The Kentucky softball team dropped the rubber game of its opening Southeastern Conference series today, Mar. 13, suffering an 11-3 loss in five innings to the Ole Miss Rebels (18-9, 2-1 SEC). The Cats fall to 12-16 overall and 1-2 in the SEC after winning the first contest in this three-game series.
Kentucky grabbed an early lead with three runs in the home half of the first. Jessica Nance drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a fielder?s choice by Ashley Fertic. Amber Janneck followed with a single to left field to load the bases for second baseman Brooke Marnitz who drove in a run and reached on a fielder?s choice with her ground ball to second. Pitcher Meghan Cooper stepped in with two outs and delivered a shot off the right field fence that scored a pair of runs and put the Cats on top 3-0 after one inning of play.
That was all the offense the Cats could muster as the Rebels knotted the score with three runs in the top of the second on four hits and a Kentucky error. Ole Miss added two runs on three hits, including a two-run homer, in the second to go on top 5-3.
A six-spot in the top of the fourth gave the Rebels an eight-run lead heading to the home half of the inning. Lori Melchi led off the fourth with a double to deep center field and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Alli Eckman, but she would be stranded at third to end the scoring threat. Marnitz managed a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth, but Dana Brill struck out the final batter as Ole Miss went on to the five-inning win.
Marnitz was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI for UK, while Janneck was 2-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases. Cooper, Melchi and Eckman each added a hit, while Cooper drove in a couple of runs in the loss.
Cooper (3-7) got the loss on the mound for Kentucky after allowing five earned runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work. She struck out three batters on the day.
The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday, Mar. 15, when they host Georgia in an SEC showdown. The three-game series kicks off with a Tuesday doubleheader, set to begin at 4 p.m. at the UK Softball Complex.
