Kentucky Softball Avoids Sweep With Shutout Win at Georgia
The ‘Cats squeaked out of Athens with a victory on the final day of an SEC road trip.
No. 16 Kentucky softball (22-9; 5-4 SEC) faced the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs on Monday night in the final game of the series. Although UK led throughout game two on Sunday, they could not stop Georgia’s offense late in the game and fell by a close score of 4-3. But needing a win after dropping the first two of the series, the ‘Cats stepped it up late in the game on Monday to get a 4-0 shutout win and hold off a Georgia sweep.
The victory for Kentucky broke Georgia’s 11-game win streak.
Big night for Kentucky native
Kennedy Sullivan, the Kentucky native and graduate student pitcher, started on the mound Monday night. With a K in the first and backed by strong defense, Sullivan held the Bulldogs to no runs in the first.
It was an offensive drought for both teams up until the third inning. But in the top of the third with two on and two outs against the ‘Cats, junior Erin Coffel’s strong batting got UK on the board with a 1-0 lead.
Sullivan continued to do her thing from the mound in the bottom of the third as she tallied more Ks to her stats. Heading into the fifth, she, along with her teammates on the diamond, kept the Bulldogs at zero runs while Kentucky held onto their 1-0 lead.
Offense rollin’ for the ‘Cats
The top of the fifth was a gold mine for Kentucky on offense. The No. 1 ranked catcher in the nation, graduate student Kayla Kowalik, led off for the ‘Cats and remained a steady hitting presence for UK, hitting a single to left field that landed her on first. The dominoes continued to fall in the right way as three runs were brought in by Kentucky bats courtesy of Coffel, senior Rylea Smith and sophomore Taylor Ebbs.
With a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth, the defense remained strong. A chopped ball retrieved by Kowalik led to a throw-out at first and gave UK their first out in the bottom of the fifth. Coffel didn’t let Kowalik have the only defensive highlight reel of the night though, so she robbed a line drive at second that may have a place on the SportsCenter Top 10.
Sullivan had done her job for the game and took the ‘Cats into the sixth still with no scores against them. But the bats had shrunk back down to normal size for Kentucky in the top of the inning. The score remained the same as they headed into the bottom of the sixth.
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Pitching changes but defense stays strong
Senior Sloan Gayan came in to relieve Sullivan in the bottom of the sixth. Gayan took the mound and did not disappoint as she escaped a bases-loaded situation for Georgia with a strikeout to take both teams into the final inning.
Although there was no luck from the plate once again for Kentucky, the defense did what it had done all night and didn’t allow the Bulldogs to get hot from the plate.
A balanced and steady offensive and defensive game for the ‘Cats allowed them to leave Athens on a high note with a 4-0 shutout win over the No. 10 Bulldogs. The victory gave Kentucky another victory in the SEC to break their .500 mark and move to (5-4) in the SEC.
The ‘Cats will be back at it on Friday in Oxford, Mississippi at 6 p.m. where they will begin another away series, this one coming against Ole Miss.
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