The University of Louisville softball team defeated Syracuse 13-5 in six innings on April 24 at Ulmer Stadium, coming back from a five-run deficit. The win brings Louisville’s record to 39-10 overall and 14-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while Syracuse drops to 18-21 and 4-13 in conference games.
This game is significant as it demonstrates Louisville’s ability to recover from early setbacks and maintain their strong position within the ACC standings.
Syracuse scored runs in the first, third, and fifth innings to take an early lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Bri Despines hit her second grand slam in five days, narrowing the gap to one run. “Despines then knocked her grand slam to deep center field to quickly get Louisville within one run at 5-4,” according to the university statement. Following this momentum shift, Camryn Lookadoo was hit by a pitch and Madison Pickens singled. Jordan Williams tied the game with a single before executing a double steal with Pickens that gave Louisville its first lead.
Taylor Monroe contributed with a double down the left field line, followed by Ava Venturelli who drove in two more runs. Addy O’Dell entered as a pinch runner and later scored on Chelsea Mack’s sacrifice fly for Louisville’s ninth run of the inning. Easton Lotus executed strategic base running that resulted in Janda stealing home as part of a sequence where seven hits led to ten runs for Louisville.
In the sixth inning, Monroe made a defensive play by catching a pop-up that ended Syracuse’s scoring opportunity. Lookadoo reached base on an error and Pickens advanced both runners with another bunt single leading up to Venturelli’s walk-off hit that secured three more runs for Louisville.
The series between Louisville and Syracuse will continue tomorrow at Ulmer Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m., streamed live on ACCNX.
