No. 16 Kentucky softball (21-7-1) got the best of the rival Louisville Cardinals (22-10) as it defeated them by a score of 7-4 on Wednesday.

Sophomore Alexia Lacatena started the game on the hill for the Wildcats and got into some early trouble. A leadoff walk was followed by a double to get the Cardinals two runners in scoring position before even the first out was recorded. While she managed to record a strikeout, another walk loaded the bases before a sacrifice fly would see the Cardinals score first. Lacatena struck out the next batter to limit the damage to just the lone run.

The traffic would continue on the bases for the Cardinals as Lacatena surrendered two hits to the first two batters of the second inning, but she was able to retire the side and keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard. 

Lacatena would settle into the game and record three-up-three-down third and fourth innings.

Lacatena gave up a single in the fifth inning but was able to work around it to leave the lone base runner stranded. The Cardinals would threaten to score again in the sixth inning as they had runners on second and third, but Lacatena was able to escape the inning without giving up a run.

“It really spoke to her resiliency as a pitcher,” head coach Rachel Lawson said when asked about Lacatena. 

The pitcher returned to the mound in the seventh inning looking to end the Cardinals’ night before an error allowed a base runner to reach before a double brought her around to score. A home run by the next Cardinals’ batter soon ended Lacatena’s night.

Despite the hiccup she earned the win for her effort to improve her season record to 8-2. She finished with three runs allowed on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Senior Sloan Gayan came into the game after Lacatena and secured the final three outs and the victory for the Wildcats.

On offense Kentucky got going in the first inning when a leadoff single by all-time hits and all-time total bases leader Kayla Kowalik gave the Wildcats an early base runner. Junior Vanessa Nesby then reached on an error before Erin Coffel drew a walk to load the bases.

Senior Rylea Smith was next for the Wildcats and drove in two runs with a single up the middle to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. 

The offense was not done yet as a single by junior Meeko Harrison brought home another run and gave the Wildcats a 3-1 lead. 

In the second inning, the Wildcats’ offense was quiet outside of Kowalik’s second single of the night. 

“I want to be on so much for my team to be able to succeed and just do my job,” Kowalik said.   

Coffel led off the third inning with a walk before advancing into scoring position on a fielder’s choice. Another RBI single by Harrison then extended the Wildcats’ lead to 4-1 after three innings. 

“I think it’s just important to take it pitch by pitch moment by moment and let the rest take care of itself,” Harrison said after the game.

The Wildcats would waste no time getting back on the scoreboard as a one-out single by sophomore Margaret Tobias got a runner on for the Wildcats in the fourth inning. Following an out that advanced Tobias to second, a single by Nesby sent her to third base where Coffel would come through for the Cats as she singled into center field to make the lead 5-1 in favor of the Wildcats. 

Smith would then get her second RBI single of the night as she brought home Nesby and brought the Wildcats’ lead to 6-1. 

Junior Grace Lorsung kept the scoring going in the fourth inning when she sent a single into left field that gave the Wildcats a 7-1 lead.

“The fact we were able to square up the ball, put people on base, put pressure on the defense, I think is something that we’ll be able to take into Georgia,” Lawson said.

Despite the explosive innings, the Kentucky offense went mostly quiet in the fifth and sixth innings and, before long, victory had been claimed for Kentucky.

With the win the Wildcats will head to Athens, Georgia, to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a three game weekend series. Game one will be on Saturday, April 1, at 2 p.m. EST.