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TAMPA, APRIL 5, 2014 – USF outhit Louisville in game two of Saturday's doubleheader but was unable to climb out of an early hole and fell to the Cardinals, 3-0, at the USF Softball Stadium.

Louisville (22-15, 4-4) opened the scoring when Kayla Soles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the first, giving the Cardinals the only run they would need.

The Bulls (29-10, 3-2) scattered seven hits but struggled offensively when it mattered most, leaving seven runners on base. They were unable to take advantage of opportunities in the third and fourth, hitting into double plays to end both innings.

Kourtney Salvarola (Arnold, Md.) led off the third with a single back up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ashli Goff (Tampa). Two straight walks by Ta'coia Williams (West Palm Beach) and Stephanie Medina (Tampa) loaded the bases for Lee Ann Spivey (Palm Coast, Fla.), who lined into a double play to end the threat.

“We just got to start finding some holes. Luck is the residue of design and that's all there is to it,” head coach Ken Eriksen said. “The harder you work the luckier you get.”

No. 25 USF had another great chance to tie the game in the fourth after Juli Weber (Hegins, Pa.) led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Monica Santos (Tampa) followed that up with a hard grounder through the right side for a single, but Weber was forced to hold up at third base. With runners on second and third, Louisville pitcher Rachel Le Coq struck out D'Anna Devine (Morrisville, Pa.) and got Erica Nunn (Apex, N.C.) to fly into another double play with Courtney Goff (Tampa) getting thrown out at home on the play to end the frame.

The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Whitney Arion and an RBI double by Katie Keller to increase the lead to 3-0.

Back-to-back singles by Devine and Kristen Wyckoff (Plant City, Fla.) made for a promising start in the bottom of the seventh, but Le Coq retired the next three batters to pick up her sixth win of the season and give the Cardinals their second win of the day.

“We didn't do a very good job this week preparing them for Louisville,” Eriksen said after the game.

Nunn was stuck with the loss for USF after pitching five innings while allowing four hits and three earned runs.

First pitch for the series finale is set for 11 a.m. Sunday at the USF Softball Stadium.

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