The University of Kentucky softball team dropped a pair of Southeastern Conference games to No. 6 Tennessee today, Mar. 29, at the UK Softball Complex. The Lady Vols won a five-inning shutout by a score of 8-0 in the opening game and took game two with a 4-0 decision. The Wildcats fall to 14-18 on the year and 2-12 in SEC play, while the Lady Vols are now 29-4 with a 4-4 mark in league play.
The Lady Vols did their offensive damage early in the opening game, scoring seven runs on six hits in the top of the second off UK starter Samantha Allen. UT added the eighth and would-be winning run in the top of the fifth off reliever Lindsay Brogdon on three consecutive hits to take an 8-0 lead.
The Wildcats had two hits against UT starter Monica Abbott when they loaded the bases in the third with two singles and an intentional walk to Brooke Marnitz. Abbott got Meghan Cooper to pop up to the shortstop to strand three runners and end the Wildcat threat.
Abbott got the win and improved to 18-3 on the year after striking out 10 in the complete-game shutout. Allen was tagged with the loss after allowing seven runs on seven hits in two innings of work. The sophomore falls to 1-2 on the year.
The Lady Vols got on the board in the second inning again in game two with a run on a leadoff homer by Katherine Card to take a 1-0 lead.
Freshman Megan Miller broke up UT starter Megan Rhodes? perfect game with a one-out double to left center field in the home half of the fourth. That sent the Lady Vols to the bullpen for Abbot who sat down the two batters she faced and stranded Miller at second.
UT made it a 3-0 affair with two runs in the fifth on two hits, including an RBI double by Tonya Callahan. Amy Kendall relieved starter Jessica Trueblood with a pair of runners aboard and struck out the Lady Vol shortstop, Liane Horiuchi, to end the inning.
The Wildcats had another runner in scoring position when Marnitz reached second base on an error by the UT right fielder, but she would also be stranded as Abbott got a ground ball off the bat of Miller to end the inning.
Tennessee added a run on a double and a sacrifice fly in the seventh to win by the final score of 4-0.
Abbott was credited with the win, improving to 19-3 with five strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. She did not allow a hit.
Trueblood falls to 5-9 after giving up three runs on eight hits with two walks in 4.2 innings. She struck out one and walked a pair.
?They shut us down in the first game, but we had our chances in the second game today,? said head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?We have to find a way to take advantage of the chances we have in every game.?
The three-game series wraps up on Thursday, Mar. 30, with a single game set to begin at 1 p.m.
