RICHMOND, Ky. ? The University of Kentucky softball team opened its longest road swing of the season with an 8-2 win at Eastern Kentucky today, Mar. 8, in Richmond. Amy Kendall struck out seven in the complete game win as the Wildcats improve to 12-6. EKU falls to 6-8 with the loss.
The Wildcats got on the board first in the top of the third. Freshman Ali Ray drew a one-out walk and stole second. She moved to third on a single by Brooke Marnitz and scored the first run of the game on a passed ball by the EKU catcher. Meghan Cooper gave the Cats a 2-0 lead when she beat out an infield single to shortstop.
The Cats added three runs on four straight two-out hits in the fifth inning. Marnitz singled through the left side and stole second. She would score her second run of the game on an RBI single up the middle by freshman Megan Miller. Cooper followed with an RBI double to right center and came around to score on a single up the middle by Katie Campbell to give UK the 5-0 edge. That base hit extended Campbell?s hitting streak to a career-high nine games.
Kentucky plated a single run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh on a two-run homer to left center by Campbell.
Kendall walked the first two batters of the seventh inning, followed by a single and a sacrifice fly to give the Colonels their first run of the day. EKU added its second and final run on an RBI single, but Kendall got a fly ball to end the threat and the game as the Cats went on to claim the 8-2 victory.
Campbell continued her hot hitting, extending her hitting streak to a career-high nine games, with a 2-for-4 performance. The junior catcher scored once and drove in three to give her a team-best 22 RBI this season. Cooper finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, two runs scored, and two RBI, while Marnitz was 2-for-3 with two runs and two stolen bases. Miller added two RBI with her 2-for-3 day at the plate. The freshman also scored a run in the Wildcat win.
Kendall was impressive in the circle. She struck out seven batters, one shy of her career high, and walked just three. Kendall allowed two runs on six hits and sat down nine straight through the first three innings. The senior improves to 5-2 on the year with the complete-game win.
?We started off kind of slow but we picked it up in the third,? said second-year head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?The two-out rally was great to see. We were able to get people on base and run a little, which is how we like to play. I ran us out in the sixth with Melchi at the plate but we were able to finish it in the seventh. Amy Kendall had a great game. She got a little tight at the end but she had a solid outing and was in control the whole time.?
The Wildcats return to action Saturday, Mar. 11, when they open Southeastern Conference play at Auburn. The Saturday doubleheader is set to begin at 2 p.m.
