Kentucky softball (26-26, 1-21 SEC) dropped game one of its weekend series against No. 4 Texas (36-8, 13-6 SEC) 12-2 in a six-inning run rule.
The Longhorns made the trip to Lexington for the first time in program history and handed the Cats their 21st consecutive conference loss, nearing the school record of 23 straight conference losses set in 2003.
This losing streak has featured 11 run-rule losses, only two of which came after the Oklahoma series that featured three consecutive run-rule losses to start the month of April.
The Cats kept it competitive against No. 6 Tennessee in the series following the one against the Sooners, but couldn’t string together enough offense to pull out a win against the Lady Vols.
The series after, against No. 2 Alabama, featured a run-rule loss in game one, but also a 5-4 loss that required the Crimson Tide to score three in the seventh to pull off the win.
The Cats have been competitive since the start of the month; they just haven’t seemed to be able to break through in conference play.
Kentucky was, however, able to break through in its midweek comeback win in extra innings against No. 25 Louisville, breaking a school record for hits in a single game.
“We broke through on Wednesday, you know,” head coach Rachel Lawson said. “We came back, and we chipped away, and we had a program record in hits. So, it’s going to take that kind of an effort to make sure we’re on point. We can break through at any time. It’s just a matter of getting focused and doing the right thing.”
Lawson said Kentucky’s conference record does not speak to how good the team really is. The Cats have had to play a gauntlet of a schedule in conference play, with all but one of their conference opponents this season currently sitting in the top 11 nationally.
One of the things that has constantly hurt the Cats are errors – they lead the SEC with their 24 errors during conference play. Kentucky recorded three errors in the game one loss to Texas, including a dropped fly ball in left field by Reaghan Oney on the first ball put in play.
“Well, you have to do better,” Lawson said. “From the first play of the game, we just didn’t look sharp on defense. A team like Texas, they can do everything. So when you allow extra base runners to get on base, it’s hard to manage the game.”
The loss to Texas dropped Kentucky to .500 for the first time this season. A .500 record is the cutline to qualify for selection into the NCAA Tournament. While the Cats have struggled in conference play, they still have a resume worthy of consideration if they can stay at or above .500.
Prior to postseason play, Kentucky was ranked No. 46 in RPI with multiple Quad one and Quad two wins, including two victories against current top-25 teams.
The Cats went on to drop game two 6-1, and the third 11-2. This moved Kentucky to tie its 2003 record.
