By Matthew Keck —

The University of Louisville softball team redeemed themselves and gained some momentum, grabbing three wins in Tuscaloosa, Ala., between Feb. 21-23.

Day 1

It was a huge day for the Cards on Feb. 21, winning both games by mercy rule in five innings against Penn State University and Wichita State University.

The Cards first battle of the day was with Penn State, winning 9-0. They started out the game slow in the first three innings, but had a huge fourth and fifth inning.

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Roby kicked off the Cards scoring spree in the top of the fourth inning with solo home run to put them up 1-0. In the same inning, sophomore Charley Butler knocked in a runner with a single to center field.

The fifth inning is when the Cards sealed the deal. Roby, getting her second RBI, was walked with loaded bases, putting the Cards up 3-0.

In that same inning, sophomore Cassady Greenwood, senior Caitlin Ferguson, redshirt junior Carmyn Greenwood, freshman Elana Ornelas and senior Celene Funk all posted RBIs, to help get the Cards 9-0 victory.

Junior Chardonnay Harris picked up her first win on the mound for the Cards this season, pitching a shoutout for all five innings and giving up zero hits. She also tallied four strikeouts against Penn State.

In their second game of the day, the Cards faced off with Wichita State, beating them 8-0 in five innings as well.

This time the Cards got their bats going in the first inning with Roby leading the charge yet again. She scored their first runs with an RBI single, bringing home two runners.

Carmyn Greenwood joined in on the hitting spree with a sacrifice bunt to bring home Cassady Greenwood, making it 3-0 for the Cards still in the first.

But the scoring didn’t stop there, with Rebecca Chung grounding out to second, but still posting an RBI for the Cards fifth run in the first.

Cassady Greenwood kept her bat hot in the second inning with an RBI single down the left field line to put the Cards up 6-0. The final two runs in the Cards win came in the fourth when junior Jordyn Wolfe singled to center field, scoring two more runs to claim the win.

Roby was back on the mound for the Cards in this bout, picking up her third win of the season to put her at .500. She pitched a shoutout through all five innings while only giving up two hits and a walk.

Day 2

Day two for the Cardinals saw them split wins with Wichita State and the University of Alabama.

With their first game of the day, and second matchup against Wichita State, the Cards came away victorious 8-4.

Cassady Greenwood came up big swinging again, putting the Cards ahead 1-0 in the first with an RBI double to left field.

Junior Maddy Newman wanted in on the scoring and did so with an RBI single to center field in the top of the third. Cassady Greenwood knocked in her second run of the day in the same inning to make it 3-1 Cardinals.

Funke helped tie the game at 4-4 in the sixth with a single to shortstop to score a runner. Newman was then hit by a pitch which scored Ornelas.

In the same inning, Roby got walked with the bases loaded to put the Cards up 6-4. And to cap the sixth off, two more runners scored on a fielding error by the Wichita State second baseman, making it 8-4.

Harris picked up her second win of the season, pitching five innings. She gave up eight hits and five runs, while also tallying seven strikeouts.

The second game of the day ended much differently, with the Cards taking a 9-0 beating from the Crimson Tide in five innings.

They struggled all game to get offense going, finishing with only three hits between two players and two runners left on base.

Roby took the mound for the first two innings, giving up 5 runs on three hits. She was pulled after the second inning, with freshman Payton Hudson and junior Paige Schindler finishing out the game for the Cards.

Day 3

The final day of play ended similarly to the Cards second game on day 2 – Another five inning mercy rule loss against the Crimson Tide 10-0.

It was a swing and miss for the Cards all game. They finished with seven strikeouts and eight runners left on base. Although five players posted a hit this game.

Harris got her third start of the weekend, but ended up with another loss on her resume. Through two innings, she gave up six hits, five hits and no strikeouts.

Roby and freshman Taja Fielder shared time on the mound but couldn’t control the Crimson Tide scoring. Roby gave up two runs one thirds innings pitched, while Fielder let up three in two.

All in all, it was a strong weekend for the Cardinals picking up three wins and building confidence for their next tournament.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal