Every Tuesday, UK Athletics recognizes outstanding performances for our student-athletes. These are the honorees for the week ending Sunday, Apr. 15:
Softball: Lauren Cumbess
In the series-clinching victory vs. No. 10 Georgia, sophomore pitcher Lauren Cumbess did the unthinkable. In just her second start in SEC action and against a top-10 ranked team with a .276 batting average and a .463 slugging percentage, Cumbess pitched her first career no-hitter. She limited the Bulldogs to a mere five base runners, with three reaching by way of a walk one on a hit by pitch and one on an error. She struck out seven in her second shutout win of the season. It marked the first no-hitter of the season for the Wildcats, and the first no-hitter against the Bulldogs since former Tennessee All-American Monica Abbott turned the trick in 2007. No UGA base runner advanced past second base in the game to add to her impressive performance.
Not only did Cumbess turn in the best pitching performance of the season for the Wildcats, she was equally impressive offensively for UK this week. She batted .471 for the week with a team-high eight hits and two doubles. Cumbess contributed in nearly every scoring inning for the Wildcats as she has found her stride and currently leads UK with a .409 average in SEC action. She had a career-high three-hit performance in UK’s win over Arkansas, while also notching two hits in three other games this week.
Softball: Emily Jolly
Sophomore Emily Jolly had simply the best week of her career in helping lead the Wildcats to three SEC victories including taking two from No. 10 Georgia. Jolly logged a team-high .500 batting average with a 7-for-14 combined performance at the dish. She scored a team-high five times, drove in six runs and hit two homers and provided an offensive spark nearly every time the Wildcats needed one. In the opening victory over Arkansas, Jolly had a career-high three-hit performance which included a solo homer in the fifth inning. In the nationally televised victory over Georgia, Jolly plated the first run of the game with a sacrifice bunt before hitting a solo homer as an insurance run in the sixth inning. Jolly is currently on a career-long eight-game hitting streak. She also charted a perfect 1.000 fielding clip in splitting time between second base and center field for the Wildcats while logging 11 putouts and nine assists for the week. She played a part in eight of UK’s 13 scoring innings this week.
Baseball: Corey Littrell
For the fourth consecutive weekend, Kentucky turned to Corey Littrell to start the finale of a series with the outcome of the set hanging in the balance … Littrell delivered his fourth consecutive win, with his sixth quality start of the season, tossing 6.1 innings on short rest, allowing only one run with three strikeouts … Littrell has paced the UK rotation in the Sunday spot all year, sporting a 6-0 record and a 1.95 ERA in nine starts, tossing 55.1 innings, allowing 14 walks and striking out 48.
Baseball: Thomas McCarthy
Senior third baseman Thomas McCarthy led UK during a four-game week at the plate, leading UK to its first series win at No. 9 Arkansas since the 2002 season, with UK snapping a nine-game home series winning streak of the Razorbacks … McCarthy hit .471 (8-for-17) during the week with five doubles, three RBI, 13 total bases and a .765 slugging percentage … McCarthy batted .462 (6-for-13) during the weekend series at Arkansas, with four doubles and three RBI … McCarthy went 2-for-4 during a rivalry game with No. 19 Louisville, including his first double of the week … In the series-opener at Arkansas, McCarthy went a season-best 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI … In the second game of the series, McCarthy collected a pair of hits, including a double down the opposite-field line, sparking a UK comeback rally to even the series … In the rubber-match win over Arkansas, McCarthy again ripped a double, leading off the inning that led to UK’s two runs in the 2-1 win … On the year, McCarthy has hit .319 (45-for-141) with 13 doubles, five homers and 23 RBI.
Men’s tennis: Alex Musialek
Grabbed two singles wins over ranked opponents during the week, taking doen No. 38 Roy Kalmanovich and No. 94 Gonzales Austin. Has won five of his last six matches, including four against top-100 ranked players.
Men’s tennis: Eric Quigley
Won both his singles matches on the week, defeating highly ranked foes in both matches. Started the week with a victory over No. 5 Dennis Nevolo, before taking down No. 34 Charlie Jones on Saturday. The victory over Jones sealed a undefeated regular season in conference play, ending 11-0 vs. SEC foes. It was also the decisive fourth point for Kentucky.
