Langdon Strikes Out 15 in Home Opening Win Over Bellarmine
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman superstar Sydney Langdon threw a complete game and struck out a career-high 15 batters Wednesday night as the No. 21 Kentucky Wildcats beat Bellarmine 3-1 in the home opener of the 2024 season at John Cropp Stadium.
Langdon went the distance, throwing seven innings with just three hits allowed, no earned runs and 15 strikeouts on the night. She needed just 114 pitches to get through the afternoon’s work and walked only three batters in what was statistically her best performance of the season to date.
Offensively, it was extra-base hits that told the story for the Wildcats with Grace Lorsung pelting a double and a triple, Erin Coffel notching a double, as well as Rylea Smith, Karissa Hamilton and Lauryn Borzilleri. All told, six of Kentucky’s seven hits in the game went for extra bases, as the Wildcats scored three runs on seven hits to take the win.
Kentucky improves to 14-4 with Wednesday night’s win over the Knights. BU falls to four games under .500 at 6-10 on the year. The Wildcats will play host to No. 3 LSU who is the last-remaining undefeated team in the NCAA over the weekend for its Southeastern Conference season opener. Friday night’s game begins at 6:30 p.m. ET with the weekend games set for Noon ET on Saturday and Sunday.
Key Play
Grace Lorsung’s triple to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning was the key play in the game as the Wildcats then scored her on a sacrifice fly to get the bats going second time through the order.
Key Player
Wednesday night’s key player was Grace Lorsung, who went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and an RBI with a run scored in the contest.
Key Stat
- The 15 strikeouts by Sydney Langdon is the most by any Kentucky pitcher since Stephanie Schoonover’s no-hitter against North Texas in 2023 when Schoonover logged 18 in the game.
Run Recap
Bellarmine loaded the bases with no outs to start the top of the first inning and scored on a sacrifice fly to right to plate the game’s first run. BU 1, UK 0
In the bottom of the fourth, Kentucky scored two runs as Grace Lorsung led off the inning with a triple and scored on a sac fly by Taylor Ebbs. Karissa Hamilton and Lauryn Borzilleri then hit back-to-back gappers to give Kentucky its first lead of the afternoon. UK 2, BU 1
In the bottom of the fifth, Erin Coffel was on second after an error and scored on a Grace Lorsung RBI double. FINAL – Kentucky 3, Bellarmine 1
NEW for 2024 – The Kentucky Softball Designated Players Club
The Designated Players is the Official Booster Program of Kentucky Softball. Financial contributions and community support through The Designated Players program, Kentucky Softball will be able to continue to develop our student-athletes on and off the field. To join The Designated Players, you can join online or click here to download the membership form and mail to the address listed. For more information, email Kristine Himes at kentuckysoftball@uky.edu or Larry Cash at Larry.Cash@uky.edu.
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