The Kentucky softball team exploded for 18 runs on 25 hits to sweep the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 9-0 and 9-2 Wednesday in Richmond, Ky. UK had 12 players register base hits during the doubleheader while the Cats? pitching staff held EKU to a mere seven combined hits.
Amy Kendall (7-10) was outstanding in game one for UK (18-18-1), as she tossed a one-hitter for the complete game victory. The sophomore walked one and recorded a strikeout while facing only 20 batters in six innings of work.
Kendall had plenty of support on offense, as the Cats used four-run fourth and sixth innings to end the game an inning early due to the eight-run mercy rule. Kendall fueled the rally with a two-run homer in the fourth, and Katie Campbell and Amber Janneck each answered in the sixth with blasts of their own to propel UK to the win.
The Cats got a stellar performance on the mound in game two as well, as Crystalie Wolfe (4-0) held the Colonels scoreless for 6.1 innings before giving up a two-run homer to Alysha Jones in the seventh. Wolfe issued only two walks and gave up only six hits during the complete game, including three in the last frame. Besides the home run, only two base runners made it past first base in the contest.
UK took a 4-0 lead into the last inning with EKU (20-10), but Jessica Nance pushed the game out of reach for the Colonels with a three-run shot to center field. The homer was part of a five-run inning that left UK with a 9-0 advantage before the blast from Jones in the bottom half of the frame.
Rachel Friberg continued her hot hitting, going 5-for-7 over the course of the evening with five runs. Nance wasn?t far behind with a 4-for-7 showing at the plate, including a 3-for-4 performance in game two in which the junior produced the round-tripper, a single and a triple. Janneck also had an impressive day with three hits, two runs and five RBIs.
The Cats will look to take their winning ways to South Carolina this weekend for a meeting with the Gamecocks in Columbia. UK and USC will meet in a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and conclude the series on Sunday with a game at the same time. Live stats can be accessed at www.ukathletics.com.
