CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.– The Wildcat softball team split in its games on the second day of the Sonic Invitational on Saturday.
UKs offense came alive in their first game of the day as the Cats downed Liberty 8-2. Kentucky starting pitcher Jen Howlandgave up a run on two Lady Flames hits in the top of the first inning, but settled down to hold Liberty to only two singles the rest of theway.
Kentucky trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning when right fielder Leslie Kwiatkowski singled and went to third on Lindsey Angussingle. Freshman Rachel Friberg reached base on an error by Libertys Cheryl Wyrick as Kwiatkowski scored the tying run. With thegame tied 1-1, shortstop Angie Dal Pozzo drilled a double to the base of the fence in left field, scoring both Angus and Friberg, giving theCats a two-run lead. UK tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Dal Pozzo singled to left and scored whenleft-fielder Tiffany Kruse hit her second home run in two days. Four batters later, Kwiatkowski hammered a shot over the bleachers inright-center field to score both Howland and catcher Sandi Dengler.
Dal Pozzo was 3-3 for the game, while Kruse was 2-2. Both players recorded two RBIs in the game. Kwiatkowski collected twohits and drove in three runs in the game. Howland recorded her second complete game of the season and upped her record to 2-4.
The Wildcats fell to Virginia Tech 3-0 in UKs second game of the day. The Hokies broke open a scoreless game in the bottom ofthe fifth inning when left fielder Tiffany Hurt and shortstop Carmen Farmer both scored as UK shortstop Rachel Friberg was unable tohandle Amy Voorhees hard grounder with two outs in the inning.
The Hokies added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning when designated hitter Ginny Fletcher singled and advanced tosecond on an error by UK center fielder Beth Fogle. Fletcher was removed for pinch runner Mary Lowzinski. She moved to third whenClarisa Crowell grounded out, and scored on a wild pitch by pitcher Morgan Marr.
Virginia Tech pitcher Ashlee Dobbe scattered three hits over seven innings as she outdueled Kentuckys Marr. The UKsophomore gave up only five hits in the game, but was the victim of four errors by the Cats defense. It was the second game in twodays in which Marr lost a 3-0 decision.
Dobbe recorded her second win of the season, while Marr dropped to 3-4.
UK (5-9) returns to action Sunday in a 9 a.m. rematch against Liberty. If the Cats win they will face number-one seededUT-Chattanooga at one oclock. Kentucky needs to win both games to reach the championship game at 3 p.m.
