Friday, the UK softball team played game one of their weekend series against No. 3 Oregon, fighting for a chance to advance to the Women’s College World Series.

The Cats were defeated 4-0, thanks to a disastrous 3-run sixth inning for the Ducks.

Meagan Prince struggled mightily in the rematch against the third-seeded Ducks, as she only notched two strikeouts and gave up all four runs for the Cats. She began the game-wrecking sixth inning by walking two batters and hitting another, loading the bases before the ball was ever put in play.

The Ducks then achieved two straight groundout RBI as the Oregon batters only had to put the ball in play for their teammates to score.

The other featured star of the UK defense, All-SEC First Team shortstop Katie Reed, committed a rare error for the second straight game in this NCAA tournament.

The Cats surrendered a run due to Reed’s error, and it was the final run of the game as it put the Ducks up by four. Despite her late struggle, Reed notched one of the three hits for the Cats to lead off the game.

The Oregon defense preyed on the offensive disconnection from the Cats, as dominant pitcher Megan Kleist struck out eight batters, posting a ridiculous 72.2 strike percentage.

The Cats will try to hold off elimination Saturday. A loss in game two would result in the young team being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament without reaching the Women’s College World Series. Every game for the Cats now is to keep their season alive, as they’ll try to continue their unlikely season at 7 p.m. Saturday.