SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville WBB faces #1 Baylor in Sweet 16

-Softball romps Syracuse 9-0

-Happy Easter!

And, so...it had come down to this. The University of Louisville women's basketball team is in Oklahoma City. Their opponent in tonight's 7 p.m. game on ESPN2 is the #1 team in the tournament, the nation, in all of women's college basketball -- the Baylor Bears. Is it unfair that the Cardinals are faced with such a monumental task after two nice wins earlier in the tournament?

Not really. To be the best, you have to beat the best. Out of the sixteen teams that made it this far...there are no pushovers. Some fans have argued that an opponent like Penn State, Kansas or Nebraska might have made a more suitable and winnable game to prolong the UofL season. The bottom line is this:

Eventually, you're going to be tested by someone who have been a better team than you. Whether it be in the regional opener, regioal final, Final Four or National Title game...your "Goliath" will eventually stand in front of you.

Look at this #5 seed. Colorado. A team that bested Louisville earlier in the year (minus Sara Hammond). Their opening game against #12 Kansas looked to be a easy advancement. Guess what? The Buffs lost. Kansas advances.

Fifth seeded Michigan State in the Bridgeport Region skated by Marist before falling to #4 Maryland. Iowa State, another five seed knocked off Gonzaga before falling to four seed Georgia. Speaking of Georgia, Andy Landers' Bulldogs pulled off the shocker of the tournament so far by upsetting Stanford last night. A #4 over a #1. Louisville is the only #5 left. The UK WBB squad rolls into the Elite Eight by downing Delaware and Della Donne. UConn handled Maryland and #2 California is making Nikki Caldwell look like a genius by topping PSU.

When in comes to facing Baylor, Jeff Walz sees it this way:

"I've told our kids that if you come out and play scared, it's not going to matter. So we're going to try to come out and attack."

No fear of Griner, of Sims, of Madden. Pope or Mulkey. Who's afraid of the big, bad Bears? Hopefully, not UofL.

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If you showed up late to the Louisville softball game Saturday, you missed the fireworks. Not the sky-exploding, multi-colored missles...just the high-powered, fence rattling Louisville bats.

The Cards pounded Syracuse early. In the bottom of the first, Sandy Pearsall's crew laid a half dozen runs on 'Cuse pitcher Lindsay Taylor. Katie Keller singled to start the game. Jordan Trimble drew a walk. Maggie Ruckenbrod's single plated Keller. Taner Fowler cleared the bases of Cards with a three-run homer to left. Kayla Soles singled and came home on a Whitney Arion single. Jasmine Smithson-Willett (WOO! HOO!) singled and Keller, batting for the second time in the inning, singled again to score Arion. 6-0 Cards before the clock struck 12:30.

Louisville added two more in the home half of the second. After Alicja Wolny was plunked by Taylor, Fowler unleashed a bomb to left for her second base-cleaner and the score was 8-0.

The Cards tacked on one more in the third. JSW got her second single of the game, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Trimble single.

Meanwhile, Caralisa Connell was "good Carl" in the pitching circle. The Orange touched her for just one hit in five innings. She struck out six in going to 18-2 on the season.

"We had another great performance from Caralisa Connell and some timely defense and great catches out there. Chrisanna Roberts had a great diving catch in right field late in the game. Taner Fowler has truly found her rhythm again. She was struggling early in the season, but what better time than right now, as we're going into conference play, this is what we want to see from her." --Sandy Pearsall, UofL head softball coach.

The Cards (28-6, 2-1) step out of BIG EAST play to host arch-rival Kentucky on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium.
Let's fill the seats and pack the grassy knoll for this one, Cardinal fans!

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We wish a Happy Easter to all our CARDINAL COUPLE readers. Whether it's attending church services, holding an Easter Egg Hunt, sitting down to a scrumptious Easter dinner or just relaxing and enjoying time with family or friends...we hope it's a day of rest and reflection for you.

Don't get too stuffed and fall asleep early -- the men's basketball team plays at 5:00 p.m. against Duke and the ladies follow at 7:00 p.m. And after that, it's the season-ending episode of AMC's critically acclaimed The Walking Dead at 9 p.m.  Blue Devils, Bears, and Zombies...oh my!



--Paulie


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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- WBB faces Pitt, Softball splits in Vegas

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-WBB hosts Pitt today at 2 p.m.

-Softball splits in first day of Sportco Classic


(Quentin Voigt gives us the scout on today's opponent -- the Pittsburgh Panthers -- with some comments by Paulie. Also, softball defeats Texas Tech 10-6 but falls to UNLV 10-1 in Vegas.)

WE'RE DOIN' THE PANTHER WALK THIS WEEKEND!

This Saturday, Feb 9th...at 2 p.m., the Louisville Cardinal women's basketball team entertains BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh in the KFC YUM! Center. The Panthers are coached by Agnes Berenato, in her ninth year as the head Panther. She brings a young team into the YUM! that is made up of mostly  freshmen and sophomores. Add in a few juniors and no seniors for the 0-9, 9-13 BIG EAST Pennsylvania invader.

Junior Asia Logan, a 6'0" guard/forward leads Pitt with 15.3 ppg.  Along with 5'7" sophomore guard Brianna Kiesel, who averages 14.4 ppg, they've led Pitt in scoring 19 of their 22 games.

The smart money goes on the Cards today. Wouldn't surprise me to see a Louisville win by 20 or more.

-Quentin Voigt.

OK, these aren't sneaky Pink Panthers and their 0 for BIG EAST leads me to believe it just might be Peter Sellers' character Inspector Clouseau as the head coach instead of loveable, long-suffering Agnes...one of the nicest ladies you'll ever meet.

Indeed, what intrigues me the most about this team is someone who isn't playing for them...6'11" (yes, 6'11") freshman Marvadene "Bubbles" Anderson...who is red-shirting this season. The highly sought-after Rutgers Prep High School star landed at Pitt, her coach at RPHS the twin sister of Pitt assistant coach Patty Coyle. 

Pitt's been in a few games...losing narrowly at DePaul 57-55 and falling in a close one when Providence came to Steel City Wednesday and left with a 85-83 double overtime win. Non-conference wins aren't spectacular...with triumphs over William & Mary, Siena, Wagner, Brown, Longwood, Loyola (MD) Mt.St.Mary, Buffalo and ODU.

Louisville went to overtime against them last year before winning 71-66 at "the Pete", Walz is 5-2 against them and the Cards are 7-2 lifetime over the Panthers. The Panthers have never won in the YUM! or Freedom Hall.  

Louisville in a romp today. I hope Bubbles makes the trip. Never seen a 6'11" girl in person before.

-Paulie


( We'll be back with the recap later today.)

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Louisville softball split two games Friday on the opening day of the Sportco Classic in Las Vegas. The Cards overcame a 5-0 deficit to thump Texas Tech 10-6 in the opener but the bats disappeared in a 10-1 loss to host UNLV in the nightcap.

CARDS 10 - Texas Tech 6

Caralisa "Carl" Connell got rocked by the first seven batters she faced in the first inning of the game. That brought transfer Rachel LeCoq to the mound and she pitched the final seven innings allowing just two runs.

Down 5-0 in the bottom of the third, the Cards strung together four singles, two walks and a wild pitch to tie the game. In the bottom of the fourth, they brought out the heavy artillery...a two-run homer by Katie Keller and solo shot by Alicja Wolny put Louisville ahead to stay 8-5. UofL added two runs in the fifth, Keller's single scoring Jennifer Esteban and Keller reaching home on an error.

UNLV 10 - CARDS 1

Connell drew the starting assignment again in game two, but a two-out, three run homer had her behind after one inning. The Cards lone run came in the second when Jordy Trimble reached on an error and freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett, who started both games in right-field, doubled her home.

The Cards had the bases loaded in the third with no outs, but a double play and ground out kept them from drawing any closer to the Runnin' Rebs.

Smithson-Willett treated rudely
in first collegiate pitching effort.

After four innings, and Vegas up 6-1, Pearsall turned the pitching assignment over to Smithson-Willett. The Rebs touched her for four straight runs and the game was ended after five innings.

Rough Friday for Connell. Rude introduction to DI pitching for Smithson-Willett. The Cards return to the diamond today for two more contests. They'll face BIG EAST foe DePaul in a non-conference game first and then UCF in the nightcap.

In the movie Caddyshack, the character Carl spent most of his time looking for an elusive gopher. On the Cardinal softball team, their Carl is searching for the form that got her to 19-1 last season.

Coach Pearsall mentioned that the Louisville pitching didn't show up Friday and when the bats fell silent in game two, it was a deadly combination. And, with 16 runs allowed in 12 innings of play...we'd have to agree that the Cardinal combination of Connell and Smithson-Willett was less than effective.

Sometimes, you go to Vegas and take a bath. Let's hope the Cards can start rolling sevens and elevens (on the scoreboard) and take two today. 
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Thursday Cardinal Couple - Jasmine, Angel and Asia

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Asia and Co. at it again


-Smithson-Willett ready to re-stock Cards pitching staff. 


-WNBA, Angel off and running


-Paulie encounters the "man".


The avant-garde film crew of Asia Taylor, Shoni Schimmel, Antonita Slaughter and Sherrone Vails have released another foray into the world of video journalism. Their latest effort takes them grocery shopping. 


Sonja would agree..lots of fiber. 


Click the link below to observe the trip:


Let's Go Krogering !

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Louisville softball is losing Tori Collins to graduation and the teaching profession. One of the incoming freshman stands ready make her claim for that spot in the pitching rotation for Sandy Pearsall. 


Meet Jasmine Smithson-Willett. 


The righty from Lake Elsinore, CA played for the Lakeside Lancers in high school and it took only one visit to Louisville to convince her that it was the place for her. 

"My first and only visit was to Louisville. They say when you know, you know. I knew. It was everything I could hope for in a college. The dorms, the facilities and the dream field. After my tours and getting to know the school, I knew I had found my new home. All the coaches and players made me feel welcome and that's when I decided I would not want to be anywhere else." 


Smithson complied a 15-10 record her senior year at Lakeside...with a 1.21 ERA, in 151.2 innings. She struck out 146 batters. Pitching isn't her only strong suit, though. She also batted .520 for the Lancers and led the team in hits (41), runs (31) RBI's (31) and home runs (9). 

The Lancers lost in the CIF playoffs in the first round 7-1...a off-day for Smithson on the mound...but it looks like Louisville is getting a good one in her. 


Sandy Pearsall had a lot of success with three pitchers available to her this season and it looks like that trend will continue for 2013. We've even heard that junior Jordan Trimble has a heck of an arm from inside the circle...so the Cards appear to be in good shape with Caralisa Connell and Chelsea Leonard returning. Leonard's knees have to be of some concern, obviously, but with a few months off and some healing and rehab...we're hoping she'll be effective again next spring. 


A great link on Jasmine below:


From Alaska to Lakeside


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The WNBA is off and running and Louisville's Angel McCoughtry had 26 points in the Atlanta Dream's 92-84 loss to the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis Saturday night. 


The Dream return five players from last year's roster besides Angel. Erika de Souza, Lindsey Harding, Sancho Lyttle, Courtney Paris and Armintie Price are back. Atlanta picked up Tiffany Hayes and Aneika Henry in the WNBA draft and added Laurie Koehn, Cathrine Kraayeveld, Yelena Leuchanka and Ketia Swanier in the off-season. 


Atlanta hosts the New York Liberty next, on Friday night and had six of their next eight games at home. 


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"Get out of the car, sir and put your hands on the hood"

Not a great way to spend a Wednesday afternoon. 


But, I complied. Never knew that playing Tommy by The Who could get you in trouble. But, there I was, being search and going through a subsequent vehicle search as a suspect in an attempted food mart robbery.  

When the lights came on behind me, I pulled over. Knew I wasn't speeding (Roger Daltry could attest to that) and hadn't been crossing the yellow line. 


A few nervous minutes later, all was revealed to me. Suspect leaving a botched hold-up attempt was seen departing in a silver sedan. 


Yep, not many of them out there...that's for sure. I probably drive the only one.  


The officer and I chatted by the side of the road. We discussed where I'd been, who I work for and why I was a white male with facial hair. We didn't get around to the Lady Cards, global warming or why the Bulls faltered in the NBA playoffs. These things I had a definite opinion on. 


Case of mistaken identity. Released with a apology and handshake. Would have rather had a burger and milkshake. Drove off a little shaken and relieved.


I doubt they would have allowed me to take my lap-top to county lockup. And, two straight days of Watson on Cardinal Couple would consist of severe punishment for our dear readers. 


Just another tricky day. Right, Roger?


Just Another Tricky Day


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VolleyCards down Villanova...W. Soccer, Swimming and football today..Softball signs a pitcher

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THE SATURDAY EDITION OF CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Lola leads Volleyball to 3-2 win over the Wildcats

-Belknap campus a busy place on Saturday

-Pearsall signs Smithson-Willett

The University of Louisville clinched #1 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Volleyball tournament with a hard fought 17-25, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 15-10 win over Villanova last night in Philadelphia. Once again, Lola Arslanbekova led the way for the Cards with 25 kills, who improve to 19-7 overall and a league leading 12-1 in the BIG EAST. With one game remaining in the regular season, at Georgetown on Sunday, the Cards could be tied for the top spot if they lose and either Cincinnati or Marquette win...but Louisville hold the tie-breaker over both...having defeated both in the regular season. 

The Cards got off to a slow start in this one...a pumped up 'Nova squad jumping out to a 6-0 lead in game one. Although Louisville would battle back to get within three, they never could take away the lead and fell by eight in the opener. Lola earned six of her kills in the first game.

Things got better for Anne Kordes' squad in the second game. They roared out to a 9-3 lead and pushed it to 13-5 before a Nova run cut the margin to three at 13-10. Louisville looked to be in control at 21-15 but Nova fought back to tie it at 23-23 before the Cards gathered the final two points to win by two.

25 kills for Lola Friday night

The Cards handled the Wildcats during the third set and got outstanding play from setter Taylor Brauneis, Lola and hitter Kaitlynn James to keep the lead throughout and win by five.

Nova wasn't ready to head to the locker room just yet, though, and battled back to break away from a 18-18 tie and score seven out of the final eleven points to win by four and knot the match up at two games each.

Louisville started slowly in the fifth game, falling behind 5-2, but rallied after a Kordes time out, scoring six of the next nine points to grab the lead. Although Villanova climbed back within one at 11-10, the Cards blasted the final four and secured the five point win with, fittingly, a Lola kill to end the match. Brooke Mattingly had a big final game for the Cards with three kills and a block.

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Gonna be a busy day down on Floyd Street today, with football at noon, swimming and diving versus Notre Dame at 1 p.m. and women's NCAA Soccer Tournament action for the Cards against Dayton at 7 p.m.

-Football looks for their fourth straight win and a chance to become bowl eligible today when Pittsburgh rolls into town. The Charlie Strong led Cards will need to apply the pressure to a weak Pitt offensive line and give Panther QB Tino Sunseri a view of the Louisville sky from his back. The Cards QB Teddy Bridgewater seems to get a little better each week but will be tested by the blitz happy Pitt defensive squad.

-Louisville women's soccer looks to advance in first round NCAA Soccer Tournament action against a tough Dayton Flyer squad. The Ohioans are 19-3 on the year, won the Atlantic 10 regular season and conference championship titles and defeated some pretty impressive foes in Kansas, Kentucky and Northwestern. Look for the Cards to get it to Christine Exeter for points and call on their point-preventing defense to shut the Flyers down.

-Dual meet in swimming and diving in the Ralph Wright Natorium today when the Cards face Notre Dame. Louisville looks to get a big splash off the board from diving ace Hannah Gadd and the Cards come into the match after recently defeating Pittsburgh.

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She hits, she throws, she fields but can she
direct the pep band?

Louisville softball landed an excellent addition to the 2012-13 pitching staff when Jasmine Smithson-Willett signed yesterday to become a Card. Out of Lakeside HS in Lake Elsinore, CA., the righty holds a school record 53 wins and has a career total of 567 strikeouts. She also led her travel team to the 2011 Premier Girls Fast Pitch National Championship.

"My first and only visit was to Louisville. They say when you know, you know. I knew. It was everything I could hope for in a college-the dorms, facilities and the dream field. After my tours and getting to know the school, I knew I found my new home. All the coaches and players made me feel welcome and that's when I decided I would not want to be anywhere else." -Jasmine-Willett on her choosing Louisville.

The Cards beat out California, UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara and San Diego State for her services. In addition to having a strong right arm, she's also an infielder and outfielder who can hit for power.

Reloading. It's what Sandy Pearsall does with the Cardinal softball program and does well. With Smithson-Willett, sounds like the Cards have one that can do everything but spell Al Greener directing the pep band during games.

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And, finally, in case you missed it...Rick Pitino's guys blew out Tennessee-Martin last night in the KFC YUM! Center. No big surprise there. 600 career wins now for the UofL head coach. 83-48. Another one where the lower level folks probably started up the stairs with eight minutes to go.

coachsandypearsallistheonlycoachinthehistoryoflouisvillesoftballsomeonedownatuoflshouldrenameulmerstadiumafterherpearsallparksoundsprettygoodtous
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