Louisville Regional Breakdown
Louisville was supposed to be good, but nobody thought they would be this good. The Cardinals head into the NCAA Tournament with a 53-3 record with losses coming to only DePaul (twice) and Tennessee. The entire season has been a momentum builder for Coach Sandy Pearsall and company, but that momentum got another big boost during the Big East Tournament. After knocking off Connecticut and DePaul, the Cardinals won in dramatic fashion against Notre Dame. That walk off homerun by Jordan Trimble has given this Cardinals team a ton of confidence heading into the big tournament.
However, that momentum could be quickly dismissed by a tough group that includes Michigan, Kentucky and Valparaiso. The Wolverines are very young, especially with freshmen pitchers Haylie Wagner and Sara Driesenga leading the way, but they are a talented team. The offense is not particularly strong, but Michigan can win games with their pitching. Kentucky’s Sara Dill is a superb hitter and could be the toughest test for all of the quality pitchers in this region. However, senior pitchers Chanda Bell and Rachel Riley better be on their best game if the Wildcats want to get past Louisville and Michigan. By the numbers, Valpo has the best offense in the Louisville Regional. However, the level of competition should be too much for Jordan Rutkowski, Brittany Duncan, Jessie Marinec and the rest of the Valpo sluggers.
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