Rachel Lawson praises pitcher Stephanie Schoonover for 'commanding' her pitches against Auburn

Stephanie Schoonover (17-6, 2.36 ERA) took the mound for No. 24 Kentucky as the Wildcats looked to sweep its weekend series against Auburn on the road.

After three innings pitched on Monday, Schoonover had only given up one hit — a solo home run in the second inning that tied the game — while striking out four Tigers batters. Head coach Rachel Lawson broke down what she liked from her senior in the circle.

“She is doing a great job spinning the ball,” Lawson said of her pitcher. “We’ve got to do a better job of picking it up earlier and seeing it for a longer period of time so we can drive it to the field. … Overall, she’s really commanding her pitches. She’s powerful, she’s putting him where she wants to put them so she’s doing a really good job.”

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While Schoonover kept Auburn’s bats at bay early on, she walked two during the first four innings but both runners were left stranded at the end of the first and fourth innings, respectively.

On the offensive end, Kentucky hadn’t put together much more than the Tigers. Logging two hits and seeing four reach base, the lone Wildcat run through four innings came from a solo shot from Kentucky shortstop Erin Coffel in the top of the first, similar to how the Tigers made it happen.

After five innings, Schoonover logged 78 pitches, four strikeouts, three walks, two hits and two earned runs, including one in the fifth inning.

If Kentucky can pull off the sweep against Auburn on Monday, it will be the first SEC sweep for the Wildcats since March 12th of last season when they opened conference action against Missouri. Regardless of the outcome, Kentucky secured the series win after defeating the Tigers. 5-2 and 2-1 over the past two days. The Wildcats have now won three of their last four conference series after this trip to Auburn as well.

Next up for Kentucky is a home stand against South Carolina beginning on April 26 through April 28. The Wildcats will begin their final conference series of the season the following Thursday on the road against the Tennessee Volunteers with the SEC Tournament looming the following Tuesday on May 7.

Kentucky is seeking its 30th win, sitting at 29-15 overall on the season. They’ve struggled in conference play at 7-10, but a big weekend at Auburn could turn things around before the final stretch.