March 14, 1998

The University of Kentucky softball team fell victim to a pair of hot-hitting teams on Saturday, dropping two games at its own Kentucky Invitational tournament.

Ohio posted 15 hits and outlasted the Wildcats to claim a 7-6 victory in UK’s first game of the day. The Bobcats opened a 3-0 lead in the first and led 4-1 after two before UK rallied to tie the game. Kentucky scored a run in the fifth and three in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead, but Ohio re-tied the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth. UK again jumped out in front, scoring in the top of the sixth for a 6-5 lead. But the Bobcats answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to capture the 7-6 win. UK also came up short in its second game, falling to Kent State, 7-2. The Golden Flashes scored once in the first and took advantage of three UK errors for two runs in the second to take a 3-0 lead after two innings. After Kentucky closed the margin to 3-1 in the top of the third, Kent State again capitalized on timely hitting and Wildcat mistakes, scoring four runs on four hits and two UK errors for a 7-1 lead after three innings. UK tried to mount a comeback, scoring in the top of the sixth, but Kent State held on for the win.

Outfielder Tiffany Kruse paced the UK hitters, going 3-for-6 with two RBI in the two games.

Action continues in the UK Invitational on Sunday, as Kent State takes on Indiana State at 9 a.m. at the UK Softball Stadium. Kentucky takes on Eastern Kentucky at 4 p.m. and closes out the tournament against Wright State at 5:45 p.m.