By John Evanko

Down 1-0 against Bradley University, senior centerfielder Kristi Cunningham steps up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning for the University of Louisville softball team. She draws a walk to propel the stagnant Cardinal offense into motion, and later comes around to tie the game. Louisville would go on to win the game, 2-1.
As one of only two of the team’s four-year players, team captain Kristi Cunningham feels it is essential to lead by example.
“I think it’s really important to lead by example, especially on games like today, when we were really struggling,” Cunningham said after the Bradley game. “Kassie [Stanfill] and I try to do a good job of staying up and keeping the team going.”
A four-year starter and two-year captain, Cunningham plays the game with heart and toughness, and her example provides inspiration for the rest of her teammates.
“She works as hard as she possibly can, even if she’s injured, even if she’s having a bad day,” Tori Collins, freshman softball player, said. “When we see that, we want to do the same for her.”
But more important than her leadership skills and work ethic is the attitude Cunningham plays the game with. Coaches and players alike look to her as a team player.
“She’s the epidemy of a team player,” Sandy Pearsall, U of L softball head coach, said. “She’s everything a coach could want.”
In addition to her accomplishments on the field, Cunningham has won many awards for her academic success, such as Big East Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award, as well as being named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District IV second team. Although she admittedly sometimes puts too much stress on herself in the classroom, she said she feels like academics are extremely important. She plans to graduate with a degree in exercise science and pre-nursing this year before moving on to nursing school in the fall.
Back on the softball field, Cunningham has many goals for her much-anticipated senior season. Personally, she said she hopes to keep her batting average above .350, as well as being more aggressive defensively. But more importantly, she wants to stay consistent.
“Last year, I really struggled with my consistency, so that was one of my biggest personal goals coming into this year,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham could be on her way to accomplishing those goals so far this year. In just 17 games, she leads the team with six home runs and 20 RBIs. She is also batting .370 with a slugging percentage near .800 and has only one error on the defensive end.
Cunningham was recently selected as one of 30 Division I candidates for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Softball Award. The award is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School and focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact. To be eligible for the award the senior student-athlete must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition.
As for the rest of the No. 20 Cardinals, they said they have high hopes for this year and will be looking to win their second straight Big East Tournament Championship
 “For the past few years we’ve been to regionals, but we’ve never made it past there,” Cunningham said. “We want to make it to Oklahoma City this year and we think we have the team to do it.”