COLUMBIA, S.C. ? The University of Kentucky softball team snapped a seven-game losing skid today, Mar. 18, as freshman Jessica Trueblood tossed a complete-game shutout in the Wildcats 2-0 win over South Carolina. The Gamecocks took game one by a score of 5-2 for their first Southeastern Conference win of the season. UK moves to 13-13 on the year and 1-7 in the SEC, while USC is now 19-9 on the year with a 1-4 mark in league play.
In the nightcap, it was the Wildcats who took the early lead as they staged a two-out rally in the top of the first. Meghan Cooper singled through the left side and scored on Katie Campbell?s two-run home run to center field. Campbell ties teammate Brooke Marnitz for the team lead with her fourth home run of the season. Campbell is now tied with former Wildcat Leslie Kwiatkowski (1998-2001) for second all-time at Kentucky with 16 career bombs. Campbell needs just three long balls to tie Amber Janneck who currently holds the school record with 19.
Jessica Trueblood went to work on the mound for the Cats and silenced the USC bats. The freshman retired the side in order through the first three innings and had a perfect game until she gave up a one-out walk in the fourth. After a fly ball to left, Trueblood walked a second batter, but stranded both when she struck out Longo to end the threat and the inning.
Trueblood allowed just two singles and no baserunners moved past second base. The Salem, Ore., native didn?t give up a hit until the bottom of the fifth. The second and final hit came in the home half of the sixth. Trueblood tied a career-high with nine strikeouts. She also recorded nine strikeouts in the Cats? win over Kent State on Feb. 16 in Lexington. Trueblood moves to 5-7 on the year with the two-hit complete-game shutout.
Cooper went 1-for-2 with a run scored and was hit by a pitch in the win, while Campbell finished 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBI. Both were hit by a pitch in the game to give the Cats a SEC-leading 23 HBPs this season. Cooper has now been hit eight times and leads the conference in that category.
In game one of the twinbill, UK starter Amy Kendall retired the side in order with three ground balls in the first inning. The Gamecocks got on the board in the bottom of the second with a one-out solo home run to left field by Lisa Long to give USC a 1-0 lead.
Marnitz tied the game at a run apiece in the top of the third with a solo shot of her own to left field.
Kendall retired six straight batters until she ran into trouble in the home half of the fourth. She gave up a one-out double and walked a batter before Longo hit her second long ball of the game to put the Gamecocks on top 4-1.
Lindsay Brogdon relieved Kendall in the fifth and did not allow a run in her first inning of work. The sophomore gave up a single run in the sixth as USC scored on two walks, a hit and a sacrifice fly to take a 5-1 lead.
The Wildcats had four straight batters reach base in the top of the seventh, but managed just one run on an RBI double to left center by Ashley Fertic as the Cats dropped the first game of the doubleheader by a final score of 5-2.
The Cats leadoff batter reached base five times, but only one of those baserunners scored. Kentucky tied a season-high with three stolen bases in the loss.
Cooper continued her hot hitting and tied career high with three hits. The senior went 3-for-4 with three singles and a run scored. Cooper also set a new career high with two stolen bases, while Marnitz finished 2-for-3 with a homer, a run scored and an RBI. The homer was Marnitz?s fourth of the season and she is now tied for seventh all-time at Kentucky with eight career round trippers.
Kendall got the loss to fall to 5-5 on the year after allowing four runs on three hits in 4.0 innings of work. The senior pitcher walked one and struck out three. Brogdon tossed the final two innings and gave up one run on two hits. She walked two and recorded two strikeouts on the day.
?It’s nice to get the monkey off our back with our first SEC win of the season,? said head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?The first game we left 11 runners on base and we just could not come up with the big hits. In the second game, we started off strong and then fizzled offensively, but what a day for Jessica Trueblood. Our pitching staff as a whole has struggled as of late and Jess really stepped up today.?
?We had solid defense that second game,? added Schmidt. ?Meghan Cooper has turned it on to fill some voids offensively. We need to put it all together to get a win tomorrow.?
The three-game conference series wraps up on Sunday, Mar. 19, with a single game set to begin at 1 p.m.
