Kentucky softball drops NCAA Tournament opener, faces elimination on Saturday

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Kentucky softball score a run — and because of that, the Wildcats’ season is officially on the line.

During the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s Clemson Regional on Friday, (2) Kentucky failed to put up a single run on the scoreboard, falling to (3) Northwestern 4-0. The loss puts the Wildcats into an elimination matchup on Saturday against the loser of (1) Clemson vs. (4) USC Upstate. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Kentucky has now gone two straight postseason games without a run. The ‘Cats were shut out 8-0 (in five innings) by Georgia in the first round of the SEC Tournament last week on May 6. UK has not won a game since beating Mississippi State all the way back on April 26, losing its last six contests.

[UPDATE: Clemson took down USC Upstate in five innings, 10-2. Kentucky and USC Upstate will face off in Saturday’s elimination game.]

Final. Kentucky will play Saturday at ~4 p.m. ET in the first Clemson Regional Elimination Game#WeAreUK x @NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/4Ngaq4srKg
— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) May 16, 2025

Kentucky freshman Carson Fall impressed on the mound in her NCAA Tournament, throwing 4.2 innings while giving up just two runs off seven hits. She finished with 90 total pitches before Sarah Haendiges, who also gave up a pair of runs (one coming off an error), took over for the final 2.1 innings. Northwestern didn’t record a run until the fifth inning, but pitching and defense were not the issue for UK against the other Wildcats.

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Through seven innings of work, Kentucky only managed six total hits, two of them coming from Peyton Plotts. Only once did the Wildcats even have a runner in scoring position, but no one ever walked across home plate. Northwestern’s Lauryn Boyd tossed a complete-game shutout in the process as UK left six runners on base.

It’s been far from a successful season for head coach Rachel Lawson, one that is inching toward the final out. Kentucky now sits on a 29-27 overall record, but a win on Saturday would keep the 2025 campaign going for at least another day.