No. 8 UK Softball falls to Ohio State in midweek match

No. 8 Kentucky Softball is now 22-8 on the season after falling to the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday night. Here’s how it went down at John Cropp Stadium.

Ohio State steals a 3-0 win on the road

Kentucky is coming off an impressive offensive weekend, but couldn’t continue that through Tuesday’s game. The ‘Cats won games one and three of their series with No. 18 Auburn this past weekend — and in dramatic fashion, too. Senior Renee Abernathy hit walk-off home runs in both of those games, giving UK the series win. The effort earned her SEC Player of the Week honors.

Unfortunately, she and her teammates couldn’t keep that same momentum against the Buckeyes. Ohio State struck early with a two-out solo homer in the top of the first and the ‘Cats could never find an answer. OSU added two more runs in the second, making the score 3-0 where it would stay for the remainder of the match.

Ohio State wins, 3-0.

We're back Friday vs. LSU at 7 p.m. ET in Baton Rouge. #WeAreUK x #BeTheStandard

— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) March 29, 2022

The ‘Cats had just five hits in the game as opposed to Ohio State’s eight. Both teams had their fair share of chances as well, leaving six runners on base each.

Kentucky started freshman Alexia Lacatena on the mound. Though she has been solid for UK so far this season, she struggled on Tuesday. Lacatena allowed four hits (two homers) before head coach Rachel Lawson pulled her heading into the third inning. Senior Tatum Spangler pitched the rest of the game, where she allowed four hits as well but no runs.

Ohio State (21-6) is not ranked, but they do have a few quality wins this season. The Buckeyes boast an RPI of 25, making them a quad one team. They are one of six quad ones that UK will face this season.

After a five-game home stretch, UK will now travel to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers this weekend. That series will begin on Friday at 7 p.m.