Autumn Humes (UK Athletics Photo)
Many Kentucky fans consider this a basketball state. Some, like me, have always claimed it is also a football state. But maybe we are all wrong because UK coach Rachel Lawson certainly hinted Monday that Kentucky is a softball state as her Cats (20-2) get set to host Eastern Kentucky tonight and Western Kentucky Thursday.
She said in-state rivalry games are always “difficult” for Kentucky because other teams are “good” even if not everyone understands that.
“In softball, the state of Kentucky is sort of a hidden gem,” Lawson said. “Eastern always does well in its conference. Western does. Louisville is good. Murray State we do not see often but they also do a good job.”
Kentucky has won its last 14 games against Eastern Kentucky and leads the series 25-7. Lawson is 13-0 against the Colonels. Western beat UK when the Cats were ranked in the top 15 in 2019 and has seven wins in 23 games against UK. Lawson was the head coach at Western Kentucky before coming to UK.
She said UK is one of the few Power-5 teams like Eastern and Western get to play.
“They get amped up (for Kentucky). I tell our team these are outstanding players and we have got a target on our back against them. But they are thinking about Alabama in two weeks and can’t wait for that.
“I do think as athletes they all (players at other state schools) do not get enough credit. Several of them could be on our team.
“I love softball in the state of Kentucky. There is great coaching, teams play well and a lot of us end up in the postseason.”
The ninth-ranked Cats beat No. 5 Florida 4-2 in a nine-inning game Sunday after losing the first two games to the Gators.
“I thought it was a big win for us (Sunday),” Lawson said. “I thought the first two days we were timid which is not how we played all season. We had been very aggressive. Friday and Saturday we were not sure what we were doing and were going into the (batter’s box) not knowing. They leaked into our defense and we were not at our best.”
Lawson hopes UK, which won its first 19 games, takes that aggressive approach back into this week’s games.
“We were rolling out all these wins getting a ton of confidence. Everybody was looking at the final score and not the process. The cool thing is you are gaining confidence but we usually play a couple of Pac-12 teams, face a Big Ten team, and you are challenged a little differently,” Lawson said. “Sometimes you falter and those are the moments you learn and get prepared for SEC play.
“The unfortunate part is that we had too many moments we did not have to have 100 percent mental focus and were getting away with things you do not get away with in SEC play.”
Lawson said hitters got frustrated when they struck out and Florida pitchers exposed holes in their swings. In the final game, UK made better contact at the plate and had more confidence.
Still, if not for defensive miscues UK might still have won all three games.
“The worst thing you can do is hammer a player (for an error) as long as they tried as hard as they could,” Lawson said. “Defense is something we can continue to get better at and we have got to get better at.”
Kentucky still leads the SEC in numerous offensive categories despite losing two of three games at Florida but Lawson is just as happy with the pitching. Senior Autumn Humes went 13 innings at Florida and gave up just three earned runs and got the win Sunday to improve to 9-1.
“Humes showed a lot of stamina and that says a lot about her self-discipline (in off-season training,” Lawson said. “I was also really impressed with Miranda Stoddard. I know she didn’t get a start but she came into two incredibly difficult situations and shut the team down. That’s the first time she’s been in that position in a Kentucky uniform. I was really impressed with how Miranda handled the pressure.”
