March 13, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After four consecutive weeks on the road the Kentucky softball team will play for the first time in the friendly confines of the UK Softball Complex when they welcome Auburn for a three-game set this weekend. Kentucky and Auburn will play a doubleheader on Saturday and conclude with a single game on Sunday. Both days will start at 1 p.m. ET.
The Blue and White enjoyed an impressive mid-week sweep of Morehead State on Tuesday. Junior Molly Johnson was spectacular at the plate going 5-for-8 in the two games. Her final hit was her biggest though, as she knocked in a three-run home run to propel UK to a 4-3 victory. Kentucky also got a solid performance from sophomore Meagan Aull who went 3-for-7 for the day.
In the circle, both Amber Matousek and Chanda Bell recorded victories. Bell struck out 11 batters in the 5-1 first-of-the day win, for her fifth game this season that she has tallied 10 or more strikeouts in a game.
Auburn was last in action when they swept Ole Miss to open the conference season a week ago. The Tigers are 20-6 overall and are receiving votes in both top-25 polls. UK and Auburn have met 33 times on the diamond with the Tigers holding a 24-9 series record, although 11 games have been decided by just a single run including two games last season.
Auburn has posted two wins this season over top-25 opponents in North Carolina and Cal to open the year. UK and Auburn have both played Morehead State in the non-conference slate. The Tigers earned a 2-0 win over the Eagles in the very early part of the season, while UK just claimed a doubleheader sweep of the Eagles on Tuesday.
The Tigers are currently led by Myesha Finney at the plate. She is batting .383 with a team-best five home runs and 14 RBI. In the circle, Auburn is paced by Anna Thompson and Jenee Loree who have a combined 18-6 record. However the two have only posted 55 strikeouts between the two of them to date in comparison to UK’s Bell who has 93 alone.
Live stats and complete coverage will be available at UK’s official homepage at UKathletics.com.
