April 26, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky softball team will hit the road for one final time during the 2012 regular season to conclude Southeastern Conference road action at No. 2/4 Florida for a three-game series this weekend. Both teams are coming off midweek victories with UK earning a 3-1 win over Morehead State. Florida split with LSU in its midweek matchup at home.
Kentucky enters the series with the Gators owning a 24-26 overall record and a 10-12 mark in SEC action. UK has six remaining conference games and is in search of making a historic fourth-consecutive trip to the conference tournament.
UK will tangle with the Gators beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday’s game will be televised by Sun Sports with a first pitch slated for 1 p.m. ET. Sunday’s game will conclude the series with the start time slated for Noon ET.
Kentucky had a bevy of players contribute offensively in the win over the Eagles on Tuesday. Junior Alice O’Brien and sophomore Emily Jolly both belted a pair of solo home runs. Seniors Brittany Cervantes and Rachel Riley and junior Kara Dill all collected multi-hit outings. Riley went the distance in the circle yielding a mere three hits on the afternoon and striking out seven.
In SEC action for the season the Wildcats have been led at the plate by sophomore Lauren Cumbess who owns a squad-best .345 batting average. Dill is next with a .320 average and a team-high 24 hits. Cervantes has driven in 17 runs, hit eight home runs and scored 16 times while owning a .309 batting clip.
The Gators enter the series with the Wildcats owning a 42-6 overall record and a national ranking of No. 2. Florida also stands alone at the top of the SEC standings with a 19-3 record. Florida is paced at the dish by National Player of the Year candidate Michelle Moultrie who is batting .393 with nine home runs and 20 stolen bases. Preseason All-SEC selection Hannah Rogers owns a 1.05 ERA and a 25-3 overall record for the season with 164 strikeouts. Freshman Lauren Haeger is 12-3 with a 1.31 ERA and 100 strikeouts tossed.
Florida is 39-10 all-time against the Wildcats, although the Blue and White swept the series a season ago in Lexington behind Meagan Aull’s four home runs in the series.
For continuing coverage of the 2012 UK softball season, log on to UKathletics.com.
