Schaper Powers UK Offense to Quick Start in Friday Victory
The No. 23 Kentucky softball team put up some huge offensive numbers on Friday against Ole Miss, including a season-high 17 hits. And it all started with UK’s first batter of the game.
After Ole Miss went down in order in the top of the first inning, UK catcher Jenny Schaper led off for the Cats and quickly fell in a 1-2 hole. But Schaper kept battling, fouling off three consecutive two-strike pitches before eventually reaching on a single to left-center field.
“Jenny’s been doing that all year for us, she’s been great,” UK head coach Rachel Lawson said. “The great part about her being in the leadoff (spot), she’s not your prototypical leadoff batter, but because she’s able to see so many pitches, she gives our team a lot of confidence. Especially when she gets a hit, barrels up on the ball, it just sets the tone for the entire offense. I think she’s been key.”
Schaper knew it was important to get the team’s offense started the right way.
“I think that was huge,” Schaper said. “I think if you can see your first batter of the game go up there and get a hit, it kind of relaxes the whole team. I was really happy about that.”
After Schaper reached, Abbey Cheek followed with an infield single. After Kayla Kowalik was retired, Alex Martens doubled to score Schaper. Katie Reed followed with a double of her own, scoring Cheek to give the Cats a 2-0 lead.
The Cats would go on to score 10 runs in the first three innings on their way to a 11-4 win over the 17th-ranked Rebels at John Cropp Stadium in game one of a three-game weekend series.
The Cats chased Ole Miss starter Molly Jacobsen after just two innings. Jacobsen, who entered Friday’s game ranked in the top 10 in the SEC in wins, ERA and strikeouts, allowed six earned runs to the Cats and was replaced by Ava Tillman to begin the third inning. Cheek thought it was important to get off to a fast start on Friday.
“It was really important,” Cheek said. “We know that these SEC games matter, it’s like a Super Regional every weekend.”
Lawson agreed.
“To get to the quick start, especially because we haven’t been hitting the ball like we typically had been at the beginning of the year,” Lawson said. “To be able to do that again was a big deal, and I credit Jenny with a lot of that.”
With the recent struggles on offense, Schaper thought a fast start set the tone for the game.
“Obviously, our past couple of weekends, we’ve been struggling a little bit more,” Schaper said. “We wanted to come out, we wanted to play our game and that’s exactly what we did.”
Schaper registered a career-high four hits on Friday, something she credits to her approach.
“I just tried to stay really calm at the plate,” Schaper said. “That’s kind of what I’ve been working on all week. Just seeing the ball, working a two-strike approach where you just fight off pitches until you find one you can hit. I just felt like I was seeing the ball really well tonight.”
Schaper’s approach, and her execution, lifted the Cats to a quick start and a key SEC win on Friday night.
