On a list of what the Kentucky softball team has done over the last three seasons, you’ll find very few things missing.
Checked off are the program’s first two NCAA Tournament appearances, three straight 30-win seasons for the first time in school history and the highest team ranking in program annals. And those are just a sample.
But for everything the program has accomplished under the watch of fourth-year head coach Rachel Lawson, Kentucky, remarkably, has yet to beat Louisville with Lawson at the helm. UK has lost the last eight games to the Cardinals overall, including a 6-0 loss in the Derby City a month ago.
“Maybe it’s me,” Lawson joked Tuesday after Kentucky’s 7-0 shutout win over Eastern Kentucky.
Lawson, owner of a 115-97 record as Kentucky’s skipper, isn’t the problem, and Louisville, with a 32-13 record this season is obviously pretty good. But to lose eight straight to a single team after the type of meteoric rise UK has experienced might just mean something is astray when the Cats face their archrival.
Senior captain Megan Yocke, part of a senior class that has never beaten Louisville, called it a “stigma.”
“I think we almost want it too bad,” Yocke said. “Yes, it is our rival and yes, we do want to beat them, but we’ve been able to beat some top-ranked teams in the SEC. I think we put too much on this game. We need to look at them like a top-ranked team just like they are and take it to them just like we would anyone else.”
In the first meeting this season, UK made some uncharacteristic defensive lapses and Louisville tagged the usually unhittable Chanda Bell for four runs (three unearned).
“It was kind of a disaster,” Lawson said. “We didn’t play particularly well and Louisville is a great team. If you play Louisville and you don’t bring your ‘A’ game, they’re going to beat you. They have great pitching, great hitting and an outstanding coach.”
Midseason games tend to lose their luster this time of the year as the importance of conference games pick up, but Wednesday’s 6 p.m. showdown at the UK Softball Complex has a big-game feel to it.
Kentucky is billing the game its “Pack the Park” night in hopes of setting a new home attendance record. Admission is free for students, faculty and staff with a valid UK identification card, and faculty and staff can bring up to three guests for free.
So if you’re asking Lawson if this is a big game, the answer is certainly yes.
“Obviously we want it bad because one of our goals is to not only be the best teams in the country, we want to be the best team in our state,” Lawson said. “Until we beat Louisville, we can’t do that.”
Lawson wouldn’t commit to a starting pitcher Wednesday, but she has a number of options. Because freshman Lauren Cumbess pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout Tuesday, Lawson has Bell (11-5, 1.86 ERA), junior Rachel Riley (6-1, 1.87 ERA) and freshman Ellen Weaver (6-0, 2.78 ERA) rested and available.
“We could use any of them,” Lawson said. “Chanda is always an awesome option for us because anytime she’s on the mound we get a lot of strikeouts, which certainly helps our defense. Ellen Weaver is an outstanding pitcher, too, and she gives you a little different look because she’s a lefty. And Riley is often our go-to girl.
“Right now, we’re kind of planning on using all of them.”
Whoever ultimately gets the call, the Cats are hoping they can keep the Cardinals at bay and capture one of the few things that has eluded them.
“It’s at our home, our senior year – we’re ready to do it,” Yocke said. “We’re a long time due.”
