April 7, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky, – Riding an eight-game winning streak, including six straight in Southeastern Conference action, the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats will travel to No. 2 Georgia for a three-game series beginning on Friday. First pitch in the opening game is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s contest is scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET start and will air live on ESPNU.
Kentucky (27-7, 11-3) has matched a school-best record with eight straight victories highlighted by the first consecutive perfect games tossed in SEC history. Chanda Bell became the first Wildcat to achieve the feat in game one of the doubleheader with Austin Peay and Rachel Riley followed suit for the historic achievement.
The duo also becomes the first pair of players to record a perfect game in the same season in the history of the league.
UK’s offense was also spectacular as the Wildcats recorded season-highs in runs and hits between the two games. Kentucky posted five more homers on the season to match its total for all of last season with 42 hit on the year. Junior Brittany Cervantes drilled her team-leading 11th of the season to become just the third player in school allure with 30 or more long balls in a career.
Senior Meagan Aull continued her hot-hitting streak as she led off the second game of the doubleheader with her fifth homer in the last five outings. It also marked the third first-inning leadoff bomb in the last four games for the Wildcats.
Riley was also spectacular at the plate for the Blue and White during her historic pitching feat. Riley matched a program record with six RBI in the 13-0 win. She drove in three in the opening stanza with her third homer of the season. She then had a bases-clearing three-run double to ignite a seven-run rally later in the game.
Second-ranked Georgia owns a 30-6 overall record and an 8-5 mark in SEC action. The Bulldogs currently sit in third place overall in league standings, behind Tennessee and the first-place Wildcats.
Georgia dropped both games of a doubleheader with the Lady Vols on Wednesday night marking the first two losses of the season at home.
The Bulldogs are paced at the dish by a pair of .400 batters. Ashley Pauly leads the squad with a .440 clip, while All-SEC performer Alisa Goler owns a .417 average and a team-best 13 homers. As a team, Georgia bats with a .327 average and have totaled 59 home runs on the season. The Bulldogs are also efficient in the small-ball game, as the team has put together 48 stolen bases on the season.
In the circle, Alison Owen leads the four-person pitching staff with a 1.83 ERA and 103 strikeouts. Morgan Montemayor bests the staff with a 16-3 record. As a staff the four pitchers own a 2.15 ERA and are limiting opposing batters to a .196 batting average.
Georgia claims an overall series record with the Wildcats with a 40-10 mark, although, UK has notched a win over the Bulldogs in each of the last two seasons.
DeMartine blasted a walk-off two run homer to knock off the then ranked No. 7 Bulldogs in 2010. Former player Molly Johnson hit a two-run homer in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament to defeat the Bulldogs in 2009.
Complete coverage of the UK softball team can be found at UKathletics.com all season long.
