The Kentucky softball team continued its best start in school history with a 6-3 win over Louisville to improve to 12-4 on the season. UK has now outscored its opponents by a margin of 131-70 this season and is hitting .368 as a team. The Cardinals fall to 6-8 on the year with the loss.
The Cardinals scored first in the second inning with a run on a pair of singles to center field to give UofL the early one-run lead.
The Wildcats knotted the score in the home half of the inning. Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week Molly Johnson reached on an error by the Cardinal first baseman to lead off the inning and went to second when Katie Campbell reached on a bunt single. Johnson came around to score on the second UofL error of the inning. The second baseman couldn?t handle a line drive off the bat of Becky Bishop which allowed the tying run to cross the plate on solid baserunning by the Wildcats.
After a scoreless third, the Cardinals plated two more runs in the top of the fourth. A leadoff single followed by a homerun to right field gave Louisville a 3-1 edge.
Kentucky made it a one-run game in the bottom of the fourth. Alli Eckman led off the inning with a single through the left side and UK loaded the bases on two straight walks to Bishop and Destinee Mordecai. Audrey Meyer delivered a two-out single to shallow center that drove in Eckman from third and made it a 3-2 score.
The Wildcats tied the score once again in the top of the sixth inning. Ashley Fertic singled with one out and went to second on a single to center by Bishop. Mordecai followed with a single to drive in Fertic and knot the score at three-all. Natalie Smith then reached on an error to extend the inning for Kentucky and give the Cats their first lead at 4-3. Brooke Marnitz drew a base on balls and Johnson reached on the fourth Louisville error of the game as the Cats went on top by a score of 5-3. With the bases loaded, more heads-up baserunning by the Wildcats came into play when Smith scored on a wild pitch to make it a 6-3 game.
UK starting pitcher Megan Jolly, who retired the side in order on three pitches in the first inning, was just as effective in the final inning. Jolly struck out the leadoff hitter, got a fly ball to right and a groundball to second to retire the side in order for the fourth time in the game and hold on for the win. The Owensboro, Ky., native improves to 2-0 on the year after allowing three runs on six hits in the complete-game win. Jolly walked just one and struck out a batter en route to the victory.
Catherine Bishop took the loss for Louisville to fall to 3-6 on the year after giving up five runs on six hits over 4.0 innings of work. She walked three and struck out five UK batters.
The Wildcats had seven hits on the day. Meyer went 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Mordecai was 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and her 10th RBI of the season. Eckman and Fertic both finished 1-for-3 with a run scored, while Campbell went 1-for-4 to extend her hitting streak to career-high nine games.
Kentucky returns to action this weekend, Mar. 10-11, when it opens SEC play against the Auburn Tigers. The three-game series kicks off with a Saturday doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the UK Softball Complex.
