LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman Samantha DeMartine enjoyed a perfect day at the plate as she led the Wildcats with four of the team?s 23 hits in their doubleheader home opening wins over Toledo Sunday, at the UK Softball Complex.
Kentucky took the first game 9-3, and racked up 17 hits to take a 15-5 win in the second game that needed just five innings of play. DeMartine totaled a 4-for-4 day at the dish including two doubles while plating seven runs. The freshman also made her first career start at catcher in game two.
?Sam DeMartine?s play today was huge for us,? said Head Coach Rachel Lawson. ?Sam works so hard, so anytime you can see somebody have the rewards it is very gratifying. She deserved this.?
Sophomore pitcher Amber Matousek earned her second win of the season with a career-tying 10 strikeout performance in game one. Matousek pitched seven innings and allowed just one earned run. Senior Lindsay Brogdon claimed her first victory of the young season going the distance for the Wildcats in the second contest.
?We had two great performances on the mound today,? Lawson said. ?So we are very happy with that. Offensively we did a great job of generating runs. Everybody took advantage of their opportunities, so overall I am very pleased with how we performed offensively.?
Kentucky totaled 23 hits over the course of two games, including nine that went for extra bases. Sophomore Molly Johnson went 4-for-4 in the second game with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth. It was Johnson?s second home run of the season. Sophomore Natalie Smith enjoyed a 4-for-7 day at the plate and scored a team-high four runs. Freshman Meagan Aull and junior Katie McCarty both tallied a first in their career at the plate, as Aull hit her first double and McCarty her first triple.
In game two, UK wasted little time getting on the board as they started out the game with a three-run first inning highlighted by a two-run double by DeMartine.
The Wildcats tacked on three more runs in the third inning as senior Ashley Dimkich notched an RBI single, and McCarty?s triple plated an additional run. Freshman Megan Yocke?s single down the left field line scored McCarty putting the home team up 7-4.
An eight run fourth inning sealed the victory for the Blue and White. Johnson?s three-run shot to deep center field ended the scoring splurge.
To start out their home standing season, Kentucky fell behind early but then scored nine unanswered runs to give them their seventh home opening win in program history.
Aull?s two-run double in the bottom of the fourth tied the score at three. Kentucky would tally another run in the fifth on a DeMartine single giving them the 4-3 advantage.
A five-run fifth inning gave the Wildcats a cushioned lead they would not relinquish. Mordecai?s two-run RBI double started the scoring for the Wildcats; setting up DeMartine?s three-run double to seal the win.
Matousek promptly sat down three consecutive batters with strikeouts for the win, and tying her career-high mark of 10 strikeouts.
Kentucky improves to 5-7, 0-0 on the season, while Toledo playing in their season openers fall to 0-2, 0-0.
The Wildcats are next in action in the Chattanooga Frost Classic Feb. 29-March 2, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Kentucky will play Wright State, Connecticut, Marshall, Eastern Illinois and Indiana in their third tournament of the season.
