LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The University of Kentucky softball team will host its first SEC action of the season when the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide come to town Friday at the UK Softball Complex for a three-game series.
The two teams will play a single game Friday night at 6 p.m., and then play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
Kentucky (13-10, 1-2), winners of 11 of its last 14 have been streaking as of late. UK got its first SEC opening day win since 2005 and defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since the opening of the 2006 season when they defeated #6 Tennessee, 2-0, last Saturday. The Wildcats own a 5-1 record in the friendly confines of the UK Softball Complex this season, with the only loss coming at the hands of Louisville in a mid-week, non-conference match-up.
The Blue and White, sporting green socks in honor of St. Patrick?s Day, tallied 13 total hits while five players registered multiple hits on the afternoon on its way to a 7-3, non-conference win over Miami (Ohio) Monday in their last game action. Senior Audrey Meyer recorded a hit for the fourth consecutive game when she singled in the fifth inning. During her current streak, Meyer has gone a staggering 8-for-13 at the plate.
Sophomore pitcher Amber Matousek has already reached multiple career-highs this season having scored her seventh win of the season over Miami (OH) Monday. The right-hander also pitched her first career shutout in UK?s 2-0 win over Tennessee last week. She has struck out a career-high 67 batters this season while seeing nearly 100 innings of work. Matousek became the first Kentucky hurler to fan 10 batters in a game since 1999, achieving the feat three times this season.
Sophomore Molly Johnson is in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak, which is the longest such streak of her career. Johnson previously hit safely in six straight games to start the 2008 campaign. Johnson has batted 10-for-21 with five RBI, including a double and a triple in her last seven outings. She has hit safely in every game in the month of March.
Kentucky is outscoring its opponent 24-12 in the sixth inning and is a perfect 10-0 when leading through six. The 24 runs in the sixth frame are more than in any other inning. Alabama (24-3, 5-2) is currently ranked second in the country and owns an all-time series record of 28-1 over the Blue and White. The two teams will meet on March 21, for the seventh time in the series.
Complete coverage and live results of the games against Alabama will be available at www.ukathletics.com.
