Monday Cardinal Couple -- Softball fells LSU , Hoops ends regular season tonight

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- LeCoq closes door on Tigers

- Syracuse vs. Louisville in WBB tonight


The start was shaky for the #15 Louisville softball team Sunday in the Citrus Classic but the end result successful as the Cards defeat #11 LSU 6-2.

Starter Caralisa Connell was having "one of those afternoons" ...loading the bags with three straight walks in the second inning. A wild pitch made it 2-0 LSU and a fourth base on balls loaded the bases again with two outs.

Exit Connell, enter Rachel LeCoq. End LSU threat with a strike out.

Louisville responded in the top of the third against LSU pitcher Rachelle Fico. Katie Keller singled and reached home on a Alicja Wolny double. Maggie Ruckenbrod's base hit plated Wolny and the Cards had tied the game.

UofL took the lead in the fifth inning, Keller scoring after receiving a base on balls and scoring on a Ruckenbrod fielders' choice.

The Cardinals increased the lead to 5-2 with a couple of runs in the sixth. Hannan Kiyohara singled and scored with two outs on a Jennifer Esteban hit. Esteban got greeted at home as well when Keller delivered a single.

Maggie Ruckenbrod delivered an insurance run in the final inning with a bomber over the left field fence to make it 6-2...her first home run of the season.

LeCoq (7-1) with the clutch relief performance...holding LSU to just three hits and no runs in 5.1 innings. The Cards produced 11 hits total.

"This was a great day for Louisville softball. I thought our team did a tremendous job and really came ready to play. A big key to our win was Rachel LeCoq shutting down LSU. I also thought we had great offense throughout the game." said Sandy Pearsall after the triumph.

Jordan Trimble has been sick and did not play. Jasmine Smithson-Willett has been battling a stress fracture but saw limited action. Hoping two of my favorite players on the team can get back to full time participation soon.

Louisville returns to Ulmer Stadium for the Red and Black Classic March 8-10. A good group of opponents coming in to play...Michigan, Miami (OH), Austin Peay and Illinois State.

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After a triple overtime loss Saturday to Villanova, no one could blame the Syracuse women's basketball team for looking for a little redemption tonight against Louisville. Although an NCAA bid appears to be a certain thing for the #22 Orange, who are 22-6 overall and 10-5 in the BIG EAST, the chance for a "double bye" in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament hinges on a win over Louisville tonight.

Quentin Hillsman isn't a confident man.

" I worry about it every day. I'd be worried if we beat Villanova because we've been on both ends. We're not in that room with that little S-curve thing they talk about...Hopefully we come out Monday and have some legs left after this and win this Louisville game."

The Orange have an RPI of 46 and could fall no further than 6th with a loss to Louisville. The prevailing sentiment is that the NCAA will take eight BIG EAST teams...
(Connecticut, Notre Dame, Louisville, St. John's, Syracuse, South Florida, DePaul and Villanova.)...but a 'Cuse win would guarantee a nicer seeding...since SU has lost their last three games.

Louisville is guaranteed a top four finish and double bye in the BIG EAST Tournament regardless of how they do...they own the tie-breaker over St. John's if they end up at 11-5 in conference each.

The players that the Cards have to worry about? It begins in the paint with Kayla Alexander, the 6'5" do-it-all center. She and forward Carmen Tyson-Thomas had 22 points and 11 rebounds each against 'Nova Saturday.

Head Coach Quentin Hillsman will be active on the
sidelines tonight.

Guards Brittany Sykes and LaShay Taft are big-time ballers that will challenge the Cards. Elashier Hall a talented player who scores well in the 'Cuse offensive set. Rachel Coffey a great shooter who is also tough defensively.

Louisville has their work cut out for them. The Cards will need to go toe-to-toe with the aggressive, physical, chip-on-their-shoulder Orange and if Louisville can get the three-ball working (Laura Sweeney from Villanova blasted the 'Cuse from the deep Saturday) the Cards chances for success go up dramatically.

Game time 9 p.m. on the CBSSN network.

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Monday Cardinal Couple - The Sandy Pearsall Interview

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Interview with Softball's Sandy Pearsall

(CARDINAL COUPLE'S exclusive interview with head UofL softball coach Sandy Pearsall. We hope you like it!)

CARDINAL COUPLE: Looking at this veteran team you have returning...do you have one team leader?

Coach Pearsall: We actually have multiple leaders on this team. We do develop a group of players to lead this team and we start them off in their sophomore year...so we've built this leadership group over a period of time. We have Jordy Trimble involved in that, Chrisanna Roberts..our senior leaders. Also some one who has come on the field and has been involved with leadership is senior Alicia Wolny. We'll miss leadership that we had from Kristin Austin, Chelsea Leonard, Tesha Paysen. Those three were instrumental is leadership, but I think these three are definitely headed in that direction.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Any chance at all of Leonard coming back to pitch at all?

Coach Pearsall: No. The knee won't allow it. She'll graduate this year. She'd have eligibility left, if she wanted to go somewhere else and play...she could...but to get this to work out we had to career end her here. Basically, we couldn't have gone on this year without a replacement pitcher. We wish she could have had four years playing for us.

CARDINAL COUPLE: So, that leaves Caralisa Connell as your main pitcher. Some Cardinal fans are wondering...if there is a weakness on this team this year, it is pitching?

Coach Pearsall: It is our unknown, that is for sure. This is the year we'll expect Caralisa to step up, just like Tori Collins stepped up a few years ago when we weren't getting what we expected out of Kristen Wadwell. Seeing what "Carl", our nickname for Caralisa, did at the end of last year for us...she's done the work for us. I think she's going to have a great year for us. She's our strength on the pitching staff.

We did add Rachel Le Coq, who transferred from Colgate. She's embraced her role here and we've seen a lot of good things from her. Can she carry us? No, not now. Maybe a year from now...but she will give us a lot of innings of support...hopefully

CARDINAL COUPLE: Any truth to the rumor that you've reached a deal to bring Katie Petrino back to pitch...and promised to lend Connell to Coach Trimble on the golf team?

Coach Pearsall: (laughing) I don't know! I'll have to ask Carl how her golf game is! (Laughing). We'd take Katie back any day she wanted to come back because she is just the greatest competitor. I'm not sure that Carl's golf game is going to be strong enough to help the golf team but I'll check with Carl on that...(laughing).

CARDINAL COUPLE: Remember you drive for show and putt for dough.  You've been ranked third in the BIG EAST. How do feel about that? I mean, you only lose five games all year and you win the BIG EAST and third?

Coach Pearsall: Actually, it's probably because of the way the voters are looking at our returning pitching. South Florida had a great NCAA Tournament run, they return a powerhouse team and a great pitcher, so I can see where they deserve the top spot. Same for Notre Dame, they get back a lot of power, speed and good pitching also...so were comfortable with third. And, it's just pre-season stuff. The important thing is where you are at the end of the season .
 

DePaul returns a great team. Syracuse loses Jenna Caira, a great pitcher, but has a good pitcher to replace her that is a senior. You also have to watch out for Rutgers and Pitt, they're very capable teams. It's not a simple conference, it not an easy conference...and it's a case of where we still don't play everybody. We don't play South Florida in the regular season. Good and bad maybe? I'd rather play them in the regular season just to know what we might be facing come tournament time. We don't play DePaul in conference play, but we will go up against them in Vegas. Verdun, their big hitter and pitcher is back for them.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Talk a little about the season opener. You're headed to Las Vegas for three games.

Coach Pearsall: It's a great opportunity for us to see what we've got early on....obviously. Some great teams out there and we're looking forward to the tests. Just to get the season started.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Looking at the non-conference schedule, it looks to be the strongest I've ever seen for UofL softball...

Coach Pearsall: It's definitely going to be a big challenge for us. We schedule over a year out, so you're anticipating what you might have. If I'd known I was going to lose Leonard, I might have had some different thoughts in my scheduling but with that said...we do have a veteran team back and we need to be challenged. Carl needs to be challenged and we need to show we can step up to that next level, that next spot in our toughness. You have schools on there...LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, North Carolina...these are always extremely good programs. Oklahoma being the cream of the crop. They come back very intact and have actually added even more power. It's a great challenge for us. You're not going to get better playing the teams you can easily beat. If you can go out there and beat teams like this, that's a real accomplishment.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Basketball coaches talk about their players either having or lacking a "basketball IQ". Does that apply to softball as well?

COACH PEARSALL: Definitely. Like all coaches, we have kids who have played the game but not learned the game. They're directed, like in youth ball and club or high school, so they're told what to do but they are not learning the game. We work with them on situational things, like what to expect when they are batting and there is a certain count...like 2-1 or 0-2. They have to be able to learn the game to be able to play it at the highest level. Basketball coaches talk about wanting their kids to be "gym rats" and that apply to our players as well. They have to want to go do things on their own like going to the batting cages and working on hitting because the amount of time we are allowed to work with them is very limited.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Who is the hardest worker on your team?

Coach Pearsall: Wow. That's a tough one. There are kids who have really matured from their freshman year, like Hannah Kiyohara. Alicja Wolny. Taner Fowler and Maggie Ruckenbrod. Katie Keller. They go and they do a lot extra on their own. Our pitchers do a lot of work on their own. I have some kids that don't put in as much work on their own like I would like to see, but I'd say 80% of them do the extra work.

CARDINAL COUPLE: There has been talk about some additions and improvements over at Ulmer Stadium. Please go over those.

Coach Pearsall: Expansion is scheduled to take place at the end of this season. Some dugout improvements, like getting some bathrooms in there. In the stadium, there will be about another 100 seats added and a terrace on the top, so fans can walk from one side to the other. An expanded press box, too. And a covering over part of our stands, too that will provide some protection during bad weather or sunny days when people want to get out of the sun. We're also going to be building a new locker room and club house. This is really needed, this is greatly needed. The current one is a tight fit. We actually don't have enough lockers for our players. It'll be where the concession area and restrooms are now, right across from Ulmer.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Any final words for our readers?

Coach Pearsall: Just to thank them for their support and continued support. I hope we can continue to have that great fan support by putting a great product and program out there for them to cheer for and support.
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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Softball ready for 2013

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Experience and power on hand for Softball

-Softball Dinner Saturday night @ Hyatt

Even though the weather in Louisville is below freezing, # 18 Louisville Softball is busy preparing for the opening weekend Feb 8th. in Las Vegas. The team uses the indoor Trager Center for the basics of batting and fielding and we're not sure how many holes have been put in the roof by Taner Fowler, Alicja Wolny, Maggie Ruckenbrod, Jordan Trimble and the rest of the Cards wrecking crew...but Sandy Pearsall has bats galore ready to take the Ulmer Stadium field this spring.

If there's any questions at all about the team that swept the BIG EAST last year and won 55 games, it's who will fill in for departed pitchers Tori Collins, graduated and married and Chelsea Leonard who has given up the game because of perpetually bad knees.

Caralisa Connell returns, and went 19-1 last season. Rachel LeCoq, a transfer from Colgate, is there as needed. Both freshman Jasmine Smithson-Willett and returning outfielder Jordan Trimble are able to step in the circle if needed...Coach "P" is very high on the freshman Smithson-Willett and has indicated she'll contend for a spot in the starting line-up if not throwing strikes and balls.

For Connell, a junior...it's a role she's carried before. In 2011, injuries to Leonard and Collins left Pearsall with just one pitcher...the freshman from Murfreesboro, TN. Pearsall combed the campus and came up with Katie Petrino, on campus to play golf for UofL and daughter of former football coach Bobby Petrino to bring to the roster as a backup hurler.

Connell pitched every game, every inning for a three week peroid and won 12 straight while going 20-7 on the season. There is no truth to the rumor that current golf coach Courtney Trimble has petitioned Pearsall to have Connell grab a five-iron and hit the links this spring.

Besides Smithson-Willett, two other freshmen are on the roster this year for UofL. Ally Vaughn was the 8th Region Player of the Year in Kentucky and the first baseman from Henry County High School is known to have great power at the plate. Brittany Sims was the #7 ranked player in the state. The utility player hails from Lexington (KY) Lafayette and was also a top discus performer in track and field.  

It'll be a tough lineup to crack. Fowler, Katelyn Mann, Keller, Whitney Arion, Ruckenbrod, Jennifer Esteban, Trimble, Wolny and Hannah Kiyohara all started regularly or played extensively for the Cards last year. 12 letter-winners return.

The crowds at Ulmer should be thrilled this season with a veteran and powerful lineup. If the pitching can hold, we think preseason #12 South Florida and maybe Notre Dame will be the only teams good enough to push the Cards out of the running for back-to-back titles.

Vegas...opening on Feb. 8th. Would be a great get-away weekend, if you want to combine roulette and round-trippers. I wouldn't bet against the Cards sweeping the Invitational in Sin City.

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The Softball Bullpen Dinner is tonight at the downtown Hyatt. Cocktail hour begins at 5:30 and dinner at 7:30 p.m. Washington All-American Danielle Lawrie is the featured speaker.

CARDINAL COUPLE had a wonderful time there last year and we're pleased and happy to be returning again this year. We'll have full coverage of the event in the Sunday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE and a preview of WBB vs. St. John's.

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More on Lady Cards win over Syracuse...Softball starts 4-0...BIG EAST Saturday Hoops

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Cards guards win the battle for UofL

-Pearsall, softball Cards off to 4-0 start in Fla.

-BIG EAST SATURDAY & SUNDAY HOOPS review.

-Farewell, Mr. Trager...


The key factors to Louisville's win Saturday against Syracuse was shutting down the inside play of Kayla Alexander and Iasia Hemingway and also getting good guard outside shooting against the Syracuse zone from the three main 3-point shooters on the Lady Cards (18-7,7-5) squad....Becky Burke, Shoni Schimmel and Nita Slaughter. 

They accomplished both tasks with flying colors.

Hemingway, who was BIG EAST Player of the Week last week, was held to 0-4 shooting, four rebounds and just 2 points in 29 minutes. Credit Asia Taylor (also 29 minutes) for the defensive stop here. Alexander had a good afternoon, with 20 points, 12 boards and 8-11 from the foul line...but her effort wasn't enough to beat Louisville. 

The 'Cuse plays a 2-3 match-up zone 95% of the time...so Louisville's outside shooting was going to either save or sink the game. Between Slaughter, Shoni and Burke...the Cards guards were 17-36 in shooting and 16-29 from 3-point range. 48 points from beyond the arc for these three. Impressive. 

Also give a tip of the cap to Taylor and Hammond for their offense. Taylor with a strong 12 points, nine boards and Hammond bringing 5-6 shooting off the bench for 12 points. Louisville got beat in the points-in-the-paint category 28-18 but won second chance points (17-16), Points off turnovers (22-14) and had 12 steals while Syracuse had just six. 

The 10 left on the team have worked into a substitution pattern that seems pretty effective. Shoni at point or two....with Jude or Shelby providing relief. Bria at two with Shoni going there to spell her. Burke at the three, Slaughter giving backup there. Asia and Hammond playing the four, Slaughter coming in at times. Vails and Dyer sharing the five. 

Cierra Warren, they ain't missing you at all...

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The University of Louisville softball team is off to a 4-0 start to the season....winning two games Friday and two games Saturday in the FIU Combat Classic in Miami, FL.



Collins with the win in game one



Louisville got the tournament underway with a convincing 4-1 win over Michigan State. Senior Tori Collins struck out nine Spartan batters and Taner Fowler smashed a two-run homer in the fourth inning to seal the victory. The Cards scored in the first when Jennifer Esteban's bunt single advanced her around the base path on two Lady Cards fielder's choices. After Fowler's blast, the Cards added another run in the fifth when Jordan Trimble scored on a Maggie Ruckenbrod sacrifice fly. Collins allowed just six MSU hits, in going the distance.

Ruckenbrod providing
early power for UofL

The second Friday game saw Louisville gather eight runs on nine hits...Taner Fowler and Maggie Ruckenbrod going "fence"....in a 8-3 win over Illinois. Fowler's blast came in the second inning, giving the softball sluggers a 2-1 lead. The Lady Cards extended that to 3-1 in the fourth when Hannah Kiyohara scored on Kristin Austin's triple. Illinois tied it in the fifth, but Louisville responded with five runs in the sixth. Katelyn Mann opened the inning with a triple and scored on a error. Austin and Esteban reached on infield hits and Jordy Trimble singled to score Austin to make it 5-3. That set the stage for Ruckenbrod's 3-run bomber over the left-center field fence. Collins got the win with 2.1 innings of relief.

Saturday pitted Louisville against UAB. The Cards took  a 5-4 victory behind Ruckenbrod's two homers and a fence clearer from Mann. Louisville allowed two runs in the first on a two run homer...but tied it in the second when Mann's blast scored her and Kiyohara. Ruckenbrod gave Louiville the lead with her first moon-shot, a solo homer in the third.

UAB battled back to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth but the Cards got a two run blast from Ruckenbrod in the bottom of the fifth, scoring her and Katie Keller for the final runs of the game. Chelsea Leonard picked up the win with 2.1 innings of shutout relief.

Caralisa Connell another
strong pitcher for Cards.

In the second game Saturday, Louisvile downed homestanding FIU 4-2 behind the two-hit pitching of Caralisa Connell. Jordy Trimble's single in the first plated  Esteban.  The Cards made it 3-0 in the second behind back-to-back doubles from Whitney Arion and Kiyohara. The Cards loaded the bases after singles from Austin and Esteban and Trimble drove in Kiyohara with a single.

After FIU scored in the second and third to make it 3-2...Kristin Austin supplied the insurance and final score of the game, her single scoring Arion. 

Louisville finished their action in the Combat Classic Sunday with one game...against UMass. The Cards have a strong compliment of hitters and pitching arms it appears...and some long ball blasters in Ruckenbrod, Mann, Fowler and Trimble. Gonna be a fun season in the Ulmer!

(Sorry about the small print here. Sometimes, Blogger has a mind of its own. We're working on it...)



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Besides the Louisville win over Syracuse, there were four other games in the BIG EAST Saturday...

--UConn went to 11-1 in BIG EAST play with a 80-32 romp over Georgetown. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 23 for the Huskies on 10-16 shooting. Georgetown (8-4) got 10 from Sugar in the loss.

--Providence improved to 5-7 in conference play with a 62-47 win over Seton Hall. Rachel Barnes was one of three Friars in double figures with 19 points. SHU drops to 0-12 in the BIG EAST.

--USF is also now 5-7...downing Villanova (5-7) by a score of 54-39. Andrell Smith with a big one for the Bulls...scoring 22 points for Jose Fernandez's team.

--Cincinnati (4-8) takes a 62-57 win over Pittsburgh. Bjonee Reaves led the Bearcats with 19 points. The loss drops Pitt to 0-11. They get Louisville Tuesday.

62 was a popular number Saturday...three teams ending up with 62 points.

Three games played on Sunday.

--Marquette (4-7) lost to DePaul (7-5)
--Notre Dame (11-1) upset by West Virginia (8-3)
--St. John's (9-3) went to Jersey and defeated Rutgers (6-5)


BIG EAST LEADERS NATIONWIDE:

-Sugar Rodgers 19.8 p.p.g. #17 in nation

-Assists per game Skylar Diggins 5.9 #14 in nation.

-Scoring Margin. UConn +35.2 #1 in nation.

-Scoring Offense. Notre Dame 83.6 p.p.g  #1 in nation

-Home game attendance (single game) Louisville vs. UConn

16,432.

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Finally, a sad farewell to Bernard Trager. The Republic Bank head was a strong supporter of all UofL sports and valued donor. We'll miss the affable Trager and we know that Republic will continue the unselfish giving to UofL sports.

Bernard Trager died Friday and was 83 years old. CARDINAL COUPLE extends  sincere and heartfelt condolances to the Trager family. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on forever.

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