The University of Louisville softball team will wrap up an eight-game home stand and celebrate senior day this weekend when the Cardinals play host to Virginia in a three-game ACC series. Game one of the series is slated for a 4 p.m. start on Friday – moved up from the original 6 p.m. first pitch because of inclement weather in the forecast. The teams will play games two and three at 12 p.m. Saturday and Sunday respectively. Admission is free.
Series Information
April 28-30, 2017: Louisville vs. Virginia
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Ulmer Stadium
Television: ACC Network Extra – Don Russell (play-by-play); Daryl Foust (analyst)
Live Scoring: GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball
• The Cardinals will honor 2017 seniors Maryssa Becker, Jordan McNary, Morgan Meyer and Tiarra Sanabria prior to Sunday’s 12 p.m. game against Virginia.
• Louisville brings a 26-17 record into the weekend after being swept by No 2/3 Florida State in a three-game series.
• UofL is currently fourth in ACC standings with a 9-7 league record. No. 2/3 Florida State (43-3-1, 21-0) stands first in the league with North Carolina (36-13, 14-6) in second and Boston College (27-18, 11-6) in third.
• Junior Nicole Pufahl leads the team with a .372 batting average, seven home runs, 37 RBIs and 31 runs. The centerfielder also paces the Cards in multi-hit games (13) and multi-RBI games (10) and has reached via a walk or hit in the last 17 games.
• Louisville has three players in the starting lineup batting over .300 on the season.
• Senior Maryssa Becker (19-9) paces the Cards in the circle with a 2.44 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 180.2 innings of work. Her 19 wins match last year’s total and equal her career high for wins in a season.
• Senior Jordan McNary has reached base via a hit, a walk in 26 of her last 28 games and is a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen bases.
• Sandy Pearsall is in her 18th 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 13 consecutive NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Cards against the Opponents
Virginia
Series Record: Louisville leads the series 9-2
Last Meeting: March 18-19, 2016 – Louisville swept the three-game series in Charlottesville. The Cardinals won 2-0 and 7-2 in a doubleheader and took the third game 2-1.
Scouting the Cavaliers: Virginia enters the weekend with a 21-29 overall record and an 8-13 conference mark prior to their Wednesday matchup with George Washington.
• The Cavaliers are coming off a sweep of Notre Dame in a three game weekend series in South Bend, Ind. They took the first two games of a Saturday doubleheader 6-3 and 12-6, respectively. Virginia came back and won 10-6 to complete the sweep Sunday.
• Virginia also beat George Washington 8-0 in five innings in a midweek matchup.
• Katie Park who carries a .378 batting average with a team-best 62 hits, 12 doubles, 31 runs scored and eight homeruns lead the Cavaliers offensively. Allison Davis follows with a .327 batting average and leads the team with four triples.
• Erika Osherow (14-17) leads the Cavaliers in the circle with a 4.42 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 182.0 innings and has logged one save and 13 complete games.
Up Next
The Cards will wrap up the regular season next weekend when they travel to Raleigh, N.C. to take on NC State in a three-game ACC series.
Up Last
Florida State 11 – Louisville 0
The Seminoles clinched the ACC regular season title behind Jessica Burroughs’ one-hitter as Florida State took advantage of a season-high five errors and belted out 10 hits in an 11-0 win to open the series.
• Senior Morgan Meyer’s two-out double in the bottom of the fifth broke up Burroughs’ no-hitter, but a groundout ended the game.
Florida State 4 -Louisville 3
Sophomore Megan Hensley struck out nine while tossing a career-high 10 innings as the Cardinals fell short 4-3 in an attempt to upset the Seminoles in a game that featured two lead changes and two ties.
• Hensley allowed four earned runs on 11 hits while striking out nine – one shy of her career-high – in a complete game effort. Becker went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
• Megan King got the win, allowing two earned runs on five hits and striking out five in 6.2 innings. Burroughs gave up one unearned run on two hits and fanned three in 3.1 innings. Gordon went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI while Casas drove in two for the Seminoles. FSU also committed a season-high five errors in the game.
Florida State 5- Louisville 4
The Cardinals rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie No. 2/3 Florida State, but Zoe Casa’s one-out RBI single in the seventh lifted the Seminoles to a 5-4 victory.
• Megan Hensley turned in her second straight complete-game effort in the circle and went 2-for-3 with a home run and scored twice while junior Jamie Soles delivered a two-run double to tie the game in the fourth inning. Senior Morgan Meyer went 2-for-4 to help the Cards belt out nine hits in the game.
• Megan King got the win, holding the Cardinals scoreless and did not allow a hit while walking one in 3.2 innings of relief. FSU starter Jessica Burroughs, who had held the Cardinals to one hit in game one of the series, gave up four earned runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings. Powers and Broderick each had two hits and two RBIs to help the Seminoles to nine hits in the game.
Senior Spotlight
On April 30, the Cardinals will honor seniors Maryssa Becker, Jordan McNary, Morgan Meyer and Tiarra Sanabria in their final home game. Enter the weekend, the 2017 senior class has collected 127 wins, played in three NCAA regionals and have appeared in the top 25 rankings five times. As freshmen, they helped Louisville win the American Athletic Conference Championship. All four players are multi-year starters and have been integral in the Cardinals’ transition to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Hensley Tosses One-Hitter Against Western Kentucky
Megan Hensley tossed a complete game one-hit shutout and drove in the only run of the game to lift the Cardinals to a 1-0 win over visiting Western Kentucky on April 19. The one-hitter was Hensley’s first of the season and third in her career.
Hitting for average
Three players in the current starting lineup batting above .300 on the season. Junior Nicole Pufahl is the team’s leading hitter with a .372 average. Senior Jordan McNary follows at .333 while junior Jamie Soles stands third with with a .306 average.
• Before suffering a season-ending injury in the Feb. 25 game against California, junior shortstop Sidney Melton carried a .364 batting average.
Ferguson Takes Over
Caitlin Ferguson stepped into the role of Louisville’s starting shortstop following junior Sidney Melton’s season-ending injury in late February. Since that time, the freshman has settled into the role with a .280 average, eight doubles, 17 runs and 20 RBIs. She is second on the team with six multi-RBI games and stands fifth with nine multi-hit performances.
Pufahl’s Time to Shine
Junior centerfielder Nicole Pufahl leads the Cardinals in most offensive categories while in the midst of a career-best season. The three-year starter carries a .372 batting average and a .628 slugging percentage with seven home runs, 10 doubles, 37 RBIs and 31 runs. She also has tallied a team-best 13 multi-hit performances and and 10 multi-RBI games.
Becker Ties School Record with Twelfth Career Save
On March 18, Maryssa Becker entered the game in relief in the seventh inning during game two of Louisville’s ACC series with Pitt. The Cards were leading 5-1, but the Panthers had the bases loaded with no outs in the inning with the tying run at the plate. After surrendering a run on a groundout, Becker proceeded to strike out the next two batters to pick up her school-record tying 12th career save.
• Becker is currently tied with Chelsea Leonard (2010-12) and Catherine Bishop (2004-07) and needs one more save to own the record outright.
Becker Sets Single Game RBI Mark
In the Cards’ 13-2 win over CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 10, Maryssa Becker connected on an RBI single, a three-run homer and a grand slam, producing eight RBIs and setting a school record. She surpassed the previous record (7) held by Katie Keller (twice in 2013) and Melissa Jacobo (2002).
Becker Earns 50th Career Win, Notches 600th Strikeout
On Feb. 12, senior Maryssa Becker tossed a two-hit, complete game shutout to help the Cardinals to a 1-0 win over Indiana State. The victory marked the 50th of Becker’s career and moved her to sixth on Louisville’s all-time list. She currently has 66 wins and needs one more to move into a tie for fifth along with Jessica Rak (2000-03). Kristen Wadwell (2007-10) owns the record with 94 victories.
• In the April 15 game against Virginia Tech, Becker fanned seven batters and in doing so, notched her 600th career strikeout. She now stands third on the school’s list for career Ks and needs 15 more to move into a tie for second with Catherine Bishop (2004-07). Kristen Wadwell (2007-10) holds the all-time record with 696.
Homegrown Talent
The Cardinals’ roster featured nine (of 19) players from the commonwealth of Kentucky. Caitlin Ferguson (Fr., INF, Versailles, Ky./Woodford County), Lillie Goetz (So., INF, Owensboro/Owensboro Catholic), Shelby Graybill (Fr., INF/C, Ft. Thomas, Ky./Highlands), Megan Hensley (So., P/UT, Ashland/Paul Blazer), Jordan McNary (Sr., OF, Madisonville/Hopkins County Central), Morgan Meyer (Sr., OF, Louisville/Mercy), Ashley Nikolao (Jr., UT, Flaherty/Meade County), Michala Riggle (So., C/1B, Louisville/Christian Educational Consortium), Jordan Vorbrink (So., OF, Louisville/Mercy).
Record Watch
Senior Maryssa Becker is ranked among the top 10 in several career categories at Louisville. The following is a list of milestones she will reach in the near future:
Pitching
• Needs 1 save to own the record for career saves (12)
• Third in career strikeouts (606) needs 15 more to tie for second.
• Currently sixth on Louisville’s career list for shutouts (17); needs four more to tie for fifth.
• Tied for fourth on the list for career wins (66), needs three more to tie for third
Hitting
• Fifth on Louisville’s all-time list with 149 career RBIs… needs 16 more to move into a tie for fourth
• Sixth with 100 walks, needs one more to tie for fifth
• Ninth with 26 home runs – needs one more to tie for eighth
• Ninth with 43 doubles – needs one more to tie for eighth
Dual Threats
Two of Louisville’s top offensive threats also double as the Cards’ Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers. Senior Maryssa Becker is second on the team with four home runs, 25 RBIs and nine doubles. Sophomore Megan Hensley also has nine doubles, three homers and 24 RBIs.
• In the circle, Becker (19-9) carries a 2.44 ERA with 144 strikeouts in 180.2 innings of work with four shutouts on the season, while Hensley (7-8) has a 2.92 ERA and 54Ks in 98.1 innings.
• Listed below are their accomplishments in 2016.
• Becker led the team with 16 multi-RBI games and 15 multi-hit games. Hensley was right behind her with 14 and 15 respectively.
• The two combined for 23 of Louisville’s 37 home runs and 112 of its 281 RBIs.
• Becker was a 2016 All-ACC first team selection while Hensley earned second team honors.
• Hensley earned NFCA All-Southeast Region third team honors.
Lori Korte
Assistant Sports Information Director
University of Louisville Athletics