Back-to-back homers give Cats upset win

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By Bill Nigut

Natalie Smith never had a winning season before this one. She had also never hit a walk-off home run before UK’s 6-5 win over Tennessee in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday night. Smith is one of the veterans who has been through enough losing seasons and is stepping up to help improve the current UK softball program and its future.

Though UK has a 25-14 overall record, it has struggled in the Southeastern Conference, where it is just 8-9. Looking to get their season back on track and improve in the SEC, the Cats hosted a doubleheader with conference rival No. 12 Tennessee on Wednesday.

After defeating UK 14-2 in just five innings in the first game of the day, Tennessee seemed ready to roll over the Cats a second time and head back to Knoxville with two wins, but UK head coach Rachel Lawson knew her team would not go down that easily.

Freshman Brittany Cervantes takes a swing during UK’s doubleheader against Tennessee on Wednesday. The Cats won the second game 6-5. Photos by Zach Brake | Staff

“I’m always confident in this team,” Lawson said. “The cool thing about this team is we’re never out of it no matter who we play. We have a lot of heart and a lot of grit.Even when you have a bad moment we have really short memories and that’s a really good thing when you’re an athlete.”

By the bottom of the fifth inning, the Volunteers were held to four runs. Although they had only plated one run, the Cats knew they could turn the day around.

“Toward the beginning of the second game everyone was just kind of happy because the score wasn’t running up and we were just getting relaxed,” Smith said. “Then we realized, hey, we can do this and we started hitting the ball a lot harder.”

Freshman Brittany Cervantes and Smith were determined to keep the Cats alive and led their team through a two-run deficit in the bottom of the final inning. Cervantes stepped up to the plate and blasted her second home run of the day, a game-tying two-run home run, and knew immediately that the game would not stay tied for long.

“I was excited,” Cervantes said. “I knew we were going to come out with a win right after (my) home run because of all our momentum and the fact that we tied it up.”

Smith, the next batter, played off of the momentum and picked the perfect time to hit her first long ball of the season and first-ever walk-off home run. She took her time trotting around the bases, savoring the comeback-victory over rival Tennessee as long as she could.

“It felt amazing,” Smith said. “I’ve never hit a walk-off. Ever. It’s indescribable. I didn’t want to leave the field I was so excited.”

While the win is an upset, it did not shock Lawson, but rather reminded her of her team’s heart and potential.

“We just didn’t give up,” Lawson said. “I really attribute it to our focus and our desire to want to be a great team. And to do that you have to beat great teams like Tennessee.”