Kentucky Softball Happy to Be Opening Home Slate

The Kentucky softball team could easily be known as the road warriors instead of the Wildcats. UK has opened the season with 22 consecutive games away from home.

And while Kentucky has posted a 20-2 record so far this season, head coach Rachel Lawson is more than happy to have some games at home this week.

“Twenty-two games on the road is hard,” Lawson said. “It’s hard for so many reasons. It’s physically fatiguing and it’s mentally draining. It’s such an incredible rat race for all the players. So, it will be nice to get home, stay in your own bed. You’re able to rest.”

One of Lawson’s focuses in the preseason was to get off to a fast start. Kentucky won 19 in a row to start the season, all non-conference games. She’s happy with where her team is at this point.

“Obviously, we got out of the gate quickly,” Lawson said. “Being able to roll off so many wins in a row was a big deal. To be able to put all of those wins together was great.”

Kentucky’s home opener is Tuesday against Eastern Kentucky (6 p.m. ET). Lawson is ready to be back in front of the home fans.

“I love the Big Blue Nation,” Lawson said. “We get an outstanding show out, especially for weekend games.”

Lawson knows that the intrastate opponents Kentucky faces this week (UK plays Western Kentucky on Wednesday) will pose a challenge to her team.

“It’s a tough week, having to play those two teams back-to-back,” Lawson said. “The in-state rivalry is always very difficult so I’m hoping we can take that momentum into tomorrow’s game.”

What is it about these teams that makes them tough to face?

“They’re good. In softball, the state of Kentucky, it’s kind of a hidden gem,” Lawson said. “Eastern always does incredibly well in their conference, Western always does well in their conference, Louisville, obviously great team. They get amped up because we’re one of the few Power Five schools on their schedule, so they put all of their energy into just a few moments.”

In the Southeastern Conference opening weekend series at Florida over the weekend, the Cats lost the first two before winning an extra-inning affair on Sunday.

“It was a big win for us,” Lawson said. “I thought for the first two days, we were pretty timid and that’s not how we’ve played all year. On Sunday, I really liked our aggression. It was a good win for us. Hopefully, we can take that momentum into this week.”

In particular, Lawson liked how her team got back to being themselves.

“I think the thing they did better was they played their game,” Lawson said. “It’s important that you just relax. I thought, for the most part, we did a better job of that. I thought we started to get back to our confident self and just playing the game the way we know how to play it.”

Lawson hopes that the momentum, as well as being back in Lexington, can benefit her team this week.