Cats blast Notre Dame, advance to super regional
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky bookended its first big offensive moment of the Lexington Regional with another on Sunday as Abbey Cheek drilled a home run off her own image on the left-field videoboard to cap an 8-0 walk-off win over Notre Dame.
The blast by Cheek, the 16th of the season for the junior third baseman, sent the Wildcats (34-19) on to the NCAA Super Regional next week in Eugene, Ore.
It was nearly a carbon copy of the walk-off grand slam by Jenny Schaper off the videoboard in Saturday's opener against Illinois-Chicago.
Kentucky run-ruled all three opponents in the Lexington Regional, winning 10-1 over UIC, and 10-0 and 8-0 in two games against Notre Dame. Rachel Lawson's squad had eight hits on Sunday, bringing its weekend total to 25. Four of those left the ballpark.
The Cats' pitching was equally impressive. Senior right-hander Erin Rethlake (11-4) opened the game in the circle for Kentucky, her second start in three games, and showed no signs of fatigue.
After allowing a single and walk in the first inning, Rethlake retired 16 of the final 17 batters she faced. The Indiana native finished her final game at John Cropp Stadium with a one-hit shutout in which she struck out three batters and walked two.
A night after the seminal moment in her Kentucky career, Rachael Metzger provided another moment of offensive brilliance. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning, Metzger cleared the bases with a double to deep center field.
Metzger needed just two hits to notch a team-high seven RBI during the regional.
Kentucky picked up right where it left off against the Fighting Irish in the first inning. Sophomore Alex Martens belted her seventh home run of the campaign deep to centerfield to give Kentucky a 2-0 lead.
Martens matched Brooklin Hinz for a team-high two hits on the day.
Schaper extended the Kentucky lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the next inning via a two-out double to deep center field.
Freshman right fielder Lauren Johnson drove in the Cats’ fourth run an inning later courtesy of a two-out single.
Notre Dame (34-23) leaned on freshman Alexis Holloway. However, after a gutsy effort against Michigan in a 2-1 win earlier in the day, a spent Holloway (22-15) could only give the Irish four innings of work. She gave up six runs on four hits and walked four batters against three strike outs.
Junior Cait Brooks gave Holloway a breather for 1.2 innings but was not able to stop the bleeding. She gave up two runs on four hits and walked two Kentucky hitters.
With the victory, Kentucky earned the right to face the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. It marks the Cats’ third trip in four years and sixth in program history to the super regionals.