No. 16 Kentucky Hosts WKU on Wednesday in National TV Game

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 16 Kentucky softball team will look to remain perfect at John Cropp Stadium on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats welcome in the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for an in-state midweek showdown at 7 p.m. ET. 

The game will be shown live on the SEC Network, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Jenn Hildreth (pxp) and former Purdue head coach Carol Bruggeman (color) on the call from Lexington.

Kentucky is 8-0 this season in home games, with four wins over top-25 teams and three shutouts in those eight games. The Wildcats are 24-8 overall and 5-4 in the Southeastern Conference with WKU entering the game at .500 overall with 20 wins and 20 losses, with a 4-8 record in Conference USA. 

The Wildcats have a new batting leader, as Bailey Vick now is the top hitter for average on the Kentucky line-up, hitting at a .355 clip. Vick doubled over the weekend at No. 24 Ole Miss and had another multi-hit game on Sunday with a single and a double. In the circle, Meagan Prince leads the Wildcats with an 11-4 mark, and a 1.32 ERA. Prince got the win in game two over the weekend with a complete-game shutout, her second of the season.

UK is 15-6 all-time against the Lady Toppers in a series that dates back to 2006. Rachel Lawson has won all eight meetings with WKU in the series since becoming the Wildcats head coach. Last season, UK won 5-0 in Bowling Green behind a complete- game shutout from Meagan Prince.

Western Kentucky is 20-20 this season, and already has picked up a win against a Southeastern Conference team with a 1-0 win over Mississippi State on the opening weekend of the season. The Lady Toppers this past weekend dropped two of three to UAB at home in Bowling Green, as WKU hoists a 4-8 record inside of Conference USA. 

The leading batter for WKU is Jordan Mauch, who is hitting .289 with 10 home runs and 18 RBI. In the circle, Kathryn Downing has thrown the most innings for the Toppers, with a 2.09 ERA and an 11-7 record. 

Rachel Lawson got her head coaching career started at WKU – which is why the Wildcats annually play a home-and-home with the Lady Toppers. Associate head coach Kristine Himes was also at WKU with Lawson during her time in Bowling Green. Lawson went 92-84 at WKU in three years with a 30-31 conference record.

For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.