No. 22 Kentucky lit up the scoreboard in an 11-4 win in the series opener against the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels Friday evening at John Cropp Stadium.

The Wildcats (24-13, 8-5) had 17 hits as a team, their most since a 2013 contest against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Cats also had four players (Jenny Schaper, Kelsee Henson, Alex Martens and Abbey Cheek) record three or more hit games.

Schaper, the team's senior catcher, was 4-of-4 at the plate with a double and two RBIs.

Martens, a junior second baseman, went 3-of-4, with a home run and a double to go along with four RBI, pushing her team lead to 43 in that category.

Kentucky wasted no time establishing an early 2-0 lead. Schaper and Cheek lead off with back-to-back singles. From there a pair of one-out doubles by Martens and senior Katie Reed.

The Cats extended their edge to 6-0 with a three-hit, four-run second inning. Schaper started the rally with an RBI single. Kayla Kowalik's two-out walk set the stage for Martens' three-run moonshot to right field, her seventh of the campaign.

A two-run rocket to left-center field by Cheek, her 13th of the season, highlighted a four-run 3rd inning for the Cats. Sophomore Lauren Johnson's two-out RBI single started the scoring, and a double by Schaper scored her a batter later.

Kentucky starter, junior Autumn Humes (9-6), came out on fire in the circle. The junior retired nine of the first ten batters she faced before struggling to close the Rebels out. A trio of home runs by the visitors across the 4th, 5th and 6th innings was enough to end Humes' evening. She gave up four runs on six hit and also struck out six batters.

The Cats added an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th on senior Kelsee Henson's RBI single.

Grace Baalman tossed two scoreless innings in relief for the Cats.

The loss drops Ole Miss’ record to 25-10 on the season and 5-4 in the SEC. The Rebels Molly Jacobsen (10-3) and Ava Tillman struggled to contain the Cats offense, and the result was the pair giving up a season-high total of runs.

Kentucky looks to take the series Saturday at 2 p.m.