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The Kentucky softball team split a doubleheader today with No. 20 Auburn to move to 20-37 on the year and 4-21 in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers are now 46-14 with a 20-8 mark in league play. The Wildcats upset AU in the first game of the twinbill by a score of 5-2 before falling 8-0 to the Tigers in the nightcap.
The win snapped a four-game losing skid for UK and the first SEC win since Apr. 9 at Louisiana State. The victory was the second over a ranked opponent for the Wildcats who also topped then No. 4 Tennessee last month in Knoxville.
The Wildcats got on the board early in the opening game as Meghan Cooper led off the game with a double off the wall. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ashley Fertic and scored the first run of the game on a double to left field by Amber Janneck.
The Tigers tied it in the top of the third on an RBI single by Paige Jones, but the Cats made it a 3-1 lead in the home half of the inning. Cooper reached on an error, followed by a single by Fertic. Cooper would come around to score the go-ahead run on Janneck?s second double of the game. Jessica Nance followed with a single that scored Fertic from third to put the Wildcats up by two.
Auburn pulled to within a run in the top of the fourth as Kristina McCain had a solo two-run homer that hit the light tower in left center to make it 3-2.
Amy Kendall relieved Samantha Allen after two singles in the top of the fifth. Kendall got a flyout off the bat of Sara Ghezzi and the Wildcats turned their 21st double play of the season to end the inning.
The Wildcats added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth when Katie Campbell belted her sixth homerun of the year to score Nance from first and give the Cats the 5-2 advantage.
Kendall got out of another jam in the sixth when the first two batters reached on an error and a fielder?s choice. She sat down six straight batters to end the game and hold on for her first save of the season.
Allen earned the win to go to 12-14 after giving up two earned runs on eight hits over 4.0 innings. She struck out one and walked three. Kendall tossed the final three innings and didn?t allow a hit en route to the save.
Nance, Janneck and Campbell collected two hits apiece in the win, while Janneck and Campbell each drove in a pair of runs. Cooper scored doubled and scored twice for the Wildcats.
In the nightcap, the Tigers got to game two starter, Kendall, with three runs on three hits and a Kentucky error to take the early 3-0 lead.
AU made it 6-0 in the third on a three-run homer by Ghezzi off reliever Kristi Warneke. The freshman hurler left the game after two more runs scored in the fourth, giving the Tigers an 8-0 lead. Allen came in and retired the last two batters of the inning for the Cats.
UK threatened in the fifth as Lori Melchi drew a leadoff walk. Gina Florence reached on a hard-hit fielder?s choice to the AU third baseman that erased Melchi at second. She was lifted for pinch runner Kristen Cochran who went to second on a wild pitch. Cooper then drew the second walk of the inning to put runners at first and second with one away to bring up Fertic who hit a line drive right at the Auburn shortstop who doubled up Melchi at second to end the threat and the game.
The Wildcats had just three hits in the second game, while the Tigers ended with 12 base knocks.
Holly Currie was sharp on the mound for AU as she improved to 21-8 on the year after striking out six batters over 5.0 innings in the shutout.
The SEC series wraps up on Sunday, May 1, with the third, final and rubber game. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the UK Softball Complex.
