04/28/2013 No. 7/8 Softball Celebrates Senor Day with 10-1 Win Over GeorgetownCards honor six seniors prior to 10-1 win over Georgetown 04/21/2013 No. 8 Softball Tops Villanova 8-1Cards complete three-game series sweep of Villanova 04/20/2013 No. 8 Softball Sweeps Villanova DoubleheaderCards edge Wildcats 1-0 and 5-4 to improve to 14-1 in league play 04/14/2013 No. 10/11 Softball Tops UConn 4-1Cards sweep UConn series to improve to 10-1 in BIG EAST play 04/07/2013 No. 11 Softball Defeats St. John'sLeCoq tosses second straight shutout as Cards complete three-game sweep of St. John's 03/15/2013 LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL v NORTH CAROLINALouisville Softball v North Carolina 01/26/2013 LOUISVILLE SOFTBALL BULLPEN CLUB DINNERLouisville Softball Bullpen Club Dinner 06/04/2012 2012 Louisville Softball: A Season in PhotosImages of the Cardinals during a run to another BIG EAST championship. 05/19/2012 Louisville v Kentucky | NCAA Regional Game 3Louisville v Kentucky | NCAA Regional Game 3 05/19/2012 Louisville v Valparaiso | NCAA Regional Game 1Louisville v Valparaiso | NCAA Regional Game 1 Sandy Pearsall is entering her 14th season as the head coach of the University of Louisville softball program. After building the program from scratch in 2000, Pearsall has guided the Cardinals to five conference championships, nine consecutive NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011 and 2012. On May 5, 2012, the Cards posted an 8-4 win over St. John's to mark the University of Louisville's 500th win under head coach Sandy Pearsall since its inaugural season in 2000. Taking the Cards to New Heights in 2012 With the team's success came individual accolades. Taner Fowler and Tori Collins earned NFCA All-America honors, while five Cardinals were selected to the All-Great Lake Region teams and a program-best nine players earned All-BIG EAST honors. Pearsall, Carol Bruggeman and Courtney Scott were voted the 2012 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year and the NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Building Blocks of Success... In 2010, the Cards posted a 41-19 overall record and advanced to the finals of their seventh NCAA regional but fell to eventual Women's College World Series participant Tennessee in Knoxville. Louisville was runner-up in the 2010 BIG EAST Conference championship behind performances from 2010 BIG EAST Player of the Year Chelsea Bemis and two-time All-America selection Melissa Roth. In 2009, U of L produced a record-setting 48-11 overall record and was a mainstay in the top 25 rankings, reaching as high as No. 14 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and USA Softball polls. The Cards also notched their sixth straight NCAA regional appearance and were selected to host a regional for the first time in school history. Additionally, the Cardinals added two more players to All-America status when catcher Melissa Roth was named to the NFCA second team and pitcher Kristen Wadwell earned third team honors. Roth was also named BIG EAST Player of the Year and was selected to the USA Softball Pan American Qualifier team. Success at Louisville has continued to build under Pearsall's watch. In 2007, the Cardinals won the BIG EAST Conference tournament and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as Louisville made its fourth straight NCAA appearance. In 2006, the Cards had a breakout season, earning an NCAA at-large bid and advanced to the regional finals for the first time in school history. U of L also made its first appearance in the national rankings and finished the season at No. 17 in the NFCA poll. In addition, the Cards posted a program-best 45-11 overall record and won the BIG EAST regular season with a 19-3 record while winning BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year along with associate coach Carol Bruggeman and assistant Karen Marr. In addition to all of the team honors and accomplishments, Pearsall also posted her 500th career win on May 6, 2006 when the Cardinals defeated Rutgers 3-0. This is a distinctive mark in any career, but especially one which has seen the beginning of two softball programs. In 2005, the Cardinals set a new school record with 43 overall wins. They closed their stay in Conference USA with a 20-4 league tally and the regular season title. Louisville earned its second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The 2005 success improved upon the Cards' 2004 breakout season in which they had set a record with 41 overall wins and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in only their fifth year as a program. In the beginning... Award Winning Players on the Field... In 2006, Lacy Wood became U of L's first softball All-American, earning third team honors. Since that time, Kristen Wadwell, Melissa Roth, Tori Collins and Taner Fowler have joined the All-America ranks with Roth earning the honor twice. The Cardinals have placed 20 players on NFCA Regional teams and Shannon Nord was named to the 2004 NCAA regional tournament team in Louisville's first appearance. Before her time at U of L... "I am confident that Sandy will carefully build our new program," said Athletic Director Tom Jurich in 1999. "We want to make some noise quickly in collegiate softball and Sandy can put all the pieces in place to accomplish that." "I was very excited by the challenge of starting this program from scratch," said Pearsall. "Tom Jurich has a sincere and impressive commitment to women's athletics which struck me immediately. It is great to be part of a program in an area that is growing to love fast pitch softball." Before her stint in Oxford, Ohio, Pearsall spent three seasons as head coach at Colorado State, where she posted a 78-68 mark. While at CSU, she was successful in developing the Rams into an annual contender for the Western Athletic Conference championship. Her 1990 squad captured the league title and earned Pearsall Conference Coach of the Year honors. This was not the first time Pearsall has been asked to build a program from the ground up. In 1988, she headed the newly-formed Florida A&M team and led the squad to 36 wins in two seasons. Prior to FAMU, she took the University of San Francisco softball team from the cellar of the conference to second place in just three years. Her efforts did not go unnoticed as she earned NorPac Conference Coach of the Year honors. "Everywhere I called about her, she got rave reviews," said Jurich. "We are excited to be able to attract someone of her experience and credentials." Pearsall began her coaching career as the outfield coach at the University of the Pacific. In her two seasons there, she coached a pair of All-America honorees. As a part of the 1984 team, Pearsall was inducted into the Pacific Hall of Fame for the team's fifth place finish at nationals, the best finish in UOP history. She was inducted into the Stockton Hall of Fame in 2003. Her Playing Days "Louisville softball is igniting the fans in this area," said Julie Hermann, associate athletic director/senior woman administrator. "I am thrilled to be a part of getting this sport underway on excellent footing." Pearsall remains active in her sport at a national level as well. She has served on the All-America Selection Committee, the NCAA West Regional Ranking Committee, the Mid-American Softball Executive Committee as well as her membership in the National Softball Coaches Association and the ASA Northern California Umpire Association. She has coached at NCAA YES Clinics and various camps helping to develop the sport of fastpitch. In 2003, she worked for CSTV, serving as the color analyst for the C-USA Championship game. Pearsall's file
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