The Wildcat softball team swept the Indiana Hoosiers, 9-8 and 6-3, Tuesday afternoon at the UK Softball Complex to push theCats record above .500 for the first time this season.Sophomore Lyndsey Angus was a combined 5-8 at the plate, with a double and five runs scored. Shortstop Angie Dal Pozzo was3-5, with three RBIs and scored three runs.
In the opener IU took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning when third baseman Brooke Monroe drilled a home run over the leftfield fence with two runners on base. The visitors from Bloomington, Ind. batted around in the fourth inning and increased the lead to7-0. After loading the bases with no one out, catcher Stormy Hanson hit a line drive that UKs Andy Eilertson could not handle,allowing the runner to score from third base. Indiana added three more runs in the inning on a wild pitch by Kentucky starting pitcherMorgan Marr, a single and a throwing error on third baseman Rachel Friberg.
The Cats offense came alive in the fourth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs. Friberg grounded out to second, scoringNikki Jones from third. Eilertson then singled to right, pushing Dal Pozzo and Angus across the plate, but was thrown out while tryingto get to second base on the throw home.
Kentucky scored three more times in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the IU lead to one. Jones and senior Leslie Kwiatkowski hitback-to-back singles with one out and Kwiatkowski scored from third on a balk by Indiana pitcher Alison Cooke. Angus singled tocenter, driving in Jones. The inning continued when Dal Pozzos single to left was misplayed by Melissa Narewski, allowing Angus toscore.
UK forced the game into extra innings in the bottom of the seventh inning when Dal Pozzo hit a two-out single to center field, scoringJones from second base to tie the game at 7-7.
Neither team scored again until the 10th inning, when Indiana left fielder Katie Joy singled to center, scoring Heather Stillians. TheCats answered once again in the bottom of the inning when Dal Pozzo tripled to center field, scoring Angus from second. Fribergstepped to the plate with Dal Pozzo on third base and delivered the game-winning run by driving a single to left field.
Marr went the distance for UK to up her record to 9-4 on the season.
In the second game, the Wildcats scored one run in the bottom of the first inning. UK added three more runs in the fourth whenEilertson doubled past the IU shortstop, driving in Dal Pozzo and Tiffany Kruse. Eilertson stole third and scored what turned out tobe the winning run on Monique Lovells single to left field. Kentucky pushed two more runs across the plate in the fifth to go ahead6-0, as Angus doubled to center and scored on Fribergs single. Kruse then doubled to left field, driving home Friberg.
Starting pitcher Monique Lovell (1-3) held the Hoosiers scoreless until the sixth inning, when IU scored three times. Lovell recordedher second complete game of the season with the win.
“Playing the same team three times is always challenging, so to come away with three wins is great, especially when we had toovercome such a large deficit in the first game,” said UK coach Beth Kirchner.
UK (14-13, 1-1 SEC) returns to returns to Southeastern Conference action Saturday, March 17, as Florida visits for a noondoubleheader. The Cats and Gators will meet again Sunday at noon to close out the three-game series.
