The Kentucky softball team dropped a Tuesday night doubleheader to visiting Mississippi State to fall to 13-8 on the year and 1-4 in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs took the first game by a final of 7-0 and held off a Wildcat rally to win game two by a score of 9-7. MSU improves to 17-11 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
The Wildcats did tie a school record in game two with three home runs, a feat achieved three times previous to this afternoon. Brooke Marnitz, Katie Campbell and Becky Bishop all hit a longball in the two-run loss. The last time UK had three homers in a game was on Feb. 19, 2005, against Texas State.
The three home runs bring UK?s team total to 28, just nine away from tying the school record of 37 set during the 2004 campaign.
The Wildcats struggled in game one and only one batter reached base through the first four innings. Alli Eckman doubled to left field with one out in the fifth for the first Wildcat hit of the game off MSU starter Kelli Miller.
Marnitz singled in the sixth and Gina Florence added a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the seventh to account for the only other Wildcat hits in the opening game.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the top of the first. They added a four-spot in the fifth on three hits and a Kentucky error to take a 6-0 lead. MSU added its seventh and final run of the game on an RBI single by Nakita Boyce in the top of the sixth. Three Kentucky errors aided the MSU offense who scored four unearned runs in the win.
Freshman Amber Matousek took the loss for UK for her first of the season. Matousek is now 5-1 after allowing three earned runs on 11 hits in 7.0 innings of work.
The Wildcats appeared to be off to a better start in the nightcap, scoring a pair of runs in the home half of the first on a two-run single by Molly Johnson.
The Bulldogs, however, scored seven unearned run sin the top of the second as the Cats committed four errors. MSU added five hits in the inning to take a 7-2 edge.
After a single run in the top of the third, the Wildcats began to chip away at the MSU lead. Marnitz drilled a Stephanie Comeaux pitch over the wall in straight away center to make it a four-run game. Following a sharp single through the left side by Johnson, Campbell stepped to the plate and belted her sixth homer of the season to make it a 7-5 score.
The score remained the same until the Bulldogs plated a run on a triple and a suicide squeeze to go back on top by four at 9-5.
Kentucky used the longball again in the bottom of the sixth. Ashley Fertic reached on MSU?s third error of the game and came around to score on a shot over the left field wall by Bishop to slash the lead to two.
UK reliever Jennifer Young allowed a pair of two-out singles in the seventh, but got Boyce out on strikes to strand a pair and give the Cats one last chance in the home half of the inning. Bishop singled to left with two outs and pinch runner Jenny Sibert moved to second on a wild pitch. That was as far as she would advance, however, as Ashley Dimkich popped up to the shortstop to end the rally and the game.
Dimkich doubled earlier in the game and finished 1-for-4 at the dish. Bishop went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while Marnitz also had two hits in the loss. The shortstop was 2-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and scored a run. Cambpell added two RBI on her 25th career home run to add to her school record total.
Megan Jolly was charged with the loss after allowing seven unearned runs on five hits in 2.0 innings. Young tossed five innings of relief and gave up one earned run on seven hits while striking out three.
The Wildcats return to action this weekend, Mar. 17-18, when they play their first SEC road series of the year. Kentucky will face Georgia for a three-game set in Athens beginning with a Saturday doubleheader.
