By Brendan Holba
(The views of Brendan Holba do not necessarily reflect those of Cardinal Sports Zone)
The weather in South Carolina did not cooperate much this weekend, but the Cards continued their winning ways. After both games against Bowling Green and tournament host Coastal Carolina were canceled on Friday, Furman got the better of Louisville in a Saturday morning shootout. However, Saturday afternoon brought rain showers and a Cardinal victory over Coastal. On getaway day, the Cards run-ruled Bowling Green in six innings.
Furman 13 – Louisville 8
The Cards dug themselves a very deep hole early in this one, giving up nine runs in the first three innings before Vanessa Miller connected on a bases-loaded single in the third. Bailee Richardson added another in the fourth with an RBI groundout, but back-to-back home runs for the Paladins in the sixth put the game out of reach. While Gabby Holloway tallied three hits at the plate, it was not her day in the circle. She only lasted an inning and a third before being replaced.
Louisville 6 – Coastal Carolina 2
Despite the rain, the Cardinals broke through a scoreless tie in the third when Paige Geraghty singled in freshman Katie Thatcher. Riley Frizell quickly followed with an RBI single of her own. All was quiet until the seventh inning when Miller sent her third home run of the season deep into the night. A few batters later, freshman Ava Venturelli connected for her first collegiate hit with an RBI single. Alyssa Zabala went the distance to secure her fifth win of the season. She gave up five hits in the bottom of the seventh that led to two runs, but it was too little too late for the Chanticleers.
Louisville 11 – Bowling Green 3
Brooke Gray got the start in this one and gave up a three-spot in the first inning, but that was all the Falcons would get. Freshman Lindsey Mullen followed Gray and tossed two shutout innings before handing over the ball to Zabala, who closed the door and secured her sixth win of the season. The offense answered in the bottom of the second, tying the game with RBI singles from Frizell and Miller. It would take a bit, but the offensive explosion came in the sixth with eight runs to complete the run rule. Frizell added two more RBIs to her team-leading total of 18. Holloway walked to push another run across, and Pickle Winkler singled to give the Cards a 7-3 advantage. But with two outs and two strikes, pinch-hitting freshman Ava Venturelli connected for her first collegiate home run, a walk-off grand slam to end it.
After a three-week-long road trip around the south, the Cardinals are home to host Western Kentucky on the 27th at Ulmer Stadium at 5:30 PM.
