March 4, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 23 Kentucky softball team will travel to Marietta, Ga., for the Buzz Classic to wrap up its non-conference tournament schedule. The tournament marks the fourth consecutive week the Blue and White have taken to the road. Kentucky is 11-3 on the season and received its first-ever national ranking on Tuesday. UK earned a No. 23 rating in the ESPN/USA Softball poll to achieve its first ranking in school history.
Last week the Wildcats went 3-1 at the Chattanooga Frost Classic. Senior pitcher Amber Matousek tossed the second no-hitter in school history with an 8-0 victory over Evansville.
Freshman Kara Dill has provided a steady offensive threat as the first-year player enjoyed a team-best seven game hitting streak.
Senior Molly Johnson provided an offensive spark for the Wildcats with a two home run game in a win over Chattanooga. Johnson drove in all three runs in a 3-1 win with two round trippers. She and Brittany Cervantes have both smacked a pair of bombs in a single outing after no Wildcat player had achieved the feat since 2006.
Up first for the Wildcats at the Buzz Classic is 2009 NCAA Super Regional participant Jacksonville State. Kentucky and the Gamecocks will meet at 4 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon. The Gamecocks currently hold a 4-4 overall mark for the season which includes a victory over Indiana. Jacksonville State is led at the plate by Chrissy O’Neal who is hitting .429 on the season with two home runs and seven RBI. Hilary Phillips is 3-0 in the circle with a 2.21 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 19 innings of work.
Kentucky will then take on Georgia State in the 6 p.m. game on Friday. The Panthers currently hold a 7-3 overall record to begin the season. Georgia State is led by the reigning CAA Player of the Week in Lauren Jones. Jones hit .533 with eight hits and three RBI for the week.
On Saturday, the Wildcats will begin the day with a matchup against the host Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 4 p.m. ET. Georgia Tech is ranked No. 9 in the ESPN poll after a 13-2 start to begin the year. The Jackets own three wins over ranked opponents already this year. The two teams share a loss with Cal as Georgia Tech fell 4-1 to the Bears. Jen Yee was named the NFCA National Player of the Week for her 12-for-22 performance on the week with eight runs scored, six home runs, 14 RBI, two walks and a stolen base.
UK will then take on Western Carolina following that contest at 6 p.m. ET. The Catamounts are currently 3-5 on the year and have three players batting over .400. They are led by Chelsea Schaffer with a .429 average and three extra base hits.
To wrap up the weekend Kentucky will take on Liberty in an early 9 a.m. ET game on Sunday. The Flames are 3-2 on the year and are led by Kaylee West at the dish who is batting .500 for the early portion of the season.
Live stats and a complete recap following each day’s action can be found at UKathletics.com.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky softball team.
