April 23, 2002

LEXINGTON, Ky. –

The University of Kentucky softball team will try to snap its seven-game Southeastern Conference losing streak and keep its postseason chances alive as the Wildcats travel to SEC East rival No. 25 (USA Today/NFCA) Georgia for a three game set beginning on Wednesday, April 24 at the Georgia Women’s Athletic Complex. The series will get underway with a doubleheader at 4 p.m. EDT.

Despite being swept this past weekend by No. 5 (USA Today/NFCA) LSU, the Wildcats (21-26, 3-15 SEC) feel that they are playing their best softball of the year heading down the stretch. UK held the highly regarded Tigers to just nine runs over the three game series, the closest any conference team has played them all year. Junior Lyndsey Angus powered the Cats offense last weekend, going 5-for-9 with her second home run of the season.

“I was very pleased with what I saw from our team last weekend,” UK Coach Beth Kirchner said. “If we bring that same level of intensity this week, good things will happen for us.”

The Wildcats pitching staff of senior Jennifer Howland, junior Morgan Marr and freshman Meghan Cooper all effectively mixed up their pitches to keep LSU off balance while the defense put together some of its most solid play all year.

Georgia (47-12, 15-12 SEC) currently sits in second place in the SEC East and has already solidified a spot in the SEC Tournament, just one game behind South Carolina for the top seed in the East. The Bulldogs took two of three from Ole Miss this past weekend but had their four game winning streak end in the series finale in extra innings. Nicole Barber is one of the main cogs to the UGA offense with a .415 batting average and a perfect 55 steals in 55 attempts this season.

The Cats and Dogs have tangled 20 previous times with UGA holding a 13-7 edge, including two victories earlier this season. The pair played in the season opener at the Fun in the Sun Tournament in Miami, Fla., which the Dogs won, 9-2. The two squads then hooked up in the semifinals of the tournament with UGA edging UK, 4-3, in eight innings. UK is 4-4 all-time in Athens, Ga.

UK will stay on the road after the series at Georgia for a three-game set with Auburn starting Saturday, April 27. The Tigers are currently in fourth place in the SEC West.

-UK-