ATHENS, Ga. ? The University of Kentucky softball team will continue its week-long road trip when it takes on No. 11 Georgia in a three-game Southeastern Conference series, Mar. 14-15, in Athens. The series begins with a Tuesday doubleheader and concludes with a single game on Wednesday afternoon. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. each day.
The Cats and Bulldogs have met 34 times with UGA holding a 27-7 lead in the all-time series. Georgia has won the last 15 matchups between the conference foes. The last time Kentucky defeated UGA was Mar. 7, 2001, when the Cats won by a score of 4-1 in Lexington.
The Bulldogs are currently 19-6 on the year and 2-1 in SEC play after dropping a 1-0 decision to Arkansas in their last outing. UGA took games one and two by scores of 6-1 and 6-3, respectively. Junior outfielder Kellie Middleton leads the Bulldogs with a .460 batting average, followed by senior Courtney Knight who has hit .426. Kasi Carroll leads the Georgia pitching staff with a 9-2 record and a 1.38 ERA in nine starts this season.
The Wildcats enter their second SEC series of the year with a 0-3 conference mark. UK had won five straight before being swept at No. 20 Auburn over the weekend to fall to 12-9 overall. In their last outing against the Tigers, the Cats jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after scoring five runs in the top of the first. The Tigers eventually tied the game at 6-6 and went on to win in extra innings.
Katie Campbell continues to lead the Wildcat offense, batting .417 on the year with 22 RBI. Meghan Cooper tied a career-high with three hits in the eight-inning loss to Auburn and is second on the team with 12 RBI. Freshman Megan Miller ranks second on the team with a .354 average, while Cooper is hitting .350 this season. Junior shortstop Brooke Marnitz and senior outfielder/designated player Lori Melchi are also hitting the ball well with averages of .344 and .309, respectively.
Senior Amy Kendall pitched well at Auburn and leads the team with 15 appearances and 54 strikeouts. Kendall (5-3) has walked just 15 batters in 57.2 innings of work and owns an ERA of 3.16. Freshman Jessica Trueblood leads the team with a 2.38 ERA and is 4-5 on the year, while sophomore Lindsay Brogdon is 3-1 in four starts this season.
?We had a tough series at Auburn. We played hard but that doesn’t show up in the win column. Two of those games could have gone either way,? said head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?Things don’t get any easier on this week-long roadtrip here in Athens. I have a great respect for Coach Champer and the way she has built this program from its performance on the field to facilities. They are a national contender and we are going to have to be focused and on our game right from the start.?
