By Brendan Holba
(The views of Brendan Holba do not necessarily reflect those of Cardinal Sports Zone)
I’m not sure if this weekend could have gone better for Holly Aprile and the softball team. The Cardinals were all business in Southwest Florida, outscoring their opponents 26-1 in five games, and starting the season 5-0 for the first time in twelve years. If it weren’t for the announcer’s jinx in the Sunday finale, they would have capped the weekend off with a run-rule of the host team, Florida Gulf Coast University.
The offense was a bit sluggish getting out of the gate Friday morning, only scoring twice, but quickly picked up the pace. An offense that scores more runs than they strike out—only 22 in a weekend—will win a lot of games and that’s exactly what the Cards did. This weekend, the Cardinals slugged their way to an .881 OPS with six doubles, three triples, and four home runs.
While the offense did well, it was the pitching staff that shone the brightest! When previewing the season, Coach Aprile explained how she wanted to utilize all six pitchers on the staff throughout the season. Not only was she able to get each pitcher action, they all performed well. Alyssa Zabala, as expected, ended up getting the bulk of the work, throwing 11 innings. Together, the staff struck out 34 batters in 35 innings and kept runners off base by only issuing 18 walks. Only allowing one run in five games is impressive in itself, but the pitchers were able to do this because they didn’t get hit hard. Of the twenty hits allowed, only two of them went for extra bases.
It’s hard to win every game, especially when playing doubleheaders two of the three days of the weekend. It’s even harder to only allow one run in those five games. If this weekend tells us anything, it’s that Coach Aprile has her team ready to go!
Louisville 2 – LIU 0
The Cardinals got on the board early, scoring the game’s only runs in the first inning when Riley Frizell and Bailee Richardson drove in Easton Lotus and Kiley Goff. Zabala and Sam Booe took care of the rest. Zabala went the first four innings, surrendering three hits and striking out one. Booe preserved the shutout and secured a save with three scoreless innings, striking out five.
Louisville 4 – Georgetown 1
In game two on Friday, the Cardinals toppled Georgetown and gave up the only run of the weekend. Louisville scored first in the second inning, and Georgetown tied the game in the fifth. The tie was short-lived, though. Daisy Hess scored on an error in the fifth and Madi Grant and Chelsea Mack both scored in the sixth, extending the lead. Freshman and Ballard grad, Brooke Gray, earned her first collegiate victory with an inning and a third of relief. Izzy Harrison struck out three en route to the save.
Louisville 7 – Georgetown 0
The Cardinals started hot on Saturday and never looked back. After plating three in the first with hits from Frizell and Paige Geraghty, Bailee Richardson added an RBI single, and Madi Grant followed that with a sac fly. In the fourth, Hess scored on a Georgetown error, and in the fifth, Grant continued her big weekend with an RBI double. In the circle, Lindsey Mullen, a freshman from Virginia, earned her first collegiate win by holding the Hoyas scoreless over four innings. Booe loaded the bases in the seventh but didn’t allow a run by turning a double play and striking out the final batter.
Louisville 6 – Florida Gulf Coast 0
In the nightcap Saturday, the Cardinals continued to roll thanks to Zabala’s complete game two-hit shutout, and eight strikeouts. Hess launched a solo home run deep into the night, and a few batters later, Richardson ended the first inning with a two-run home run. In the sixth, Geraghty doubled, knocking in Richardson, and miscues on defense from the Eagles gave the Cardinals another two runs.
Louisville 7 – Florida Gulf Coast 0
While there was no actual trophy to hand out, the Cardinals clinched the FGCU Kickoff Classic by continuing to beat up on the host. Without Lotus, who is out with an injured thumb, the Cardinals were held scoreless in the opening frame, but in the second inning, Frizell homered for the first time as a Cardinal. Vanessa Miller, a senior from Indy, added another long ball just a couple of outs later. In the fifth, the Cardinals took advantage of several FGCU miscues, tacking on another five runs before a pitching change cooled off the Cardinal bats. Izzy Harrison started the game in the circle, giving up one hit and striking out three in 3.1 innings of work. Gray picked up her second win of the weekend after tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and adding three more strikeouts.
