April 19, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the fifth consecutive season the Kentucky softball team claimed the series with Ole Miss following a doubleheader sweep of the Rebels on Wednesday. Kentucky captured the first game by a 3-1 score before earning a five-inning 8-0 win in the nightcap. UK will return to action with a three-game series at Mississippi State this weekend after the Blue and White have won seven of their last 10 matches.
The Wildcats currently own a 23-23 overall record and a 10-9 mark in Southeastern Conference action following the two wins at Ole Miss on Wednesday.
UK and the Bulldogs will meet on Friday at 6 p.m. ET to open the series. The Saturday contest is slated for a 1 p.m. ET start and will air live on ESPNU with Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf calling the action from Starkville, Miss. The series will conclude with a 2 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
Freshman Griffin Joiner hit with a blistering .800 clip on 4-for-5 performance in the two games which included a pair of doubles and two RBI. Junior Alice O’Brien provided an offensive spark as well with a 3-for-4 series and a trio of runs brought home.Senior Brittany Cervantes drilled a homer in the second game of the series to run her total to a team-high nine round trippers on the year. She has now hit a bomb in seven of UK’s last 10 games and is one long ball shy of smacking 10 or more homers in a season in all four years in the Blue and White.
The senior pitching duo of Chanda Bell and Rachel Riley were victorious in the circle. Bell tossed a complete-game effort in the opening game striking out six and allowing just four hits. Riley earned her first shutout of the season while yielding a mere three hits and striking out four.
Mississippi State has earned a 25-19 overall record and an 8-14 clip in league play thus far. The Bulldogs are led by Brittany Bell who is charting a .398 average with eight homers and 30 RBI.
The Bulldogs possess a 24-16 overall record against UK since the 1997 season. UK is 8-4 against the Bulldogs in the Rachel Lawson era including sweeping all three meetings during the 2011 season.
For continuing coverage of the 2012 UK softball season, log on to UKathletics.com.
