UK Softball opening home season with 2022 John Cropp Classic

After a stretch of away tournaments to start the season, the UK Softball team is finally making their home debut this weekend in the 2022 John Cropp Classic. The No. 10 Wildcats will welcome three different teams to Lexington this weekend for the annual tournament.

Let’s talk about it.

Thursday

The ‘Cats will kick off the tournament with a Thursday game against No. 19 University of Michigan. The 9-5 Wolverines are coming off an impressive showing at the Duke Invitational Tournament in Durham, where they went 4-1 and split the series with No. 13 Duke.

On Monday, the Wolverines recorded their first run-rule victory of the season. They defeated Elon 11-3 in five innings thanks to a seven-RBI performance from Hannah Carson and Sierra Kersten. Kersten, the sophomore second baseman, went 2-for-4 at the plate with a career-high four RBI.

Senior Alex Storako (8-0) got the start and the win from the mound. She struck out five Elon batters and allowed just one run and two walks. Elon spoiled her shutout effort in the fifth after getting a few walks and a two-run homer to left-field. Freshman Annabelle Widra entered and finished the game.

First pitch for Thursday’s game is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

Friday

The ‘Cats will continue the weekend with a double-header on Friday afternoon. First, they will face the Drake Bulldogs at 3:00 p.m. Currently sitting at 4-6 overall, the Bulldogs have struggled to open this season. Last weekend’s trip to Baton Rouge for the LSU Purple & Gold Challenge took a toll on the team, as they went 1-4.

The Bulldogs finished the weekend on a high note, though. They posted a four-run fourth inning on Sunday to defeat Purdue 4-2 in Baton Rouge. Purdue got a run back in the top of the sixth off an RBI single to right-field, but Mackenzie Hupke’s relief effort came up big. She stayed calm and worked her way out of a loaded-bases situation to keep the lead with Drake. She kept the momentum in the seventh, going 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to give the Bulldogs the win.

Following the game with Drake, the Wildcats will almost immediately play Michigan for a second time. First pitch in that game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Saturday

Kentucky will conclude the weekend with a game against the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Flashes have also been a little rocky to begin this season. They are currently sitting at 4-5 on the season after a few tough weekends at away tournaments.

The Flashes are coming off the Camel Stampede Tournament in Buies Creek, North Carolina, where they went 2-2. They finished the weekend with an 8-0 win in five innings over Howard, though. Freshman Kylie Ringler was huge for the Flashes. She pitched the fifth perfect game in school history, retiring all 15 batters she faced. It was only her second collegiate start.

Before the last game, though, the offense couldn’t quite find the same groove. The Golden Flashes had just one run on the weekend before they smacked eight on Howard.

First pitch for this game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

How to get tickets:

Tickets for all UK games are available via ukathleticstix.com. For the John Cropp Classic, tickets will be sold for all games where the Wildcats are featured. In games where UK is not playing, admission will be free. If you cannot make it in person, you can watch on SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the ESPN app.

Go ‘Cats!