March 22, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After taking a break from league play for seven games the Kentucky softball team will resume Southeastern Conference action on the road for a three-game series at Auburn beginning Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m. ET. UK capped its non-conference play with a quality win at Western Kentucky on Wednesday night.
Kentucky (13-15, 0-3 SEC) had two players hit home runs and senior Rachel Riley was terrific in the pitching circle to lead the Blue and White to a non-conference road victory in Bowling Green, Ky.
Junior Kara Dill had a career-high four hits while also going deep for the first time in her career to lead the offensive effort for the Wildcats. Dill reached by way of a hit in all four at-bats, which marked the most hits in a single game in her career.Sophomore Ginny Carroll also hit a homer this time going for two-runs for the Wildcats to lead the charge. The round tripper was her team-leading fourth of the year. She’s hit three in her last seven games. Riley went the distance in the circle and struck out six in the win. She also provided a hit to the offensive cause.
Auburn owns a 23-7 overall record and a 2-3 clip in conference action. The Tigers are ranked in both major polls with the NFCA ranking them at No. 18. Auburn dropped a 7-1 contest at Troy on Wednesday night in their last action.
The Tigers are paced by a .371 batting average from Lauren Guzman. She has hit six doubles, driven in 14 runs and swiped 12 bases to lead the offensive charge. Elizabeth Eisterhold is batting with a .368 clip and has hit a team-high nine homers while driving in a squad-best 29 RBI.
In the pitching circle, the Tigers have a trio of pitchers who have all seen action in 14 games. Lauren Schmalz boasts a team-best 0.83 ERA and 76 strikeouts. Angel Bunner has won 15 of 16 games and owns a 1.46 ERA.
The squads will play a three-game series with one game being played Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Live stats will be available on both teams’ websites.
For continuing coverage of the 2012 UK softball season log on to UKathletics.com.
