UK Softball rallies again, beats No. 20 LSU in extra innings

For the second straight day, Kentucky Softball pulled a rabbit out of a hat in Baton Rouge — and stuffed the LSU Tigers right back in it.

The No. 8 ‘Cats rallied back from a four-run deficit then held on late for a fantastic 8-5 extra-innings victory. It was a battle all night, but UK landed the last punch as they secured a massive series victory over No. 20 LSU. The win moved the team to 23-9 and 5-3 in league play. With the series wrapped up, they’ll set their sights on a sweep at 1 p.m. Sunday on SEC Network+.

Eighth-inning bomb lifts UK over LSU in ESPN feature

ESPN picked an odd time to give Kentucky Softball their first national TV spotlight of the season, running parallel to the men’s Final Four on TBS. But for anyone who happened upon the end of this game while searching for Duke-UNC, they caught one heck of a finish.

The ‘Cats were looking to build momentum this weekend, having dropped six of their last nine games. They got things started with a comeback win on Friday, but things were looking grim at the beginning of game two. LSU jumped all over UK starter Izzy Harrison in the first inning, tagging her for four runs before she could manage three outs. The Tigers capitalized on Harrison’s wild arm, cashing in three walks, including one with the bases loaded. After a bases-clearing double, coach Rachel Lawson brought in Miranda Stoddard to replace her.

While Stoddard proceeded to put up zeroes, Kentucky slowly climbed back. They scored a run in the third, three more in the fourth, then took the lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Tatum Spangler. That lead would hold until the sixth, when the Tigers finally got a handle on Stoddard. They nearly tied the game on her fourth pitch of the inning, if not for this incredible catch by Rylea Smith:

RYLEA SMITH OH MY GOODNESS 😱😱😱@UKsoftball #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/OfdkaMCZjO

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 3, 2022

Instead, LSU did it the hard way with two singles and a double to left that knotted the score at five. Spangler moved to the pitcher’s circle and escaped the jam, stranding two.

Neither team pushed a run across in the seventh, making it UK’s second extra-inning affair of the season. In the top of the eighth, a leadoff walk and an infield single set the stage for Erin Coffel, who unleashed an absolute laser over the left-field seats to put Kentucky back up 8-5. Six outs later, the ‘Cats were victorious.

😍 It’s even better on replay 😍 pic.twitter.com/yr5dCytGvc

— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) April 3, 2022

Spangler earned the win, her third of the season, for successfully navigating the last two-plus innings; but it was Stoddard who earned most of the credit, allowing five hits and one run over five frames in relief. On offense, Lauren Johnson recorded three hits and Coffel went 2-5 with four RBIs.

The victory moved UK into a tie for third in the SEC standings, behind No. 15 Georgia and No. 17 Auburn. A win on Sunday would give them their first series sweep of 2022.