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No. 16/19 Cards Sweep Villanova 4-1 and 12-7
April 3, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - - The University of Louisville softball team swept a BIG EAST doubleheader, beating Villanova 4-1 and 12-7 Friday at Ulmer Stadium. The No. 16/19 Cardinals improve to 31-5 (8-2 BIG EAST) while the Wildcats drop to 15-11 (1-6). In the first game, sophomore third baseman Chelsea Bemis went 2 for 3 with three RBI as the Cards defeated the Wildcats 4-1. The Cards got on the scoreboard with two runs in the first. Melissa Roth drew a leadoff walk and Kristin Austin reached on an infield single. Both runners moved on a passed ball and scored on Chelsea Bemis' base hit. The Wildcats got a run back in the top of the second Eryn Teague led off with a double, took third on Christina Botkins' sacrifice bunt and came home on Tessa Braga's single to make it a 2-1 game. Louisville pulled away with two runs in the bottom of the second. Roth singled and took second on a wild pitch. Austin walked and both runners moved on a passed ball. Bemis' single plated Roth and Austin scored when Colby Wherry reached on a fielder's choice. Junior Kristen Wadwell (25-5) went the distance to get win, allowing one earned run on seven hits and fanning two. Villanova starter Caitlyn Delahaba (10-8) took the loss, allowing four runs, two earned on seven hits and striking out four in 4.0 innings. Tessa Braga led the Wildcats going 2 for 3 at the plate. Game two was a slugfest and plagued by errors as the teams combined for six doubles, two home run and eight errors. Freshman left fielder Kristin Austin led the Cards, going 3 for 5 with two runs. Junior catcher Melissa Roth was 2 for 2 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI.
It was Villanova who struck with two runs in the first inning of the nightcap. Leadoff hitter Danielle Maricle reached on an error, stole second and scored on Meghan Morese's single. Morese came home on a double by Kristi Burlin. Louisville answered with four runs in the home half of the inning. Roth connected on a leadoff home run for her team-leading eighth of the season. Austin singled and stole second and Bemis walked. Wherry's RBI single tied the game at 2-2 and Kassie Stanfill's two-run triple gave the Cards a 4-2 lead. U of L tacked on another run in the second when Roth walked, stole second, took third on an error and scored on a wild pitch to make it a 5-2 game. Teague's two-out two-run homer in the third scored Jess O'Boyle who had led off the inning with a single as the Wildcats pulled within a run at 5-4. The Cards padded their lead with three runs in the third. Stanfill was hit by a pitch and scored on Patrika Barlow's RBI single. Vanessa James' base hit plated Barlow and Roth delivered an RBI double to make it an 8-4 game. The fourth inning brought one more run when Barlow's bases-loaded walk brought home Wherry who had singled. VU got two runs back in the top of the fifth. O'Boyle singled and Kristi Burlin singled to place runners on the corners with one out. An error allowed O'Boyle to score and pinch-runner Stephanie Zrebiec eventually came home on a wild pitch as the Wildcats made the score 9-6. U of L pulled away again with a three-run fifth. Roth led off with her third walk of the game, took second on Austin's bunt single and scored on Bemis' double. Austin crossed the plate on Stanfill's sacrifice fly. An error allowed Bemis to score and give the Cards a 12-6 lead. Villanova added a final run in the seventh when Morese doubled and scored on Burlin's double for the 12-7 final. Wadwell picked up her second win of the day to add to her nation-leading total 26-5 record. She gave up three runs, one earned in 4.0 innings of relief. Freshman Tori Collins started the game and gave up four earned runs on six hits and struck out three. Caitlyn Delahaba (10-9) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on four hits. The Wildcats had 10 hits in the game, led by Brilin's 3 for 4, two RBI performance. Louisville (31-5, 8-2) will continue BIG EAST play with a doubleheader against Providence at 11 a.m. Sunday at Ulmer Stadium. |
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