May 8, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. – For the fourth consecutive season the Kentucky softball team captured the series from Ole Miss with a 4-2 victory in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday in Oxford, Miss. UK won the earlier game behind a 2-0 score.
Sophomore Rachel Riley earned the win in the circle for the Wildcats (31-23, 13-14 SEC) for her 11th victory of the season. Riley went 5.2 innings and pitched shutout softball for four of those frames after entering in the second inning in relief of starter Amber Matousek.
Kentucky’s bats were alive as the Blue and White charted 10 hits on the afternoon. Molly Johnson, Meagan Aull and Natalie Smith all had a pair of hits and an RBI to lead the way.
Much like the opening game of the series the Wildcats jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage with a tally in the top half of the first. Johnson and Smith both smoked singles to lead off the stanza. Megan Yocke shifted the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and Samantha DeMartine sent a ball to the shortstop and reached on a fielder’s choice when Johnson was tagged out at home. Brittany Cervantes earned a walk to load the bases and Aull delivered an RBI single up the middle to plate Smith for the first run of the game.
Ole Miss wasted little time in tying the score with a solo home run in the bottom of the frame off of the bat of Lauren Grill to make the score 1-1.
UK struck back with three runs in the top of the second to capture a 4-1 lead. Annie Rowlands opened the inning with a single through the right side, and freshman Kara Dill followed with a single bunt to place both runners aboard. Johnson delivered an RBI double into left-center. Smith plate Dill from third with a single up the middle. Yocke then scored Johnson with a single into right field for the third run of the stanza.
The home team plated a run in the bottom of the second to make the score 4-2 in favor of Kentucky. Ole Miss put runners aboard on consecutive walks and then shifted the runners into scoring position behind a sacrifice bunt. A single up the middle allowed the Rebels to add to their run total.
Riley entered the game in the bottom of the second and pitched flawless softball from there. After yielding a run with runners in scoring position when she entered in relief, she did not allow a single hit the rest of the way.
Kentucky and Ole Miss will wrap up their three-game series with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch on Sunday in Oxford, Miss.
Complete coverage of the Wildcat softball team can be found at UKathletics.com.
