March 22, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky sophomore infielder Ansley Smith hit her third home run of the season, while senior pitcher/infielder Lauren Cumbess had a two-run double in the first inning and earned her first career save in the circle, pacing No. 8 Kentucky to a 5-0 victory over Fairfield on Saturday at John Cropp Stadium.
The win was the sixth straight for Kentucky (25-4), marking the second longest winning streak of the season for the Wildcats. The Wildcats are now 3-0 in the Kentucky Tournament and will play its fourth game of the weekend later Saturday afternoon against Kansas. The game will start 25 minutes following the completion of the Kansas-Saint Francis game, which started at 4:50 p.m. ET. Live stats from every game this weekend will be available at UKathletics.com.
UK scored five runs in the game on seven hits, paced by multi-RBI games from Ansley Smith and Cumbess. Ansley Smith finished 1-for-2 in the game with two runs scored and two RBI, while Cumbess was 1-for-3 with a two-run double in the first inning. Sophomore outfielder Sylver Samuel was 2-for-4 in the game with a run scored, tying her career long hitting streak of five games. Junior catcher Griffin Joiner went 1-for-3 in the game, tying her career long hitting streak of nine games, while senior outfielder Emily Gaines was 1-for-2 and sophomore outfielder Maisie Steed was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Freshman pitcher Meagan Prince started the game in the circle, throwing five scoreless innings, allowing five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Prince was replaced by Cumbess in the top of the sixth inning with two runners on base, with the senior throwing the final two innings, allowing only two hits with two strikeouts. Prince picked up the win, moving to 6-1 on the season, while Cumbess earned her first career save.
Fairfield (2-11) started the game in the circle, throwing all six innings, allowing five runs – four earned – on seven hits with one strikeout. Offensively, Fairfield got multi-hit games from Lauren Liseth, who went 2-for-4, and Gianna Kinhofer, who went 2-for-3. Sam Frungillo, Lauren Filicia and Tori Reed each collected singles.
Kentucky started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning after a walk to Ansley Smith and an infield single and stolen base by Samuel put runners on second and third. Joiner popped out for the first out of the inning, but Cumbess hammered a double to the wall in right field, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats posted three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning after starting the frame with a single to left field by Steed before an error allowed her to move to third base. A sacrifice fly to Stokes scored Steed to put UK up 3-0 before Ansley Smith hit a two-run homer to put the Wildcats up 5-0.
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Records
Kentucky 25-4
Fairfield 2-11
Kansas 22-9
Kent State 14-11
Saint Francis 14-6
Rankings
Kentucky – No. 10 in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25; No. 8 in NFCA/USA Today Top 25
Fairfield – Not ranked
Kansas – Not ranked
Kent State – Not ranked
Saint Francis – Not ranked
Schedule/Results
Friday, March 21
Kansas def. Kent State 6-2
Kansas def. Fairfield 6-4
Kentucky def. Kent State 9-2
St. Francis def. Fairfield 6-5
Kentucky def. St. Francis 10-2
Saturday, March 22
Kent State def. Fairfield 7-0
Kent State def. St. Francis 8-3
Kentucky def. Fairfield 5-0
Kansas vs. St. Francis – 4 p.m. ET – Live Stats
Kansas vs. Kentucky – 6 p.m. ET – Live Stats – Live Video (subscription required)
Sunday, March 23
Fairfield vs. St. Francis – 10 a.m. ET – Live Stats
Kentucky vs. Kansas – Noon ET – Live Stats – Live Video (subscription required)
Kentucky vs. Kent State – 2 p.m. ET – Live Stats – Live Video (subscription required)
Home team in bold
Ticket Information:
Admission to every game this weekend at John Cropp Stadium is free of charge.
Promotions:
The entire UK team will sign autographs following the day’s last game on Saturday and Sunday.
