COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Kentucky Softball team got dynamic pitching performances from sophomore Alexia Lacatena and junior Stephanie Schoonover to sweep a doubleheader with No. 23 Missouri on Sunday, 5-0 and 6-0 at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
With the sweep, Kentucky completes an opening-weekend shutout sweep of the Tigers to start the season 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play. The Wildcats pitching staff did not allow a run all weekend, marking the second time in program history that UK has not allowed a run in an SEC series (LSU, 2016).
Between Alexia Lacatena and Stephanie Schoonover, the pitchers for UK recorded 21 shutout innings, allowing only 14 hits on the series with 30 strikeouts. Lacatena had five strikeouts in her performance Sunday and Schoonover, who went 2-0 on the weekend, struck out 25. The Kentucky defense was also clean, not recording an error all weekend in the three games played.
Offensively, No. 16 Kentucky got huge hits off the bat of Kennedy Sullivan in game one and Rylea Smith in game two to score the runs needed in both games to win. Sullivan went 2-for-3 in the first game, with a huge two-run, two-out double into center in the top of the sixth inning of a scoreless game to score the eventual game-winning runs. In game two, Rylea Smith went 3-for-4 with a single, double and a triple and launching three RBI’s off of her bat.
The Wildcats with Sunday’s sweep improve to 16-5-1 on the season and is now 3-0 in the SEC, tied atop the standings with Tennessee, the only other league team to sweep their opening-weekend series.
UK’s trip to the Midwest continues into Tuesday, as the Wildcats will take on St. Louis University at 5 p.m. ET from the Billiken Sports Complex.
Schoonover and Lacatena Pitch Kentucky to Sweep of Missouri – UK Athletics​
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With the sweep, Kentucky completes an opening-weekend shutout sweep of the Tigers to start the season 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play. The Wildcats pitching staff did not allow a run all weekend, marking the second time in program history that UK has not allowed a run in an SEC series (LSU, 2016).
Between Alexia Lacatena and Stephanie Schoonover, the pitchers for UK recorded 21 shutout innings, allowing only 14 hits on the series with 30 strikeouts. Lacatena had five strikeouts in her performance Sunday and Schoonover, who went 2-0 on the weekend, struck out 25. The Kentucky defense was also clean, not recording an error all weekend in the three games played.
Offensively, No. 16 Kentucky got huge hits off the bat of Kennedy Sullivan in game one and Rylea Smith in game two to score the runs needed in both games to win. Sullivan went 2-for-3 in the first game, with a huge two-run, two-out double into center in the top of the sixth inning of a scoreless game to score the eventual game-winning runs. In game two, Rylea Smith went 3-for-4 with a single, double and a triple and launching three RBI’s off of her bat.
The Wildcats with Sunday’s sweep improve to 16-5-1 on the season and is now 3-0 in the SEC, tied atop the standings with Tennessee, the only other league team to sweep their opening-weekend series.
UK’s trip to the Midwest continues into Tuesday, as the Wildcats will take on St. Louis University at 5 p.m. ET from the Billiken Sports Complex.
Schoonover and Lacatena Pitch Kentucky to Sweep of Missouri – UK Athletics​
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