Stokes’ Big Day, Prince’s Complete Game Wraps Up Series for UK
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Senior shortstop
Christian Stokes’ big day at the plate and multi-RBI game in addition to a
complete game from junior pitcher Meagan Prince clinched No. 12 Kentucky’s
third straight Southeastern Conference series win on Saturday at Bogle Park as
the Wildcats powered past the Arkansas Razorbacks, 7-1.
Kentucky now sits at 29-4 overall in 2016 with
a 7-1 record in SEC play, tied with the Florida Gators atop the SEC standings.
With the loss, Arkansas drops to 13-18 overall and 0-5 in league action. Prince
continues her perfect start to the 2016 season, collecting her 13th
win in 13 tries in the circle, going the complete game in just 79 pitches with
only one walk and four strikeouts. Prince with Saturday’s outing is now 13-0
and sports a 1.32 ERA, which is top 10 in the SEC for pitchers who have met the
minimum requirement.
Stokes paced the UK offense on the day, with a
game-winning 2-RBI triple to the wall in leftcenter field in the top of the
second inning to put the Wildcats up early, and give UK a lead it wouldn’t
relinquish. The South Carolina native went 1-for-3 at the plate with those two
RBI and also had five defensive putouts in the field, in addition to the
game-winning assist at shortstop to record the 21st Arkansas out of
the game.
Kentucky and Arkansas will conclude its
three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Bogle Park in Fayetteville at 2 p.m.
ET/1 p.m. CT. The game will be shown live on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the
WatchESPN app.
Key Stat
Seven. Seven different players had a hit for
Kentucky on Saturday, with Jenny Schaper as the only Wildcat to record multiple
hits in the game. Of the eight hits that Kentucky registered on Arkansas
starter Grace Moll, four of them were RBI hits, and two of them were multi-RBI
knocks.
Key Play
Christian Stokes had the key play in the game
in the top of the second inning, as she stepped to the plate with runners on
second and third and two outs. Stokes then crushed a 2-1 pitch to the gap in
leftcenter field that rolled all the way to the wall and score two runs.
Key Player
Jenny Schaper was the key player in Saturday’s
7-1 win at Bogle Park, going 2-for-3 on the day and the only UK player to
record multiple hits in the game. Schaper hit a home run in Friday’s win over
Arkansas, and has upped her batting average to .304 – as she is now hitting above
.300 for the first time since February.
Run Recap
In the top of the second inning, Nikki
Sagermann and Brooklin Hinz led off the inning with walks to put runners at
first and second with no outs. Sagermann then stole a base to put runners on
the corners, and a Breanne Ray groundout to the left side moved Hinz to second.
Stokes then came to the plate with two outs and laced a two-RBI single to
leftcenter field to score two and put UK up. UK 3, ARK 0
Arkansas scored its only run in the bottom of
the second after a double and a single. UK 3, ARK 1
In the top of the fourth, Sagermann led off
the inning with an advancement to first on an E5 and trekked to second on a
wild pitch. A double by Breanne Ray to leftcenter field scored Sarah Rainwater –
who was pinch running, and gave UK the 4-1 lead. UK 4, ARK 1
The fifth inning proved to be another scoring
inning for the Kentucky offense, as Maisie Steed unloaded on a pitch to deep
left field, over the secondary fencing in the ballpark and out of the stadium.
The homer for Steed was her third of the season, and third in the last four
weeks. UK 5, ARK 1
Leading 5-1, Kentucky scored two more times in
the top of the seventh, after Steed and Sylver Samuel got on second and third
to begin the inning. After a groundout by Katie Reed and a strikeout by Abby
Cheek, sophomore slugger Brooklin Hinz roped an RBI double to the gap, scoring
Steed from third and Samuel from second to plate the final two runs of Kentucky’s
day. FINAL – No. 12 Kentucky 7, Arkansas 1
For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram
and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
