Coffel’s Three Home Run Day Gives No. 12 Kentucky Two Wins
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Sophomore slugger Erin Coffel had three home runs and eight RBI on Thursday as the No. 12 Kentucky Softball team got two wins, defeating Jacksonville 12-4 in five innings and Florida Atlantic 7-3 in the nightcap of the 2022 Strikeout Cancer Classic hosted by FAU.
In game one, Kentucky defeated Jacksonville 12-4 in five innings, thanks to two home runs off the bat of Erin Coffel. With the two bombs, she tied the school single-game record with six RBI as each home run was a three-run shot.
In game two, Stephanie Schoonover carried a no hitter into the seventh inning, before the Owls got a lead-off single to spoil the no-no. The sophomore from Dothan, Alabama picked up the win, throwing six innings, allowing two hits and striking out five.
Due to the altered schedule of the weekend’s tournament with Michigan State having travel issues, Kentucky will now only play one game Friday. The Wildcats will play Columbia at 1:30 p.m. ET from the FAU Softball Complex in Boca Raton. Live stats for the contest will be available at UKathletics.com.
Game 1 – Kentucky 12, Jacksonville 4 (F/5)
Key Play
Erin Coffel’s second three-run home run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning was the key play in the game as she tied the single-game RBI record with six. It is the third time in her career she’s logged six RBI in a game.
Key Player
Erica Thulen was the key player in the game, scoring the game-winning run after a one-out double off the top of the wall in left center. Thulen scored the final run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Kayla Kowalik walk-off single.
Key Stat
Three. Three UK players had multi-hit games in the contest as the Wildcats scored 12 runs on 13 hits.
Run Recap
Kentucky scored seven runs on six hits in the bottom of the first to jump out to the sizeable lead. Coffel hit a home run to center to make it 3-0, before Hallie Mitchell hit a sac fly to right to score Renee Abernathy. Taylor Ebbs hit a solo home run over the batting cages in right for her second homer in as many weekends. With two outs, Kayla Kowalik singled in two runs for the seventh run of the game. UK 7, JU 0
Jacksonville scored three runs off of UK defensive miscues in the top of the second inning. UK 7, JU 3
Kentucky made it 8-0 in the second inning as Lauren Johnson led off with a solo home run. UK 8, JU 3
After singles by Vanessa Nesby and Lauren Johnson, Erin Coffel hit her second three-run HR of the game, this one to LF, and Kentucky took its largest lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth. UK 11, JU 3
The Dolphins scored on back-to-back hits in the top of the fifth. UK 11, JU 4
After an Erica Thulen double off the wall with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Kayla Kowalik singled into right field to walk off the game in five innings. FINAL – Kentucky 12, Jacksonville 4 (F/5)
Game 2– Kentucky 7, Florida Atlantic 3
Key Play
The key play in the game was an RBI single off the bat of Emmy Blane in the top of the sixth inning to extend the UK lead to 4-0 after the Wildcats had been stuck on a 3-0 lead for a trio of middle innings. The RBI for Blane scored Renee Abernathy, who walked to get on base.
Key Player
Stephanie Schoonover was the key player in the game, pitching 6.0 innings of no-hit softball. The sophomore from Dothan, Alabama lost her no-no in the bottom of the seventh, and picked up the win in the circle for UK.
Key Stat
The key stat in the game was 4-6. The UK one and two spot hitters, Kayla Kowalik and Taylor Ebbs, went a combined 4-for-6 in the game to lead the Kentucky offense.
Run Recap
In the top of the first, a sac fly from Lauren Johnson scored Kayla Kowalik and the Wildcats took an early lead in the game. UK 1, FAU 0
One inning later in the top of the second, Taylor Ebbs doubled into left-center field to score Rylea Smith and Kayla Kowalik on a one-out two bagger and the Wildcats increased their lead to three runs. UK 3, FAU 0
In the top of the sixth inning, a lead-off walk to Renee Abernathy turned into a run for UK on a two-out single up the middle by Emmy Blane. UK 4, FAU 0
Erin Coffel and Renee Abernathy hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the seventh inning to put some separation between the Wildcats and Owls. The home run was Coffel’s third of the day and drove in her seventh and eighth runs of the afternoon. UK 7, FAU 0
The Owls broke up Schoonover’s no-hit bid in the bottom of the seventh with a lead-off single, and scored three runs, but after Miranda Stoddard entered to close it out, a grounder to Coffel at short ended the ballgame. FINAL – Kentucky 7, Florida Atlantic 3
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