Kentucky Takes Down 'Dogs In Opening Game Of Series, 6-4
Kentucky Erupts For 12 Hits, Rallies Behind Pitching Gem LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Kentucky softball team (17-18, 2-8 SEC) erupted for six runs in the first three innings to rally behind a complete game gem from starting pitcher Morgan Marr and slip past Mississippi State (23-18, 5-7), 6-4, in the opening game of a three-game series Saturday afternoon at the UK Softball Complex. Iyhia McMichael plated and scored a run on a 2-for-4 hitting day to pace the Bulldogs, with four other players recording base hits for State. Three different Wildcats recorded multi-hit performances at the plate for Kentucky, with catcher Lyndsey Angus recording a pair of RBIs on a 2-for-3 showing at the plate. MSU starter Jennifer Nelson (2-1) made two appearances in the game for the Bulldogs, allowing three earned runs on six Kentucky hits to saddle the loss. Marr (4-6) allowed four runs on six hits by the 'Dogs, but earned her first victory since a win over Chatanooga on February 24. Mississippi State wasted no time lighting up the rightfield scoreboard, getting Kellie Wilkerson into scoring position via a bean ball and a sacrifice bunt by Jennifer Nelson. McMichael gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead with the next at-bat, taking a 2-1 offering from Marr off the top of the eight-foot wall in left center to plate Wilkerson from second on a stand-up double. Kentucky struck back in the bottom of the first, plating a pair of runs on three-straight hits to begin the frame and chase Nelson from the circle, then used a one-out RBI single from Rachel Friberg to take a 3-1 lead into the second. Kentucky took a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning, using a leadoff single to put Jessica Nance on the paths, then scored the runner on a stolen base and a two-base error on the throw from catcher Amy Mosley. State got its break in the top of the third, getting runners on the corners with a pair of outs, then scored both when Angus' throw sailed well off its target on McMichael's stolen base attempt and was booted into left centerfield. However, Kentucky retook the three-run lead in the bottom of the frame, getting a pair of runners into scoring position with two outs to set the table for a two-run single off the bat of Jennifer Howland for a 6-3 advantage. State attempted a two-out rally in the sixth, utilizing a Kentucky error to load the bases with a pair of outs on the board, but Marr regained her composure and got pinch hitter Blaire Brown on a grounder to second to end the threat. The Bulldogs rallied again in the seventh, using a leadoff single by pinch hitter Jennifer Waterman and a pass ball to move a runner to third base. Wilkerson grounded out to shortstop with the next at-bat, but Andy Eilertson's pickoff throw sailed well above the head of the third baseman Friberg to allow the runner to skip home.
Game 1 - Kentucky 6, Mississippi State 4Mississippi State 102 000 1 - 4 6 2Kentucky 312 000 x - 6 12 4Nelson (1,4), Whitehead (1), Wilkerson (6)and Mosley; Marr and Angus. W - Marr (4-6).L - J. Nelson (2-1). Save - None.2B: MSU - McMichael, Waterman;UK - Angus. Att. - 146.