Long Day of Work Gives Wildcats Rest Early on Sunday
Saturday was a long day at the ballpark for the Kentucky softball team. But after Saturday’s results, the Wildcats earned some rest before they play again Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats arrived early in the morning on Saturday to prepare for a 10 a.m. start against Illinois-Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Lexington Regional. The game was moved to Saturday morning after rain forced its cancellation on Friday. In Saturday’s first game, the Wildcats wasted no time, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first on their way to a convincing 10-1 win in five innings, with the game ending on a grand slam by Jenny Schaper.
Then, the prevalent theme for the weekend – rain – reared its ugly head again, forcing the afternoon games to become evening games on Saturday. Instead of a potential 3:30 ET start, Kentucky was forced to wait until 9:30 to start its second game of the regional.
After the wait, the Wildcats once again handled the game in front of them, topping Notre Dame 10-0 late on Saturday night at John Cropp Stadium behind a six-run fourth inning and a grand slam from Rachael Metzger.
Now, Kentucky can reap the benefits of their long day of work on Saturday. The Wildcats are in the driver’s seat heading into Sunday’s regional action. Kentucky will have the opportunity to observe the first game tomorrow, an elimination game between Michigan and Notre Dame at noon ET, before facing the winner at approximately 2:30 on Sunday. Either Michigan or Notre Dame would have to beat Kentucky twice, once on Sunday and once on Monday, to win the regional.
Kentucky head coach Rachel Lawson was pleased with the results of a long Saturday.
“It was a long day because we played the first game, obviously, and then the last one but it is nice to know a couple of things – we don’t have to start warming up until about noon tomorrow,” Lawson said. “And then the other thing that is nice, we’re not sure who our opponent is but it’s obviously nice that they have to go at each other. They’re two great opponents and the pitchers are going to have to face each other and be there which is obviously the biggest advantage.”
Kentucky will also have the advantage of having played a pair of five-inning games on Saturday, saving its pitching for the remainder of the regional.
“The nice thing is, both Grace (Baalman) and Erin (Rethlake) didn’t have to throw very many pitches today,” Lawson said.
Lawson knows, from experience, how important staying in the winner’s bracket is, especially when a tournament has multiple delays.
“We’re just excited that we came through today,” Lawson said. “We were in a similar situation a couple of years ago and we didn’t do as well, so we really put our backs against the wall and it was really nice to see this team learn from then and come out and win and put us in a better position to be obviously be in the championship.”
After a long day at the ballpark on Saturday, the Wildcats have earned the break they will get on Sunday.
