Late Heroics, Lacatena, Enough to Sweep Saturday Games
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Kentucky Softball team won two dramatic games Saturday at the 2025 Hilltopper Spring Fling as the Wildcats beat Tennessee Tech 4-3 in a walk-off, come-from-behind win and an 8-5 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers as Sarah Haendiges ended the game with the tying run at the place on a strikeout swinging.
In game one, Kentucky trailed for all seven innings before Anna Mauck walked off the contest as TTU failed to record an out in the seventh inning with Kentucky scoring twice in the bottom of the frame to close the game on an RBI single into left.
In game two, Kentucky jumped out to a 3-0 lead and ballooned its lead to 8-2 in the sixth inning as UK hit four triples in the game, all by four different players. With the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh, Sarah Haendiges entered the game to pitch for Alexia Lacatena and earned the save with a strikeout. The win for Lacatena was her fourth of the season to move to 4-1 on the year as she went 6.2 innings with four strikeouts and threw 97 pitches.
Kentucky with the pair of wins improves to 13-6 for the season. The Wildcats will conclude its pre-conference schedule Sunday morning at 11 a.m. ET against Evansville in the final game of the 2025 Hilltopper Spring Fling.
GAME 1 – KENTUCKY 4, TENNESSEE TECH 3
Key Play
Peyton Plotts’ RBI single into right center to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh was the key play in the game as Kentucky squared the contest.
Key Player
McKenzie Bump was the key player in the game, going 3-for-4 in the lead-off spot with a run scored as she set a new career-high in her UK tenure for hits in a single game.
Super Stat
- Kentucky had four players who were multi-hit players in the game Saturday, as Bump joined Peyton Plotts, Karissa Hamilton and Lauryn Borzilleri with multi-hit games for the Wildcats.
Run Recap
With two on thanks to a walk and a single, the Golden Eagles successfully bunted over both runners to second and third with one out and an RBI single to the right side drove in the game’s first run as Tennessee Tech took the early lead in the top of the second inning. TTU 1, UK 0
Tennessee Tech took advantage of a Kentucky defensive error and a double in the top of the third inning to double its lead as the ball got to the wall and allowed the runner on first to advance three bases. TTU 2, UK 0
Kentucky got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo home run to lead off the frame thanks to a Lauryn Borzilleri bomb that was just fair down the line in LF that crossed the plain of the foul line to give UK its first run of the game. McKenzie Bump had the second of her three hits after the Borzilleri hit and she scored on an RBI single by Peyton Plotts. UK 2, TTU 2
Tennessee Tech scored on an error with runners on second and third with no outs to take the lead going into bottom of the seventh. TTU 3, UK 2
Allie Blum led off the bottom of the seventh with a double into left field down the line to put an early runner in scoring position. Peyton Plotts then tied the game two pitches later on a scorcher into right center to score Blum and tie the game. Karissa Hamilton singled into CF to put runners on second and third with 0 outs and Anna Mauck delivered a game-winning walk-off single through the left side to end the game. FINAL – Kentucky 4, Tennessee Tech 3
GAME 2 – KENTUCKY 8, WESTERN KENTUCKY 5
Key Play
Delani Sullivan’s three-run triple in the top of the fifth inning to give UK an 8-3 lead was the key play of Saturday night’s game.
Key Player
The key player was Alexia Lacatena, who went 6.2 innings, striking out four batters, walking only two, and earning her fourth win of the season to move to 4-1 on the year in the circle.
Super Stat
- Sarah Haendiges came into the game to get the final out, and got a strikeout swinging to end the game with the tying run at the plate. The save for Haendiges was her second of the season.
Run Recap
Kentucky scored three times in the top of the first as Hallie Mitchell and Peyton Plotts each launched triples in the inning to give UK the early lead. UK 3, WKU 0
Western Kentucky hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second and a solo blast in the bottom of the fourth to square things up. UK 3, WKU 3
In the fifth, Kentucky loaded the bases with no outs and Delani Sullivan cranked a three-RBI triple into right field to score all three runs with two outs in the inning and UK took a 6-3 lead. UK 6, WKU 3
Kentucky tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth inning thanks to a two-run triple into RF by Lauryn Borzilleri to make the lead six for UK. UK 8, WKU 3
WKU scored twice in the seventh, but Sarah Haendiges closed the door to end the game with a strikeout swinging. FINAL – Kentucky 8, Western Kentucky 5
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.
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.
