UK Softball Selected for Program-Record 12 National TV Games
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The SEC Network and its corporate partners at ESPN announced that the Kentucky softball team will be featured on national television 12 times in 2018, setting a new program record. Seven of the 12 games will be home games originating from John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
The SEC Network, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise over 650 softball games this season including every pitch of the 2018 SEC Tournament and the Women’s College World Series from Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
All games that are featured on ESPN, ESPN2 and the SEC Network can be seen live on mobile devices and tablets through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
Kentucky’s TV slate kicks off on March 10 and 11 as the Wildcats travel to the Sunshine State to play WCWS runners-up Florida. Both Saturday (6 p.m. ET) and Sunday (Noon ET) will feature games live on the SEC Network.
The first home game on national TV will come against the Indiana Hoosiers on March 14 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be shown on the SEC Network.
UK will host its first-ever “SEC National Series of the Week” on March 17-19 at John Cropp Stadium against another WCWS team from 2017, the LSU Tigers. Saturday (Noon ET) and Monday night’s games (7 p.m. ET) will both be on the SEC Network with Sunday’s game (4:30 p.m. ET) shown live on ESPNU.
During UK’s trip to The Plains, the SEC Network will show the Wildcats and the Auburn Tigers’ Saturday showdown from Jane B. Moore Field at 8 p.m. ET on March 24.
Over Easter weekend, UK will host Alabama, with Saturday, March 31 coming as a national TV game on ESPN2 and a start time of 5 p.m. ET.
The SEC Network will show the “Battle of the Bluegrass” for the first time in 2018, on Wednesday, April 4 at 7 p.m. ET. UK has won two in a row against the Cardinals and will be fresh off a run-rule win over UofL last year on the road.
April 14 and 15 will see UK travel to Texas A&M for two more national games, with Saturday (3 p.m. ET) live on ESPN2 and Sunday (3 p.m. ET) live on the SEC Network. Friday, May 4 will be the final scheduled national appearance for UK on ESPN’s Bases Loaded where all SEC games will be features in “Red Zone” style with whiparound coverage from around the league. UK will be hosting South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET.
The SEC Network and ESPN will combine to televise all 11 games of the 2018 SEC Tournament from Columbia, Missouri with the champion crowned on Saturday night, May 12. ESPN will also have exclusive rights to all NCAA Tournament regionals and super regionals, in addition to televising the 2018 Women’s College World Series from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
UK and its partners at the SEC Network+ will be announcing streaming information for all of its home games that were not picked up by national television at a later date.
2018 UK Softball National Television Schedule
March 10, at Florida (SEC Network) 6 p.m. ET
March 11, at Florida (SEC Network) Noon ET
March 14, INDIANA (SEC Network) 7 p.m. ET
March 17, LSU (SEC Network) Noon ET
March 18, LSU (ESPNU) 4:30 p.m. ET
March 19, LSU (SEC Network) 7 p.m. ET
March 31, ALABAMA (ESPN2) 5 p.m. ET
April 4, LOUISVILLE (SEC Network) 7 p.m. ET
April 14, at Texas A&M (ESPN2) 3 p.m. ET
April 15, at Texas A&M (SEC Network) 3 p.m. ET
May 4, SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC Network Bases Loaded) 7 p.m. ET
For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
