Kentucky softball (26-25, 1-20 SEC) came away with a comeback win against No. 25 Louisville (38-10, 13-5 ACC) by a score of 12-8 in 10 innings.
The Cards jumped out to an early 7-2 lead after just two innings due to four early errors by the Kentucky defense.
Karissa Hamilton, who has been one of the most consistent producers offensively and defensively for the Cats this year, recorded two errors in the second inning alone. She was removed from first base following the rough inning that led to three unearned runs for the Cardinals and did not play the field for the rest of regulation.
“It’s frustrating for sure,” Hamilton said. “I just know that Gabbie [Hensley], when she went in, I just know she had my back, and just the whole team’s got my back as well.”
The Cats trailed by that margin until the fifth inning, when they strung together a few hits to score one. Then, with runners on second and third, head coach Rachel Lawson turned to freshman Katie Hirschy, who was hitless on the season with just two at-bats
Hirschy connected on her first career hit, a single that snuck past both the pitcher and the second baseman and rolled slowly into center field to score two and get the Cats back in the game.
“She was awesome in practice yesterday,” Lawson said. “I’m like, ‘You know what, she deserves a shot,’ she was working hard, she was doing what she needed to do and she was seeing the results yesterday.”
The Hirschy at-bat provided the jolt that the Kentucky lineup needed, going on to score six runs in the last three innings of regulation, sending the game to extra innings tied at eight.
“I kind of think that ‘Why not?’ attitude really, kind of, took over the whole dugout,” Lawson said. “It was awesome.”
The game turned into a stalemate in extras thanks to 3.2 innings of scoreless ball in the circle from Sarah Haendiges, allowing just three hits and striking out five.
The Cats finally got on the board in the 10th after a Carly Sleeman single, a Peyton Plotts triple and a Maddy Clark single put the Cats up 10-8 with Hamilton stepping up to the plate.
Hamilton was able to put her rough second inning behind her with a towering home run to dead center field.
“I was just like, ‘I have to help the team in any way I can,” Hamilton said. “I knew the pitch that I was hunting and when she looked it over the plate, I just dominated.”
By the end of the game, Kentucky had tallied 25 hits through the 10 innings, breaking a school record for most hits in a single game.
The win over Louisville marked Kentucky’s eighth victory in its last 10 meetings in the Battle of the Bluegrass.
“Kentucky-Louisville is one of the jerseys rivalries in all college sports,” Lawson said. “You want to be the best team in your state. But, you know, it was a fun game. Just glad that we came out on top.”
