The Kentucky softball team yielded off a comeback from sixth-ranked Alabama to record the first win in school history over the Crimson Tide, 7-5, Sunday at the UK Softball Complex. The victory in the first game of the doubleheader snapped UA?s 17-game winning streak before the Tide (27-4, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) avenged the loss with a 14-5 win in game two.
In the first game, Meghan Cooper and Amber Janneck got to UA starter Erin Wright from the get-go, hitting solo home runs in the first inning to put UK (14-15-1, 3-12 SEC) on the board with a 2-0 lead. Cooper accounted for two more of her career-high tying four RBIs in the second with a two-RBI single that brought in Jessica Nance and Lori Melchi to double the Kentucky lead to four.
Cooper continued her dominance on the mound and at the plate, as she hit her second round-tripper of the contest in the fourth and held the Tide scoreless through four innings. UA cut into the five-run advantage with a two-out rally in the fifth, as Ashley Courtney started the run with an infield single, and Angela Johnson followed with a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-2.
The Cats pushed the margin back to five in the bottom of the frame on a two-RBI single to right field from Lori Melchi, but the Tide continued to surge in the sixth. A solo homer from Dominique Accetturo started the comeback, and Jackie Wilkins and Capper Reed scored after reaching base on a walk and double, respectively. Gretchen Prugh, the fourth Kentucky hurler in the game, got UK out of a jam to end the inning, as she struck out Stephanie VanBrakle with the bases loaded to end the frame.
Cooper had a career game for the Cats, as she went 3-for-4 in the game with two home runs and four RBIs. Five other hitters also registered base hits for UK in the win.
Game two was a slugfest, as the two teams combined to score 19 runs, five of which were home runs, in a 14-5 UK loss. The Tide broke open a 2-1 score in the third, as UA batted around to score seven runs on five hits in the inning to take an 8-2 lead. After another UA run in the fourth, Brooke Marnitz hit her first career home run in the bottom of the frame to make it 9-3. But the Tide tacked on five more runs in the last three innings compared to the Cats? two for the nine-run victory.
Marnitz finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI while Cooper ended the contest with two hits and a run. Nine different players for Alabama registered base hits, led by Staci Ramseys?s 4-for-5 performance for the Tide.
The Cats return to action on Wednesday, March 24, when they host the Louisville Cardinals in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
