No. 8 Kentucky Softball welcomes No. 1 Oklahoma to Lexington

The No. 8 University of Kentucky Softball team will welcome its most anticipated guest to Lexington of the season on Tuesday night — the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners.

TOP 10 MATCHUP PREVIEW

Oklahoma will walk into John Cropp Stadium a perfect 25-0 on the season. Even more impressively, 21 of those wins came in dominating run-rule fashion. The Sooners are coming off a 5-0 weekend at the Hall of Fame Classic, where they defeated all five opponents in five innings. The team is led offensively by Jocelyn Alo, who broke the NCAA home run record last weekend against Hawaii. Alo, a Hawaii native, already has 12 homers this season. She is hitting a blazing .525 so far, with 34 RBIs.

The ‘Cats aren’t too shabby on offense either, though. Kentucky is lead by senior catcher Kayla Kowalik. Kowalik is hitting .476 this season and sits among the nation’s best hitters with 40 on the season, along with 26 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. She is one of three ‘Cats currently hitting .400 or higher. The others are Erin Coffel (.448) and Lauren Johnson (.425). Coffel scored three runs in Kentucky’s series finale win over Alabama on Sunday.

It will most likely be the pitching that is the key factor. Kentucky is coming off an impressive showing in Tuscaloosa on Sunday, when Sloan Gayan threw five innings with just three hits and one run. Miranda Stoddard and Alexia Lacatena also put up valiant efforts in the first two games of the series this past weekend.

Kentucky will enter tonight’s contest 20-5 on the season. The ‘Cats went 1-2 at No. 3 Alabama this past weekend, but were able to dig in and avoid the sweep on Sunday. They also handed ‘Bama ace Montana Fouts her first loss of the 2022 season.

FIRST SELL OUT SINCE 2013 SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

Tuesday night’s game is officially sold out, marking the first regular season sellout in UK’s program history. Fans are being asked to arrive early to avoid large crows at the gates. The first 250 fans in the stadium will receive a free UK blanket. Gates open at 6 p.m.

⚠️⚠️ WE ARE SOLD OUT!! ⚠️⚠️

No. 8 Kentucky Softball vs. No. 1 Oklahoma Officially Sold Out

Full details: https://t.co/rLXa20qyxj pic.twitter.com/o0c9JWEUGD

— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) March 22, 2022

Parking is available on a first-come, first serve basis at several locations near John Cropp Stadium. For more on parking and UK’s bag policy, check here.

First pitch from Lexington is scheduled for 7 p.m. For those who cannot attend, the game will be broadcast on SEC Network. Additionally, you can follow @kass_stumbo for live updates.