April 24, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In an interesting turn of events on Saturday, the 12th-ranked LSU Tigers earned a 5-2 win over Kentucky in a rain-shortened five-inning game at the UK Softball Complex. With the two teams having played five complete innings the NCAA rule states the game is considered a completed game despite the fact play was halted in the bottom of the sixth inning.
With the 5-2, five-inning win LSU improves to 37-10 overall and 15-5 in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky drops to 29-19 overall and 11-12 in league action.The two teams will play a doubleheader Sunday with the first game taking place at 10 a.m. ET. Game two will follow 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first contest.
LSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind a three-run home run from Rachel Mitchell in the top of the first inning. Annie Rowlands had a highlight reel catch to help end the inning without allowing any more runs. Rowlands drifted to the left along the fence and she snagged a ball in fall territory and then tipped over the wall while keeping the ball in her glove.
Kentucky was able to load the bags in the bottom half of the stanza behind three walks, but UK left all three aboard with an inning ending strikeout.
The Tigers added a run in the top of the fourth to increase its lead at 4-0. LSU led off with a single and a stolen base benefited the visitors as the runner rounded home on a single along the left field line for the additional score.
UK struck for a run in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 4-1. Samantha DeMartine got the inning started with a single through the left side. Brittany Cervantes then sliced a double into right center. Kentucky tried to be a bit aggressive during a routine groundout to second and a runner was caught at home for two outs. Destinee Mordecai walked and Rowlands plated Cervantes for the UK tally. Kara Dill loaded the bases with a single to the shortstop, but the inning ended with a grounder to second base leaving three runners on base.
LSU answered with an additional run in the top of the fifth. The Tigers reached base when a batter was plucked with a pitch and was able to round home on a double that split the left-center gap for a 5-1 lead for the visitors.
Kentucky added a run in the home half of the fifth and left three more runners stranded. Natalie Smith began the inning by reaching on an error by the shortstop. Megan Yocke singled into centerfield placing runners on the corners. DeMartine walked to load the bases and Cervantes delivered a sacrifice fly for the second run of the game for the Blue and White. Aull drilled a deep fly ball to center field allowing the runners to shift into scoring position. Mordecai earned her second walk of the game to load the bags, but the inning concluded with a fly ball to right field with the score 5-2 in favor of LSU.
Complete coverage of the Wildcat softball team can be found at UKathletics.com.
