Kentucky softball walks off Michigan in NCAA Tournament opener
With the score tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Ally Hutchins saved the Wildcats.
In the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday, (4) Kentucky softball was matched up against the (3) Michigan Wolverines in the Stillwater Regional. Facing a 2-2 count with the bases loaded and two outs on the board, Hutchins stepped up the bat for the ‘Cats. The freshman from Paducah popped a hit that barely went over the Michigan second baseman and landed safely enough for senior Erin Coffel to come home from third and give Kentucky the 4-3 win.
This was Kentucky’s 11th straight NCAA Regional Opening Round win, all coming under head coach Rachel Lawson.
Starting with the second inning, it was a back-and-forth affair. Michigan scored first off a RBI single in the top of the inning before Lexington’s own freshman Peyton Plotts added a run for Kentucky in the same inning to make it 1-1. UK would take its first lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth thanks to senior Grace Lorsung’s 14th home run of the season.
The Wolverines responded right back in the top of the fifth with a homer of its own — a two-run bomb that pushed Michigan back in front, 3-2. But in the bottom of the inning, Kentucky senior Vanessa Nesby was able to score junior Margaret Tobias off a RBI double. Going into the sixth, the game was tied once again, 3-3.
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Facing the possibility of extra innings in the bottom of the seventh, Kentucky quickly got runners on base in Coffel and fifth-year Rylea Smith (UK’s two All-SEC performers this season) before Lorsung was intentionally walked to load the bases. Hutchins then stepped up and sealed the deal in walk-off fashion for the Wildcats.
On the mound, senior Stephanie Schoonover pitched the entire game for Kentucky, allowing just three runs on six hits with five walks and four strikeouts on 162 total pitches. She picked up her 19th win along the win, improving her record this season to 19-8.
In a double-elimination format, Kentucky (31-22) moves into the winner’s bracket and will face the winner of Oklahoma State and Northern Colorado on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EST in Stillwater, OK.
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