After a weekend road trip in Baton Rouge, UK softball headed back home for a Wednesday night battle against in-state foe Eastern Kentucky. 

The Colonels were the first  team to get on the score board in the game, but it was the Cats who were able to come out with the victory thanks to a strong sixth inning.

Both sides started out of the gate fairly slow, with neither team producing much of anything through the first three innings. Neither team was able to get a hit at the plate until the bottom of the third, when UK freshman Katie Reed singled to right field.

With Reed on first base, senior outfielder Sylver Samuel managed to get a single out of a bunt to give the Cats two base runners. A wild pitch advanced both runners, and then Maisie Steed walked to load up the bases with two outs. 

UK was unable to convert, however, as Nikki Sagermann struck out in the following at-bat.

In the top of the fourth, EKU was also able to find some success at the plate, capitalizing with a left field home run by Hannah Clark to give the Colonels a 1-0 lead over UK.

Despite getting three runners on base in the fifth inning, the Cats were unable to put any runs on the board to cut the deficit. 

In the sixth inning, however, momentum swung heavily in UK’s favor after a massive two run shot over the fence in right field by Abbey Cheek.

The homer was Cheek’s sixth of the year and it couldn’t have come at a more importnt time, as it put the struggling Cats in front 2-1. 

After scoring a run in the fourth inning, Eastern closed out the game struggling to recapture the momentum and add to its lead.  

The Cats only allowed one hit in the last three innings to the Colonels and a lot of credit has to go to the Cats pitching staff. 

Junior Shannon Smith got the start for the Cats and despite giving up a run, tallied seven strikeouts against the Colonels. 

After Smith was replaced to start the fifth inning, junior Meagan Prince was able to come in and keep Eastern from building on the lead with three strikeouts.

Prince’s strike out finish in the top of the seventh inning gave UK their 35th win on the year and her 16th on the mound, a team high. 

The Cats move to 35-8 on the year and 11-4 in the SEC, still back just one game in the conference behind Florida for first place.

UK will have two days off before they head back to conference play at John Cropp Stadium against Missouri at 6 p.m. ET on Friday night.