The University of Louisville softball team will open ACC play this weekend when Notre Dame visits Ulmer Stadium for a three-game series starting with a single game Friday at 2 p.m. – a change from the previously scheduled 4 p.m. start due to rain in the forecast. Game two of the series is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. and the finale will take place Sunday at 12 p.m. Admission is free.
 
Series Information
March 16-18, 2018:  Louisville vs. Notre Dame
Promotions/Giveaways
March 16: $1 Hot Dogs
March 17: Service Appreciation Day; T-Shirts for first 100 in attendance
March 18: Kids under 12 run the bases, post game autographs, first 200 girl scouts receive a patch
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Venue: Ulmer Stadium
Admission: Free
Television: ACC Network Extra - Don Russell (play-by-play); Maryssa Becker (analyst)
Live Scoring: GoCards.com
Twitter Updates: @UofLSoftball
Team Notes
• The Cardinals bring a 20-5 overall record into the weekend after 9-4 win over Northern Illinois in a midweek matchup.
• For the fifth week in a row, Louisville is receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll. UofL is also receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll for the second straight week and the fourth time this season.
• The Cards have won nine of their last 10 games and are 10-1 at Ulmer Stadium this season.
• Louisville has outscored opponents 152-86 this season. Eight different players have tallied double-digit run totals.
• On March 4, Louisville defeated Eastern Illinois 6-0 to mark the 700th win in school history - all under head coach Sandy Pearsall who started the program in 2000. She now has a 705-355 mark at UofL.
Individual Notes
• Danielle Watson (12-3) leads the ACC and is ranked fifth in the nation in wins. The freshman right-hander carries a team-best 1.87 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 78.2 innings of work while holding opponents to a .179 batting average. Junior Megan Hensley (7-2) follows with a 2.09 ERA and 67 Ks in 77.0 innings and is limiting opponents to a .217 average.
•Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson leads the team with a .395 average and 25 RBIs as well as multi-hit games (9) and multi-RBI games (7).
• Sophomore Celene Funke follows with a .380 batting average and is a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases. The speedy outfielder brings an 11-game hitting streak into the weekend.
• Junior Sidney Melton has scored a team-high 21 runs and is 5-for-5 in stolen bases.
• Sandy Pearsall is in her 19th season as UofL's head coach. After building the program from scratch in 2000, Pearsall recently achieved her 700th victory at Louisville. She has guided the Cardinals to six conference championships. Under her watch, Louisville has made 13 NCAA regional appearances and served as a host site in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
 
Cards against the field
Notre Dame
Series Record: ND leads 18-16
Last Meeting: April 3, 2017 - UL won 7-4 to wrap up a three-game series at Ulmer Stadium. The Irish took the first two games 5-4 and 6-4.
Scouting the Irish: Notre Dame enters the weekend with a 16-8 overall record and on a three-game win streak after spending the week in Florida where they swept a doubleheader against North Florida 4-0 and 3-1. They wrapped up the week with a 3-1 win at Jacksonville.
• Last weekend, the Irish opened ACC play at NC State, where they defeated the Wolfpack 15-0 in game one and fell 4-1 in the second half of a Saturday doubleheader. Rain forced the cancellation of the third game of the series. Prior to the loss at NC State, Notre Dame had won its past seven games and has now won 11 of its last 12 outings.
• Ali Wester leads the team with a .455 batting average. Katie Marino has belted out five home runs while Cait Brooks accounts for a team-best 18 RBIs.
• Alex Holloway (11-4) carries a 2.08 ERA with 94 strikeouts and four shutouts in 87.1 innings. Katie Beriont (5-4) follows with a 2.94 ERA and 40Ks in 2.94 innings of work.
 
Up Next: The Cardinals will travel to Bloomington, Ind. for a single game at Indiana University. After that, Louisville will continue its road swing with a trip to Durham, N.C. to take on Duke in a three-game ACC series.
 
Up Last
 Junior Megan Hensley connected on a grand slam, drove in five runs and picked up the win in the circle as the University of Louisville softball team overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat Northern Illinois 9-4 Wednesday evening at Ulmer Stadium. Hensley (7-2) went 2-for-4 with her second home run of the season and tied a career high with five RBIs to help her cause in the circle as she struck out six and scattered two hits in 4.2 shutout innings of relief. The Cards outhit the Huskies 11-9, scoring nine unanswered runs after falling behind 4-0 in the third inning.
 
Recapping last weekend
The Cardinals went 4-1 in the Louisville Softball Classic. UofL opened the tournament Friday with a pair of come-from-behind victories against Bradley and UMass to extend its win streak to 10 games. A loss to the Minutewomen on Saturday snapped that streak, but the Cards rebounded with a win over Eastern Michigan Saturday evening and beat Bradley Sunday to wrap up the weekend.
•Freshman Kyra Snyder went 8-for-16 at the plate to lead the Cardinals on the weekend. Junior Megan Hensley followed with a .471 batting average, scoring three runs and driving in four. Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson went 8-for-19 with a .421 average and a home run and scored five runs with seven RBIs.
•Hensley posted a 2-1 record in the circle with a 2.57 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 16.1 innings.
 
Louisville 10 – Bradley 8
Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson went 3-for-4 with a career-high three runs and four RBIs and Melton went 3-for-4 with three runs in a game which saw the Cards rally from deficits of 6-1 and 8-6. Seven players connected on at least one hit to help Louisville outhit Bradley 14-13. Megan Hensley got the win, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and striking out six in 4.1 innings of relief.
 
Louisville 5 – UMass 4 (8 innings)
Caitlin Ferguson's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth lifted the Cardinals to a 5-4 win as Louisville scored five unanswered runs after trailing 4-0 entering the bottom of the seventh.
• Watson (12-3) picked up her ACC-leading 12th win of the season while striking out seven and allowing four earned runs on seven hits. Melton went 3-for-3 with a run to pace the Cardinals at the plate. Ferguson, Pufahl, Hensley and Szydlowski also tallied two hits as Louisville held a 13-7 advantage in hits.
 
UMass 5 – Louisville 2
The Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead, but UMass scored three runs in the third and two more in the second en route to a 5-2 victory which snapped Louisville's 10-game win streak.
• Hensley took the loss, allowing five runs, four earned, on eight hits and struck out nine in seven innings. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate. Snyder also had two hits to pace the Cardinals offensively.
 
Louisville 10- Eastern Michigan 6
Sophomore Celene Funke went 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI and freshman Maddy Newman went 3-for-4 with two RBs and a run to help Louisville overcome a 5-2 deficit and beat Eastern Michigan 10-6 in the second game of the day.
• Junior Darrianne Hale got the win, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and striking out three in 4.1 innings of relief. Freshman Danielle Watson picked up her first save after surrendering two hits and striking out two in the final two innings of the game.
 
Louisville 6 - Bradley 3
The Cards wrapped up the Louisville Softball Classic with a 6-3 win against Bradley Sunday at Ulmer Stadium.
• Megan Hensley got the win, holding the Braves scoreless on three hits and striking out six in five innings of relief. She also went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Nicole Pufahl went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
 
Pearsall, Louisville reach 700 wins
On March 4, 2018, the University of Louisville softball team defeated Eastern Illinois 6-0 in the final game of the Red & Black Classic at Ulmer Stadium.
Pearsall Highlights at Louisville
• Sandy Pearsall is in her 19th season at the helm after starting the program in 2000.
• She has registered a 705-355 record at Louisville; producing 14 consecutive winning seasons (six winning seasons in the 18-year history of the program).
•Six conference championships in three conferences (C-USA, BIG EAST, American Athletic Conference 
• Louisville has been ranked in the top 10 numerous times, reaching as high as No. 7 (as recently as 2013)
• Conference Coaching Staff of the Year three times: 2012 (BIG EAST); 2006 (BIG EAST); 2000 (Conference USA); NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2012).
 
Life is grand for Hensley
Megan Hensley connected on a grand slam in Louisville's 9-4 win against Northern Illinois on March 14 marked the first since Feb. 17, 2017 when Hensley launched a grand slam in the 9-0 win over Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Hensley connected on her first career grand slam as a freshman on March 30, 2016 when the Cards beat Western Kentucky 12-0.
• She leads the current team with three career grand slams. Lacy Wood (2003-06) holds the school record with four.
 
Hitting for average
The Cardinals are hitting .312 collectively as a team with seven players who are batting over .300 on the season. Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson leads the way with a .395 average. Fellow sophomore Celene Funke follows at a .380 clip while freshman Maddy Newman is batting .395. Junior Megan Hensley and senior Nicole Pufahl carry a .338 batting average. Madison Cousineau (.320) and Kyra Snyder (.31) round out the top hitters.
 
Hensley registers 200th strikeout
In the March 14 9-4 win against Northern Illinois, Megan Hensley picked up the win while striking out six in 4.2 innings of relief. In doing so, she registered and surpassed her 200th career strikeout. She now has 204 and needs 10 more to move into Louisville's top 10 career leaders.
 
Watson off to stellar start
Freshman Danielle Watson has been impressive in her debut as a Cardinal. The right-handed pitcher leads the ACC and is tied for fifth in the NCAA in wins with a 12-3.
• The right-hander carries a 1.87 ERA with 72 strikeouts  in 78.2 innings while holding opponents to a .179 batting average.
•The Osceola, Ind., native made her debut in the Cardinals 5-3 win over UCF. In that game, she surrendered one earned run and struck out five while scattering four hits in 5.0 innings.
 
Hensley moving up in record book
Junior RHP Megan Hensley has entered Louisville's top career list in several categories.
• Fifth with six career saves and needs three more to tie for fourth with Tori Collins (2009-12).
• Ninth in appearances (71) - needs nine more to move into a tie for eighth with Rachel LeCoq (2013-14) .
• Ninth in career games started (49), needs one more to tie for eight with Tara McClure (2000-01).
• Tied for ninth in career wins, needs four more to move into a tie for eighth with Rachel LeCoq (2013-14).
 
Pufahl eclipses 100 career runs
Senior Nicole Pufahl scored her 100th career run on March 10 when the Cardinals' 10-6 defeated Eastern Michigan at Ulmer Stadium. The senior outfielder now has 103 runs in her career and needs 14 more to move into a tie for 10th with Sara Bausher (2002-05) and Alicja Wolny (2010-13) on Louisville's all-time list for career runs.
 
Senior leadership
The four seniors in the starting lineup have been instrumental in the Cardinals' early success.
•Catcher Jenna Jordan is tied for the team lead with two home runs and is third on the team with 15 RBIs.
•Centerfielder Nicole Pufahl is carries a .338 batting average and recently snapped a 15-game reached base streak.
• Second baseman Jamie Soles has played in 24 games with 21 starts and stands fourth on the team with 13 RBIs.
• Third baseman Alison Szydlowski has played in 24 games with 23 starts.
Note: Senior Ashley Nikolao is currently sidelined by injury.
 
Youthful impact
Along with the veteran leadership on the field, several underclassmen have also made valuable contributions.
• Sophomore Caitlin Ferguson has started every game at shortstop, third base or first base and leads the team with a .395 batting average, seven doubles and 25 RBIs.
• Sophomore Celene Funke is second on the team with a .380 batting average, is on an 11-game hitting streak and is a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases.
• Freshman RHP Danielle Watson (12-3) leads the pitching staff and the ACC and is fifth in the nation with 12 wins. She carries a 1.87 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 78.2 innings of work. 
• Freshman Maddy Newman has played in 19 games with nine starts and is third on the team with a .350 batting average.
• Freshman Kyra Snyder has started every game at first base or in the circle and stands seventh on the team with a .318 batting average.