Carly Sleeman’s Four RBI Night Pushes Kentucky Past IU Indy
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Thanks to four runs batted in off the bat of junior Carly Sleeman and three from senior Karissa Hamilton, the Kentucky Softball team beat IU Indy by a final score of 9-1 on Wednesday night at John Cropp Stadium to cap off a perfect six-game homestand.
Kentucky scored three runs in each of the odd innings Wednesday night en route to the run-rule victory as the Wildcats managed to log nine hits in the game with seven of the nine hits coming from the middle of the order in the form of Peyton Plotts, Karissa Hamilton and Carly Sleeman.
With Wednesday night’s win, Kentucky is now a season-high 14 games over the .500 mark at 18-4 and has won a season-high 12 games in a row, the program’s longest winning streak since 2021 when it won 19 in a row to begin the 2021 season. IU Indy falls to 3-14 on the year with Wednesday night’s result.
UK will now start conference play this weekend as Southeastern Conference action kicks off Friday in a three-game series on the Plains at Auburn. The series will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn and all three games will air live on SEC Network+.
Run Recap
Karissa Hamilton logged a two-run triple into left center in the bottom of the first inning to push Kentucky in front early and in the later parts of the inning, and a sac fly by Carly Sleeman made things a three-run inning for the Wildcats. UK 3, IUI 0
In the bottom of the third, Allie Blum and Peyton Plotts walked to start the frame and Blum scored on a double by Hamilton. Carly Sleeman then doubled on then next pitch to score Plotts and Hamilton to give Kentucky the 6-1 lead. UK 6, IUI 1
UK closed the game in the bottom of the fifth inning as there were a pair of singles and a pair of doubles in the inning and Maddy Clark walked off the game with a single into center field to score Carly Sleeman from second and induce the run rule. FINAL – Kentucky 9, IU Indy 1 (F/5)
Key Player
Carly Sleeman was 2-for-2 in the contest with an RBI double, a two-run double in the third and fifth innings and four RBI for the evening. In her opening plate appearance, Sleeman had a sacrifice fly to score Karissa Hamilton from third on a fly ball to the green in right.
Key Moment
The key moment was Maddy Clark’s single into center field in the bottom of the fifth inning to close out the run-rule win.
Key Stat
- Kentucky only left two runners on base.
Pitching Recap
McKenzie Oslanzi upped her record to 3-1 with a complete-game effort in the circle. Oslanzi only allowed one run on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts. She threw 70 pitches in the five-inning affair and 47 of those 70 were recorded as strikes.
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.
