Lady Bat 'Cats Smash Northern Kentucky in Midweek Matchup
It was about time for a Wildcats’ bounceback.
Kentucky softball (26-13-1; 7-8 SEC) traveled about 60 miles up the road on Tuesday to take on the Northern Kentucky Norse (14-27; 9-7 Horizon). After a tough weekend at home against No. 6 Tennessee that resulted in a sweep for the Volunteers, Kentucky needed a rebound game to get back on the right foot.
Luckily, the No. 20 Wildcats had a fairly easy midweek matchup to get back in the groove.
Sophomore pitcher Alexia Lacatena started on the mound for the ‘Cats. In the bottom of the first, after the UK offense had no luck from the plate, the New Jersey native started strong as she ended the inning with a K and no runs allowed by the Norse.
Although sophomore Taylor Ebbs, who had a good series against the Vols, was able to hit a line drive down the right field line, no other ‘Cats made progress on offense in the top of the second. Lacatena held down the defense with her pitching in the bottom of the second. Overall, the first two innings were a snooze for both teams as the score remained 0-0 going into the third.
Finally some offense for UK
The top of the third was a different story as UK started strong with juniors Vanessa Nesby and Erin Coffel on first and second.
Head coach Rachel Lawson opted to change the lineup and have Nesby lead off with Coffel batting second and graduate student Kayla Kowalik third. The change was a success as Kowalik hit a RBI single to bring Nesby in and give the ‘Cats their first run and a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Lacatena was still doing her thing as it was a quick 1-2-3 inning with no runs scored.
Junior Meeko Harrison got things rolling on offense in the top of the fourth with a double right off the bat. However, the offense once again came up short and was not able to do anything with Harrison’s double as the score was still 1-0 heading into the fifth.
Kowalik catches fire
Watch out for Kowalik because here she comes again.
In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats’ star catcher, who went eighth overall in the 2023 Women’s Professional Fastpitch draft on Monday, hit anRBI triple to bring in Coffel and double Kentucky’s lead at 2-0.
Sophomore Hallie Mitchell also tallied a RBI single that she knocked into left field which brought in another UK run to make it a 3-0 game. The runs continued to trickle in as Ebbs was up next and roped one down the center to allow Mitchell to come home.
A 4-0 game turned into a 7-0 game thanks to a double from graduate student and hometown girl, Kennedy Sullivan.
Still in the top of the fifth, the ‘Cats had gone through their lineup twice. With two on base and two outs, Coffel was back at it again as she hit a bomb outside the fence to make it a 9-0 game as we went into the bottom of the inning.
Offense brings victory
The Norse would need a miracle if they wanted to make it out without being a run rule defeat, but they were not able to score which ended the game short after the fifth inning. After struggling in the first couple of innings, Kentucky found their hitting rhythm and beat NKU 9-0.
The ‘Cats will be back home this weekend for a three-game set against No. 15 Arkansas. The first game of the series will be on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. EST.
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