After surviving Saturday in an elimination game against Illinois, the Cats continued to play with their season on the line needing to win two straight against the Utah Utes to advance to the Super Regional.

In the must-win first game of the day, the Cats used a dominant third inning to overwhelm Utah in a victory.

In the top of the third, an error allowed Christian Stokes to score from second base to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. Nikki Sagermann immediately followed with a two-out RBI single to left field to extend the lead to 2-0.

Abbey Cheek finished off the inning with a two-run home run, scoring Sagermann on the play as well. At the end of the inning, UK led the Utes 4-0, which eventually became the final score of the game.

Meagan Prince got the win on the mound, as she dominated in 5.1 innings allowing no runs with just six hits and two walks. She moved to 21-5 on the year.

Following a short break, a win-or-go-home game between the Cats and the Utes was set to take place, with the winner moving forward to the Tallahassee Super Regional in Florida next weekend.

The game began with four straight scoreless innings, as both pitchers willed their teams to defensive stops.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, however, the Utes managed to connect on four consecutive hits to make a dent in the scoreboard, a 3-0 lead.

It wouldn’t take long for the Cats to bounce back, as Jenny Schaper hit a lead-off homer in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Utah lead to 3-1.

After the Utes responded with another run in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 4-1, the Cats had to fight back with an impressive comeback effort if they had any hopes of keeping their season alive. In the bottom of the sixth, they did just that.

Freshman Katie Reed hit a RBI double to score Sylver Samuel to cut the deficit to two runs.

Then Cheek and Schaper both managed to get on base, loading the bases with two outs for Brooklin Hinz at the plate. Hinz delivered with an RBI infield single to cut the lead to just one run.

Senior pitcher Kelsey Nunley stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and two outs with a chance to tie the game or potentially take the lead. After a hard-fought at-bat, Nunley was called out on strikes to end the inning.

Making matters worse for the Cats, Utah managed to add another run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-3.

In the team’s final shot at the plate, UK sent two deep shots to the warning track, but both landed in the gloves of the defense, with the latter being the final nail in the coffin on another WCWS run for the Cats. UK’s season was over on a heartbreaking 5-3 loss on their home field.

With the defeat comes the end to a historic season for the softball team, as they finished with a 46-14 record, second in the SEC, and 11 victories against top 25 teams.

As the season comes to a close, it’s necessary to acknowledge the careers for each of the five Cats who played their final collegiate game today. The senior class consisting of Nunley, Samuel, Stokes, Maisie Steed and Ansley Smith each managed to leave their mark on a program that has reached a level of success it has never seen before.

For UK head coach Rachel Lawson, saying goodbye to this incredible senior class is tough, but she is certainly thankful for them turning the program around as a whole.

“I think about what this program has become,” Lawson said. “We have opened up a brand new stadium, we have a ton of wins, we have been to three straight super regionals, we were in a Women’s College World Series, and there are softball players all over the country who never get to say that.”