Kentucky softball (24-20, 1-15 SEC) dropped its 15th consecutive conference game to No. 10 Tennessee (35-6, 10-6 SEC) by a score of 5-0 in a hard-fought pitcher’s duel.
The Wildcats had to face off against the reigning back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year, Karlyn Pickens, and it did not go well for them.
Pickens sliced right through the Kentucky lineup, throwing a complete game no hitter, while striking out 12.
The Cats had no answer for Pickens’ fastball that consistently sat around 77 mph. Everyone in the Kentucky lineup struck out at least once except for Allie Blum. Three Kentucky batters struck out twice on the day.
Although the Cats struggled tremendously at the plate, the pitching for Kentucky shined against a tough Lady Vol offense.
McKenzie Oslanzi started in the circle for the Cats and saw some success. The Eastern Illinois transfer is not much of a strikeout pitcher, but gave the Lady Vols trouble at the plate, limiting them to only three hits in her 4.1 innings pitched.
“Coming into the game I just wanted to be myself and really compete out there,” Oslanzi said. “I know we’ve been wanting to win really bad. I wanted to be there for my teammates.”
Oslanzi’s three hits and two runs given up matched her best in each category during conference play.
Sarah Haendiges came on in relief of Oslanzi in the fifth. Haendiges found success until two back-to-back home runs in the top of the seventh sealed the deal for Tennessee.
“They kept the game really manageable in the first five innings,” Kentucky head coach Rachel Lawson said. “Our offense has to do a little bit better job having their back.”
Kentucky’s pitching staff has faced major injuries during the season. Freshman Hailey Nutter, who shined in non-conference play, went down with a foot injury and has not played since March 21. Junior Sydney Langdon has appeared in just one game and sophomore Carson Fall has not appeared in a game since February 13, both due to back injuries.
With three pitchers out, Oslanzi and Haendiges have had to carry the weight of the pitching staff almost all season. Oslanzi has appeared in 24 of the team’s 44 games, while Haendiges has appeared in 23 of them.
“They’re pitching their hearts out,” Lawson said. “When you give the same look over and over and over again, they’re up against it.”
The only other pitcher to throw for the Cats since Nutter went down in March, has been freshman Abby Hammond, who has appeared in 14 games.
Oslanzi and Haendiges have combined for over 66% of the innings pitched in conference play, with the rest of the innings split between Hammond and Nutter before she got hurt.
Lawson said the new technology that teams use has also been another hurdle for Oslanzi and Haendiges. The more innings the two pitch, the more film opposing teams have on them.
“Everybody knows where they pitch the ball, what’s the spin rate, you know, the shape of the pitch and stuff like that,” Lawson said. “Life is a little bit different now that it was a few years ago.”
