Kentucky Softball Drops Series Against Mississippi State With Saturday's Loss
The ‘Cats needed a bounce-back win on Saturday, but couldn’t the defense couldn’t prevent another Bulldogs’ win.
No. 22 Kentucky softball (29-16-1; 8-11 SEC) was back at it again on Saturday afternoon in Starkville to take on Mississippi State. The Wildcats struggled on both sides of the ball during the teams’ first matchup on Friday, falling 6-2 to the Bulldogs.
Offensively, the ‘Cats have been having a hard time over the last couple of weeks. But despite bringing in six runs — five coming in the two innings — the defense gave up double-digits as the Wildcats dropped the series.
‘Cats come out hot
Kentucky would have their chance to show off the offense in the top of the first.
Junior ball-bomber Erin Coffel came to the plate first and hit one to get on base. A RBI single was hit by sophomore Taylor Ebbs, who has been swinging the bat well recently. Coffel’s ability to make it home put Kentucky up early 1-0. With two on base, junior Meeko Harrison was up and hit a two-run RBI triple to left field which made it a 4-0 game as the ‘Cats went on defense.
In the bottom of the first with a hefty lead, junior Stephanie Schoonover stepped into the circle for the ‘Cats. Schoonover got the job done in the first and sent it to the second still with Kentucky up 4-0. Scott County native, Kennedy Sullivan, came up big in the second for Kentucky with a RBI single that tacked on another run to make it a 5-0 game as both teams went into the third.
Bulldogs Gain Momentum
The third inning was uneventful for each team, and the score remained the same as they headed into the fourth.
The Wildcats had no luck from the plate, but the same could not be said for the Bulldogs, as they were able to knock two runs in off of Sullivan who relieved Schoonover in the fourth. It was a 5-2 game going into the fifth.
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In the fifth, Coffel was walked while graduate student Kayla Kowalik hit a bomb to the outfield to bring in Coffel and increase the Wildcats’ lead by four, making it 6-2. But in the bottom of the fifth, Sullivan struggled to get a K which put two on for the Bulldogs. A RBI single for Mississippi State cut the deficit to 6-3 before a throwing error from third baseman Grace Lorsung allowed a runner to advance to third.
Downhill They Go
The bottom of the fifth was brutal for Kentucky as the bases were loaded for MSU and the Bulldogs still with no outs on the board.
Sullivan gave up a grand slam that suddenly gave the Bulldogs a one-run lead at 7-6 still with no outs against them. Senior Sloan Gayan came in for relief and got a K along with an amazing catch in the center from redshirt freshman Jenna Blanton. Thanks to Gayan and Blanton, the ‘Cats were back on offense down just one.
In the top of the sixth Kentucky still could not do any damage from the plate and headed into the bottom of the inning still down 7-6. Then, in the bottom of the sixth with a runner on, Mississippi State hit a two-run bomb to right field to put the Bulldogs up by three. Things just kept getting worse as there were still no outs in the bottom of the sixth and MSU hit another homer to make it an 11-6 game, which is where the final score would end.
After a solid first four innings, the ‘Cats could not get it together and fell to the Bulldogs. Kentucky will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.
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