By Brendan Holba
(The views of Brendan Holba do not necessarily reflect those of Cardinal Sports Zone)
This weekend, the Cards continued road-tripping around the sunshine state by making a stop at the Jean Joyce Classic, hosted by Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida after a mid-week stop in Miami to square off with FIU. In one of their hottest starts in recent memory, the Cards are 10-1, thanks to fantastic pitching from the entire staff and the powerful bat of Missouri transfer Riley Frizell. Although they lost their first game of the season this weekend, the team passed their first big test by defeating Michigan who last weekend beat SEC powerhouse Florida, and has had a strong start to 2024. It might have been a rough weekend for most Louisville sports, but this team is giving Cardnation something to talk about in the early going.
Louisville 11 – FIU 2
Unfortunately, the pitching staff’s sensational 25-inning scoreless streak ended in the third when Alyssa Zabala surrendered the only two runs the Panthers could muster. It was a homecoming for Zabala, the Miami native, and she felt right at home, dominating for four innings, striking out five, and scattering three hits. Sam Booe added a pair of strikeouts in her inning of relief work.
At the plate, the offense started hot and kept pouring it on. Bailee Richardson got the party started with an RBI double in the first inning, followed a few batters later by a three-run homer from Riley Frizell. Brooke McNichols kept the Cards in check in the second and third, but in the fourth, multiple errors from the Panther defense led to six more runs from a Frizell three-run double and a Kiley Goff three-run double. In the fifth, Daisy Hess delivered another run with the fourth Cardinal double of the day.
Louisville 2 – FAU 1
The opener to the Jean Joyce Classic was a pitcher’s duel. Gabby Halloway got the ball first and held the Owls to one run over five innings while striking out two. Alyssa Zabala came in for the two-inning save and shut the door by retiring all six batters faced and also fanning a couple. The offense had six hits, but the most important one came off the bat of Vanessa Miller in the second inning. Miller homered to left to score pinch runner Pickle Winkler, who came on for Frizell.
Louisville 12 – Seton Hall 4
The bats heated up in the first game of the doubleheader on Friday. Ally Alexander got things rolling in the second inning with an RBI double. Chelsea Mack followed that up with an RBI single, and an error later in the inning allowed Mack to cross the plate. In the fifth, Maddi Grant hit a two-run RBI triple to add to the lead. The floodgates opened in the sixth when seven Cardinals crossed the plate. Paige Geraghty’s two-run single and Vanessa Miller’s two hits in the inning highlighted the rally.
Sam Booe got the start and went four and two-thirds scoreless innings with four strikeouts before being relieved by Lindsey Mullen. In her one-third of an inning of work, Mullen struggled, giving up four runs on four hits. Izzy Harrison finished the game off with one inning of relief, striking out one and giving up one hit.
FAU 6 – Louisville 3
In their only loss to this point in the season, the Cardinals couldn’t stymie the Owls’ hitters. Louisville out-hit FAU, 11-10, but left eight runners on base. Kiley Goff got Louisville on the board first when Daisy Hess doubled, and later in the first inning, Riley Frizell launched her third home run. However, the Owls countered in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run home run of their own. With the bases loaded in the second, Hess delivered another RBI to put the Cards back in front. But that would be it for the Cards in the nightcap. In her only rough outing this season, Alyssa Zabala was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs in an inning and two-thirds of work.
Louisville 8 – Maine 0
The Cardinals only scored in two innings in this one, but both times they put up four runs. In the third inning, Bailee Richardson singled in two, followed by a two-run double from Vanessa Miller a few batters later. In the sixth inning, Kiley Goff collected an RBI single before Riley Frizell smashed a towering homer over the right-field fence. Freshman Brooke Gray earned her third win of the young season with a seven-strikeout performance over four and a third innings. Lindsey Mullen threw an inning and two-thirds of relief and struck out seven to preserve the shutout and the third run-rule victory of the week.
Louisville 2 – Michigan 0
Alyssa Zabala was masterful in the Cardinals’ final game of the Jean Joyce Classic. In a complete-game shutout, she allowed two hits and struck out four. While the long ball had anchored the offense for most of the week, it was small ball that took down the Wolverines. In the first inning, Daisy Hess was walked to start the frame before she quickly stole second. A bunt moved her to third, and then she scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth inning, Ally Alexander was safe on a bunt single and ended up on second due to a Michigan overthrow. Chelsea Mack moved Alexander to third on an infield single, and a second wild pitch scored Alexander a few pitches later. Mack was stellar with the glove as well, making multiple diving catches to preserve the shutout.
