Kentucky softball closes road trip with win over EKU
Kentucky senior Katie Reed prepares to catch a ball during the game against Miami University (OH) on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky won 9-1. Photo by Jordan Prather | Staff
April 3, 2019
The No. 22 UK softball team (23-13, 7-5 SEC) moved on from its road series loss against the Arkansas Razorbacks this past weekend by defeating the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels (18-14, 5-3 OVC) in Richmond on Wednesday night, 11-5, to close out their four-game road trip.
Cats’ pitching aces Grace Baalman (5-7) and Meghan Schorman (5-0) split the workload on the mound. Baalman started and pitched the first three innings and didn’t earn any runs all while garnering five strikeouts. Schorman pitched the last four innings and earned two runs with two strikeouts and received the win.
Katie Reed had herself a day on offense– she was 3-for-3 at the plate Wednesday with four RBI. Abbey Cheek fared well, as she went 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run. The Cats’ leader in home runs this season and all-time, Cheek already has 12 on the year.
The Cats began the game with a bang thanks to Jenny Schaper smashing a solo home run to make it 1-0 Cats. Two innings later, Reed hit a two-RBI single to increase the lead to 3-0. Lauren Johnson joined in and hit an RBI double to make it 4-0 Cats in the third.
Colonels’ starting pitcher Bethany Todd (5-2) was pulled out after the third inning. She received the loss after earning three runs and giving up six hits. The Colonels deployed five more pitchers for the remainder of the game.
That same inning, though, the Colonels didn’t seem flustered. Carly Robinson walked with the bases loaded to bring home a run and Emily Corbitt hit a two-RBI single to cut the Cats’ lead to 4-3.
From that point on, the Cats did what they could to put the game out of reach. In the fourth inning, Cheek blasted her solo home run. Reed chipped in another RBI single to make it 6-3, and Kayla Kowalik hit a groundout RBI an inning later to increase the lead to 7-3.
EKU’s closest attempt at a comeback came when a two-RBI single down the first base line cut the Cats’ lead down to 7-5. But that ultimately wouldn’t matter for the Colonels because Reed, Johnson, Alex Martens and Autumn Humes would each drive in a run for a seventh inning finisher.
The Cats will get a day off Thursday before they open up a homestand against the Ole Miss Rebels Friday at 6 p.m. You can catch the broadcast on SEC Network+.