UofL vs. UK Softball Tonight: Game Details

Mark BlankenbakerApril 1, 2015

The University of Louisville softball team will play host to in-state rival No. 13/14 Kentucky in a midweek game Wednesday April 1 at 6 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased by calling 502-GoCards. Fans are encouraged to wear red to the game.

The Cardinals (22-8) bring a six-game winning streak into Wednesday’s matchup while the Wildcats (23-9) defeated (then) No. 1 LSU twice in a three-game series last weekend.

Game Info: No. 13/14 Kentucky at (RV) Louisville

Dates: April 1, 2015

Location: Louisville, Ky.

Venue: Ulmer Stadium

Admission: $5

Television: CardsTV (GoCards.com)

Gametracker: GoCards.com

Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball

Promotions: “Red Out” T-Shirts give to the first 250 fans; Louisville softball trading cards

About Louisville

Senior Kelsi Jones leads Louisville offensively with a .466 batting average, 30 runs and 15 doubles. Sophomore Jordan McNary follows at .420 with 21 runs. Sophomore Maryssa Becker has produced a team-high 30 RBIs and has five home runs on the season.
Freshman Shelby McCombs (8-2) carries a team-best 2.90 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 70.0 innings. Sophomore Maryssa Becker (8-2) follows closely with a 2.91 ERA and 78 Ks in 79.1 innings of work. She also leads the ACC with three saves.
Sandy Pearsall is in her 16th season as UofL’s head coach. After building the program from scratch in 2000, Pearsall has guided the Cardinals to six conference championships. Under her watch, Louisville has made 11 consecutive NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. On March 14, Pearsall recorded her 600th win at UofL (also the 600th victory in program history). She is now 611-304 as the Cardinals’ head coach.

Cards against Kentucky

Kentucky

Series Record: Louisville leads 18-16; Kentucky has won past three meetings.

Last Meeting: April 30, 2014 – Kentucky defeated Louisville 7-3 at Ulmer Stadium. The Wildcats also won 5-0 in Lexington on April 2, 2014. Last season marked the first time UK swept the annual series since 2003 when the Wildcats won a doubleheader at Ulmer Stadium.

Scouting the Wildcats: Kentucky enters the matchup with a 23-9 record after taking two of three games from No. 1 LSU this past weekend. The Wildcats are led by Griffin Joiner who has a team-high six home runs and 30 RBIs along with a .344 batting average. Christian Stokes adds a team-high .370 average along with six home runs, 19 RBIs, and has scored a team-best 26 runs. RHP Kelsey Nunley leads the Wildcats in the circle with a 10-5 record and a 1.77 ERA while adding three saves. She holds opponents to a .210 average and also has struck out 84 batters in 95 innings this season. LHP Meagan Prince has amassed a 9-4 record with a 3.18 ERA.

Up Next: Louisville will travel to Blacksburg, Va. to take on ACC foe, No. 24 Virginia Tech in a weekend series. The teams will play a single game on Friday at 7 p.m. before concluding the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. All three games will be televised on ESPN3.

Last Up: Louisville is coming off of a three-game sweep of ACC opponent over the weekend. The series was originally slated to take place in Syracuse, but weather and field conditions prompted the move to Louisville’s Ulmer Stadium. The Cardinals swept the opening doubleheader 15-11 and 5-4 and in the third game built a 4-0 lead, only to fall behind 7-4 in the fifth before storming back for a 13-7 win.

Arion leads Cards to Syracuse Sweep

Senior Whitney Arion led the Cardinals to a 4-0 record on the weekend – including a three-game sweep of ACC opponent Syracuse. The shortstop batted .615 (8 for 13) with two doubles, a triple, eight RBIs and three runs. Arion registered a .923 slugging percentage and earned three walks to help produce a .722 on-base percentage.

She reached base via a walk or a hit in each of Louisville’s games and produced multi-hit and multi-RBI performances in all three games against Syracuse. Arion went 4 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs in the 15-11 win and had two hits and three RBIs both the 5-4 win and the 13-7 over the Orange.

Cards receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll

For the second straight week and the third time this season, Louisville is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll for the second time this season. Louisville last appeared in the top 25 on Feb. 18, 2014 when the Cards were No. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 25 in the USA Today/NFCA poll.

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll

Louisville recorded program-best No. 7 ranking for the first time on May 15, 2012. The Cardinals were ranked in the top 10 for the final five weeks of that season.

USA Today/NFCA Division I poll

The Cardinals have been ranked as high as No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll – most recently on April 23, 2013. That season, Louisville spent three weeks in the top 10.