Senior Maryssa Becker tossed a two-hit shutout and junior Nicole Pufahl belted out an RBI triple to lead the University of Louisville softball team to a 1-0 win over Indiana State in the final game of the UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic Sunday. The Cardinal wrapped up their opening weekend with a 4-1 record.
“We got a great performance out of Maryssa Becker today,” said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. “I thought our defense did a nice job with its communication and handling Indiana State’s speed. The only disappointment I have from today’s game is that our offense did not make adjustments, especially when we had runners in scoring position. We need to work on being more efficient in the batter’s box.”
The Cards jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when sophomore Megan Hensley reached on an error and two outs later, came home on junior Nicole Pufahl’s first triple of the season which proved to be the game-winning hit.
Becker had a no-hitter going until fourth inning when Rylee Holland reached safely on a one-out bunt single. The Cards quickly erased the threat when catcher junior Alison Szydlowski teamed with shortstop junior Sidney Melton to catch Holland attempting to steal second.
Two innings later, Mary Turitto registered another bunt for a hit and Kassie Brown followed with a walk. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch to place two in scoring position with one out in the sixth. Becker promptly fielded Bailey Martin’s grounder and threw to Szydlowski who tagged Turitto out at the plate and then got Holland to ground out to end the inning.
Becker (3-1) got the win after scattering two hits and striking out four in a complete game effort. Sidney Melton and Jamie Soles each had a pair of hits in the game.
Kylie Stober (1-2) took the loss, giving up one unearned run on six hits and striking out one in 7.0 innings. Malchow and Brown each had a hit for the Sycamores (2-3).
Louisville returns to action next weekend when the Cards travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on Purdue and Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Lori Korte
Assistant Sports Information Director
University of Louisville Athletics
