Feb. 26, 2009
DELAND, Fla. – For the third consecutive week the Kentucky softball team will hit the road for a round-robin tournament. This time UK travels to DeLand, Fla., for the Hatter Invitational hosted by Stetson University.
UK will face first-time opponents in Centenary and the host Hatters and also meet Atlantic Coast Conference member Maryland in the three-day affair.
Kentucky had another impressive outing last week at the Mardi Gras Tournament going 2-2 on the weekend. UK picked up wins over UConn and San Diego State behind great performances by several players.
Junior Molly Johnson led the team with a .538 batting average for the weekend which included a two-run triple to seal the win over San Diego State. Sophomores Megan Yocke and Samantha DeMartine continued their hot starts to the season combining for six RBI on the weekend. And in the circle, the Wildcats were led by freshman Chanda Bell and junior Amber Matousek who combined for 24 strikeouts in four appearances. Bell reached the double-digit strikeout plateau for the second time in her first season when she fanned 12 Huskie batters in the win over UConn.
Bell and Johnson were named to the Fifth Annual Mari Gras Invitational All-Tournament team for their performances in the tournament.
In addition to the two-first time opponents in Centenary and Stetson, UK will reprise its series with Maryland. The Terps and Cats met once before 10 years ago. Maryland captured the only meeting by a wide margin, 13-0, on neutral turf in Raleigh, N.C.
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.
