The No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats' softball team entered Monday night’s showdown with No. 8 LSU looking to break out the brooms, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Kentucky led 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when a heavy downpour brought a halt to the action at 6:52 P.M., and despite a valiant effort by the UK grounds crew to prep the field, the SEC office called a halt to the proceedings an hour and a half later.

NCAA rules state that each team must have five turns at bat for a game to count in the record books, essentially making the tilt non-existent.

However, despite the disappointing outcome, Coach Rachel Lawson's team put on a tremendous exhibition of softball before the rain started to fall.

Kentucky loaded the bases in the bottom of the first with a trio of singles from Reed, Vick, and Martens. Reed scurried home on a popout by Schaper and was safe due to an error by the LSU first baseman. Then, with one out, Cheek clobbered a three-run homer to the deepest part of center field.

The flurry of runs was enough to chase LSU starter Allie Walljasper from the game, having given up three earned runs and four hits to the first five batters she faced.

The Cats did not have to wait long to hang more runs on the board. With two out in the bottom of the second inning, a Schaper single scored Martens, who doubled earlier in the frame. Following a beanball on Cheek, brought a weak infield hit by Hinz, seemingly destined to be the third out, instead turned into a costly error by LSU that allowed two more UK runners to cross home plate.

Senior starter Erin Rethlake tossed 3.1 scoreless innings. She gave up four hits, walked two batters and struck out one.

Freshman Grace Baalman replaced Rethlake and recorded two outs to get UK out of the top of the third.

The Cats will take to the diamond on Wednesday at Morehead State. First pitch is at 3:00 P.M.