Feb. 19, 2012
BOCA RATON, Fla.– Maryland utilized a sacrifice fly to down No. 22/24 Kentucky 2-1 in extra innings in the final game of the Florida Atlantic Kickoff Classic on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. With the international tie breaker rule in effect the Terps sacrifice the placed runner on second to third and the next batter lofted a ball into left field to plate the winning score in the bottom of the ninth inning.
With the loss Kentucky falls to 4-5 on the season and earned a 3-2 record at this weekend’s tournament. Maryland improves to 4-1 on the young season. Junior Kara Dill extended her hitting streak to six games and senior Macy Allen scored UK’s lone run. Senior Chanda Bell takes the loss in her first start of the year. She tossed 8.1 innings of action and yielded just four hits on the afternoon.
Allen notched a one-out infield single back to the pitcher in the top of the fifth. Senior Brittany Cervantes then logged her second walk of the game to place two runners aboard. The duo completed a double-steal to shift both runners into scoring position. A wild pitch with two outs and Dill at the plate enabled Allen to scoot home for the 1-0 UK advantage.
Maryland answered with a run of its own in the home half of the frame as the Terps benefited from a pair of hits in the inning to plate the score.
Dill extended her hitting streak to six games with a two-out infield single in the top of the first for UK. The Wildcats’ would leave her stranded, however. Bell quickly retired the side in the bottom of the frame.
After Kentucky traded dropping in order, Maryland logged its first hit of the game in the home side of the inning. Bell did not allow any further damage as she induced a grounder to Krystal Smith at second to end the stanza.
Cervantes reached on a two-out walk in the top of the third, but Kentucky was unable to shift the runner. Bell returned the favor as she retired the side in the bottom of the inning to preserve the scoreless tie.
Dill opened the top of the fourth by recording her first extra-base hit of the season and her third multiple hit game of the year with a double into left field. She would eventually steal third to move into scoring position. Junior Alice O’Brien registered a two-out walk to place runners on the corners, but again UK could not advance a runner across the plate as the inning ended with a strikeout.
O’Brien sliced a single through the right side with two outs in the top of the sixth, but the inning would come to an end on a fly-out to right field with the runner still aboard. Bell answered by retiring the side including getting the final out of the frame with a strikeout.
In the top of the seventh, Kentucky could not produce an offensive rhythm as the Terps retired the Blue and White in order. Cervantes turned a spectacular double-play in the home half of the seventh to force the extra frames.
With Cervantes placed on second in the international tie breaker rules, freshman Griffin Joiner advanced the runner a base with a sacrifice bunt. However, UK would leave Cervantes on third with back-to-back outs to end the inning. UK repeated the inning defensively. After Maryland shifted the runner by way of a sacrifice, Bell and the defense notched consecutive outs to escape the inning and move to the ninth.
The Wildcats mimicked its previous at-bat with a sacrifice bunt and then suffering consecutive outs in the ninth.
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