Kentucky head softball coach Eileen Schmidt recorded her 100th career victory tonight, Apr. 5, as her Wildcats swept a doubleheader with Western Kentucky at the UK Softball Complex. The Cats won game one by a final of 2-1 and came back to win the second game by a score of 5-4. Kentucky has won four straight to improve to 18-22 on the year, while WKU falls to 19-17.
?No coach can win games alone,? said second-year UK head coach Schmidt. ?I owe a lot to all my players and assistant coaches over the past four years.?
The Cats and Hilltoppers engaged in a pitching duel in the opening game. Freshman Jessica Trueblood started for UK and allowed two base hits in the top of the first but regrouped and retired the next 10 batters. The only damage of the day came on a solo home run by Adrienne Lathrop in the top of the fifth.
The Cats had just three hits but found a way to score. Lori Melchi led off the fourth inning with a single to left and went to second on a bunt single by Megan Miller. Meghan Cooper was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Ashley Fertic who delivered a two-run single to left field to give the Cats a 2-0 lead.
The Hilltopper homer made it a 2-1 game. Trueblood went back to the mound and retired the side in order in the final two innings as the Cats held on for the one-run win. Trueblood improved to 7-11 on the year after tossing the complete game. She allowed one run on five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out four.
In the night cap, the Cats scored a run in the home half of the first after Melchi reached on an error. She went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miller and advanced to third on a single by Cooper. Melchi scored the first run of the game on a fielder?s choice by Katie Campbell.
The lead was short-lived as the Hilltoppers took a 2-1 lead on a two-run homer by Alana Towns off second-game starter Samantha Allen. Amy Kendall relieved Allen in the inning and got a fly ball to end the inning and strand a runner at first base.
WKU made it a three-run lead with a run in the fourth on two hits and a Kentucky error to go on top by a score of 3-1.
The Wildcats exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fifth, capped by back-to-back home runs by Campbell and Fertic. Campbell?s three-run shot scored Melchi and Miller who had both singled earlier in the inning. Campbell?s homer to deep center field was her team-leading sixth of the season. Fertic followed with a solo shot, her fourth of the year, to give UK the 5-3 edge.
The Hilltoppers made it a one-run game with a solo homer by Bailey Rolfs to lead off the seventh. Trueblood relieved Kendall and retired the side in order, striking out Towns to end the game and earn her team-leading third save of the season.
Campbell went 1-for-3 with a run scored and four RBI, while Melchi was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Miller added a 1-for-3 performance with a stolen base and a run scored. Fertic finished 1-for-2 with a home run.
Kendall gets the win to improve to 7-8 on the year after giving up two runs on three hits in 3.1 innings of work. The senior struck out six and did not walk a batter. Trueblood tossed a perfect seventh to earn the save.
?We weren?t real sharp today, but good teams find a way to win,? said Schmidt. ?We didn?t panic and that was nice to see. Katie Campbell did a great job and continued to play well. She?s keeping us in games behind the plate and at the plate.?
The Wildcats will enjoy a weekend off before traveling to Indiana on Apr. 19 for a doubleheader with the Hoosiers. UK?s next home contests will be Apr. 14-15 when it hosts a key Southeastern Conference series with Arkansas.
