I'll leave the "official" preview to Chip, but I attended the series in Louisville last season where VT won 3 out of 4 games and wanted to share some insight on a few players here. 3 of last year's games were close -- VT won 3-0, 2-0, and 8-0 but also lost 3-2 when their first baseman (not on this year's team) hit a late 2-run homer off Keely Rochard.

Taylor Roby -- 5th-year senior, would expect her to start two of these three games in the circle and will probably pitch in all three. She pitches and hits, like Valerie Cagle. Roby isn't as good of a pitcher (has control issues, allows more than a hit per inning, and doesn't strike out a lot of batters) as Cagle, but is a better hitter (.288/.401/.680; 1.081 OPS with 14 homers, 41 RBI, and 7 doubles) and is usually in the 3-hole. Tons of power, though her batting average is down 70 points from last year. Last season she pitched 14 innings against VT and gave up 5 runs (only 3 earned).

Carmyn Greenwood -- grad student, transferred from Auburn a couple years ago to play with her sister Cassady at UofL. I'd be stunned if Carmyn is not a first-team All-ACC selection this year in the outfield (she plays LF). Body type/playing style reminds me of Abby Sweet at Notre Dame, but with a lot more power. Greenwood's numbers are incredible -- .413/.467/.862; that's a 1.329 OPS, folks. 45 runs scored in 41 games, 14 doubles, 6 triples, 12 homers and 47 RBI, and she's also 5-5 stealing bases. She bats leadoff for UofL as they want their best overall hitter at the top.

Hannah File -- less about her on the field, but fascinating story here. Grad student, and transferred to UofL from JMU, but didn't play last season for them during their WCWS run as she was dealing with some personal issues (mental health) that she documented on her social media and has also had serious knee problems as well. She's very close with a few of the girls on VT's roster, including Kelsey Brown, Jayme Bailey, Kelsey Bennett, Grace Chavez, and Alexa Milius. She's an Indiana native and actually came to support them and VT in person at that Louisville series last year.

Louisville is much improved this year (24-17, 8-7) from last (21-28-1, 15-21-1), and as Chip already noted on the board they have a lot riding on this series for their NCAA Tournament hopes, so it should be a good one!


[Post edited by hokiehigh2000 at 04/22/2022 1:01PM]