Feb. 27, 2009
DELAND, Fla. – A three-run third inning lifted the Kentucky Wildcats to a 4-2 victory over Stetson in their second game of the Hatter Classic Friday afternoon. UK plated four scores on nine hits for the game to claim their second win of the day.
The Wildcats improve to 7-4 on the season after their two wins today. Junior pitcher Amber Matousek went the distance for the Blue and White fanning five batters on the day for her third win of the season.
In the top half of the first the Wildcats managed to put runners on first and second after sophomore Megan Yocke earned a walk and classmate Samantha DeMartine was struck by a pitch, but UK were unable to convert with runners on the base paths.
Freshman Brittany Cervantes led off the top of the second with an infield single, but UK once again left a runner stranded without scratching the scoreboard.
UK put runners on base for the third consecutive inning as junior Molly Johnson led off with a swift bunt and run. With the infield playing deep, Johnson laid down a perfect bunt and used her speed to earn a single. Yocke took her second walk of the game to put runners on first and second again, but the Wildcats’ final two outs came on pop-ups to end the inning.
After retiring the Hatters in order for the first three innings of the game, the host squad put a runner on base to start the bottom of the fourth. UK responded with a spectacular double play to stifle the threat. The inning ended when Johnson corralled a ball just above second base and got the runner out at first.
Freshman pinch hitter Jessica Adkins tallied the first hit of her career–a single to third base to lead off the top of the frame for UK. Johnson then found the same magic she had from the third inning, beating out the throw after laying down another bunt placing runners on first and second. Sophomore Meagan Aull capitalized on the opportunity with an RBI single into right field to give UK its first score of the game. Yocke sailed a ball to deep right field for an RBI sacrifice fly to score Johnson and advance Aull to third who had moved to second on the relay home during her at-bat. DeMartine followed suit with an RBI single into left field to propel the Wildcats to a 3-0 lead.
Stetson earned an infield single and then followed with a walk placing runners on with just one out. Kentucky was unfazed, however, forcing the Hatters into back-to-back outs to preserve its lead.
The Blue and White struck again in the top of the sixth. Junior Destinee Mordecai advanced to second after an error by the home team to lead off the inning. After back-to-back outs, Johnson singled into shallow left center to bring home Mordecai for a 4-0 advantage.
Stetson moved to within two at 4-2 after they got a one-out two-run home run from their all-time career home run leader Andrea Migliori in the bottom of the stanza. The Hatters put two more runners on base, but UK ended the threat with back-to-back pop-ups to end the inning without suffering any more damage.
DeMartine began the final inning with a double into left center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Kentucky could not put a run across the plate as they went down on three straight outs after the opening hit.
In the bottom of the inning, Stetson grounded out to open the frame but then put a runner on behind a walk. Matousek tightened up and finished the game with consecutive strikeouts to earn the victory.
Kentucky hits the field again tomorrow for two games. UK will first face Atlantic Coast Conference member Maryland at 11 a.m., and then the host Hatters at 4 p.m.
Live video and live stats are available for the Hatter Invitational. Fans can logon to gohatters.com for more information.
Complete coverage of the UK softball team can be found at UKathletics.com.
