Feb. 27, 2009
DELAND, Fla. – Freshman pitcher Chanda Bell completed the first shutout of her career leading Kentucky to a 4-0 win over Centenary in the first game of the Hatter Classic hosted by Stetson University.
Bell tossed a complete game shutout going the distance and striking out 12 Lady batters. The 12 strikeouts increases her season total to a staggering 60 strikeouts in just six outings and a 4-1 record to open her career.
Kentucky improves to 6-4 on the young season, while Centenary falls to 10-4 on the year.
The game began as Bell retired Centenary in order, UK jumped out in front 1-0 in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Meagan Aull drove a ball through the right side for a single. The centerfielder smartly stole second to put herself in scoring position and during the very next at-bat, sophomore Megan Yocke drove in Aull with a single into left field giving the Wildcats the first run of the game and the early lead.
The Wildcats got out of a jam in the top of the third as the Ladies put two runners on after a pair of singles. However, Aull made a spectacular grab at the warning track in centerfield to end the inning and preserve the 1-0 advantage.
UK broke open the game in the bottom of the fourth after sophomore Samantha DeMartine lined out to the centerfield with a well driven ball; junior Natalie Smith lobbed a ball over the shortstop’s head to put a runner on. Then Centenary walked three straight batters for UK’s first run of the inning. Sophomore Annie Rowlands earned a sacrifice fly to bring in freshman Brittany Cervantes and junior Molly Johnson followed suit bringing in a run with a single down the left field line for the third run of the inning and a 4-0 lead.
Centenary put a pair of base runners on first and second thanks to two walks in the top of the sixth, however UK ended the inning unscathed after the getting the third out on a groundout.
Bell tossed three strikeouts to wrap up the game and keep the Ladies off of the scoreboard for her first career shutout.
UK will return to action later this afternoon as they take on the host Stetson Hatters at 4 p.m.
Live video and live stats are available for the Hatter Invitational. Fans can logon to gohatters.com for more information.
Complete coverage of the UK softball team can be found at UKathletics.com.
