Junior Alison Szydlowski had a home run and a double and drove in three runs to help lead the University of Louisville softball team to a 7-5 win against NC State in the series opener Friday evening at Dail Stadium. The teams are slated to play game two Saturday at 5 p.m.
Louisville (29-18, 12-8 ACC) built a 7-3 lead and held off the Wolfpack as sophomore Megan Hensley (9-8) picked up a complete game win, scattering seven hits and striking out two while adding a run and an RBI to help her cause offensively. Junior Jenna Jordan went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs and senior Tiarra Sanabria went 2-for-4 with a home run as Louisville pounded out 10 hits.
The Cards jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when senior Morgan Meyer earned a walk and came around to score on senior Maryssa Becker’s two-out double. Sophomore Megan Hensley followed with an RBI single to plate Becker.
Junior Alison Szydlowski’s two-run homer added to the Cardinals lead in the second. Junior Jenna Jordan was hit by a pitch to bring up Szydlowski who launched a shot over the left field fence for her first home run of the season.
The Wolfpack (17-35, 10-12) got two runs back in the third when Molly Martin drew a leadoff walk and Macauley Prickett followed with a bunt single. A one-out error sent Martin home and pushed Prickett to third to put NC State on the scoreboard. A passed ball allowed Prickett to cross the plate and bring the score to 4-2.
Louisville answered with a run in the fourth. Jordan ripped a double to the left field corner and came around to score on a single by Szydlowski to extend the Cards’ lead to 5-2.
NC State countered in the home half of the inning. Cheyenne Balzer and Haylee Kobziak delivered back-to-back singles. Both runners moved on Jessica Moore’s groundout. Martin’s groundout sent Balzer home to cut the lead to 5-3.
The fifth inning brought two more Louisville runs courtesy of senior Tiarra Sanabria’s two-run homer. Hensley drew a one-out walk and Sanabria launched her fourth homer of the season over the fence in left centerfield to put the Cards on top 7-3.
Wolfpack continued to chip away at the lead with a run in the fifth. Tyler Ross was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on a two-out double by Balzer.
Tyler Ross led off the seventh with a home run to pull NC State within two runs. Balzer connected on a two-out infield hit to bring the tying run to the plate, but Hensley got Kobziak to pop up to Szydlowski at third to end the game.
Peyton Silverman (12-21) took the loss, after surrendering seven earned runs on 10 hits and striking out six in seven innings. Balzer paced the Wolfpack with a 4-for-4, one run, one RBI performance at the plate.
“I thought we got a good performance from our offense today,” said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. “We jumped on them early, being aggressive and setting the tone offensively. I thought Megan did a nice job pitching for us and we were able to hold on. NC State has a lot of power in its lineup and I thought we did a good job of holding on and playing defense.”
Lori Korte
Assistant Sports Information Director
University of Louisville Athletics
