UK Softball stays perfect in Tucson with Saturday sweep
After making history with a pair of explosive wins on Friday, the Lady Bat ‘Cats kept the good times rolling with two more Ws on Saturday. So far, so good from the Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson, Arizona…
Game 1: #16 UK vs. Long Beach State
With two wins already in the books this weekend, UK Softball was feeling good entering Saturday’s action. The first game of the day was a 2 p.m. tip against 2-5 Long Beach State. The ‘Cats took care of business in this one, winning 5-0 on the back of four shutout innings from junior Sloan Gayan.
After a 1-2-3 first inning with one strikeout by Gayan, Kentucky wasted no time getting on the board. Rylea Smith took advantage of a fielding error by stealing second, then came around to score on an RBI double by Erin Coffel. Just like that, UK led 1-0.
They would add to that margin in the second after a massive two-run homer to left field by senior Kennedy Sullivan, her first in a Wildcat uniform. The 3-0 lead would last them all the way until the fifth inning, when they tacked on two more on another RBI double by Coffel. By the time freshman Alexia Lacenta slammed the door with her third perfect inning in relief, this one was in the books.
Kentucky (7-1) totaled five hits in the game, two of which came off the prolific bat of Coffel — who also had three of their five RBIs. On the mound, Gayan and Lacenta combined for seven shutout innings with just three hits allowed. Gayan earned her first win of the year for her efforts.
Game 2: #16 UK vs. #11 Arizona
With all due respect to the Beach, the game of the day was the nightcap: 16th-ranked Kentucky against 11th-ranked Arizona, the host school and tournament favorite. In a matchup of Wildcats, UK prevailed late for a dramatic 7-6 upset victory. Here’s how it went down.
Neither team struck paydirt until the third inning, as sophomore Kentucky hurler Stephanie Schoonover looked good early. The first blow came in the form of a two-out RBI single by Lauren Johnson, scoring All-American Kayla Kowalik. However, Arizona responded by capitalizing on a pair of walks from Schoonover, taking a 2-1 lead on an RBI single by Allie Skaggs.
Thankfully, the ‘Cats weren’t done. After a double by Sullivan, Miranda Stoddard put UK back in front with this monster shot out to left:
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Again, the *other* Wildcats responded. Schoonover walked another batter, gave up a single, and was promptly removed from the mound. Her replacement, Sullivan, allowed a two-RBI single to Hannah Martinez, giving Arizona the lead back at 4-3.
But once again, UK was ready with a counter-punch of their own. Three of the first four batters in the fifth reached via hits, then Sullivan cleared the bases with her second big fly of the day. Boom: 7-4, good guys.
Arizona did manage two more runs in the bottom of the frame, albeit unearned thanks to an error by second baseman Emmy Blane. Lacenta came in to finish the inning, keeping UK’s lead intact.
That 7-6 lead was ultimately all the cushion Kentucky needed, as Sullivan returned to the mound in the sixth and finished it out with two clean innings. She finished the night with a team-high 3.2 innings pitched, two strikeouts and a win, plus two hits and two RBIs at the plate.
With the victory, UK (8-1) earned their second win over a ranked opponent this season.
What’s next?
Kentucky has one more game to play in Tucson on Sunday — the de facto championship of the Hillenbrand Invitational, against the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara at 11 a.m. ET. In case you didn’t see, UK beat Santa Barbara 23-0 in the first meeting between these two on Friday. The game is available for streaming online with FloSoftball.
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