Feb. 28, 2009
DELAND, Fla. – Senior Katie McCarty and sophomore Samantha DeMartine sparked Kentucky’s offense to a 10-1 six-inning win over the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday morning at the Hatter Classic.
The senior went 2-for-2 on the day which included a two-run triple, while DeMartine knocked home two runs with a sixth-inning double to help Kentucky to its fourth straight victory.
UK (8-4) also got an impressive pitching performance from freshman Chanda Bell who earned her fifth win of the season. The right-hander tossed a complete game and yielded just two hits on the afternoon while striking out six batters.
Kentucky broke open the game during their very first at-bat in the top half of the first. Junior Molly Johnson blasted a triple to lead off the inning as she laced a ball into deep right field that landed just inside of the line. Sophomore Meagan Aull laid down a bunt to bring in Johnson from third for the first score of the game. Aull shifted to second when sophomore Megan Yocke drew a walk. DeMartine dropped a ball into shallow center field for a single to load the bases. A throwing error by Maryland’s catcher enabled the base runners to move ahead as Aull tapped home for the second run of the inning. Yocke found her way home when junior Natalie Smith sent a well hit grounder to second base for an RBI groundout making the score 3-0 in the early going.
After allowing the leadoff batter to reach on a walk in the bottom of the stanza, freshman pitcher Chanda Bell tallied outs from the next three Terrapin batters. The first two batters sat down on strikes with the final out coming on a groundout to McCarty at third.
McCarty singled down the right field line to start the second with a base hit. After sophomore Annie Rowlands charted a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner, UK was unable to convert on the opportunity as Johnson popped up to third and Aull grounded out to the shortstop.
Bell and UK’s defense retired the Terrapins in order in the bottom of the second behind a groundout, a fly out and another strikeout.
The Wildcats struck again in the top of the third which was jump-started by two one-out hits. DeMartine drew a one-out walk to put a runner on which was followed by a single into shallow left field by freshman Brittany Cervantes. Pinch runner Macy Allen was able to round home when Smith laced a shot that nicked the shortstop’s glove and ended up in left center. Cervantes was out at third on a relay play during the score, while Smith shifted to second during the throw. Junior Destinee Mordecai charted a walk to put runners on first and second setting the stage for McCarty. The senior blasted a two-run triple into the right field corner for her second hit of the game and a 6-0 UK advantage.
Maryland cracked a double to lead off the bottom of the frame, but UK once again stifled the threat with three consecutive outs to end the inning.
Neither team could assemble any offense in the fourth nor fifth innings as the score remained a six-run lead for the Blue and White.
UK drew a pair of one-out base on balls as McCarty and Rowlands both reached base in back-to-back at-bats in the top of the sixth. After the Terrapins made their second pitching change of the game, both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch. Johnson ripped a shot into left field to bring home McCarty and placing runners on the corners with just a single out. Johnson swiftly stole second to put both runners in scoring position. After an out by Aull, Yocke took four straight pitches to earn her second walk of the game loading the bases for the Cats. UK’s clean-up hitter, DeMartine, smacked a rocket that plucked the left-center fence for a two-run double. During the relay Maryland fumbled the ball and Yocke was able to scoot home for a 10-0 lead.
Maryland scored a run in the bottom of the sixth behind a sacrifice fly for the final 10-1 margin.
Kentucky is back in action later this evening for another match-up with the host Stetson Hatters at 4 p.m. ET.
Live video and live stats are available for the Hatter Classic. Fans can logon to gohatters.com for more information.
Complete coverage of the UK softball team can be found at UKathletics.com.
