By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA – Another gem from the Big East Pitcher of the Year helped the Bulls book their first trip to the conference title game since 2008.

Sara Nevins threw a three-hit shutout a day after pitching six scoreless innings while Kourtney Salvarola and Kenshrya Jackson provided the offense in the second-seeded Bulls' 3-0 win over third-seeded Louisville on Friday before a crowd of 849 at USF Softball Stadium.

No. 11/12 Louisville was shut out for the first time since March 1 against No. 5 Texas while No. 24 USF advanced to Saturday's 4 p.m. championship game against top-seeded Notre Dame that can be seen nationally on ESPN2.

The Irish needed only six innings to hand fourth-seeded DePaul a 9-1 loss in Friday's first semifinal game.

“Whether Notre Dame wins tomorrow or we win tomorrow, both teams deserve to be in the postseason,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.

Louisville (46-11) and its top-ranked lineup made a ton of noise in Thursday's 12-3 win over Syracuse but couldn't get anything going against Nevins (24-7). Maggie Ruckenbrod's leadoff double in the top of the seventh was the only extra-base hit the junior allowed all night and marked the Cardinals' first hit since the second inning.

Nevins finished with four strikeouts and was happy about avoiding the big inning against a dangerous lineup.

“It was nerve wracking because I know one through nine, they're all great hitters,” Nevins said. “You can't throw the ball past them at all. You just have to hit your spots.”

Nevins was able to relax as the game went on because of USF's three-run third inning that saw Louisville starter Rachel Le Coq (21-7) exit with only one out in the frame.

Ashli Goff led off with a single and advanced to second when her sister, Courtney, slapped a grounder to third. Salvarola ripped the first pitch she saw off the wall in right field for the go-ahead run and the Bulls kept the pressure on. D'Anna Devine and Stephanie Medina walked to load the bases before Jackson snuck in a two-run single up the middle.

“All you have to do in that situation is make contact with the ball and that's what I did,” Jackson said.

The Bulls (42-14) now get to play for an automatic NCAA tournament bid a season after exiting Big East tournament in the first round, which Nevins said USF certainly hasn't forgotten.

“It was weird going one-and-out last year and making it to the World Series. This year we're at least proving that we can go each step at a time and win each game,” she said.