Kentucky Softball Wins NCAA Opener by Run-Rule Behind Electric Offense
The Kentucky Lady Bat ‘Cats are moving on to the second round.
Two-seeded Kentucky (30-20-1; 10-14 SEC) softball started their NCAA Tournament journey on Friday afternoon against the three-seeded Miami (OH) Redhawks (37-18; 21-8 MAC). The Redhawks are third in the nation in terms of home runs recorded this year. The ‘Cats have struggled throughout the season with giving up hits, but the defense picked it up to avoid an elimination game.
Thanks to contagious hitting late in the game, UK earned a 9-1 mercy-rule victory.
Early defensive woes for ‘Cats
Kentucky was on defense to start the game. Junior pitcher Stephanie Schoonover took the mound for the ‘Cats in the top of the first. The Redhawks started off red-hot with a double before a ground ball out allowed a runner to advance to third. With one out and one on third, a sac fly gave Kentucky their second out, but brought in a run for Miami (OH).
With an early Redhawk 1-0 lead, Kentucky’s third baseman Grace Lorsung sent it to the bottom of the first.
A change in UK’s lineup had ball-bomber Erin Coffel at the top and a walk placed her on first for the Wildcat’s first at-bat. Next up was graduate student Kayla Kowalik, who hit a grounder to short that was scooped up to second to get Coffel out, but got Kowalik to first.
The bats were working early for Kentucky as Oregon native Taylor Ebbs stepped up and hit a double right off the that advanced Kowalik to third. But two quick outs kept UK from scoring as both teams headed to the second.
In the top of the second, Schoonover came out hot and got an immediate K. The next Redhawk up was sent right back to the dugout after striking out. It was a quick three up, three down, and Kentucky was back up at the plate.
But it was another quick inning for UK after Miami got three fast outs off of pop-ups.
Schoonover showing off
The ‘Cats got their first out of the third off of a fly ball. With one down and two to go, Schoonover sent in a sick curve ball to get her third K of the game and Kentucky their second out of the inning. Schoonover then walked her third batter and gave up a single which placed two on for the Redhawks. A diving catch from junior Vanessa Nesby in left field kept Miami scoreless in the third.
The bottom of the third was uneventful for UK as it was a three up, three down inning for Miami. The score remained 1-0 with the Redhawks heading into the fourth.
Georgetown, KY native Kennedy Sullivan came in to relieve Schoonover in the top of the fourth. Sullivan got two fast Ks to start the inning and a ground out put Kentucky right back on offense. Lorsung hit a hard grounder to right field to start the bottom of the fourth. A sac-bunt advanced Lorsung’s pinch runner Chelsea Mack to second. However, Miami’s defense was stellar in the bottom of the inning and left Mack stranded at second to go into the fifth.
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Defense leads to offense for Kentucky
Sullivan gave up a single right off the bat in the top of the fifth but struck out her next batter. A double play from UK’s second baseman Margaret Tobias kept the score at 1-0 as the ‘Cats looked to gain some offensive momentum going into the bottom of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, Tobias was up at the plate for Kentucky, hitting a line drive to left field that was snagged by Miami. Coffel found the sweet spot of her bat and sent one on the ground down the middle to land on first.
Kowalik then hit a grounder to short that was bobbled and advanced Coffel to second. With two on, Ebbs was up and hit a three-run homer to left field. The ‘Cats were finding the momentum that they needed to get ahead in the fifth.
Have a day, Taylor Ebbs
It was a completely different ball game in the top of the sixth as the ‘Cats were now up 3-1.
A 1-2-3 inning from Sullivan held Miami as the score stayed the same. The Redhawk defense began to crumble in the sixth as multiple errors allowed Nesby and Tobias to get on first and second. Coffel was up next and crushed one out of the park to tally on three more runs making it a 6-1 game, living up to her ball bomber name.
Ebbs stepped up next and hit her second bomb today to increase Kentucky’s lead to 8-1.
Still sitting in the bottom of the sixth, the ‘Cats only had one out against them before Sullivan popped one to right field to put two against them. But Lorsung would send one out to center that landed over the wall and ended the game in run-rule fashion at 9-1.
After starting off slow, home runs send the ‘Cats into the next round where they will face off against the winner of Northwestern and Eastern Illinois. Kentucky will play one of the two teams on Saturday, May 20, at 3:30 p.m. EST in Evanston, IL at Northwestern University.
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