Feb. 23, 2013
Box Score | UK-Georgetown Final Box (PDF)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior pitcher Ellen Weaver threw five scoreless innings allowing only one hit, while sophomore catcher Griffin Joiner and junior first baseman Lauren Cumbess each had two RBI, including the second home run of the season by Joiner, as the No. 20/21 University of Kentucky softball team posted a 8-0 victory over Georgetown in six innings on Saturday night in Spartanburg, S.C. The game was played as part of the Coke Zero Spartan Classic on the campus of USC Upstate.
Kentucky (9-3) will continue play in the tournament Sunday when it plays Howard (3-4) and host USC Upstate (9-0). UK will start the day against Howard at 1 p.m. ET before concluding the tournament with USC Upstate at 3 p.m. ET. Live scores from both games will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Weaver was the leader for the Wildcats, throwing her best game of the year. The native of Salem, Va., went five innings, allowing only one hit and no runs, while striking out three. The solid performance moved Weaver to 1-2 this season with a 3.96 ERA, posting 12 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched. True freshman Kelsey Nunley threw the sixth inning for UK, allowing one hit with one strikeout.
At the plate, Joiner and Cumbess paced the Wildcats with multi-RBI games. Joiner, who has been swinging a hot bat since moving to the No. 2 spot in the batting order, drilled a homer in the first inning and later singled to finish 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Cumbess doubled twice to go 2-for-3 with two RBI, while senior shortstop Kara Dill went 2-for-4 with a run scored. True freshman Maisie Steed came off the bench to give UK a spark, going 2-for-2 with an RBI single and a run scored, while fellow freshman Sylver Samuel also had a two-hit night.
The two-hit night for Cumbess extends her season-long hitting streak to six games, while Joiner is on a three-game hitting streak. Cumbess now has seven multi-hit games this season behind a .447 (17-for-38) batting average and a team-high four doubles and 12 RBI. Samuel is second on the team in batting average with a .385 (5-for-13) mark.
UK got on the board in the bottom of the first inning after the solo home run from Joiner, her second roundtripper of the season. After Dill started the inning with a pop up, Joiner ripped a laser over the wall in right field to give UK the 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats started a two-out rally in the third inning, getting four runs on three hits behind one GU error. After two quick outs to start the inning, senior outfielder Alice O’Brien was hit by a pitch before Cumbess crushed a double down the line in right field to score UK’s first run of the inning. Steed then came up with a pinch-hit single to the right side of the infield, scoring Cumbess. After Steed stole second, she would come around to score when Carroll doubled to the wall in right field. Carroll was the final UK run to score in the inning, crossing the plate when junior Krystal Smith reached on an error.
UK scored three runs on four hits in the sixth inning to collect the eight-run lead and seal the victory. Samuel singled to left to start the inning, followed by Dill’s single to put runners on first with no outs. Joiner kept up her hot bat by blasting a liner up the middle, scoring Samuel and Dill after the centerfielder misplayed the ball. Sarah Frazer pinch ran for Joiner and after a foul out by O’Brien, came home to score on the double by Cumbess, ending the game.
Kentucky will play host to the SEC Tournament this season for the first time in school history. The event, which is considered one of the most prestigious softball tournaments in the nation, will be May 8-11 in Lexington. The championship game will be featured on ESPN2, while all other games will be shown on ESPNU. Ticket information for the tournament can be found here: http://www.ukathletics.com/secsoftball/tickets.html.
For the latest on UK softball, follow “@UKSoftball” on Twitter or like Kentucky Softball on Facebook.
Coke Zero Spartan Classic
Sunday, February 24
9:00 am – Howard vs. Presbyterian
11:0 am – Georgetown at Upstate
1:00 pm – Kentucky vs. Howard
3:00 pm – Kentucky at Upstate
