No. 23 Kentucky softball (20-8) took on Marshall (16-13) on March 20, and defeated the Herd in a 7-0 shutout.
The game was filled with incredible performances from players like Rylea Smith who went 4-4 with one RBI and Stephanie Schoonover who played a complete game with 126 total pitches, contributing to the shutout.
To top all of it off, Erin Coffel would break the school record for RBIs in dramatic fashion, hitting a three-run homer to extend the Kentucky lead up to 6-0.
The Cats came out focused, as Schoonover would pitch a perfect inning to start the game.
After shutting down the Marshall offense, the Wildcats stayed hot.
Grace Lorsung would hit a double that brought home Smith and soon after Ally Hutchins would hit a grounder that brought Coffel home, giving the Cats a quick 2-0 lead.
Though unable to score, the second inning was much of the same for Kentucky.
Marshall was slightly more effective this inning, but ultimately still scoreless, and Smith recorded a double in the bottom of the inning.
After another scoreless inning for both teams, Marshall looked to start taking control with a double to start the fourth inning.
It would immediately be shut down yet again and Kentucky would come firing back with some explosive hitting.
Smith would record yet another hit, this time with an RBI single that sent Margaret Tobias home.
The play of the game was made by Coffel who would hit a three-run home run that catapulted the Cats to a 6-0 lead, while also breaking the school record for RBIs in program history.
Delani Sullivan would continue to pour it on, scoring off a wild pitch and growing the lead even further to 7-0.
Marshall would try to fight back as Kentucky cooled on offense, but it was no match for Schoonover’s pitching, as she would double her strikeout total in the sixth and complete another perfect inning in the seventh to end the dominant team performance with a shutout.
The Wildcats will travel to Gainesville, Florida, to take on the No.10 ranked Florida Gators in a three-game series beginning Friday, March 22.
