Tomorrow the softball team from the University of Louisville will go to Lexington, Kentucky, for an important game against their rival, the 16th-ranked Kentucky team. Television channel ESPNU will be broadcasting this game. Louisville has an impressive season record of 22 wins and 9 losses, including seven consecutive victories. Last weekend, the team swept aside their opponents from NC State in an ACC series. According to the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and ESPN.com/USA Softball coaches polls on March 28, the Cards received votes.
Louisville has played 31 games, winning nine games by shutouts and seven games by the eight-run rule. The team’s batting average is currently .323, with two of the Cards’ athletes batting over .400 and five players hitting above .300. The Cardinals have a .420 team on-base percentage, making them second in the ACC and 11th in the nation. Also, Korbe Otis of Louisville has hit five triples, placing her first in the ACC and fifth in the country, and she has reached base safely via either hits or walks in the last 24 games.
Regarding home runs, Taylor Roby, who has 11 to her name this season, leads the Cardinals. She also owns the school’s career mark with 51 and is tied for first in the ACC and tied for 12th in the NCAA for home runs. Alyssa Zabala carries an ERA of 2.53 with 62 strikeouts in 63.2 innings of work. On March 21, Sarah Gordon was named the ACC and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Player of the Week for Louisville. Megan Hensley was the last Cardinal to receive this honor in 2018.
Holly Aprile, the current head coach of Louisville, is responsible for the Cardinals’ success over the past four seasons. Her record shows 112 wins and an NCAA regional final appearance in 2019, though the 2020 season was impacted due to Covid-19. Prior to her arrival at Louisville, she spent 10 seasons (2009-18) as Pittsburgh’s head coach and five years (2004-08) as an assistant. In 2018, she earned ACC Coach of the Year honors after managing the Panthers to the 2018 ACC Coastal Division title and a runner-up finish in the ACC tournament.
Kentucky holds the upper hand over Louisville, leading 23-20 in total series. At their last meeting on February 10, 2023, Kentucky beat Louisville 8-0 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic held in Clearwater, Florida. Kentucky enters the game with a 20-7-1 overall record, having suffered loss to No. 24 Texas A&M in a weekend series. Kentucky’s Vanessa Nesby boasts of .470 batting average while Erin Coffel has the highest number of home runs and runs batted in with 12 and 35, respectively. Kayla Kowalik tops the team rankings in batting averages (.443) and stolen bases (10). In 96.1 innings, Stephanie Schoonover (12-1) carries a 1.45 ERA with eight shutouts and 146 strikeouts.
During the last weekend, Louisville achieved a sweep over the North Carolina State team in a 7-4, 13-0, and 3-2 (9 inn.) win. It marked the second consecutive weekend sweep of an ACC series for Louisville.
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