Kentucky Shells Cal Pitching, Wins 8-0 In 5th Inning Mercy Rule

The second game of the Lexington super-regional was no contest.  Kentucky ran Joleen Henderson after three innings, and her replacement, freshman Arianna Erceg, fared no better.  Only a ridiculously athletic outfield double-play by Jamia Reid in the bottom of the 4th prevented the margin from becoming truly ugly, likely 10+ runs.  Rachel Riley got the call as pitcher, and although she was nowhere near as dominant batter for batter as Chanda Bell was yesterday, she still pitched a 5-hit shutout

Kentucky displayed remarkable poise compared to last game, especially with bats in hand.  They handled Henderson with aplomb with timely (although anything but powerful) hitting and solid base running to get an early 5 run lead.  After Henderson gave way to Erceg, Kentucky really began exerting themselves offensively.  Kentucky ended the game with 8 runs on 10 hits with 1 error, and scored in every compete inning.

Cal was very shaky fielding the ball in this game with multiple errors.  In addition, no less than two Cal runners were called out on unusual plays, one when Victoria Jones got hit by the ball while advancing to second on an infield hit by Ashley Decker.  Another happened when Elia Reid interfered with UK 2nd baseman Samantha DeMartine while advancing to second on an infield hit by her sister, Jamia.  Elia was called out for interference, and Rachel Riley ended the game by getting Cal shortstop Britt Vonk to fly out to left.

This Kentucky victory sets up the decisive rubber match in just a few hours.  The previous open thread will be promoted back to the top, and you can leave your comments there as well.