Kentucky Softball Wins Out Over the Weekend in South Carolina

Kentucky Softball traveled down south over the weekend. The Wildcats handled business on the road.

The No. 13 ranked Wildcats played in the 2024 Wings Etc. Classic hosted by USC Upstate which began on Friday. Kentucky faced two opponents on Friday, two on Saturday, and one on Sunday. The ‘Cats swept the tournament after going 5-0 on the weekend and tallied their first run-rule victory of the season.

Game 1: UK 7, Akron 3

Kentucky came out strong on Friday against Akron to start the tournament with a bang. Senior third baseman Grace Lorsung got the bats rolling for the ‘Cats at the bottom of the first inning with a three-run bomb to take an early 3-0 lead. An error by the Zips allowed another Wildcat run to score before the inning was over.

An early 4-0 lead kept Kentucky ahead throughout the game. Fifth-year and former Rutgers pitcher Jaden Vickers gave up a solo homer in the second to make it 4-1. The Wildcats did not need to fret after it was bombs away in the fifth inning. UK freshman, and former McCracken County, star Ally Hutchins nailed a ball over the fence to tally her first career home run and bring in another ‘Cat with it. Now up 6-1, junior ball buster Taylor Ebbs stepped up and nailed one out of the park to left field to give the team a comfortable 7-1 lead.

Vickers dazzled on the mound for Kentucky in the match up as she threw six innings and only gave up five hits. At the top of the seventh freshman right-handed pitcher Sydney Langdon came in to relieve the grad transfer but walked two batters to place the ‘Cats in a sticky situation with two on and two outs. Kentucky’s ace Stephanie Schoonover stepped into the circle to secure the final out and come away with the 7-3 victory.

Game 2: UK 9, USC Upstate 0

Following a stellar tournament debut earlier in the day, the Wildcats took on the weekend host USC Upstate. The bats remained hot for Kentucky in their second game on Friday as senior star Erin Coffel roped the second pitch of the game out of the park. At the top of the second Coffel shined from the plate with a two-RBI double to put her team up 4-0.

At the top of the third, Grace Lorsung knocked a hard hit single to left field which brought in two more runs. The scoring did not stop there in the third as Taylor Ebbs was eventually brought home as well. Finally, at the top of the fifth with a 7-0 lead, freshman Wildcat and Lexington native Peyton Plotts bombed her first career homer over the left field wall to make it a 9-0 game and get the run-rule win after five innings.

Stephanie Schoonover stayed steady on the mound for Kentucky through five after pitching a one-hitter. After throwing the complete-game shutout, the senior star logged eight strikeouts in the circle and walked away with her fifth dub of the year so far.

Game 3: UK 6, Monmouth 1

To start play on the second day in South Carolina, Kentucky took on Monmouth. Senior speedster Vanessa Nesby got the ‘Cats rolling in their first game on Saturday, February 24. Nesby singled in the first, then stole second, moved to third on a ground ball, and made it home after a wild pitch. Monmouth errors aided Kentucky to make it a 5-0 game heading into the fourth inning.

Bats were still sizzling at the bottom of the fourth inning for the Wildcats after Erin Coffel nailed a ball out of the park to take the 6-0 lead. The fourth inning bomb courtesy of Coffel tallied her fourth home run on the season thus far. Although a ground out by Monmouth put them on the board in the seventh, Kentucky’s defense pulled off a double play to get the team the 6-1 win.

Jaden Vickers threw a complete game in the Wildcats; third win of the weekend. The left-handed pitcher allowed only one run, one walk, and struck four batters out in the contest.

Game 4: UK 7, Akron 5

To round out their Saturday schedule, the ‘Cats went up against the Akron Zips for the second time. Even though the first game between the two teams was one-sided in favor of Kentucky, the Zips were not going to make it that easy again. Two RBIs at the top of the second inning put UK up 2-0. A two-run Erin Coffel bomb back at the top of the lineup in the second made it a quick 4-0 game.

At the top of the third, Taylor Ebbs also hit a homer of her own to make it 5-0. However, the Zips were not going down without a fight after a sac fly and three-run homer cut the ‘Cats’ lead down to 5-4. Akron got hot late in the game after nailing another ball out of the park to tie things up at 5-5 in the fifth. Ebbs and Ally Hutchins saved the Wildcats in the seventh after hitting RBI singles to run away with the 7-5 dub.

Sydney Langdon started on the mound and threw two innings for Kentucky before junior New Jersey native Alexia Lacatena stepped in for relief. Stephanie Schoonover entered the game in the third to try and get her team back on the right track. The ace gave up only one run and struck out eight batters in the final four innings to get the ‘Cats their fourth win of the weekend.

Game 5: UK 11, USC Upstate 6

For their last game of the weekend, Kentucky faced USC Upstate again on Sunday. Similar to Akron, USC Upstate was not going to allow the Wildcats to walk away with an easy win on the tournament’s final day. Upstate hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to go ahead 2-0 early. Kentucky responded in the third when Erin Coffel roped another solo bomb to get the bats rolling.

The Wildcats got rolling in the fourth. The ‘Cats went up 7-2 on seven unanswered for the team. The fifth inning was tough on defense for Kentucky after they gave up four USC Upstate runs off of two errors. By the top of the seventh it was 7-6 with the ‘Cats barely up. Luckily for the defense, the offense picked it up at the top of the seventh and scored four runs on five hits. After a stellar performance in the bottom of the inning, UK’s defense allowed the team to get the 11-6 win and sweep the tournament going 5-0 on the weekend.

Sydney Langdon pitched her first career win against USC Upstate on Sunday. The promising freshman pitcher threw 4.1 innings, allowed only one earned run, and struck out eight batters. Jaden Vickers came into the game for relief and threw the final 2.2 innings with four strikeouts and gave up one run.

Looking Ahead

The Wildcats will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina this upcoming weekend to play in the 2024 Queen City Classic hosted by the Charlotte 49ers. Kentucky will face Charlotte, Minnesota, and Fordham over the weekend.