Kentucky Softball cruises past NKU in much-needed win

It was a brutal weekend for the Kentucky Softball team. The ‘Cats were swept by unranked Missouri, moving them to 9-9 in Southeastern Conference play. Fortunately, they were able to turn things around on Tuesday night in Lexington with a smooth 14-0 win over NKU in five innings.

‘Cats take out frustrations on the Norse

The Wildcats were certainly out for blood in this one early on. Kentucky’s Lauren Johnson homered to left field to start things off, giving UK a quick 2-0 lead. The second inning was even better, though.

Kentucky tacked on eight runs in the bottom of the second — six of them coming from home runs. Emmy Blane hit a tow-RBI long shot to start the inning, followed by a solo from Kayla Kowalik. A pair of hits after that were good enough for two more runs, making it 7-0. Another home run from Meeko Harrison ended the inning, extending the lead to 10-0.

The Wildcats would go scoreless in the third inning, but were able to pick back up where they left off in the fourth. Erin Coffel led off with a homer to left field to start, marking her 16th of the season. Kentucky would go on to score three more runs before the inning finally ended, giving us a final score of 14-0.

💪💪 Got up off the deck and responded. 💪💪#WeAreUK x #BeTheStandard pic.twitter.com/5XYesLK3iU

— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) April 27, 2022

Northern Kentucky managed just one hit on the Wildcats all game behind a solid performance from Wildcat pitcher Tatum Spangler. Spangler struck out five Norse batters, two of them looking, and allowed just one walk.

Kentucky will welcome Mississippi State to John Cropp Stadium next. Game one of that series will be Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday’s game is Senior Day where the following Wildcats will be honored: Kayla Kowalik, Lauren Johnson, Renee Abernathy, Miranda Stoddard, Jaci Babbs, Emma Boitnott and Tatum Spangler. First pitch for that game is scheduled for 3 p.m.