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 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.

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

Cards sweep Syracuse in softball 6-2, 7-4

Kristen Wadwell finished the first game for Louisville and got the win in the second as the Cards take two from the Orange at Ulmer Stadium Wednesday.

Although the start was shaky for the Cards, the end result was sweet against Big East rival Syracuse. Starting pitcher Tori Collins worked her way out of a bases loaded, no outs top of the first inning...keeping the Orange scoreless. Louisville drew first blood in the bottom half of the first, using a Melissa Roth leadoff single and Syracuse throwing error to take a 1-0 lead.

Louisville held that slim lead until the bottom of the fifth. The Cards exploded for five runs, keyed by a two run Chelsea Bemis homer and a two run producing double by Kristin Austin. Syracuse would challenge with two runs in the top of the sixth, sending Collins to the bench...but Wadwell pitched the Cards out of danger and secured the win.

Wadwell entered the second game for Louisville when starter Chelsea Leonard had to leave with an injury and benefitted from a four run fourth inning by the Cards to break away from a 1-1 score. Bemis swatted another two run blast, this one down the left field line, to help give the Cards all the runs they would need for the win.

Syracuse managed a run in the sixth and two in the seventh off Wadwell but could not catch the Cards. Wadwell finished with 11 strikeouts.

Louisville (29-15, 8-5) moves to 3rd place in the Big East with the wins and returns to action on Saturday with a doubleheader against St. John.

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A nice win last night also for the men's baseball team over WKU 7-4. I was lucky enough to run into Lady Cards head basketball coach Jeff Walz while at Jim Patterson Stadium and we chatted briefly about the upcoming season. We also discussed a certain Cardinal recruit but neither of us are going to mention her by name or the possiblility of her arriving on the Cardinal campus just yet. Don't want to jinx it, but if it happens...Cardinal women's hoops will benefit greatly. Hopefully, the pictures our buddies Shannon over at Cardinal Dominance and Charlie at UofL Card Game took of me and Jeff turned out OK and they'll send me a copy. And, yes...Sonja was disappointed she wasn't there to be a part of the photo shoot.

Written by Paul
4/22/10

Softball Cards go 1-1 at Rutgers

Senior catcher Melissa Roth slugged an 11th inning two run homer to lead the Cards to victory in the second game 6-4. The Cards dropped the opener 3-1 to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Louisville split the doubleheader at Rutgers Wednesday. Kristen Wadwell drew the starting assignment for the first game and although she allowed only three runs on five hits, the Cards could only manage three hits in the first game. Wadwell struck out seven Rutgers batters in the contest.

The Cards fell behind in the opener 2-0 in the second inning because of a couple of errors that allowed the Scarlet Knights to plate the runs that would be the difference in the game. Louisville did manage to push a run across the plate in the fourth inning when Jordan Trimble scored on a Chelsea Bemis single.

Louisville jumped on Rutgers early in the second game when Roth scored on a Trimble single in the first and Louisville increased the lead to 2-0 in the third on a Roth solo homer. Rutgers, though...rallied with four runs in the bottom of the inning, largely due to a three run base clearer over the fence by Rutgers pitcher Brittany Lindley.

Louisville tied the contest in the fourth on a Kristen Austin single that scored Colby Wherry and Bemis. The teams went scoreless until Roth's two run blast in the top of the eleventh.

Tori Collins went nine innings for the Cards, allowing four runs on seven hits and striking out nine. Kristin Wadwell got the "W" for Louisville with two scoreless innings of relief.

Louisville returns to action Saturday with a doubleheader vs. Notre Dame at Ulmer Stadium. It is also "Bark in the Park" day at Cardinal Park...bring your dogs for a romp on the grounds...or just run around and bark by yourself...if you prefer. Plenty of time to catch the action and then head down to the river to watch Thunder over Louisville.

If softball isn't your thing...the lacrosse team will be in action Saturday also...hosting Jacksonville.

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Today is the first day of the late signing period for high school seniors still uncommitted on their college basketball choices. The open period runs thru May 20th. Jeff Walz could add a couple of recruits to the class of 2010, including one that would be a real catch, guard Shoni Schimmel from Franklin Portland (OR) high school.

Good luck, Jeff. Come to the 'Ville, Shoni. You'll be playing in the new SONJA downtown arena in front of some of the most knowledgable and supportive fans in women's college basketball and going to school in the best college sports town in America.

Written by Sonja
4/15/10

Softball Cards travel to Rutgers

Wednesday brings one of those up and back mid-week road trips for Sandy Pearsall's UofL softball Cards. A doubleheader against Rutgers...then back to Louisville to prepare for a weekend series against always tough Notre Dame.

Rutgers (13-21, 1-4) enters the game after going 1-2 against UConn. They'll be facing a Cardinal squad that is currently on a five game winning streak. #25 ranked UofL romped in state rival UK last Wednesday 6-0...the final non-conference game of the season for the Cards.

Today's doubleheader will give Pearsall a chance to use all three of the Cards pitchers. Kristen Wadwell is the Cards ace hurler, with a record of 13-7, and the senior has struck out 98 batters in 127 innings pitched. The other main pitcher for the Cards is sophomore Tori Collins (8-3) who has recorded 83 swing and misses in 82 innings on the mound. Freshman Chelsea Leonard (4-2) completes the Cardinal pitching staff with 58 KO's in 39 innings of work. Collins looked very sharp after a rough first inning against UK and both Collins and Leonard are averaging over 1 strikeout per inning.

Melissa Roth leads a potent Cardinal offense that has outscored the opposition 193-141. Roth leads the team in batting average, slugging average, on base percentage, hits, home runs and triples. The Cards (25-12, 4-2) have five players with batting averages over .300 and five players with slugging percentages over .400.

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The ballpark is going to the dogs. At least it will on Saturday when Cardinal fans are invited to bring their canines to Cardinal Park for a free doggie bag and watch the Cards doubleheader against the Irish and the UofL lacrosse match against Jacksonville.

No word yet on whether the dogs will be able to run the bases after the game.

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Our buddies Shannon over at Cardinal Dominance and Charlie at UofL Card Game accompanied other members of the media on a walk thru of the renovated Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on Tuesday. Leading the trip was UofL athletic director Tom Jurich. Great recaps and photos are featured on their sites. PJCS will hold over 57,000 when completed later this summer. You can access their web sites over on the left side of this page.

Hard to believe, but the UofL Spring Football game is this Friday. Admission is free and the gridiron action begins at 7 p.m. First year coach Charlie Strong has the guys out there hitting and hustling with a renewed purpose according to the reports I'm getting and I invite you to join Sonja and I out for a great evening of fun and Cardinal football action. Strong will be holding a seminar for women interested in learning more about football later this summer.

No need to worry, ladies...you won't need to put on the pads and do windsprints. I've heard Strong speak on several occasions and found him to be an informative, knowledgable and entertaining speaker. He also knows how to motivate his football players. Who was that other guy here before him?

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Another sign that I'm getting older:

Tony Dow, who played Wally in the sitcom "Leave It To Beaver" has turned 65. No word on whether he and Eddie Haskell are planning a party at the Cleaver household. If they do, someone better keep Lumpy away from the sandwiches and chips. Wonder why no one has attemped to make a 21st. century series remake of the popular sitcom? I still remember falling for the urban legend that Eddie Haskell moved on to be Alice Cooper after the series ended. (Jeez, Paul..you little dope!)

Written by Paul (One day left to get your taxes in the mail, folks.)
4/14/10

Softball Cards blank UK 6-0

Brittany York contributed to the Cards first inning rout of UK starting pitcher Rachel Riley before an overflow crowd in Ulmer Stadium Wednesday night.

The University of Louisville softball team has developed a propensity for jumping on opponents early in games this year. Wednesday night was no different as the Cards tallied five first inning runs and coasted in for a 6-0 win over the Wildcats.

Cloudy skies and pleasant temperatures greeted the record setting crowd tonight for the rivalry game which was announced at 1134 in attendance, plus several hundred more in the outfield berm area behind the fences. Although neither team sent one over the fence tonight, Louisville batted around in the bottom half of the first to jump out ahead of UK and chased starting pitcher Riley to the dugout when leadoff hitter Melissa Roth appeared at the plate for the second time in the inning.

Roth started the firworks for Louisville by leading off the bottom of the first with a single. Although she was forced out on Vanessa James' fielder's choice, James scored on a booming double by Alicja Wolny. A single by Jordan Trimble put runners on first and third and both scored on Colby Wherry's line shot single to give the Cards a 3-0 lead. Chelsea Bemis followed with a single and York's fielder's choice scored Wherry and left Bemis safe at second because of a fielding error. Bemis scored when Roth singled to put the Cards up 5-0.

The Cards put Tori Collins on the mound to face the Wildcats and despite a shaky
start for the sophomore righty, she and Kristen Wadwell combined to limit the UK nine to just three hits for the game. Collins (8-3) gave up two singles in the top of the first but would only allow one more hit in 5 innings of work. Wadwell retired all six batters she faced and struck out three.

Chandra Bell came on in relief of Riley for UK and limited UofL to just one run in 5 innings on the mound.

Louisville tacked on the insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Jennifer Esteban drilled a longshot triple to the center field fence and scored on a throwing error when Melissa Roth successfully stole second after reaching first by getting hit by a Bell pitch.

The big crowd was treated to rousing performances from the UofL Pep Band thruout the game and dozens of UofL t-shirts and hats were tossed out to attendees from the press box and sideline areas. Notables in the crowd enjoying the rivalry game included Lady Cards basketball stars Monique Reid and Becky Burke and Cardinal women's basketball assistant coach Stephanie Norman.

"It was just a wonderful night for softball and a great win for our girls against the Cats." commented long time Cardinal athletics fan Bill Hancock after the game. "It's always good to sweep the in-state rival." Louisville defeated Kentucky 3-0 earlier in the season in Lexington.

And, indeed...Paul and I had fun at the game and with the rowdy crowd tonight while watching the Cards extend their win streak to five games. Although the "big guy" didn't get a t-shirt thrown to him...I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the ol' ballpark tonight and the chance to root for the Cards victory.

Louisville (25-12) returns to action next Wednesday with a doubleheader at Rutgers.

Written by Sonja and Paul
4/7/10

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Softball Cards romp at IU 11-0

The Cards get the shutout in Bloomington and evened their season record against Big 10 opponents to 3-3.

Midweek softball games on the road, especially if they are just a one game appearance and back home can sometimes be a less than exciting and exhausting up and back trip for the players. Not so yesterday in Bloomington, as the #23 UofL Softball team roared thru the Hoosiers in six innings with a 11-0 trouncing.

As they have done the majority of the season, the Cards jumped on their opponent early. In the top of the first, Melissa Roth opened with a double and moved to 3rd on Vanessa James's single. Roth scored on a Alicia Worly grounder that produced all runners safe and Chelsea Bemis singled to load the bases. Jordan Trimble's double drove in James and Worly and Brittany York's single got Bemis to the plate for the fourth run.

Louisville added 2 in the 4th inning when Jennifer Esteban singled and Roth swatted a homer. The Cards tacked on one more in the 5th. for a 7-0 lead and finished the scoring in the sixth When James, Wolny and Bemis singles filled the bases and back to back doubles by Trimble and York cleared the bases for four more runs and the final total.

Tori Collins (6-2) got the start on the mound for Sandy Pearsall's squad and delivered 4 innings of 1 hit pitching. Kristen Wadwell allowed 2 hits in 2 innings of relief. Louisville banged out 14 hits in the contest and Trimble and York drove in three runs each.

Louisville begins Big East play on Saturday at Ulmer Stadium with a double header against DePaul. First pitch is at noon. The teams will play a third game on Sunday. The Blue Demons are the defending Big East softball champs.

Written by Paul
3/25/10

Softball Cards drop two in Red & Black Classic

Brittany York and her University of Louisville softball teammates lost both games of the first day of the Red and Black Classic Saturday at Ulmer Stadium.

Tough afternoon for Sandy Pearsall's squad on the diamond yesterday...falling 2-1 to Hofstra and 9-5 to #5 Michigan.

The Cards began the day against the Pride and fell behind early 2-0 when the Hofstra hitters tallied both runs in the top of the first inning. The Cards got one back in the sixth when Kristen Austin singled and scored on a Vanessa James single but couldn't produce any more runs in the inning or the rest of the game. Kristen Wadwell took the loss for Louisville, allowing 7 hits and striking out 6 in 7 innings of work.

Louisville started out huge against Michigan in the next game, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. Jordan Trimble's three run base clearer in the second inning had the Cards in great shape to win the game, but Michigan roared back with 4 runs in the third and 4 more in the fifth to grab a 8-5 advantage. They would tack on an insurance run the sixth with Nikki Nemitz driving in her fourth RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly. Wadwell (6-5) took the loss in the second game also, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits in 3 innings of relief. Chelsea Leonard started the game for the Cards and went 4 innings...allowing 4 runs.

The Cards take back to the field today, weather permitting, against both Hofstra and Michigan today. Opening pitch against Hofstra is scheduled for 2 p.m. and they face Michigan at 4 p.m.

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Congratulation to Louisville's Mercy Academy for winning the 2010 Kentucky Girls High School basketball tournament in Bowling Green Saturday night with a 71-61 win over Scott County in the final game. Mercy battled to a 35-32 lead at halftime but came out with a strong 3rd quarter, outscoring Scott County 20-12 and maintained the lead for the win. Julianne Miller netted 23 points for the Jaguars and Malisa Cruz added 12 points and 14 rebounds to lead Mercy past the Lady Cardinals. Kristin Stainback led Scott County with 26 points in the defeat.

Mercy advanced to the final game with a 53-45 win over Rowan County Saturday morning and Scott County punched their ticket to the final with a 62-59 win over Rockcastle County. The Jaguars took a 24-11 halftime lead over Rowan County in the semifinal and held on for the win. Ellen Sholtes had 22 points for Mercy, including 11-14 from the charity stripe.

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Two great horses races yesterday for the top two fillies and mares. Zenyatta roared from dead last in the stretch to win at Santa Anita but Rachel Alexandra could not hold off Zardana in the final furlong at Fairgrounds and finished second by half a length. Zardana, ironically, is the stable mate of Zenyatta and both horses are trained by John Shirreffs and owned by Jerry Moss.

After the race, Rachel Alexandra's trainer Steve Assmussen refused to commit to the highly anticipated match up between his filly and Zenyatta in the April 9th Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park. Assmussen did not expect Rachel to get beat and vowed to be more cautious with her future races, citing a possible lack of training as the reason she lost at the Fairgrounds. The $5 million purse for the Apple Blossom is only guaranteed if both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra run.

Congratulations to my better half Sonja, who correctly predicted that Zardana would top Rachel Alexandra and made a huge score in exacta, trifecta and Pick 3 wagers. She's buying Sunday brunch. For the whole restaurant.

Written by Paul
3/14/10

Cards top Cats 3-0 in softball

Kristen Wadwell pitched three innings of shutout relief for Sandy Pearsall's Lady Cards softball team in the win at Lexington Wednesday.

The University of Louisville softball team recorded their 6th straight win over Kentucky softball with a 3 run 8th inning Wednesday in Lexington. Starter Tori Collins for UofL allowed one hit thru 5 innings and Chandra Bell for UK kept the Cards at three hits thru 7 innings in the pitchers duel.

In the top of the eighth, Melissa Roth delivered a solo home run blast with one out to give the Cards a 1-0 advantage. After Chelsea Bemis singled with two outs in the inning, freshman Alicia Wolny crushed her first ever collegiate home run to put the Cards ahead 3-0. Kristen Wadwell retired the Cats in the bottom of the eight to earn the win. She allowed two hits in her relief appearance and she goes to a 5-3 record.

The win for #18 Louisville didn't come easy. Bell was baffling Cardinal hitters for most of the game and stuck out seven Cards batters while allowing only six hits.

The Cards return home to host the Red and Black tournament this weekend. Hofstra and Michigan come to Ulmer Stadium to participate. First pitch is noon Saturday.

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#16 Louisville lacrosse returned from Oregon a 13-10 winner over the Ducks and next travels to Ohio State for a 3 p.m. Saturday contest against the Buckeyes. Kellie Young's lacrosse team is in the middle of an eight game road trip that will have them visiting Vandy, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Old Dominion and Longwood before returning back to the 'Ville for a five game home stand in Louisville beginning April 9th.


The Cards (4-0) have outscored their opponents 68-29 so far this year and Oregon is the only team to reach double figures against Louisville. Bergan Foley, a junior fron Huntingdon Valley, PA. leads the Cards with 17 goals this year and Katie Oliverio tops the team with a whopping 13 assists.

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Row, row, row your boat and shave, shave, shave your head? Four members of the University of Louisville rowing team will shave their heads Friday night at 6 p.m. at St. Agnes Parish in support of St. Baldrick Day. The event raises money for pediatric cancer support and research.

St. Agnes has a very good fish fry during the Lenten season as well, so stop by for the shaving and have an excellent fish dinner while you are there. If you can't attend, you can also support the cause by going online at www.stbaldricks.org and pledging your help. I can personally vouch that the beer is good and cold and the fish piping hot and fresh on Fridays, so get over there and enjoy.

Don't worry...attendance doesn't mean you have to join in on the scalping. I might check and see if they could take a little off the top and trim the sides while I'm there, though. (don't tell my regular barber).

St. Agnes is on Newburg Road...up the hill from Bellarmine University and across from Mulligan's Bar and Grill. Mulligan's (which used to be Kaelin's) is another place I can recommend you visit. They have 25 cent wings and pizza specials during all University of Louisville football and basketball games and a wide selection of beverages. I think they also let Cat fans in there too for televised UK events.

Written by Paul
3/11/10

Cards vs. Cats in softball today

In-state rivals UK and Louisville face off in women's softball today at 5 p.m. in Lexington. Both teams have gotten off to good starts this season and Louisville won the last meeting between the two squads...2-0 last April.

The Cards (14-5) have been led this season by hard-hitting senior catcher Melissa Roth. Her .537 batting average leads the team and she is also now the career leader in doubles for Louisville.

Senior hurler Kristen Wadwell leads a trio of Louisville pitchers that have combined for 138 strikeouts so far this season. That's a lot of slow walks back to the dugout for the opposition...

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UConn showed why they are the best in women's college basketball last night with a convincing 28 point win over West Virginia in the finals of the Big East tournament. Leading by only 6 points with 15 minutes remaining in the second half, the Huskies turned up the defensive pressure and held the Mountaineers to just 4 points the remainder of the game.

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Trivia question for the day. How many post season tournaments are there for women's basketball teams? Most people will guess two....the NCAA Tournament and the WNIT. You would be wrong, at least this year. A third post season tournament...the WBI (Women's Basketball Invitational) will select 16 teams to compete that aren't playing in the other two events. I don't know anything about the selection qualifications or decision making involved about how teams are invited to participate in this event but it would be great if Louisville were to be considered for it?

My philosophy is this. The Cards drew very well for home games this year. Over 6500 a contest. A tournament might consider that when choosing schools to play. Of course, if you have to have an above .500 record to compete...count the Cards out. We all would love to see the Louisville women play another couple of games this year...that's for sure.

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We discussed the disadvantages of high school teams that make the Sweet Sixteen having to play two games on the final day to win the event. I got a nice e-mail yesterday after we ran the article from a former women's high school coach who asked to remain anonyomous but mentioned:

"it is a incredible strain on the players, especially if they played in the second day of first round action. Going Thursday, Friday and then twice on Saturday after battling thru district and regional action to get there is ridiculous and if you don't have a deep roster then you virtually have no chance of surviving that many games. The KHSAA will never change it. The fear being that a Sunday game would draw poorly because the fans would not stay around since Sunday is usually a travel day back to their hometowns with people wanting to get back home to attend church and get ready for the next week."

Pure poppycock. If my favorite high school team made it to the finals, I guarantee I would stick around for the Sunday game and be on the phone getting people to make the drive to Bowling Green to watch. Marion County would be a ghost town if they were in a Sunday final. So would a lot of the towns out in the state...where high school basketball is still a big social event and the town rallies behind the boys and girls teams. I'm sure my priest wouldn't mind if I missed services to cheer on deserving young ladies engaged in competition.

Wake up, KHSAA and think about the health and legs of the players...A five day tournament make sense and would be attended well.

Written by Sonja
3/10/10

Softball Cards suffer 1-3 record in Oklahoma trip

In what amounted to a mini-tour of the Sooner state, Sandy Pearsall's UofL women's softball team visited three cities in three days and took three losses with but one win in softball action this weekend.

The #15 Cards began the junket with a Friday game in Stillwater against Big 12 powerhouse Oklahoma State. In the game early, Louisville eventually fell prey to the big bats swung by the Cowgirls and dropped a 7-2 decision.

Saturday saw a switch to action in Oklahoma City. Louisville began the day in fine fashion with a 5-3 win Nevada...but dropped the nightcap to #8 Oklahoma 10-2.

Sunday brought the Cards to Norman for an afternoon rematch with the Sooners. The Cards fell behind early and couldn't cross the plate against Oklahoma...losing 7-0.

Louisville (14-5) returns home for a couple days before heading to Lexington Wednesday for a 5 p.m. faceoff against the UK Wildcats. The Cats (14-5) recently beat Liberty in the final game of the Buzz Classic in Marietta, GA. UK went 4-1 in the tournament and will begin SEC play on Saturday against Georgia after the Louisville game.

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Without meaning to turn into a UK fan site, we'll make mention that the Lady basketball Kats lost in the SEC tournament final Sunday to Tennessee. They Cats hung around for a long time in the game and Victoria Dunlap, the undersized center for Matthew Mitchell's squad showed her award winning skills in defeat to Pat Summit's group. Dunlap was selected as the SEC Player of the Year and Mitchell received Coach of the Year honors. Louisville native Adia Mathies was selected for the SEC All-Freshman team. They're a shoo-in for the NCAA tournament and Mitchell has done a credible job getting women's basketball back in the spotlight for UK in three years.

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Interesting sidelight on UT coach Pat Summit. After her second season at Tennessee, Pat was very interested in accepting the women's head coaching job at Kentucky. After meeting with the UK folks, she was ready to make the move to Lexington but insisted that UK pay for her estimated moving expenses...a total around $200.

UK refused to front the money or even reimburse any such expenses, Pat stayed at UT and the rest is...as they say...history.

Written by Paul
3/8/10

Basketball and Softball top Friday agenda

Both the women's softball and basketball teams face the opposition today as women's athletics at UofL starts off the busy sports weekend.

For Jeff Walz and the Lady Cards, a tough opening match in the Big East Tournament against the Pitt Panthers in Hartford. Although Louisville lost to Pitt on Valentine's Day in Pittsburgh, the #12 vs #13 matchup should be a photo finish on a neutral court. For the Cards, it is very simple...win five in a row and you're in post season play. So far this season, Louisville hasn't put together a five game winning streak and the prospects of doing it are astronomical when faced with the aspect of doing it on five consecutive days. Especially with the certain factor of UConn waiting for the Cards if they can get by Pitt, Notre Dame and St.John. Let's hope Reid is on her "A" game, Burke's bombs are dropping and the late season improved play of freshmen Asia Taylor and Rachel Story continues to blossom. Tip off is at noon and 790 WKRD and Big East TV will carry the action. Time for the Cards to just go out and dance like no one is watching, play loose and have a little fun with it.

A "well done" to Monique Reid who received a couple of honors Thursday from the Big East. Mo was selected to the 1st team All Big East squad and also named Most Improved Player of the Year in the Big East. She leads the Big East in scoring at 19.7 ppg. and is second in rebounding with 10.1 a game. Remember, folks...she is just a sophomore and will be an important building catalyst for Walz's 2010-11 team.

Shortly after the ball is done bouncing on the hardwood, out in Oklahoma City the softball Cards face Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. to kickoff the first of four games in the Sooner State. They'll go up against Nevada and have a return match against the Cowboys on Saturday and then travel to Norman, OK. to bat against Oklahoma on Sunday. #14/15 ranked Louisville is 13-2 on the season.

This year, the Cards have three talented pitchers to hurl the stone at opposing batters. Senior Kristen Wadwell leads the trio and sophomore Tori Collins and freshman Chelsea Leonard complete the rotation. Melissa Roth continues to hit almost everything tossed at her safely...batting .581 on the season.

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Tough way for former UofL women's basketball coach Tom Collen to end the season last night. His #12th seeded Arkansas Razorback squad had battled back against #5 Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC women's tournament and forced overtime. The Hogs had a great chance to force a second extra session, but standout Charity Ford forgot how much time was left on the clock and turned her back on the basket instead of taking the rock to the rim. Screaming coaches and players on the sidelines got her turned around eventually but her last second desperation three fell short. You gotta always know how much time is left.

Collen has had three rough seasons since in Fayetteville since leaving the UofL sidelines. Former Fairdale standout Ceria Ricketts still runs the show at point guard for Collen's squad and assistant coach Greg Collins has opted for the shaved head, Yul Brenner look. Tim Eatman is still the defensive guru for Collen on the sidelines and in the huddle. Lady Razorback fans are pretty passionate about their hoops and won't tolerate their team dwelling in the SEC basement for much longer, though.

Written by Sonja
3/5/10

Softball Cards take two in Charleston

Chelsea Leonard gets the win in the second game, striking out eight in five innings in a 10-2 win over College of Charleston.

The #15 University of Louisville softball team won their final two games in the Charleston Southern Invitational on Sunday...blanking the Akron Zips in the first game 1-0 and demolishing College of Charleston in the final 10-2. Louisville is now 9-2 on the season.

Against the Zips, the Cards struck early and it was enough to secure the win. Melissa Roth drew a walk in the top of the first, advanced to second on Brittany York's infield single and scored when Vanessa James singled. Louisville held Akron to four hits in the game, with senior pitcher Kristen Wadwell getting the win while striking out three.

The second game against the Cougars, Louisville broke open a 2-2 tie in the top of the fourth inning with 6 runs. Chelsea Bemis smacked a two run double in the rally and the Cards added two more hits and drew four walks in the big inning. Louisville added two more runs in the 5th.

Next for Sandy Pearsall's team...a return to home and Ulmer Stadium. They play in the Cardinal Classic beginning Friday...opening with two games the first day. Louisville takes on St. Louis and then Purdue. Diamond action begins at noon. The Classic runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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Giving credit where credit is due, hats off to the University of Kentucky women's basketball team this season. The #16 Lady Kats (23-4, 11-3) have complied an impressive season so far with a record of 17-0 at home. They drew over 7500 in Memorial Coliseum Sunday to watch them close out the home season with a 71-50 win over South Carolina. The Gamecocks had defeated UK earlier in the season...but led by seniors Amani Franklin, Lydia Watkins and freshman guard from Iroquois Adia Mathies, UK jumped out to a 9-1 lead early on USC, led 36-20 at the half and were never seriously challenged on Senior Day.

The road gets considerably tougher for Matthew Mitchell's squad later this week. UK travels to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Vols Thursday night.

Written by "the Birthday boy"
2/22/10