Kentucky Softball Splits Final Games in Palm Springs on Saturday
Kentucky softball finished play at the 2023 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. on Saturday night. In a doubleheader, the ‘Cats fell to fellow top-25 team Northwestern 9-3 but pulled out the win against UC Riverside 3-0 in game two. Kentucky, ranked No. 18 in the country, is now 10-3-1 on the season.
‘Cats get up early
UK took an early lead in their first game against Northwestern, going up 2-0 in the second inning courtesy of a bunt from junior Vanessa Nesby.
Junior Meeko Harrison also contributed to the early lead with a sac fly to bring in a run.
Although the offense for Kentucky was hot early, the pitching was another story.
Junior Stephanie Schoonover started for the ‘Cats but gave up a run in the third to cut Northwestern’s deficit to one making it 2-1. After giving up the run, sophomore Izzy Harrison came in for relief in the fourth.
Harrison was able to get UK out of a jam at the top of the fourth with two runners on. But things soon took a turn for the worst for the ‘Cats.
Defense and pitching struggles for UK
Kentucky’s defense struggled and coughed up nine total runs in the fourth and fifth innings, handing Northwestern a dominant 9-2 lead heading into the sixth.
Graduate student Kayla Kowalik brought in a run off of a RBI triple at the top of the sixth but the hole was too big for the ‘Cats to get out of.
With no runs scored by either team in the seventh, Kentucky fell 9-3 against Northwestern to start the night.
Kentucky has to refresh fast
With UC Riverside up next, the ‘Cats quickly had to bounce back after a brutal loss.
Kentucky came out strong in the first inning with a line drive to left field from freshman Karissa Hamilton that gave UK an early 1-0 lead.
Schoonover took the mound for Kentucky to start their matchup against UC Riverside. She did not disappoint either, tallying six strikeouts through the third and not giving up any runs.
At the top of the fourth, Kowalik sent one out of the park increasing UK’s lead to 2-0.
UC Riverside continued to struggle offensively while UK did not.
Graduate student Kennedy Sullivan singled to first bringing in Hamilton for another one on the board in the fifth putting Kentucky up 3-0.
Rain closes out game two
Neither team found a score in the sixth as the game was placed into a rain delay. Due to reaching the standard time for a game the ‘Cats were awarded a 3-0 win over UC Riverside to finish out the weekend.
Overall UK had a strong weekend on the west coast, going 7-3 in play with their only losses coming from two top-25 teams and UT Arlington.
Kentucky heads to Norman, Oklahoma next weekend to face the reigning, back-to-back national champion Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday and Sunday.
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