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June 11, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville softball team finished the 2008 season with a 31-23 overall record - including a 12-8 BIG EAST Conference record. The youthful Cardinals, a team which fielded only three upperclassmen in the starting lineup, earned the program's fifth consecutive NCAA regional bid and were sent to the Knoxville as the No. 3 seed.

The regional's opening game pitted the Cards against the 16th-ranked - and eventual Women's College World Series participant Virginia Tech. The first round gamewas almost identical to the 2006 matchup in which the the Cards and the Eagles battled for 12 innings before Virginia Tech prevailed 1-0. This time around, it took only 10 innings before Tech's Misty Hall blasted a solo home run for the 1-0 win.

Louisville defeated Winthrop 4-1 in the first game of the loser's bracket before falling to host, 13th-ranked Tennessee 8-1 in an elimination game.

The Cardinals lose one starter, senior first-baseman Sarah Totten, who had a career-best season, finishing with a .314 batting average, 31 runs and 26 RBI and was an All-BIG EAST Conference second team.

U of L returns nine starters from the 2008 team, including four All-BIG EAST Conference selections Kristen Wadwell, Kassie Stanfill, Melissa Roth and Colby Wherry.

The following are highlights of the 2008 season:

In the 2008 BIG EAST Tournament
The Cardinals advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament which took place May 8-10 at Louisville's Ulmer Stadium. Fifth-seeded U of L defeated fourth-seeded Notre Dame 3-1 in the quarterfinals after a day full of rain delays and extra innings, the game started at 10:30 p.m. and ended just before midnight. For the third straight year, the Cards advanced to the conference semifinals where they faced the top seed South Florida. The Cards took 1 -0 lead, but a two-out, two-run homer by Brita Giddens in the top of the sixth gave the Bulls the 2-1 win and denied U of L its third consecutive appearance in the championship game.

Fountain of Youth
It is safe to say the 2008 Cards were a young team. With one senior (Sarah Totten) and two juniors (Kristi Cunningham and Kassie Stanfill) among the regular starters, the remainder of the starting lineup consists of underclassmen. The entire left side of the infieldwas made up of freshman (3B - Chelsea Bemis; SS - Colby Wherry; and 2B Christina Roesel); starting pitcher Kristen Wadwell and catcher Melissa Roth were sophomores, as was right fielder Brittany York. At designated player, freshman Kaylyn Castillo or sophomore Rebecca Saksefski were likely to step into the starting lineup if Wadwell was not hitting for herself. Despite their lack of experience, the youthful Cardinals were solid in 2008:
• Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth had 20 doubles on the season. Her leadoff double in the first inning of the 5-4 win over Evansville tied the school single-season record, set by Melissa Jacobo in 2001.
• Roth's .471 on-base percentage stands atop the school's single season record list.
• Roth led the team with 16 multi-hit games.
• Freshman 3B Chelsea Bemis fell one walk shy of reaching the single-season high for walks. She finished her freshman campaign with 30 with the record being 31, held by Courtney Moore (2007) and Melissa Jacobo (2001 and 2002).
• Bemis 50 RBI tally was just three behind Courtney Moore's record set in (2007).
• Bemis, the No. 3 hitter for the Cardinals leds the team with 50 RBI and was second with five home runs and a .314 batting average and 14 doubles she was also third with 36 runs.
• Bemis led the team with 13 multi-RBI games
• Cleanup batter freshman SS Colby Wherry, posted a .273 average with 20 RBI and 14 runs and was U of L's only conference Player of the Week in 2008.

Stanfill, Wadwell Named to BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Junior left fielder Kassie Stanfill and sophomore pitcher Kristen Wadwell were selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team. Stanfill, batted .667 (4 for 6) with a triple and an RBI. Wadwell tossed all 14.0 innings for the Cardinals, posting a 1-1 record with a 1.50 ERA, scattering seven hits and allowing three earned runs while striking out 14.

Five Selected to All-BIG EAST Teams
Five University of Louisville softball players earned All-BIG EAST Conference honors as announced at the conference's annual championship banquet. Senior Sarah Totten and sophomore Kristen Wadwell were selected to the second team, while junior Kassie Stanfill, sophomore Melissa Roth and freshman Colby Wherry were named to the third team.

Cunningham and Totten Earn ESPN The Magazine Academic Honors
Junior Kristi Cunningham and senior Sarah Totten earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV honors. Cunningham was named to the second team, while Totten was selected to the third team. To be nominated, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore starter or significant reserve and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Team members are selected by a vote of the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) within the district.

Cunningham, a junior outfielder from Gallatin, Tenn. carries a 3.806 GPA as an Exercise Science/Pre-Nursing major. Totten, a senior first baseman from Louisville, Ky., holds a 3.30 cumulative GPA while majoring in Sport Administration.

For the Record...
• On April 29, Melissa Roth led off the first inning with a double against Evansville giving her 20 on the season, tying a school record for single season doubles, set by Melissa Jacobo in 2001.
• In the 5-1 win over Southern Miss on Feb. 9, sophomore catcher Melissa Roth tied a school record with three doubles in a single game. She tied Lisa McMillan's record set in 2003.
• In the March 17 5-4 win over Minnesota, freshman Chelsea Bemis tied a school record with four walks. Courtney Moore set the record on May 7, 2006 against Villanova.
• Pitcher Kristen Wadwell tied a painful school record (at least for the opponents) with four hit batters in the March 12 6-2 win over Marshall.

Taking One for the Team
Sophomore catcher Melissa Roth set a new school single season record for being hit by a pitch with 20. She broke her own mark, set in the 2007 season and holds the career record with 36. The record was previously held by former Cardinal great Sara Bausher who finished her career (2002-05) with 23.

Fair Weather Fans
The Cardinals have been hampered by inclement weather most of the season. They have missed 13 games because of rain or snow. The final day of the Samford Bulldog Bash and the Cardinal Classic were washed out. The entire Red & Black Classic was cancelled after a foot of snow hit the Louisville area. The Indiana tournament was cancelled because of inclement weather Most recently the final games of the season against Providence were cancelled because of rain in the area. The 2008 BIG EAST Conference Tournament was also hampered by rain, forcing the final game of the opening day to be played at 10:30 p.m. - Louisville defeated Notre Dame 3-1 in that game.

Pearsall, Cards Reached 300th win at Louisville
On March 1, the Cards posted a 2-0 win over Oregon State, to mark the program's 300th win since the program started in 2000. The win happened to come against Pearsall's alma mater where she played in 1983-84

Tough Slate
The Cardinals completed yet another tough schedule in 2008. Seven of their losses came teams ranked in the top ten. Louisville lost to No. 3/4 Florida 4-2, No. 5/5 Stanford 9-1, No. 6/6 Michigan 4-3 in eight innings and 5-2. U of L split with No. 23 DePaul winning the first game 2-0 and falling 1-0 in the second. After earning their fifth straight NCAA regional bid, the Cards were sent to Knoxville where they faced No. 16 (and 2008 Women's College World Series participant) Virginia Tech and lost 1-0 in 10 innings and were eliminated by No. 13 Tennessee 8-1 to close the season.

Wherry Named Player of the Week, Stanfill on honor roll
Shortstop Colby Wherry was named BIG EAST Player of the Week and pitcher Kassie Stanfill was placed on the honor roll, the league office announced on March 31.

Wherry, helped lead the Cardinals to a 5-0 record on the week. She registered a .563 (9 for 16) batting average with four doubles and seven RBI. She also had a team-leading .813 slugging percentage and .611 on-base percentage. Wherry had at least one hit in every game, including a 3 for 4, three RBI performance in the 3-2 win over St. John's. In that game, Wherry drove in all of Louisville's runs, capping off the day with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. She also had three RBI in the 8-4 win over Seton Hall.

Stanfill posted a 3-0 record and a 0.78 ERA on the week, including wins against Kentucky, Seton Hall and St. John's. The Goodlettsville, Tenn. native logged in 18.0 innings with two complete games: and struck out 28 batters, including a career-high 12 K's in the 3-2 win over St. John's. Stanfill surrendered only 11 hits in 18 innings, limiting opponents to a .169 batting average. She also helped her cause offensively , batting .533 (8 for 15) with one home run, one double and six RBI.

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