Cats run rule Cards in softball 8-0 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

15 HITS ROCK CARDS, HENSLEY IN 5 INNING WIN

On a cold evening in Lexington at John Cropp Stadium -- a night more suited for a chilly football game or curling on the sidewalk -- Kentucky's bats were hot and pounded Louisville tosser Megan Hensley for 4 2/3 innings before the contest was stopped in the bottom of the fifth due to  the "run rule" in an 8-0 victory over Louisville. 

"We made some bad mental mistakes defensively." Sandy Pearsall commented after the game. "We knew Kentucky was going to hit the ball - they are a good hitting team - and our mistakes came back to haunt us. I thought we used our speed to get on base and get into scoring position but we did not do a good job of bringing them home." 

With the thermometer at 42 degrees at first pitch, the teams went through 1 1/2 innings of scoreless softball before the Cats put two runs across the plate in the bottom of the second. Freshmen Mallory Peyton and Lauren Johnson's singles were the at-bats putting UK in the driver's seat. 

The Cards continued to give up hits but were able to keep Kentucky from crossing the plate again until the fateful fifth inning. Six hits...(five singles and a double) plus a walk and costly UofL fielding error allowed UK to add six runs to their lead. Jenny Schaper's single plated pitcher Erin Rethlake to push the eighth run of the game across the plate and end the contest. 

Rethlake allowed just four Louisville hits in five Cardinal innings at-bat.  Sidney Melton produced two singles, Maddy Newman's single and Celine Funke's single were the only damage UofL was able to inflict on Rethlake, who went to 6-3 on the season. The Cards threatened in the third when Melton and Newman had hits but were stranded and in the fifth when Funke single and advanced to third on a steal an error but got no further. 

A look at the in-state UK v. UK rivalry in various sports this season shows a Cards win in football, women's soccer and women's basketball but losses in baseball, men's basketball and softball. The two schools tied in men's soccer. 

With the softball victory, UK is now 22-11 on the year, the Cards 24-12. 

Louisville returns to Ulmer Stadium for a three game series against Virginia that starts on Friday. With unseasonably cold temperatures forecast for the weekend and a chance of a winter storm Saturday, it's possible we'll see some game time changes or even cancellation of a couple of these.