By Justin Chartrand

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Recent wins by the UK basketball and baseball teams over the University of Louisville had UK softball looking to join the club. And the team did just that on Wednesday.

Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Nunley shut out the Cardinals en route to the Cats’ 5-0 victory before a crowd of 1,402 at John Cropp Stadium.

The win marks the first time in head coach Rachel Lawson’s seven years that the Cats have beat the Cardinals back to back. UK beat Louisville on April 24, 2013 in Lexington  on the teams’ final matchup of the season.

The Cats were without their senior captain Wednesday, as infielder Lauren Cumbess sat out with an ankle injury that she suffered Sunday in a collision at first base.

Nunley picked up where she left off after tying her career high with 11 strikeouts against Auburn University on Sunday. She allowed three hits while tossing five strikeouts in a complete game.

“I thought Nunley was incredible,” Lawson said. “I thought she was great on Sunday. The fact that she was able to turn around four days later and do it again just says a lot about how strong she is as a pitcher.”

UK sophomore infielder Nikki Sagermann went 3-for-3 at the plate and tallied three RBIs.

“It feels good. It’s always a great day to beat Louisville,” Sagermann said.

UK senior outfielder Emily Gaines extended her career-best hit streak to nine games with a single to centerfield. The hit allowed sophomore outfielder Sylver Samuel to score, and gave the Cats a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

UK extended its lead in the third inning after an RBI single by Sagermann put the Cats up 2-0.

The Cats loaded the bases in the fifth inning and managed to plate three runs, giving them a comfortable 5-0 lead. Nunley retired 13 straight batters to complete UK’s victory.

“I felt like we really didn’t play our best game against Auburn,” Lawson said. “The fact that we were able to work on (our weaknesses) and to turn around so quickly really says that the girls have their minds in the right spot.”