Kentucky Softball responds with back-to-back wins in doubleheader

After a tough outing on Thursday night in their home debut, No. 10 Kentucky Softball bounced back on Friday with two wins over Drake University and No. 19 Michigan.

GAME 1: No. 10 Kentucky – 10 | Drake University – 5

The first game of Friday’s doubleheader featured Kentucky and the Drake University Bulldogs. Former Team Italy Olympian Alexia Lacatena got the start on the mound for the ‘Cats. She earned her first two outs pretty easily, but the Bulldogs capitalized on a walk and a pair of singles to take an early 1-0 lead.

It wouldn’t last long, though. After loading the bases with a pair of walks and a Lauren Johnson single, the ‘Cats found themselves with loaded bases and just one out. Taylor Ebbs singled up the middle to score Johnson and Kayla Kowalik, giving UK a 2-1 lead.

Kentucky expanded its lead to 4-1 in the second after a few Bulldog defensive miscues. Drake got one of those back in the third to cut the UK lead in half, but the ‘Cats came right back in the home half of the inning and regained control. RBI singles from Kowalik and Lacatena put Kentucky up 6-2 heading to the fourth.

Drake tacked another on in the top of the sixth, but a Wildcat homer from WKU transfer Kennedy Sullivan put the final nail in the Bulldog coffin. Drake tacked on a few more in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t even it up. Kentucky took the first match of the day 10-5.

GAME 2: No. 10 Kentucky – 9 | No. 19 Michigan – 2

Just 24 hours after getting shut out by a stellar performance from Alex Storako and No. 19 Michigan, the ‘Cats faced the Wolverines for the second time in as many days. Michigan got started early once again, with a pair of doubles to take a quick 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher Miranda Stoddard and the Kentucky defense doubled down, though, ending the inning with no further damage.

After struggling on Thursday night, Wildcat batter Kayla Kowalik led off with a double down the left-field line for the ‘Cats. Just moments later, a Lauren Johnson bunt turned Michigan error scored Kowalik from second, tying the game at 1-1.

Kennedy Sullivan hit a deep homer to right field minutes later to extend the Kentucky lead to 3-1. It was Sullivan’s second homer of the day.

The score remained the same throughout the next 1.5 innings until Kentucky pitcher Miranda Stoddard hit a first-pitch grand slam bomb to left-center field. Stoddard boasts one of the lower batting averages on the team (.143), but there was no doubt on this one. The four-RBI homer extended the UK lead to 7-1 heading into the top of the fourth.

Michigan and Kentucky each added one more in the fifth, giving us a score of 8-2. Both defenses dug in the next few innings, but the ‘Cats added one more in the bottom of the sixth to give them a solid 9-2 win. They are now 15-2 on the season.

Starting pitcher Miranda Stoddard completed the entire game. Stoddard ended with three strikeouts in 33 batters faced, as well as the grand slam.

The ‘Cats will end the weekend homestead on Saturday afternoon with a 3 p.m. matchup against Kent State.