Kentucky Softball Swept by No. 6 Tennessee

On3 imageby:Katelyn Perkins04/16/23

The Kentucky Wildcats had one last chance to redeem themselves against Tennessee on Sunday.

Kentucky Softball (25-13-1; 7-8 SEC) played their third game of the weekend against Tennessee (34-5; 13-2 SEC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. The ‘Cats have struggled throughout the weekend as they lost a close one on Friday and were dominated by the Vols on Saturday, 10-2. Offense has been a detriment for UK all weekend long, so they came into Sunday looking to start off on the right foot.

Bad start on defense for Cats

At the top of the first, Kentucky took to the field as they started on defense. The Vols were able to get a hot start on Saturday, and that is exactly what they did on Sunday as well. Sophomore and Jersey native Alexia Lacatena got the start on the mound for the ‘Cats and gave up a three-run home run right off the bat.

UK’s defense was able to head into the bottom of the first with three straight outs to stop the bleeding however the bats were not helping the ‘Cats out. With little luck from the plate, it was not long until Kentucky took the field again.

It seemed that Tennessee’s bats had added surface as they were able to knock in two more runs. The cherry on top for the Vols was a solo home run at the top of the second, that was rocketed out across the center field fence. The three tacked on runs for the Vols put them up 6-0 in just two innings.

No luck on offense or defense

Kentucky’s offense continued to struggle at the bottom of the second as Tennessee’s pitching and defense restricted them from scoring any runs. At the top of the third, UK opted for a pitching change and senior Sloan Gayan took the mound to try and shake things up. Gayan did just that and did not allow any runs scored as they headed into the bottom of the third still down 6-0.

Unfortunately after a decent defensive showing, the ‘Cats offense was not getting it done on their end. Tennessee’s pitcher tallied her fourth K at the bottom of the third. Graduate student Kayla Kowalik tended to have a consistent presence from the plate for Kentucky however, she popped one up which sent the Vols back on offense.

The top of the fourth was another brutal inning for the ‘Cats as Gayan walked her first two batters. With two on base, Tennessee hit a bomb to left field that was able to find its way out of the park and give the Vols a three-run homer to increase their lead to 9-0. Still with no outs on the board, UK brought in Kentucky native, Kennedy Sullivan for relief.

Sullivan struggled as she walked two and already had one on. With three on, a sacrifice fly ball allowed the Vols to make it a double digit, 10-0 deficit. After a rocky start, Sullivan had two Ks to send the game into the bottom of the fourth.

Some light for UK

Junior and the quickest Cat, Vanessa Nesby started UK off at the bottom of the fourth with a triple. A sac fly brought Nesby home and gave Kentucky their first run of the game. With one on the board, the Tennessee defense remained constricting as they got two quick outs to send it to the fifth.

At 10-1, the Vols were back on offense. Right off the bat, the ball went soaring over the fence for another homer for Tennessee. After trying to catch a line drive, Sullivan was hit and exited the game therefore, freshman reliever Taylor Hess came in to pitch for UK.

Hess gave up two more runs at the top of the fifth to make it a 13-1 game. With only one out, Kentucky had to pick it up on defense and from the mound if they wanted to stop the bleeding. The runs just kept piling on as a ball was shot to right field which brought two more runs in. The ‘Cats finally got out of the inning after a caught fly ball.

Look of defeat

Kentucky had to score six runs if they wanted to have a chance of not getting run-ruled. The Vols started off with a K and then a ground ball out. UK looked like they were ready to be done as they had put all of their reserves in the line up. A second K at the bottom of the fifth finished out the game as the Vols won 15-1.

The Wildcats will look to bounce back from their series sweep on Tuesday night as they take on Northern Kentucky at 5 p.m.

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2024-03-28