LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Five errors proved costly as the University of Kentucky dropped the series to South Carolina with an 8-1 loss Sunday at the UK Softball Complex.
Kentucky (13-17, 1-8) allowed six unearned runs and the UK bats never came alive in its third loss to the Gamecocks in two days.
South Carolina opened up the first inning with a two-run start. The visitors plated two runs on an infield single and two Wildcat errors. The two-run advantage to open the game would be too much for the home team to overcome.
Kentucky plated a run in the bottom half of the second inning to bring the score to just 2-1. Sophomore Molly Johnson opened the offense with a single to left field. She then stole her third base of the series, and her team-leading 12th of the season. The speedy base runner advanced to third on an Ashley Dimkich?s ground out. A mistake by the Gamecocks? catcher on a passed ball allowed Johnson to round home.
Sophomore reliever Jennifer Young held South Carolina scoreless for two innings before the Gamecocks tallied two runs in the top of the fifth. The visitors scored their two runs on just one hit and two more Wildcat errors.
The visitors added some insurance runs in the seventh on a two-run home run and another Wildcat error allowed two more runs to score, bringing the final margin to 8-1.
Freshman Megan Yocke registered a double in the bottom of the fourth and Johnson reached base when she was hit by a ball. Both Wildcat runners though surrendered themselves on a wild double-steal run-down. Both base runners were caught in the base paths after attempting to swipe bases.
Freshman Sam DeMartine registered the other hit for the Blue and White in the fifth inning. Kentucky?s two pitchers Young and sophomore Amber Matousek combined to toss two strikeouts and give up just two earned runs on the day.
The Wildcats will host Indiana for a mid-week doubleheader on Tuesday. Kentucky already has a win over the Hoosiers this season when they won 10-5 in the Chattanooga Frost Classic March 2.
First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. Live stats and complete coverage of the games can be found by visiting www.ukathletics.com.
