Grace Baalman Pitches Gem, No. 18 Wildcats Fall in Pitcher’s Duel

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Grace Baalman had another stellar outing in the circle for the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats, going the full seven innings against the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs and only allowing one run, but the Wildcats were unable to come up with a run, dropping a 1-0 pitcher’s duel to UGA on Friday night in the opening game of the series.
 
Game two will be on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET from John Cropp Stadium. It is UK Police Day, as there will be police cars available to be looked at, as well as motorcycles. Tickets can be purchased online at UKathletics.com/tickets or at the gate. The game will be shown live on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
 
Georgia scored the game’s only run in the top of the sixth inning. Alyssa DiCarlo was walked to lead off the inning, and came around to score on a Mahlena O’Neal RBI single to shallow right field.
 
Kentucky had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, loading the bases on a lead-off single from Lauren Johnson and then a pair of Georgia throwing errors, but a groundout with two outs ended the UK threat.
 
Key Stat
Six. Grace Baalman became just the sixth pitcher this year to keep the Georgia offense, the best in the SEC, to one run or less in a game.
 
Key Play
Mahlena O’Neal’s RBI single to right was the key play in the game, as it scored the only run for either team.
 
Key Player
Grace Baalman was the key player in the game for Kentucky, going 7.0 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out six Bulldog batters. Baalman threw 118 pitches with 73 recorded as strikes and only allowed three walks on the game.
 
Run Recap
After a lead-off walk to superstar Alyssa DiCarlo in the top of the Georgia sixth, Mahlena O’Neal hit an RBI single to right. The throw came in high, and DiCarlo slid in under the tag of Jenny Schaper to score the game’s only run. FINAL – #6 Georgia 1, #18 Kentucky 0
 
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