LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky softball team returns to Southeastern Conference action this weekend when it hosts No. 1 Tennessee for three-game set. The Wildcats will also honor previous players as Alumni Weekend will be celebrated during the series. A Saturday doubleheader will be followed by a single game on Sunday. First pitch for both days is set for 1 p.m. at the UK Softball Complex.
The Lady Vols have been the nation?s top-ranked team all season and enter the weekend with a 44-2 overall record. They have won 19 straight games and lead the SEC Eastern Division with a 14-2 league record. Senior India Chiles is leading the UT offense with a .460 average and 29 stolen bases. Lindsay Schutzler and Jennifer Griffin are also batting above the .400 mark at .428 and .407, respectively. Tiffany Huff is third in the SEC and leads the Lady Vols with 42 RBI this season to go along with six home runs and a .371 average.
In the circle, senior Monica Abbot leads the nation in ERA, wins and strikeouts. The Salinas, Calif., native is 33-1 with a 0.43 ERA and has recorded 459 strikeouts in 211.1 innings of work this season. Megan Rhodes also boasts an ERA under one at 0.79 to go along with 160 strikeouts and an 11-1 overall record.
This weekend marks the 30th meeting between the Cats and Lady Vols. Tennessee has won four straight in the series and leads 22-7 all-time over UK. The Wildcats last win came on March 29, 2005, in an extra-inning victory in Knoxville. Then-sophomore Brooke Marnitz homered to center off Abbott as the Wildcats won that contest by a final of 2-1.
The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 19-18 record and are 4-12 in SEC play. UK was off last weekend and has played four non-conference games since its last league contest. The Cats fell 7-6 in extra innings at Louisville on Wednesday night.
Marnitz continues to lead the Cats, the SEC and the nation in home runs with 18 this season. She leads the conference in RBI with 50, is tops with a 1.000 slugging percentage and is first with 112 total bases. Senior Katie Campbell is second in the league with 11 homers and has 35 RBI this season. Freshmen Natalie Smith and Molly Johnson have also provided punch at the plate for the Cats, batting .392 and .360, respectively.
?What a great weekend for both top caliber softball and baseball. Tennessee is at the pinnacle of college softball right now,? said head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?They swing the bats and obviously their pitching staff is number one in the nation. They are a complete team with speed, power and a strong circle presence. The weather is not going to be ideal so the focus needs to be there. It will be a great series.?
