Reasner’s Monster Weekend Concludes With Sweep of Mizzou
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Cassie Reasner’s monster weekend carried into Sunday evening as she went 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, two singles and five RBI as the No. 23 Kentucky Softball team opened Southeastern Conference play with a sweep of Missouri thanks to a 9-6 win over the Tigers on Sunday at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
For the third time in three games, Mizzou jumped out in front first, but Kentucky responded with one in the first, one in the second, three in the third and four in the fourth to balloon open a six-run lead for the Wildcats in the bottom of the fourth as Karissa Hamilton and Cassie Reasner both had multi-RBI two-out hits for the Wildcats in the inning.
With the win Sunday, Kentucky is now 17-6 on the season and sits atop the SEC standings with a 3-0 league record. Missouri is now 11-13 on the season and is 0-3 in league play. The Wildcats have won a season-high seven games in a row dating back to last weekend’s loss to Evansville to open the 2025 Hilltopper Spring Fling in Bowling Green.
Kentucky and Mizzou both finished the ballgame with eight hits apiece, but it was two-out production that led the way as UK had five two-out RBI on the day and five of Kentucky’s eight hits were with two outs. As a team, Kentucky on Sunday had three players with multi-hit games and UK only stranded five runners on the basepaths, as Kentucky pitching left the Tigers with 11 runners left on base and seven in scoring position.
Alexia Lacatena upped her record to 6-1 on the season by collecting a four-inning win in relief Sunday, allowing only two runs on three hits with three strikeouts on 79 pitches. Julie Kelley got the Wildcats out of a bases-loaded 0-out jam in the top of the sixth inning with a pair of outs and then super sub Sarah Haendiges struck out Madison Uptergrove to end the inning and strand the runners. In the seventh, Haendiges walked the lead-off batter and then went 1-2-3 after that with a groundout and a pair of flyouts to close out the weekend.
Kentucky will play No. 17 Virginia Tech on Wednesday in a ranked-vs.-ranked midweek action at John Cropp Stadium at 5 p.m. ET in its next game. Tickets are available at UKathletics.com/tickets.
Key Play
Madyson Clark’s robbery of a hit with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the sixth to put up a second out on the board was the key play in the game, as it kept the Tigers on the backside of the scoreboard.
Key Player
Sarah Haendiges was the key player, earning her third save of the year on 1.1 innings with no runs allowed and a critical strikeout as the third pitcher out of the bullpen for Rachel Lawson’s team.
Super Stat
- This is the fourth time under head coach Rachel Lawson that Kentucky has opened SEC play with a sweep. The other three were 2016 (SC), 2019 (SC) and Mizzou (2023).
Run Recap
Mizzou scored a run in the top of the first on a home run to lead off the game down the left-field line. MIZ 1, UK 0
Kentucky responded with Karissa Hamilton bashing a two-out solo blast to left field. UK 1, MIZ 1
Missouri put up a two-spot in the top of the second inning after an RBI single and a Kentucky error. MIZ 3, UK 1
Kentucky got a run in the bottom of the second on a sac fly from Allie Blum to score Cassie Reasner. MIZ 3, UK 2
Cassie Reasner hit a three-run homer, her third of the weekend, in the bottom of the third to give Kentucky the lead, its first of the game. UK 5, MIZ 3
Kentucky threw up a four spot in the bottom of the fourth as both Karissa Hamilton and Cassie Reasner had two-out, two-run hits to push the lead to a series-high six runs. UK 9, MIZ 3
Mizzou scored three in the top of the sixth, but Alexia Lacatena, Julie Kelley and Sarah Haendiges combined to get one out each as the Wildcats hung on to sweep the Tigers. FINAL – Kentucky 9, Missouri 6
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.
