No. 19 Kentucky Faces No. 9 Texas A&M in College Station
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Riding a five-game winning streak, the No. 20/19 Kentucky Wildcats will dip its toes back into Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at No. 9 Texas A&M.
Game one will be Friday night in College Station at 7:30 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network+, followed by games at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday (ESPN2) and Sunday (SEC Network). Tiffany Greene (pxp) and two-time Aggie All-American, Amanda Scarbrough (color) will have the call over the weekend.
Kentucky used its bye weekend from SEC play to perfection, going 5-0 with a huge rivalry win over Louisville in run-rule fashion on Wednesday night to go along with a pair of wins over Eastern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State. Four of the five games were run-rule wins, and now puts Kentucky just one more win away from clinching NCAA Tournament eligibility with its 26th win to guarantee a .500 record or above.
On Tuesday night, Erin Rethlake spun a gem, going the distance, only allowing two hits to EKU, shutting them out and not allowing a runner to reach past second base. She walked just two batters and struck out a season-high eight.
The Wildcats are 5-4 all-time against the Aggies, and took a three-game series, two games to one a season ago in Lexington on Senior Weekend at John Cropp Stadium.
A top-10 team in the nation, the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies enter this weekend’s series with a 34-9 overall record in 2018. The Aggies are led by Jo Evans, who is in her 22nd year in charge down in College Station.
The Aggies are 7-5 in Southeastern Conference play so far this season, including a series win over Mississippi State on the road in Starkville last weekend. TAMU has won three of its four series this season, taking two or more wins from Ole Miss, South Carolina and Mississippi State – all ranked teams.
Sarah Hudek is the leading offensive player for the Aggies this season, with a .362 average and 22 RBI this season to go along with four home runs. Tori Vidales is the leading bomber for the Aggies with eight homers.
In the circle, it’s a balanced attack for TAMU with Trinity Harrington (11-1, 1.38 ERA) and Samantha Show (10-3, 2.12 ERA) leading the way.
Texas A&M pitching coach Kara Dill played at Kentucky from 2010-13. She was also part of the coaching staff that led Kentucky to its first-ever Women’s College World Series in 2014. Dill has been a secret formula for teams as a coach, having been to the WCWS each of the last four years
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