The University of Kentucky softball team will host Maine this weekend, Feb. 17-18, for a three-game set at the UK Softball Complex. The home opener kicks off with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. and wraps up with a single game at noon on Sunday.
This is the first meeting between Kentucky and Maine. This weekend will serve as the season opener for the Black Bears.
The February 17 doubleheader is the second-earliest home date in UK history. The Cats opened the 2006 season on Feb. 16 against Kent State. UK has won three straight home openers and is now 6-4 all-time in those games. They have won six of their last seven home openers. The Cats? last loss in a home opener came on March 5, 2003, against Ohio State.
The Wildcats opened their season last weekend at Baylor?s Getterman Classic and finished with a record of 3-2.
Senior Katie Campbell tied the UK career record for home runs with her 19th in the season opening win over Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 19 in Waco, Texas. Campbell is batting .500 (7-for-14) with a team-high three doubles. Senior Brooke Marnitz made NCAA history as the Kentucky softball team defeated Southern Mississippi, Feb. 11, at the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas. Marnitz set a new NCAA mark for hits in consecutive at-bats with 12 straight hits. She is hitting a team-high .643 (9-for-14) with two doubles, two homeruns and nine RBI.
?We are going to do the best we can to get the games in. Our field crew is the best there is so I am not worried about that. It is more the temperatures and the winds,? said head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?This will be the first time that Maine will be outside so I am sure they are just excited to be somewhere different than up north.
?We need to take care of our business. The conditions are not going to be great and that makes for mental errors,? said Schmidt. ?We want to get off the field defensively as quick as possible and remain on offense for as long as possible. It will take focus and a strong mental approach. We need to take care of the routine plays and let the rest take care of itself.?
