The Kentucky softball team got just what it needed when Meagan Prince stepped into the circle against No. 1 LSU with two runners on and one out and trailing 2-1 in the top of the third inning.
It turns out the sophomore lefthander got just what she needed as well.
Coming off an outing in which she gave up six runs in just one inning at Auburn last Saturday, Prince came back a week later and redeemed herself.
In 4.1 innings of work, she allowed no runs on two hits with five strikeouts. She loaded the bases twice and had four walks, but LSU, one of the most explosive offenses in the country, was held cold.
Saturday’s performance came after head coach Rachel Lawson issued a challenge to Prince following last week’s short work in Auburn.
“After that Auburn game, Coach Lawson got on me pretty good,” Prince said. “She said we had specific things that needed to get accomplished and accomplished now before this weekend. During practice we worked on those to make sure we had some of those things controlled a little bit better for this weekend.”
Saturday, the Wildcats had just given up two runs to the top-ranked Tigers and squandered a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Prince came in with one out in the frame and walked her first batter to load the bases, but that’s when the tides turned in her favor.
She got a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning and prevent LSU’s offense from putting together a big inning.
The next inning, a single and a pair of walks loaded the bags again for LSU. Again, it was Prince with a strikeout to send the Tigers away empty-handed.
“Meagan came in, and she put runners on, but the nice thing is she was able to close the door,” Lawson said. “This is the reason we recruited Meagan, she’s very tough. She’s been tough her entire life. She not only got beat up by Auburn, but she probably got beat up by me a little bit this week. She responded, she did what she needed to do. She had the fortitude and the command, and she worked on her pitches and picked herself up. Today she came out and showed the type of player that she is, and we’re really happy that we have her on our team.”
The key was Prince’s approach to those two bases-loaded jams, which started just one batter in to her appearance.
Before entering the game, it was some advice from UK’s ace that helped get Prince going.
“One pitch at a time,” Prince said of her approach. “As a matter of fact, that’s what Kelsey [Nunley] told me right before I went out, she was like ‘OK, you have to take it one pitch at a time.’ So that’s what I tried to do. Just take it one pitch at a time, perfect that pitch and throw that pitch, perfect that pitch and move on.”
“Meagan was outstanding today, this is one of the best games I’ve seen her pitch,” Lawson said. “She was able to command all four corners, she was able to command her pitches, she looked confident. She was throwing hard, she was really making the curveball move, which was really nice. Overall I’m very proud of her and I think she was a huge reason why we won the game today.”
The confidence that might have been wavering after UK’s trip to Auburn is on its way back for Prince. Shutting down the No. 1 team in the country will do that though.
Prince allowed a lone single in the fifth inning before Kentucky tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the frame. Prince followed with a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth and retired the first two batters in the seventh. After a two-out walk, Nunley came in and got the save.
Giving up two hits and no runs over 4.1 innings has put Prince back on track. She still has work to do, but she likes where Saturday went.
“It helps the confidence,” Prince said. “There are still some things I need to work on of course, there were some pitches that weren’t hitting today, so there are a lot of things that still need to be worked on.”
When she gets back to working on those little things this week, Prince will have some confidence, and momentum, on her side.
