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Jessica Nance had a pair of RBI singles on her Senior Day at the UK Softball Complex, but saw her Wildcats fall short in both games of the Southeastern Conference doubleheader against No. 23 Florida. The Wildcats dropped game one 13-1 and fell 11-3 in the nightcap.
UK falls to 20-40 on the year and 4-24 in the SEC, while the Gators improve to 40-19 overall with a 17-12 mark in conference play.
The Gators took the early lead in game two with a two-run homer by Melissa Zick. The Wildcats cut the lead in half as senior Jessica Nance had a one-out double to the wall to score Meghan Cooper from first base, making it a 2-1 game.
UF added a run in the second, but the Cats knotted the score in the bottom of the third as two runs crossed thee plate on freshman Alli Eckman?s single to right field to tie the game at three.
UK starter Amy Kendall held the Gators scoreless over the next two innings and stranded a pair of runners in the fourth but allowed the third Florida homerun of the game in the top of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. The Wildcats turned their second double play of the game and the 24th of the season to end the inning.
UF pulled away in the top of the sixth as it plated seven runs on seven hits off a trio of Kentucky pitchers to go on top 11-3.
Eckman drew a base on balls in the top of the sixth but was stranded at second to end the game as the Gators went on for the eight-run win.
Kendall took the loss after allowing six runs on eleven hits over 5.0 innings of work.
Amber Janneck went 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and reached base four straight times with a 4-for-5 day at the dish.
The Wildcats lost the opening game in six innings by a final score of 13-1. Their lone run came in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Nance. Cooper singled to lead off the inning and scored on the play.
Kentucky threatened to score in the second and third, but stranded a pair of baserunners in both.
The Gators scored three in the first and took a 7-1 lead with a four-spot in the second. A single run in the fifth and five more in the sixth ended the game after six innings due to the run rule.
Samantha Allen took the loss for UK after giving up 12 hits in the complete game. Allen is now 12-16 on the year.
Stacey Stevens (23-11) earned the win for UF after allowing one earned run on four hits and striking out eight.
The three-game series wraps up with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
