Softball faces test in series against Tennessee
April 25, 2014
By Justin Chartrand
It is not every day that you can witness a top 10 softball showdown.
No. 9 UK (39-9, 12-6 SEC) is preparing for a crucial three-game set against one of the nation’s elite teams. UK will face conference rival Tennessee in a series that kicks off Friday at John Cropp Stadium.
The No. 8 Volunteers (37-8, 12-6 SEC) are coming off an 8-0 win against Furman on Tuesday. They will look to slow down the hot bats of UK sophomores Nikki Sagermann and Christian Stokes.
Stokes is coming off an excellent performance against Western Kentucky going 4-for-4 at the plate, while smashing her fourth homerun of the season and driving in two runs.
“I thought I was seeing the ball pretty well,” Stokes said. “I just cleared my head at the plate, stopped thinking so much and went in ready to have a good performance.”
Sagermann enters the series surging at the plate, hitting five home runs in the past five games. She is leading the team with 39 RBIs this season.
“(Tennessee is) going to game plan for her,” Lawson said. “I do believe they will be game planning against her to make sure that she’s not the one that beats them.”
UK’s offense will have its hands full as it faces a talented pitching staff.
The Volunteers pitching staff is led by Ellen Renfroe, who has collected 194 strikeouts, an earned run average of 1.95 and 23 wins on season.
Renfroe is a top 25 finalist for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
“Their number one pitcher, Renfroe, is probably the best pitcher in the league, so it’s going to be important that we make her pitch pitches,” UK head coach Rachel Lawson said. “We are going to have to be aggressive early in the count and selective in the pitches we do swing at.”
The Volunteers hold an ERA of 2.34 and average more than six strikeouts per game.
The Cats are second in the SEC in strikeouts with 249.
“Tennessee is going to be really competitive,” Sagermann said.
The Volunteers lead the SEC with a .330 batting average and are second in slugging and on-base percentage.
The Cats hold a team ERA of 2.30, which is the fourth-best in the SEC. They have totaled 295 strikeouts and will look to keep the Volunteers off balance while at the plate.
UK’s fielding percentage of .976 will be put to the test as well. Tennessee will put balls in play.
“I think you’re going to see on the field this weekend the two top shortstops in the SEC defensively going after it,” Lawson said.
