Staff report | @KYKernelSports

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After dropping a mid-week showdown with No. 11 Louisville, the No. 21 ranked UK softball team hit the road for a pivotal SEC matchup with South Carolina. UK (27-10, 8-4 SEC) swept the series behind good pitching and infield defense.

In the first game, freshman Kelsey Nunley was the star yet again as she pitched a complete game, allowing one run on six hits for win number 16 on the year. Her 16 wins put her in a tie for fifth on the single season wins list. Graduate assistant Chanda Bell holds the record with 19 in 2009.

UK got run support from freshman infielder Christian Stokes and senior outfielder Alice O’Brien, who each hit home runs to spur the Cats to a 3-1 victory.

In the second game the Cats got another gutsy performance from Nunley, who pitched seven innings to pick up win No. 17 on the year in a 9-4 win. After giving up four runs in the first inning Nunley kept the Gamecocks scoreless over the next six innings, helping the Cats to the series-clinching win.

Junior first baseman Lauren Cumbess went 2-3 with a two-run home run to tie the game in the third inning. Eight other UK players recorded hits in the game.

In the final game of the series the Cats pulled out a close one to complete the sweep, winning 4-3 thanks to a complete game by Cumbess on the mound.

Cumbess allowed three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts on the day, while also carrying the team at the plate with her two-hit, two-RBI performance.

The win was head coach Rachel Lawson’s 66th SEC win as UK head coach, which is more conference wins than the entire program had before her arrival six years ago.

The win was also the Cats’ sixth straight SEC victory, tying the school record.

UK hosts Marshall on Tuesday in a rescheduled game to make up for a previous rainout. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. After a Wednesday doubleheader at Eastern Kentucky, UK will host Florida for a three-game weekend series to officially open the newly renovated UK Softball Complex.