Softball ready for Marshall, NCAA Tournament

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By Tyler Spanyer | @KernelSpanyer

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After a first-round loss in the SEC Tournament,  the No. 17 Cats received news Sunday night that they would be hosting the first softball NCAA Tournament regional in school history.

UK will welcome Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Conference USA champions Marshall to John Cropp Stadium for the double-elimination Lexington Regional.

“It’s a big step for our program,” UK head coach Rachel Lawson said, “Because in order to host a regional you have to be considered one of the top 16 teams in the country, and that’s a big step for us.”

UK (38-18, 13-11 SEC) received the No. 12 overall seed for the tournament and will play its first game against Marshall on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Cats one of 23 teams in the country that can claim their fifth consecutive tournament berth.

The Cats are led in the circle by true freshman Kelsey Nunley and her school-record 24 wins regular season wins.

At the plate the Cats are led by junior pitcher/first baseman Lauren Cumbess and her .335 average and team-leading 11 home runs.

“We are going to have to go out there and play our game if we want to win,” Cumbess said. “Their pitcher is really good, and it’s because she works fast and we have to be prepared for that.”

Marshall (35-20, 13-10 C-USA) comes in to the regional as winners in six of its last seven games, including the C-USA championship.

The Herd are led by senior pitcher Andi Williamson in the circle. Williamson holds a 2.01 ERA with an overall record of 32-16.

Williamson has pitched 296 innings this season second only to Olivia Galati of Hofstra, who has thrown 307 innings. At the plate Marshall is led by senior outfielder Ashley Gue who is batting .344 with 33 stolen bases.

“We’ve been working a lot on our hitting this week,” UK sophomore catcher Griffin Joiner said. “We haven’t had a lot of time for long practices lately so we have been working on hitting and defending the slap-ball hitting of Marshall.”

Virginia Tech (35-19, 9-11 ACC) lost out in the semifinals of the ACC tournament last week.

The Hookies began the year on a hot streak winning 15 of their first 16 games, and has wins over three top-25 teams.

VT is led at the plate by senior catcher Courtney Liddle, who is batting .380 with 37 RBIs this season. In the circle the Hokies are anchored by senior Jasmine Harrell who has a 3.12 ERA and an overall record of 17-8.

Notre Dame (43-13, 19-3 Big East) won the regular season Big East crown and lost to South Florida in the championship game of the Big East Tournament last weekend.

The Irish have won 17 of their last 20 games and are led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Emilee Koerner who nis hitting .451 with 11 homers and 47 RBIs this year.

In the circle the Irish are led by junior Lauren Winter who holds a 29-10 overall record with a 1.70 ERA and 294 strikeouts.

Virginia Tech and Notre Dame will face off in game one of the regional Friday at 5 p.m., with UK and Marshall following at 7:30 p.m.

All games will be played at John Cropp Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Full schedule:

Friday, May 17, 2013

Game 1 – Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech – 5 p.m.

Game 2 – UK vs. Marshall – 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Game 3 – Winner of game 1 vs. Winner of game 2 – 1 p.m.

Game 4 – Loser of game 1 vs. Loser of game 2 – 3:30 p.m.

Game 5 – Loser of game 3 vs. Winner of game 4 – 6 p.m.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Game 6 – Winner of game 3 vs. Winner of game 5 – 1 p.m.

Game 7 – (If necessary) – 3:30 p.m.