LEXINGTON, Ky. – With runners on first and second in the bottom of the eighth inning in a tied rubber match, senior Rylea Smith stepped to the plate in front of a season-high crowd of 2,117 fans and roped a walk-off double into the left-center gap to score Alexia Lacatena and walk off a series win over No. 13 Alabama at John Cropp Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats led 3-2 going into the seventh inning, but an Alabama run tied the game in the top of the seventh inning on an opposite-field hit to right and sent the game to extras. Alabama got a base runner on in the top of the eighth inning, but Stephanie Schoonover used one of her four strikeouts to end the threat and gave Kentucky a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the eighth. Lauryn Borzilleri was walked and Erin Coffel fisted a single into LF to put two on with an out as Smith then won the game on a double into left center.
Schoonover picked up her second win of the series in the circle, going the distance Saturday with two earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts to up her record to 13-5 on the season. Alabama starting pitcher Kayla Beaver went the first four innings and Jocelyn Briski took the loss as she pitched the final 3.1 innings allowing the walk-off in the eighth to Smith after throwing three scoreless innings prior to the eighth in relief.
The series win for Kentucky is its first of the year in the vaunted Southeastern Conference, as Thursday and Saturday’s wins marked wins number three and four on the season over the current construction of the top-25 polls. UK is now 23-12 on the year with a 2-7 league record. Alabama falls to 26-8 in 2024 and is one game ahead of Kentucky in the league standings at 3-6.
Kentucky will next play Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. ET against Northern Kentucky at John Cropp Stadium with the game streamed live on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app with Dave Baker and Jenny Dalton-Hill on the call from Lexington. Tickets are available at UKathletics.com/tickets.
Rylea Smith Walks Kentucky Off as Wildcats Takes Alabama Series – UK Athletics​
The Wildcats led 3-2 going into the seventh inning, but an Alabama run tied the game in the top of the seventh inning on an opposite-field hit to right and sent the game to extras. Alabama got a base runner on in the top of the eighth inning, but Stephanie Schoonover used one of her four strikeouts to end the threat and gave Kentucky a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the eighth. Lauryn Borzilleri was walked and Erin Coffel fisted a single into LF to put two on with an out as Smith then won the game on a double into left center.
Schoonover picked up her second win of the series in the circle, going the distance Saturday with two earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts to up her record to 13-5 on the season. Alabama starting pitcher Kayla Beaver went the first four innings and Jocelyn Briski took the loss as she pitched the final 3.1 innings allowing the walk-off in the eighth to Smith after throwing three scoreless innings prior to the eighth in relief.
The series win for Kentucky is its first of the year in the vaunted Southeastern Conference, as Thursday and Saturday’s wins marked wins number three and four on the season over the current construction of the top-25 polls. UK is now 23-12 on the year with a 2-7 league record. Alabama falls to 26-8 in 2024 and is one game ahead of Kentucky in the league standings at 3-6.
Kentucky will next play Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. ET against Northern Kentucky at John Cropp Stadium with the game streamed live on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app with Dave Baker and Jenny Dalton-Hill on the call from Lexington. Tickets are available at UKathletics.com/tickets.
Rylea Smith Walks Kentucky Off as Wildcats Takes Alabama Series – UK Athletics​
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