Stokes’ Seventh-Inning Bomb Lifts No. 13 Kentucky Past
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – Senior captain
Christian Stokes belted a solo home run with two outs in the top of the seventh
inning in a scoreless game, which proved to be the only run of the game as the
No. 13 Kentucky softball team powered past the Marshall Thundering Herd, 1-0 at
a capacity Dot Hicks Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
In a game that proved to be a pitcher’s duel
from the start, Erin Rethlake took the circle for Kentucky for her fourth start
of the season. Rethlake got through her portion of the game unscathed without
allowing a hit or a run to the nine batters she faced, before Kelsey Nunley was
called upon to close the game out.
Nunley picked up the win on 5.1 innings
pitched, walking none and striking out five Herd batters. The senior only
allowed two hits to the 18 batters that she faced and now with the win, sits at
10-1 on the season. Her ERA is down to a season-low mark of 0.58 after today’s
performance.
The Wildcats with Wednesday’s win move to 23-3
on the season, continuing its best start in program history through that many
allotted amount of games. UK is a perfect 3-0 in Southeastern Conference action
and remains in first place in the league through six weeks of competition.
UK returns to the field on Friday against the
Ole Miss Rebels, who are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll released on
Tuesday. The weekend’s three-game series will commence on Friday night at 6 p.m.
ET at John Cropp Stadium. The game will be shown live on the SEC Network+,
ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Mark Buerger and Carol Bruggeman on the call.
Key Stat
0.58. That is the current ERA of Kentucky
starting pitcher Kelsey Nunley after today’s shutout posted by the Soddy Daisy,
Tenn., native. Nunley was spectacular in the circle, picking up the win for her
sixth-straight time in the circle for UK.
Key Play
The key play in the game was by junior
outfielder Breanne Ray in the bottom of the fourth inning. After the Thundering
Herd got its leadoff runner on in via a walk to lead off the inning in a
scoreless game, Ray came diving in from right field fully on her stomach to rob
the Herd of a bloop single that would have created problems for UK. Ray laid
out fully to secure the catch, and kept the Herd off the board.
Key Player
Christian Stokes was the key player in the
game, belting the game-winning solo home run to leftcenter field in the top of
the seventh to clinch the win for Kentucky. The home run is the fifth of the
season for Stokes, and her second game-winning homer in the top of the last
inning. She also had a homer to push UK past No. 22 Arizona State, 5-3 on the
opening weekend of play. The ball was scorched off the bat of Stokes and hit
off the scoreboard in left center past the 220 sign that draped the fence.
Run Recap
The only run scored was Christian Stokes’ home
run in the top of the seventh inning with two outs to leftcenter field. FINAL
– No. 13 Kentucky 1, Marshall 0
For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram
and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
