Feb. 3, 2002
Miami, Fla. – The arm of junior Morgan Marr and the entire offense had their best outing of the season on Sunday as the Wildcats defeated Illinois State, 12-0, in the consolation game of the Fun In the Sun Tournament held on the Florida International University campus. The UK win avenged an earlier 9-3 defeat to the Redbirds in the round-robin portion of the tournament.
Marr threw six innings of three-hit ball, allowing only two runners to reach second. Offensively, freshman Meghan Cooper had four RBI on two singles and a walk. Senior Andy Eilertson also had a very productive day, knocking in three runs while going 2-for-4 at the plate. Senior Angie Dal Pozzo scored three runs while senior Beth Fogle and junior Nikki Jones each scored two runs apiece.
The Wildcats (2-3) scored two runs in the first to take an early 2-0 lead and knock out Illinois State’s starting pitcher, Corey Harris. Fogle singled to start the game, followed by a Jones infield single. A Lyndsey Angus line drive to center was caught for the first out, but then Dal Pozzo singled to right to load the bases. Eilertson drove in the first run of the game with a single, knocking out the Redbirds hurler. New pitcher Crystal Gary then entered and retired freshman Jessica Nance, but freshman Meghan Cooper drew a walk, giving UK the early two-run lead.
UK kept the heat on the Redbirds in the top of the second. After senior Sandi Dengler grounded out, Fogle singled to left and stole second before Jones singled. An Angus walk preceded a Dal Pozzo RBI single to left-center. ISU then changed pitchers for the second time, bringing in Audry Rast. Eilertson then singled to right, pushing Jones across the plate. A Cooper single to left-center brought home two more, upping the Wildcat led to 6-0.
After going scoreless in the third, UK lit the scoreboard up for the seventh time in the top of the fourth as Nance doubled home Dal Pozzo, who had doubled two batters earlier.
UK effectively shut the door on any ISU comeback as the Wildcats sent 11 batters to the plate, five coming home, in the top of the sixth, invoking the eight-run mercy rule.
“I thought Morgan did a good job of making them hit her pitch and not the other way around,” UK coach Beth Kirchner said. “Offensively, we did a good job of reacting at the plate, which will help us down the road.”
The Wildcats will return to action on Friday, Feb. 15, at the University of Texas – San Antonio Tournament.
Kentucky 12, Illinois State 0
Kentucky 240105-12 14 2Illinois St. 000000- 0 3 1WP: Marr (1-2) LP: Harris (0-2) S: none
-UK-
