Kentucky Softball Loses Game 1 to Mississippi State on the Road
The Lady Bat ‘Cats have been dropping in the rankings. Now at No. 22 in the country, they need to get a series win this weekend in Starkville.
Kentucky (28-16-1; 8-11 SEC) traveled to Mississippi State on Friday to take on the Bulldogs (25-22; 4-14 SEC) for game one of the three-game series. After an offensive showcase in their 10-2 midweek win against EKU on Tuesday, the ‘Cats seemed to find their rhythm from the plate. This matchup is a big deal for both teams as they each have two more SEC series left before going into the conference tournament.
Unfortunately for UK, they didn’t start the weekend off on the right foot.
Strong start for ‘Cats
The Wildcats started at-bat on Friday night. Kentucky native Kennedy Sullivan got things rolling in the top of the first with a RBI single that gave UK an early 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the inning. Mississippi State had no luck from the plate and the score remained 1-0 going into the second.
Kentucky’s offense flat-lined to start the second. Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, the Bulldogs’ offensive game got going in the bottom of the second as they were able to score two runs off of UK’s sophomore pitcher Alexia Lacatena. Mississippi State held a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third after the ‘Cats still had no luck scoring.
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Pitching struggles take hold
Lacatena gave up a three-run homer in the bottom of the third to make it a 5-1 game. Senior Sloan Gayan came in for relief in the bottom of the third for UK. Gayan was able to close out the inning and send things to the fourth, but neither team was productive on offense in the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, the only productive player for Kentucky was graduate student Kayla Kowalik as she went 3-3 from the plate. Although Kowalik remained steady, the rest of her team could not get going as the ‘Cats were still down 5-1 going into the bottom of the fifth. It seemed as if the Bulldogs’ offensive luck ran dry in the bottom of the fifth, but the score was still 5-1 in the top of the sixth.
A sac fly from UK tallied one more for the ‘Cats and made it a 5-2 game. Kentucky’s defense got shaky in the bottom of the sixth which allowed the Bulldogs to make it 6-2 off of an error. Both teams struggled offensively in the seventh, but Mississippi State came out on top in the end, 6-2.
The Bulldogs took game one of the three-game series. Game two is set for Saturday in Starkville at 3 p.m.
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