Big Inning Dooms No. 14 Kentucky in Loss to No. 5 Washington
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The big inning did the No. 14 Kentucky Softball team in on Friday morning, as it allowed a game-changing six spot in the fifth inning as the No. 5 Huskies beat the Wildcats 8-1 in UK’s only game of the day.
Stephanie Schoonover pitched well for UK, allowing just two runs on two solo shots in four innings of work. She picked up the loss, her first of the season as she fell to 4-1 on the year. Kentucky as a team with the loss falls to 6-2 as the Huskies improve to 4-1 in 2024.
The Wildcats managed three hits and a run off of Huskie ace Ruby Meylan who went the final five innings allowing three hits, a run, four walks and six strikeouts. One of the brightspots of the game for UK was its strikeouts in the circle as the UK staff struck out the Huskies 11 times, including six from Schoonover.
The 2024 Shriners Children’s Elite Invitational wraps up for UK on Saturday with games against No. 3 Texas and UCF. There is a considerable amount of inclement weather expected, so fans should check UKathletics.com for updates.
Key Play
Washington’s Kayla Hobson had a two-run triple to make the score 5-1 to open up the game in the top of the fifth inning.
Key Player
UK’s key player was Jaden Vickers, who offered 2.1 innings of relief with just one run allowed on three hits and three strikeouts.
Key Stat
- Kentucky pitching had 11 strikeouts.
Run Recap
Washington had solo home runs in the top of the second and third innings. UW 2, UK 0
In the third inning, Rylea Smith reached second on an error and scored on an Erin Coffel RBI double down the left-field line. UW 2, UK 1
Washington scored six runs on five hits off of three different UK pitchers in the fifth inning to secure the win. FINAL – Washington 8, Kentucky 1
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