Ebbs’ Towering Bombs Aid Kentucky in NCAA Regional Opening Win
EVANSTON, Ill. – Taylor Ebbs hit two home runs, drove in five runs and had three hits Friday afternoon as the Kentucky Softball team advanced past Miami University 9-1 in six innings. With the win, Kentucky will play in Saturday afternoon’s winner’s bracket game at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT against the winner of Northwestern vs. Eastern Illinois.
Erin Coffel hit a ball over the roof of the Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern’s basketball arena over left field, and that drove in three more runs for the Wildcats in the sixth, with Grace Lorsung’s solo homer walking the game off and inducing the run rule for the second-straight year over the RedHawks.
Coffel becomes the seventh player all-time to hit a fair ball over the roof of Welsh-Ryan Arena, and it becomes the 12th home run of all-time hit over the roof.
Miami with the loss falls into the loser’s bracket and will play the loser of the Northwestern/Eastern Illinois game at 3:30 p.m. ET. Television assignments for Saturday’s games will be announced Friday evening by ESPN.
In the circle, Stephanie Schoonover pitched the first three innings, allowing just one run on two hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Kennedy Sullivan was the winning pitcher in the game, as she threw the final three innings of the game, without surrendering a hit and striking out three. With the result, Sullivan improves to 5-5 on the year. Miami’s Brianna Pratt took the loss and is now 30-11 on the season.
Kentucky pitchers needed just 87 pitches in the game to retire the RedHawks.
Key Play
Taylor Ebbs’ three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth inning turned the game around as Miami was leading 1-0 going into the frame. Ebbs then stepped up with runners on second and third with an out and clubbed an opposite-field home run over the left-center fences to give the Wildcats their first lead of the day.
Key Player
Margaret Tobias was the key player in the game Friday, going 1-for-3 in the game, but more importantly, making a key double play to end the top of the Miami fifth inning with a ball back up the middle as she grabbed it with her glove, tapped the base and threw on to first for the out. She then led off the inning with a single and scored on Ebbs’ home run.
Key Stat
- Kentucky scored all nine of its runs in the fifth and sixth innings, after trailing 1-0 for the first five innings of the game.
Run Recap
Miami got a lead-off double from Allie Cummins and she scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning. MIA 1, UK 0
In the fifth, Taylor Ebbs hit a three-run homer opposite field to give UK its first lead of the day. UK 3, MIA 1
In the sixth, Kentucky scored six times off of three home runs to put the run rule in effect. Erin Coffel trounced a ball over the building in left field, Taylor Ebbs hit a two-run shot for her second of the day and Grace Lorsung walked off the game on a solo bomb to left. FINAL – Kentucky 9, Miami 1 (F/6)
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