RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University softball team puts their nine-game win streak on the line as they make the trip to Louisville, Ky. to take on the Cardinals in a midweek matchup.

The Colonels (17-5, 0-0 ASUN) ride into the game following two perfect weekends at home, going 5-0 at the Colonel Classic and 4-0 at the EKU Round Robin.

The Cardinals (16-7, 2-1 ACC) come into the week after winning their conference-opening series against Notre Dame, 2-1. Louisville cruised to victory in game one, 9-3, and dropped the second game, 2-3. They secured the series in a marathon of a game three, winning 4-3 after 14 innings with a walkoff single.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS

Both teams come into the Wednesday came bunched closely in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. Louisville sits ranked No. 54 while the Colonels trail just behind at No. 64.

Louisville is 7-3 in their last ten games, including a 10-0 win over ASUN foe Bellarmine and an 8-0 run rule win over Longwood. The three losses came to Notre Dame (2-3), Northwestern (1-5), and USF (1-6).

Alyssa Zabala leads the Cardinals in the circle, pitching a 2.07 ERA over 61.0 innings pitched with a 6-2 record. Zabala has struck out 43 batters and recorded one shutout. Sam Booe comes in just behind with 39 strikeouts in just 38.1 innings pitched, boasting a 2.74 ERA and a 4-2 record with one save.

Chelsea Mack and Char Lorenz are notable players in the batter's box. Mack leads the Cardinals with a .448 batting average in 67 at-bats while also leading in stolen bases at 12. Lorenz has driven in a team-leading 29 RBIs and four home runs, and also comes in just behind Mack with 11 stolen bases.

LAST TIME OUT

The Colonels completed their second perfect weekend in a row, sweeping Purdue Fort Wayne and Indiana State.

Two victories came by the way of run rule with 12-4 and 11-1 wins over PFW while the Colonels walked off Indiana State in game one, 6-5, and came from behind to win once again in game two, 6-4.

Maddi Rutan turned in a performance that earned her ASUN Player of the Week honors, recording six hits in seven at-bats for a total of eight RBIs on the weekend. Over the four games, her batting average was .857 and her on-base percentage was .933.

Rutan also had a career weekend in the pitcher's circle, tallying a career-high 14 strikeouts against Indiana State in game two while claiming credit for the win in all three of her pitching appearances.

Jada McLeod also had a big weekend, totaling six RBIs on the weekend, including a five RBI performance in the first game against ISU, including the game-winning walk-off single.

Additionally, Kennedy Drafton extended her on-base streak to 17 games, the sixth-longest active streak in the country. She also matched her season-high in RBIs with four in a game against PFW.