Feb. 26, 2010
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Senior Amber Matousek tossed the first no-hitter of her career en route to an 8-0 Kentucky victory over Evansville to begin the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., this morning. The flawless pitching effort is second no-hitter in school history.
Kentucky (9-2) got a tremendous effort from the senior right-hander as she went the distance and yielded no hits. Matousek earned her second win of the season while fanning eight batters to add to the accomplishment. The Wildcat offense supported its pitcher with an eight run game off of 11 hits for the day.
UK opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when junior Meagan Aull earned a two-out double down the right field line. A single by freshman Kara Dill brought Aull home from second and Kentucky went up 1-0 early.
The Wildcats then erupted for a five-run third inning to stretch its lead to 6-0. Senior Molly Johnson opened the inning with a leadoff triple down the right-field line. She would then come home on a wild pitch. Sophomore Brittany Cervantes then claimed a walk to place runners on the corners. Junior Annie Rowlands advanced pinch runner Jennifer Young to second with a sacrifice bunt to place two runners in scoring position. Sophomore Rachel Riley’s single into centerfield brought in Young from second for another tally. Pinch runner Macy Allen shifted to third after a stolen base and then a groundout. Aull’s single through the left side plated Allen from third and kept the inning alive. The speedy centerfield then earned a stolen base of her own and junior Megan Yocke’s single brought Aull all the way home. Back-to-back singles from Dill and senior Natalie Smith allowed Yocke to round home on an error by the catcher when Smith reached base with a bunt for the fifth run of the frame.
Kentucky plated two more scores in the fourth inning to put the game out of reach. Cervantes opened the inning by drawing a walk. Allen then singled with a well-placed ball towards third base to place two runners aboard with a single out. An error by the centerfielder allowed Mordecai to reach base and load the bases. Aull then drilled a ball into deep right field for a sacrifice fly to plate Cervantes and advance Allen. Yocke’s single into centerfield brought home Allen for the final tally of the game.
Yocke, Aull, Smith and Dill all notched a pair of hits on the afternoon. The junior duo of Aull and Yocke each tallied two RBI in the contest to aid the UK cause.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky softball team.
