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Published Feb 11, 2022
Lawson's Cats move to 3-0 with Friday sweep
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Jeff Drummond  •  CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor
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@JDrumUK

Kentucky moved to 3-0 on the season with wins over Michigan State and Liberty on Friday in Florida.

Stephanie Schoonover tossed a complete-game shutout in the opener, a 7-0 win over the Spartans, and Erin Coffel hit a two-run, go-ahead home run in the sixth inning of the Cats' 3-1 triumph over the Flames.

The complete game was the first of Schoonover's career. The sophomore right-hander from Dothan, Ala., struck out six and walked only one while scattering three hits.

Kentucky supported her with a strong offensive attack, including a two-run triple by Renee Abernathy in the first inning to get the Cats rolling. Emmy Blane followed with a SAC-fly to make it 3-0.

Kayla Kowalik's RBI single in the third made it 4-0, and Tatum Spangler drove in Taylor Ebbs to extend the lead to 5-0 in the fourth. Coffel and Abernathy drove in the final two runs in the seventh with a SAC-fly and a ground-out, respectively.

Blane came up with another big RBI in Game 2, driving in a run to tie Liberty at 1-1 in the fourth inning leading up to Coffel's game-winning homer. That blast, the first of the season for UK, drove home Lauren Johnson, who had singled.

No. 19 Kentucky opened the season on Thursday with a 5-2 win over Wisconsin in the Northern Lights/Southern Nights Tournament in Leesburg, Fla. The Cats will return to action in that event on Saturday in a 10 a.m. matchup with Iowa.


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