April 20, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Arkansas junior first baseman Kasey Fagan had six runs batted in, while freshman pitcher Grace Moll threw six scoreless innings in the circle, leading the Razorbacks to an 8-0 victory in the series finale over No. 8 Kentucky on Sunday at John Cropp Stadium.
Kentucky (38-9, 12-6 Southeastern Conference) won the first two games of the series with a 4-3 win Friday night and 7-5 victory on Saturday to claim its fifth SEC series of the season. Saturday’s win was Kentucky’s 38th of the season, which tied a program record for regular-season wins. Sunday’s loss to Arkansas snapped a nine-game winning streak for UK, which was the second longest in program history. It also broke a seven-game SEC win streak, which was the longest in program history.
The Wildcats will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Bowling Green, Ky., to face in-state foe Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET. Live stats from the game will be available online at UKathletics.com. Following the midweek game, UK will return home for its final regular season home games of the season next weekend against No. 4 Tennessee. The series starts with a 6 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday, followed by a 5 p.m. ET start on Saturday and 2 p.m. ET series finale on Sunday.
Arkansas (26-22, 4-14 SEC) scored three runs in the first inning and one in the second to take control of the game before a four-run sixth inning lead to the 8-0 victory in six innings. Fagan was the star for the Razorbacks, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and six RBI, while infielder Chloe Oprzedek went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and a home run. In the circle, Arkansas received a great performance from Moll, who went six scoreless innings with three hits allowed and five strikeouts.
UK tossed two freshman pitchers in the game with Shannon Smith starting in the circle, tossing three innings, allowing four earned run on four hits with six walks and five strikeouts. Fellow freshman Meagan Prince came on with two runners on and no outs in the fourth inning to get a double play and a groundout to end the threat. Prince finished the game in the circle, allowing four runs on four hits with a strikeout. Smith received the loss, moving to 2-2 on the season with Prince getting a no-decision.
Offensively, UK got singles from junior catcher Griffin Joiner, senior pitcher/infielder Lauren Cumbess and sophomore shortstop Christian Stokes. Joiner’s hit extended her reach-base-safely streak to 11 games, while Cumbess now has a hit in eight of UK’s last nine games.
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