juneau and freshmen Candice Wiley and Anna-Karin Ljungstrom....giving the 9-iron Cards and strong nucleus for 2011.They lose only graduating senior Daphine Parker from their starting fivesome.

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Finally, a Happy Mother Day to all readers! Whether your a mother, father, daughter or son...make sure and let Mom know how much you appreciate her and love her. I miss my Mom but I'm very thankful of the wise guidance and unconditional love she showed me and my family while she was with us.

Written by Paul HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL!
5/9/10

Cardinal women's golf in Central Regional

Anna-Karin Ljungstrom carded an 81 during the first round of the NCAA Central Regionals at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, IN. She overcame a rough front nine to finish with 7 straight pars.

The Cards are in 13th position out of 24 teams participating in the regional tournament, They totaled a 315...led by Laura Anderson and Sara-Maude Juneau, who fired 74's to finish 2 over par for the 18 holes. Daphine Parker made the tour with a 86 and Candace Wiley finished with an 87.

Louisvile is vying to finish in the top eight and advanace to the NCAA Championship. Play continues Friday for the Cards, who are 18 strokes behind front runner Arizona State.

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Cardinal softball ends the regular season with a weekend series at Connecticut. The Cards are in third place in the Big East and will face a Husky squad currently tied for eight and needing to beat the Cards to gain a spot in the Big East tournament.

Louisville will host the three day Big East showdown beginning next Thursday.

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Mum is still the word on Portland, OR. combo guard Shoni Schimmel's college selection. Schimmel was expected to make her announcement in early May and it was believed that she might break the news Wednesday but, so far...no word out of the Franklin High School standout.

CARDINAL COUPLE is monitoring the situation and will break into your regularly scheduled internet surfing with any updates. Things always seem to come in twos or three around the late signing period and we're also monitoring any other news that may affect the Lady Cards.

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We are the proud hosts of a cardinal bird nest in our front hedges at the house. It's quite fun to sit in the den where our computer is and look out the front window early in the morning to watch the hustle and bustle of mama and papa cardinal flitting around the yard. They keep a lively duel going with the mockingbirds that have a nest in one of our blue spruces. Throw in a couple of energetic squirrels and two territory protecting Yorkies and you have "Sonja Zoo." Free admission and fun for all. Just be careful when walking the premises... mockingbirds love to swoop down upon unsuspecting visitors and remind them that this is their turf and they will protect their house.

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Have you been to the Cardinal Couple-Cardinal Dominance message boards lately? Shannon has done a wonderful job creating a place for all fans to talk UofL women's sports, baseball, football and whatever topic you are interested in. Follow the link for Cardinal Dominance at the top of our home page or go to www.cardinaldominance.net



Written by Sonja
5/6/10

Softball a solid 3rd in Big East standings

John Belushi contemplates where he wants sit at the upcoming Big East softball tournament that will be held at UofL's Ulmer Stadium May 13th-15th. As the 3rd seed, Louisville will begin play at 10 AM Thursday morning and face either Pittsburgh, Providence or Villanova. Tickets are available thru the University of Louisville ticket office or can be purchase at the gate. Although the late, great comedian won't be there...he'd be excited to watch the Softball Cards and their impressive lineup. Makes me want to have a "cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger...Pepsi."

Sandy Pearsall's Softball Cards sit in 3rd place in the Big East standings, behind DePaul and Notre Dame. Louisville will host the 2010 Big East softball tournament again this year and if there is a better venue than Ulmer Stadium to watch the game, you'll have to prove it to me.

Pearsall came to Louisville in 2000 after coaching at Miami, OH for six years. Softball was a new entity on the Belknap Campus and Pearsall wasted no time in pushing the program to prominence...gathering the C-USA Coach of the Year honors during her first season as the Cards skipper. Her teams have won over 400 games and this year's team is a solid contender for one of her best ever. Another example of Tom Jurich making a quality coaching hire decision and seeing it come to a sucessful outcome.

The softball stars are many and senior catcher Melissa Roth leads a talented group of diamond performers that love to pounce on opponents early and seal the deal with outstanding pitching. Kristen Wadwell and Tori Collins are Big East All-Star candidates and Collins has really stepped up and been very effective lately after Chelsea Leonard's season ended with a knee injury.

Roth isn't alone as a Cardinal slugger. Chelsea Bemis recently was named national player of the Week for her at plate efforts and Jordan Trimble, Vanessa James, Alicja Wolny and a multitude of others have made the Cardinal squad a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

CARDINAL COUPLE will provide full coverage of the Big East tournament and if you can't make it to Louisville for the 3 day affair, you can watch the action on Big East TV. Isn't it about time that the Cards get a little live game radio coverage? After all, how many classic rock stations does this city really need?

I'm guessing that if you gave Vanetti unlimited trips thru the media buffet, he'd do it in a heartbeat and I'd gladly do color commentary gratis.

On second thought...maybe it's a bad idea after all...

Written by Sonja
5/5/10 HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

Cards, Collins corral Bulls 5-0

(One last look at the 136th Kentucky Derby...a great shot from above the starting gate.)

Tori Collins pitched her second shoutout in as many days Sunday...blanking the USF Bulls in Tampa. Collins tossed a no-hitter for the first six innings of the game and finished allowing only two hits and striking out six. The win for Louisville (34-16, 13-6) cements a 3rd place standing in the Big East as they travel to UConn later this week to end the regular season.

For the Cards, another scenario of pouncing the opponent early. They started the top of the second with 4 straight singles by Colby Wherry, Jennifer Esteban, Alicja Wolny and Katelyn Mann to take a 1-0 lead, got another run on a dropped ball and used a Melissa Roth single to make it 3-0. The final run of the inning came when Vanessa James scored on a wild pitch.

The Cards tacked on an insurance run in the fifth when an Esteban single got home Mann who had earlier singled.

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Louisville lacrosse got a win on the road at Villanova on Sunday. Bergan Foley netted 7 goals and Katie Oliverio contributed 5 assists in the Cards 19-6 win over the Wildcats to end the season.

Louisville scored the first 4 goals of the game and never trailed the Wildcats. The Cards end the year with a 11-6 record and 4-4 in the Big East. The Cards lose only four seniors and have a strong nucleus returning next season with Oliverio, Foley, Liz Lovejoy, Emily Dashiell and Danielle Pawliw all returning for Kellie Young's squad.

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The UofL women's track and field team won their third straight Big East Championship in Cincinnati on Sunday. Jere Summers won the discus and hammer throws and was selected field MOP of the championship. The Cards finished 1-2-3 in the discus...D'Ana McCarty earning second spot and Lindsey Cook third. Theresa Lewis got third in the 100 meter hurdles and Chelsea Brown fourth in the 400 meter hurdles.

Written by Sonja
5/3/10

How would Big East changes affect UofL Women's sports?

Would the Big East shrink to the size of these little fellas if conference raiding parties are successful in diluting the talent pool in the Big East?

It's a question that I've heard more than once. If the Big Ten and ACC are looking at the Big East with acquistion in their eyes...how badly would the league suffer. We all know the ramifications it would have in football..so we'll look at our side of the ledger here and see what it might do to a couple of Big East women's sports.

First, let's identify the players. The rumor mill has Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse and/or West Virginia as possible targets. No mention of Louisville, Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, USF or any others being pursued rabbits.

A loss of several of the candidates mentioned above would have a noticable effect on Big East women's basketball...but mostly in terms of just who would be the league runner up each year. Geno's stranglehold on conference and tournament titles is as tight as the spandex jogging pants my Aunt Annie forces on before her 1/2 hour prowling the interior of a local mall with her walking club. Rutgers, West Virginia, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh have all had good basketball teams over the past several years...Rutgers winning a NCAA Championship several years back...but the league would still have Louisville, St. John, DePaul, Marquette, Georgetown and USF has competitors to see who fills out the 2-4 slots of the tournament bracket. All are programs on the rise and are bringing in very good recruits in 2010 and beyond.

Women's softball...well, it's just hard to say. DePaul, Notre Dame and UofL are the "big three" in softball over the last several years...and a defection by the Irish would hurt. Rutgers softball is marginal. Pitt...playing softball at a .500 level. Syracuse doesn't show any signs of cracking the top three rankings and although the softball list is 13 teams strong, it doesn't include West Virginia.
Big East softball would survive any raiding attempts...but Notre Dame is currently the league's best.

Notre Dame figures pretty heavily into quite a few of the Big East women's sports selections. They swim well. The Irish carry a mean field hockey and lacrosse stick and are adept at volleyball, soccer, track and field and tennis. A defection of Irish sports to, let's say...the Big 10...would definitely decrease the overall talent and competition level in the Big East. And, end a few heated rivalries currently out there.

Now, a quick look at the possible replacements. I've heard Memphis, East Carolina, Central Florida, Marshall, the service academies and even Southern Miss mentioned. Why doesn't any of these names thrill and impress me? What possible addition enchancement could they bring to women's basketball or softball?

The sad bottom line is that if and when changes come in Big East realignment, women's sports will be an afterthought and sitting at the table with no cards to play. You see, it is all about the money generators..and those are football and men's basketball. That's not changing and never will.

We wait, we wonder and we worry what might happen...but in the final chapter...we're not a major character and will have no say in our fate and destiny. We're not driving this car and we have no idea in which direction it is headed. All we can do is look at the continued building and improvement of Cardinal women's sports. And it is a very strong program. It has leadership, success, top notch athletes and a very bright future. We will protect this house, we will continue to build on to and make improvements on this house and it is a very strong and secure house at that.

Tom and Julie have made sure of that. Why not thank them the next time you see one of them...

Written by Sonja
4/27/10