The Kentucky softball team dropped the rubber game of its series at No. 4 Tennessee today, Mar. 30, with a 3-1 loss to the Lady Vols. The Wildcats are now 15-27 on the year and 2-13 in the Southeastern Conference, while UT improves to 39-5 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
“We can’t play any harder than that. We played some great games and with a break here or there, we could have won the series against the No. 4 team and beat one of the best pitchers in the nation twice,” said head coach Eileen Schmidt.
“There is no looking back now. We need to continue to build and get better,” added Schmidt. “Amy Kendall was great on the mound and Lori Melchi was a game saver in left and at the plate, along with Emily Marks.”
The Lady Vols scored twice to break up the scoreless game in the third. With two outs, a throwing error by the pitcher, Samantha Allen, allowed the first run to score from third. Kristi Durant followed with a double off the wall to make it 2-0. Junior Amy Kendall relieved Allen and got a grounder to third to end the inning and strand Durant at second.
Lori Melchi made a spectacular diving catch in left field on a sinking fly ball by Shannon Doepking in the fourth for the second out of the inning.
The Cats cut into the UT lead in the fifth as Melchi singled to right and reached second on the throw. She would score when Alli Eckman doubled to deep center field to make the score 2-1.
The Lady Vols added a run in the sixth on a pair of doubles to account for the 3-1 final.
Kendall was impressive on the mound for the Cats, retiring the first seven batters she faced and allowing only the two hits in the final inning. The junior struck out two and walked none during her 3.1 innings in the circle.
The Cats outhit the Lady Vols, 8-6, but managed just one run on the day despite threatening in the bottom of the seventh. The eight hits were the most All-American Monica Abbott has allowed this season. Abbott (27-2) got the win after giving up one earned run on eight hits while striking out six. Amber Janneck and Emily Marks each collected two hits in three at-bats for the Cats.
Allen (10-12) gets the loss after giving up two unearned runs on four hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Kentucky returns to action this weekend, Apr. 2-3, when it hosts South Carolina for three games. The SEC series begins with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday and wraps up with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
