Kentucky Softball Stays Hot On Sunday To Win Georgia Series

Kentucky Softball took on the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend at John Cropp Stadium. The Wildcats have struggled in SEC play so far this season, coming into this series just 3-9 against conference foes.

However, solid performances on Friday and Sunday gave Kentucky its second SEC series win of the season and first since taking two games off Alabama in late March. Rachel Lawson’s group is now 26-15 on the season with a 5-10 mark in SEC play.

Here’s how Kentucky performed against the Bulldogs over the weekend.

Game 1: Kentucky 7, Georgia 5

The ‘Cats began series play against Georgia on Friday, April 12 in Lexington. Senior right-handed pitcher Stephanie Schoonover was in the circle throughout the game for Kentucky. Through the third inning, the senior ace held Georgia scoreless. Meanwhile, on offense, the Lady Bat ‘Cats were electric after putting up two runs at the bottom of the first and tacking on four more at the bottom of the second thanks to a three-run bomb from junior Taylor Ebbs.

Heading into the third it was a 6-0 game in favor of the Wildcats but that changed fast as the Bulldogs were able to find two scores of their own at the top of the inning. Neither team had much luck on offense until the sixth when a two-run RBI double by Georgia cut the deficit down to 6-4.

Although it seemed like the Bulldogs were gaining some offensive momentum, Schoonover shut things down from the mound and stopped a scoring run. At the bottom of the sixth, senior power player Erin Coffel stepped up to the plate and knocked a ball over the scoreboard to make it 7-4. Schoonover stepped back into the circle at the top of the second looking to secure the first game of the series but gave up a run.

Luckily, the senior pitcher steadied herself and got the job done as the ‘Cats walked away with the 7-5 victory.

Game 2: Georgia 6, Kentucky 4

After a stellar performance on Friday, the Wildcats were back on Saturday searching for their second straight win of the weekend and a series victory. Unfortunately, pitching struggles and a Bulldog grand slam made that impossible.

Freshman and Georgia native Sydney Langdon took to the mound to start on Saturday for Kentucky. Langdon shined at the top of the first after striking out Georgia’s number two and three batters. Although the first-inning performance was great, things went downhill in the second as both teams went into the inning scoreless.

Langdon gave up a solo homer at the top of the second and then walked the next two batters. With two on and no outs on the board, junior Alexia Lacatena came in to relieve Langdon in the circle. Lacatena walked the next batter and then a grand slam from Georgia made it 5-0. At the bottom of the second Kentucky was also able to bring in a run to cut it to 5-1 heading into the third. At the bottom of the fourth senior Grace Lorsung hit a two-run shot out of the park to make it 5-3, shining some light for the ‘Cats.

But Georgia was able to knock another solo bomb over the fence in the sixth to take the 6-3 lead. At the top of the seventh, left-handed pitcher Jaden Vickers entered the game for the Wildcats. Vickers shut down the Bulldogs and sent her team back on offense for one last comeback chance. Although they were able to find another run, it was not enough as Kentucky fell 6-4 in the second game of the series.

Game 3: Kentucky 6, Georgia 2

Schoonover stepped back in the circle for Kentucky on Sunday with the series on the line. The ace did her duty on the mound as she threw a complete game with 147 pitches, 90 of those being strikes. Thanks to her strong performance, Georgia did not put a run on the board until the sixth inning. Kentucky, on the other hand, was powerful offensively.

Things got rolling for the ‘Cats at the bottom of the first as Ebbs hit an RBI single to make it 1-0. Right after that freshman Kentucky native Ally Hutchins popped up a sac fly to put the Wildcats up 2-0 going into the second. Ebbs hit her second homer of the weekend in the second inning and doubled her team’s lead to 4-0. The bats were hot and by the top of the fifth, a solo homer grew Kentucky’s score to 5-0.

At the bottom of the fifth senior Rylea Smith nailed a hard-hit RBI single through right field to bring in another Wildcat run and made it 6-0. Although Georgia was able to find two runs at the bottom of the seventh, they did not matter and the ‘Cats came out victorious in the series with a 6-2 win over the Bulldogs.

This SEC series win marks the second of the season so far for Kentucky as they have now defeated Alabama and Georgia, both of which were ranked in the top 25. Up next for the Wildcats is Western Kentucky in a midweek road match-up on Wednesday, April 17, in Bowling Green. That game will take place at 7 pm EST on ESPN+.