Filling Role to Perfection, Metzger Delivers Slam
Rachael Metzger’s role isn’t an easy one.
The senior is primarily a bench player, called on to pinch hit when the situation calls for it. That means her opportunities are limited, with Metzger getting more than one at-bat just twice over the last five weeks.
Things were no different for Metzger on Saturday.
Kentucky played two NCAA Tournament games and Metzger got a single pinch-hitting opportunity in each. The first time around, Metzger didn’t step outside of herself. She patiently worked a walk, trusting her teammates to get the job done behind her. Two batters later, Jenny Schaper stroked a walk-off grand slam to secure a run-rule victory over Illinois-Chicago.
The next time, it was Metzger’s turn. The bases loaded for her against Notre Dame, Metzger pounced on an 0-1 offering and pounded a grand slam of her own for the biggest blow in a second straight five-inning run-rule victory, this one coming by a margin of 10-0 over the Fighting Irish.
“It kind of just blurred by,” Metzger said of her grand slam and the frenzied sprint around the bases that followed. “Coach (Rachel) Lawson told me going into the box, ‘Just shoot for a sac fly.’ I knew that was my job. It’s kind of my role on the team. That’s what I was hoping for and it just went over and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. That happened.’ “
The victory sent UK into the Lexington Regional final, which will be at approximately 2:30 p.m. at John Cropp Stadium against either Notre Dame or Michigan.
Metzger’s homer, which gave UK a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning, didn’t come by accident. Though she might have been trying only for a sacrifice fly, stepping to the plate in a high-leverage situation is something she’s been groomed for.
“We’ve been working on it all year and we started to set ourselves up for this at the SEC Tournament,” Lawson said. “Things didn’t go the way we wanted in the SEC Tournament, but it was the stage that we needed to be in to prepare us for today.”
In that SEC Tournament game against Arkansas last week, Lawson turned to Metzger to lead off the fifth inning with UK facing a slim 2-1 deficit. She grounded out harmlessly to third, but gained valuable experience.
“Metzger had her opportunity then and it didn’t go the way she wanted,” Lawson said. “I was just really excited that she knew all along that this was going to be her opportunity and she made the most of it.”
As extraordinary as the moment might have been, Metzger didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to make it happen.
“It was over the plate, honestly,” said Metzger, whose homer was her second of the season and first since March 4. “I just put a good swing on a good pitch and the rest just kind of took care of itself.”
What Metzger did that was extraordinary came long before Saturday night. For four years, Metzger has been UK’s backup catcher, meaning she has in essence been her head coach’s shadow. That experience paid dividends on Saturday night.
“She’s actually been preparing for this moment just being around me and being in the bullpen and dealing with the pitchers and dealing with those scenarios all the time,” Lawson said. “She has the right mindset to come in in the spur of the moment and come in and save the day because that’s what she’s been doing her whole life.”
