LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats will march on to their sixth Super Regional in program history behind an 8-0 win over Notre Dame in six innings Sunday. It was the third run-rule victory of the weekend for the Wildcats who advance to take on the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed in Oregon beginning Thursday.
 
Junior third baseman Abbey Cheek connected on a walk-off solo home run, her 16th of the season, to send UK to Supers for the sixth time since 2011.
 
UK improves to 34-19 on the season. Notre Dame ends its year with a 34-23 overall mark.
 
Senior pinch hitter Rachael Metzger came up big in the clutch for the second straight outing. Metzger entered the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded and delivered a bases-clearing double to push UK’s lead to 7-0, setting the stage for Cheek’s walk off.
 
Senior hurler Erin Rethlake tossed all six innings and earned her 11th win of the season. She gave up just one hit and struck out three.
 
Kentucky’s Alex Martens was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI thanks to a first inning homer to lift UK to a lead that would never be threatened. Brooklin Hinz also had a pair of hits for Kentucky in the win.

NCAA Lexington Regional
May 20, 2018
Lexington, Ky.
#19 Kentucky 8, Notre Dame 0 (6)
 
Kentucky Head Coach Rachel Lawson
 
Opening statement …
“First, gonna congratulate Notre Dame for being in the final. I thought that they had such a gutty performance after playing last night. I mean, we didn’t get off the field until super late. They probably didn’t get to bed until one o’clock in the morning. To turn around, come out, beat Michigan, and their pitcher, I don’t know how many pitches she threw, but I know she threw a lot. So, I thought that was a gutty performance and just an awesome job of them being there in the first place. Also want to again thank everybody on my staff and my school, just for this. It was a great weekend, but also for the whole year to set us up so we could host a regional. You know, it was earlier in the year and the snow and the rain and everybody knows how terrible it was, but we had a week where we had I think it was like 24 people were shoveling the snow off of our field so that we could get two games in. And I believe winning those two games set us up to have the record that we did at the end, so it didn’t hurt us and I believe gave us the RPI that we needed, helped push us over the edge to host. So, there’s a lot that goes into this from the event side of it to everything all year. And then finally, I want to thank the fans. We had such a cool crowd. You know, this is my 10th year now. How many regionals have we hosted? Four? Five? I’m not sure. And we have such a good fan base and we have such a good core of fans and each year that keeps building and building. And this year, more than any year, I felt you could feel them in the stadium. You could feel our team was more energetic and I think a lot of the reason we were more energetic is because we were feeding off of such a cool fan base and so I wanted to thank them for showing out. I think they did a tremendous job and that’s what being part of the Big Blue Nation is all about.”
 
On whether Erin Rethlake was better than she expected this weekend …
“No, not better than I thought (laughing). You know, last night when the question was who was I going to start pitching I honestly didn’t know. Every other year that I’ve come into this I’ve had a clear idea in my mind throughout the weekend who the clear person was I was going to go to and in what situation, and I felt this weekend I could easily go to Erin and Grace (Baalman) for sure based on what they’ve done the last three weeks. And I even feel comfortable going with Autumn (Humes), even though she didn’t get an opportunity at this, but you know we only gave up three hits and we didn’t even play the full number of innings, so she really didn’t get her opportunity either. No, I felt great about Erin. I woke up this morning, watched a little video and I knew she had this. So, I felt really good about her and feel good about her going forward.”
 
On what Rethlake could have done better, giving up just one unearned run …
“Yeah, and that’s my fault. I called a stupid changeup. Then the girl was sitting on it. So, anyway, Erin would’ve had a no-hitter today had it not been for me. But moving forward, she’s going to have to do the same thing she did. She’s going to have to go out there, command her pitches, keep throwing hard and spinning it. We didn’t have to make very many plays, but when there was a play to be made, we made it. I thought Katie Reed made some tough plays, Abby (Cheek) did. Brooklin (Hinz) made an amazing catch out in center field last night. So, when we had our opportunities, our team maximized that and the only run we gave up was just a slight miscue. To only give up one run in an entire regional says a lot about the defense and the pitching staff.”
 
On why Rachael Metzger didn’t get to hit more …
“That’s a good question. I don’t know. The thing about Metzger is she does exactly what you tell her to do. The bad thing about Metzger is she does exactly what you tell her to do. So, sometimes what happens is when a hitter is trying too hard and they get in their own head and they start striking out and doing things. So, I would say prior to that time, I would say that was it and then conversely, on my team I don’t focus on what you’re not doing, I just focus on what you’re capable of bringing and so what you’ve seen is throughout the year we’ve had different people step up in different moments, and now it’s Metzger’s moment. So that means somebody else is not getting the moment. So, it’s more about what you can do for us, I’m not too concerned about what you can’t. Now, I think she’s feeling it, she’s confident, she’s working her approach, she has her focus in the right place and you’re seeing she’s reaping the benefits of that.”
 
On how it feels to see the offense working this well …
“It’s really nice. Being from a large Catholic family – Notre Dame isn’t the only one walking around – you grow up thinking especially as a girl in a Catholic family, you can’t too cocky. You can’t be this, you can’t be that. So, I never have had the luxury of being able to visualize success and then work backward, because in some ways that seems like it’s cocky or it’s conceited. And what I’ve started to understand this past year with the help of our leadership guy Jason Cummins and what he’s done is directed us in the right way, if you can visualize your success and work backwards and do things the right way and stay humble when you’re doing those things, you can put it together. This weekend it was nice, because I know as the pitch caller, I know the pitcher has the ultimate pressure, but if I call one bad pitch that means the game is over. So, that’s something that I’ve lived with every single day for the last 11 years. So, to be able to have an offense that’s coming out and doing their job, today I was able to visualize the success in the first inning, in the second inning, in the third inning and I didn’t feel that pressure of, ‘Oh God, what if I call the wrong pitch?’ I can only imagine what the pitcher feels when she’s doing that, so that was a nice weight to have off my shoulders.”
 
On the overall performance this weekend …
“Yeah, I’m really proud of this team. I’ve said all year, every team I’ve had has worked incredibly hard, and I’ve always had people who have worked on their own and tremendously. What this team does though, is I have more of them. Like I have probably 15 or 16 girls that on their off days, they come in and they workout and they’re not only doing that, they’re doing it with focus and they’re doing it with purpose. And about three weeks ago, I could tell we weren’t really going where we needed to go offensively so we made a complete offensive switches in our approach and really we just simplified things. And the cool thing was, in order to make that kind of a change at this time of the season, the team has to first trust that the coach knows what she’s doing and then they have to be willing to go in to work in doing it. So, just the trust they had in the coaching staff and the ability to put in the extra time when nobody else was watching so that they could be able to put it together for a three-week stint is something I’ll always remember this team for.”
 
On Carol Hutchins’ comments of UK being a ‘swinging team’ …
“Usually we’re a swinging team. Usually we swing. Yes, I think that this is – I don’t know if it’s the best hitting team that we’ve had, I’ll have to go back in the stats. I think that our 2011 team was awesome and obviously our 2014 team that took us to the World Series. But I think that this particular team is better throughout the entire season, and I haven’t talked to (Chris) Shoals about this, but – so was it project 172, I can say this now? Ok ,so this was both a source of my rage – I don’t know if that’s the right word. Focus? I only have two emotions: fine and angry. Anyway, last year our run production in the country was 172. It was horrible. So we secretly called it project 172.  Now, I really didn’t want the country to know we were 172, because you’re like, ‘How does 172 go all the way to Super Regionals.’ And this year, we’re 13 going into the weekend, so I would say that is a remarkable jump made by our offense plus I’ve had the same coaching staff. I never talk about them, but Coach (Kristine) Himes has been with me all 11 years I’ve been at Kentucky. Molly Johnson Belcher – I guess it’s Molly Belcher now – she played here, was here before me and then as soon as she graduated she got on the staff, so that’s a tribute to our staff. I deal mostly with the pitchers. They deal mostly with the offense. To be able to make that kind of a jump, I would say this is our best offensive team. I do want to interject something in here real quick. I’m glad you talked about school. I’ve said this a couple times, but the thing that I think is the coolest about this team is our starting lineup had a 3.72 GPA or something like that – it’s over a 3.7. Our starting infield is over a 3.9, and they’re in any major they want to be in. We don’t pigeonhole them and put them in one thing so I always, always want to add that in there because people always talk about the student-athlete, but they truly are student-athletes. To be able to perform on this level, to do the major they want to do, to set themselves up for the rest of their lives – I think – is what makes Kentucky Softball.”
 
On how Oregon compares to what they’ve already seen in the SEC this season …
“Well, the thing about Oregon that makes them special is a couple of things. One, while the SEC is certainly the deepest conference in the country without question, the PAC 12 is really good this year. The similarity there is they also, week in and out, they have been playing very tough competition, so I would say that it’s cool that the PAC 12 and the SEC get to match up. The thing that makes Oregon good is that they have three pitchers that they can go to at any time. There are not very many teams in the country that can go to that many pitchers, give them a quality start, and keep them in the game and stuff, and they always have a tremendous offense. I think those are the things that keep them rolling. The other thing that Oregon has that’s pretty cool is – but also very similar to the SEC and it doesn’t surprise me because their administration has spent time all over the country, and they’re great – their atmosphere is very similar to an SEC park. I was not expecting that when I went to Oregon last year at all. I was not expecting the crowd. I thought it was going to be a normal PAC 12 crowd where – the PAC 12 – there’s just so much to do out in the PAC 12. You know they have beaches, they have mountains, and they have everything, right? Then you have the SEC – we are sports. I mean, that’s what we are. So I think that at first kind of took us because we weren’t expecting to be in such a cool environment, but now that we know it – it’s just like going to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, or being here at Kentucky. I think that we’re more prepared for that, but I think that those things are what make Oregon special. And, obviously, they have a great coaching staff.”
 
Kentucky Student-Athletes
#11, Abbey Cheek, UT
 
On how she feels about the way the team is swinging the bat …
“One thing we do focus on is passing the bat down. So, it can’t be just one person in the lineup doing it. If we have multiple people stepping up and doing what we’re supposed to be doing, we’re going to get far. We’re going to be really good against Oregon if we keep on passing the bat down because not just one person is going to win the game for us.”
 
On the freshmen performing in their first NCAA experience …
“I think personally from the SEC that, obviously it’s the hardest conference in the country, so I think having them in the starting lineup in SEC games has given them a lot of experience. Regionals is like another SEC weekend. I feel like they’re prepared for it. There’s not a day that goes by that they’re not in working extra either. Grace (Baalman), Mallory (Peyton) and LJ (Lauren Johnson) they’re always working hard. They never give up a day. They always work hard.”
 
#44, Rachael Metzger, C/INF
 
On the freshmen performing in their first NCAA experience …
“I couldn’t be more proud of them. As a senior, kind of my role on the team is to make a point and talk to each of them. ‘Hey, take a deep breath, trust the process, this is just another game. Don’t get too excited, but it means something.’ I’ve just been so incredibly proud of them and how they’ve handled this. Mallory Peyton has been a great offensive power for us this year. Our pitching staff, Autumn Humes coming in and LJ (Lauren Johnson) has been amazing.”
 
#8, Erin Rethlake, P/INF
 
On what she had going for her today …
“Honestly, the defense, for one. Coach Lawson obviously knows the pitch call. She scouts a crazy amount. So, today was just about trusting whatever she called, believing my stuff was good enough and relying on the defense to make plays behind me.”
 
On what time she knew she was starting today …
“Not that far before the game, which I kind of like. Coach Lawson sent a text that said starters and that was about it. It was right before we warmed up, probably about an hour before we warmed up today.”
 
 
 
How satisfying it was to come through today …
“Well, honestly I’ve played a lot of first base this year which is really nice because my arm kind of feels fresh at this point. So, a lot of these girls like (Alexis) Holloway have thrown a lot of pitches, like just this weekend alone threw a ton of pitches and I feel good. I feel fresh. I’m ready to go. So, I mean being old is fine, but the younger girls have taken such a load this year that it’s been great.”
 
On starting in the regional final last year and drawing on that experience …
“Yeah, it’s definitely nice to have that under my belt so I knew exactly what to expect and the way we’re hitting the ball right now, is something that it puts a different confidence in a pitcher’s head when it’s not, ‘OK, I can’t make one bad pitch.’ It’s just go out there and throw yours and our offense is doing what they need to do right now.”
 
On if the students at the school picked up on UK softball just from her being around …
“Yeah, actually, it was fun because I was in a high school for the first time, and I’m in a special education room each day, but it was fun walking the hallways each day because you could see them wearing their garb: Bryan Station High School Softball. I had a UK Softball book bag that we get, and every time you’d walk through the first couple of days they were like, ‘Look!’ And it was funny because I was like, ‘Hi,’ like trying to introduce myself or anything, but it was fun to interact with those girls. Their love for the game is so much fun. A couple of them were here yesterday and they thought it was the coolest thing to sit in the stands and watch Kentucky softball. It give you a whole different appreciation for wearing this jersey and getting to do the things that we do.”
 
On the freshmen performing in their first NCAA experience …
“I think it’s funny to use the word freshmen now that I’m a senior because that whole class does not act like freshmen. There is a distinct difference when you come in as a freshman. There’s a learning curve. Being in the SEC is totally different. It usually takes some time to figure out but none of them have ever acted like freshmen to me. They’re all so confident in themselves and just the way they carry themselves on the field it shows. Their production has been phenomenal. LJ (Lauren Johnson) against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament – we weren’t playing very well – LJ comes up with a big hit. She’s not a freshman to me. None of those – Grace Baalman has been phenomenal all year. I just think that term is interesting now because none of them have acted like freshmen to me.”
 
On having to play Oregon to go to the World Series …
“We were just talking about this because Oregon is obviously the No. 1 seed this year and everyone is kinda ‘it’s the one versus the 16.’ It’s not. Personally I think we always play well as the underdog. It’s fun to be the underdog. Nobody expects us to come out. It’s not about Oregon, it’s about us. The way we just played this weekend, it was never about Notre Dame, Michigan or UIC. It was about us. That’s the same mentality that we’ll go out there with against Oregon. It’ll be fun, I think.”
 
Notre Dame Head Coach Deanna Gumpf
 
Opening statement …
“Well I can tell you that I’m proud of this team for the way that they fought. I think that second game we were just outmatched. They just played their softball on all ends of the game and you know I thought we would carry some momentum with us from the Michigan game and I think we did a little. We were putting the bat on the ball early, but I thought we lost that momentum in the fourth and we never got it back.”
 
On Erin Rethlake’s effectiveness on the mound …
“She produced groundballs and that’s probably the most effective thing she did with us today. I thought we made really good contact. She did a great job of getting the ball on the ground and the defense behind her was spectacular.”
 
On the Kentucky offense being patient at the plate …
“Yeah I agree. I think they did a great job of laying off her stuff and made her (Alexis Holloway) bring it in zone. When she had to bring it in the zone they were able to take advantage of it.”
 
On the Kentucky lineup compared to what they had faced the rest of the year …
“I mean they’re very good. I think they’re prepared for the postseason. It’s tough because we’ve played really good lineups throughout the year. We played Florida State a few weeks ago. I think a team that’s ranked in the top 16 or even top 20 you have to have you’re ‘A’ game and you have to get them to do what you want them to with the ball and we were not able to do that.”
 
 
 
On her opinion of the Southeastern Conference …
“I mean I’m not going to speak for these guys, but it doesn’t matter what conference you’re in. We believe that all we care about is whoever we’re playing. You know and I give the SEC a lot of credit because they’ve done a great job of making their softball conference a dominant conference but again I don’t think we ever focus on that. I think we’re just focused on our opponent whoever that is. Kentucky. Not the Southeastern Conference. We’re focused on Kentucky.”
 
Notre Dame Student-Athletes
 
#24, Alexis Holloway, P
 
On first game pitching duel with Meghan Beaubien…
“It was great. I had played with her in travel ball so it’s always good to match up with someone that you know a little bit. She’s a great pitcher. It was a good win for us and we were hoping to carry some of that momentum into the second game.”
 
On Kentucky’s offense …
“They have a lot of good hitters who were very selective and took good pitches and attacked those pitches.”
 
#37, Ali Wester, IF
 
On Erin Rethlake’s groundballs …
“She moves the ball around and she keeps it low. Unless we were going to make the adjustment to pop it up, but she just keeps going low and that’s what I got in return.”