Louisville softball earns walk-off win over Kentucky as program honors Don Dobina
Just one of the many things former Bullitt East star and currently Louisville freshman Taylor Roby learned about softball from the late Don Dobina was clutch hitting.
Dobina's gone, but his lessons live on in Roby's head.
On a night when the University of Louisville posthumously honored Dobina, one of the city's top softball supporters, two of his former pupils paid homage to him in a most fitting way.
Senior Megan Hensley and Roby hit back-to-back triples in Louisville's breakthrough third inning before Roby had the walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh as the Cardinals upset no. 24 Kentucky, 8-7, in the first game on Ulmer Stadium's newly named Don Dobina Field.
"It meant a lot and I'm glad we could experience this on this field," Roby said. "I knew it meant a lot to us and to the Kentucky players as well."
More:Once teammates at UMass, softball coaches at U of L, UK set to face off
Dobina died in 2016 at the age of 63. Through his work as the president and CEO of MPC Promotions, Dobina was the lead donor in Ulmer Stadium's 2013 expansion. Long before that, Dobina was the president and founder of the Louisville Lady Sluggers Softball Club.
"Don Dobina was a pioneer for women's softball throughout the state of Kentucky and his support of the University of Louisville's program is immeasurable," said Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra. "Don and his wife, Susan, have been long time supporters of our softball program and we are proud to honor Don's legacy as part of our own legacy by naming the field after him tonight."
The win came in front of the sixth-largest crowd (1,254) in Ulmer Stadium history.
"It was a great game to play and I think that our fan support is awesome," U of L coach Holly Aprile said. "That's tremendous and it's just so much fun to play in this park."
Kentucky (26-18) blew two early leads against Louisville (28-15), losing leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the first two innings. Louisville took its first lead at 4-3 in the second as sophomore Abby Newman drew a leadoff walk and junior Celene Funke followed with her national-best 10th triple of the season.
Louisville, which knocked off a top-25 foe for the second time in 10 days, finally surged ahead as Funke scored on a fielding error.
More Cards:Louisville basketball grad transfer Lamarr Kimble leads with patience
The Cardinals, coming off an upset of No. 3 Florida State last week, received votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA TODAY/NFCA polls this week. Kentucky, was looking for its fourth-straight win in the series.
Louisville's first lead was short lived. Kentucky tied it at 4-all in the top of the third on an RBI double from sophomore Lauren Johnson, a former prep star at Daviess County and another Dobina protege.
Louisville never trailed after its three-run third. Freshman Charley Butler led off with a single, and one out later Funke singled and stole second. Then came three straight run-scoring hits from Melton, Roby and Hensley, a former Ashland Blazer star.
Johnson, who had an RBI double, tied the game in the seventh inning on junior Jenny Schaper's sac fly to deep center as Funke ran into the wall making the catch.
"I was honestly mad that I couldn't throw her out at home," Funke said. "I was just running and Megan (Hensley) was talking to me and telling me I was right on the fence. It was just a catch that we needed and it all worked out."
Also:Source: Louisville assistant Luke Murray not interested in NKU job
That set the stage for Roby. With one out, Funke and Melton hit consecutive singles.
"We had kind of our fast part of the lineup up, so that was kind of fun," Aprile said. "It was just a great job by Funke and Sid (Melton) to get themselves on and then Roby coming up with that big at-bat."
One out later, Roby belted a ball to the outfield and Funke raced home, beating the sweeping tag.
"I know Funke is very fast, not like me," Roby said. "I just knew I had to make solid contact to get Funke home."