Jaci Babbs had a bunt single to lead off the ninth inning and scored the winning run against Louisville on a sacrifice fly by Lauren Johnson. (Vicky Graff Photo)
When she had to deliver, Lauren Johnson did. The senior infielder/outfielder had an RBI double in the seventh inning Wednesday night to force extra innings against Louisville and then hit a sacrifice fly with one out in the ninth to drive in the winning run in the 6-5 win for Kentucky
“I just focused on playing my role and moving runners,” said Johnson, a .368 hitter this season. “Just get a quality at-bat and see what happens. I just knew I had to drive it to the green (outfield).”
Coach Rachel Lawson said Johnson “begged me” to put her in the lineup against Louisville rather than not let her play because of a back issue.
“I am glad she did and I listened to her,” Lawson said. “From an offensive standpoint she’s not one of the people in the boxscore you notice but she always does great things.”
Kentucky (31-10, 6-9 SEC) desperately needed this win going into a weekend series with LSU. The Cats have lost three straight SEC series to Tennessee, Georgia, and Auburn since winning a series over Alabama.
“Frustrating is a nice word for it,” Lawson said. “It is great (to win). I think the way we won was also good.”
Kentucky never led until Johnson’s sacrifice fly ended the game.
“We are used to winning but to stay and grind and grind and stay in the game long enough to win says a lot about our resilience,” Lawson said. “We can build on that. We got stronger as the game went on. That mindset and tenacity hopefully will carry us into the LSU series.”
Johnson knows it will.
“It is huge (to win). Any time you are playing an in-state team then it is important to represent Kentucky. We really needed that win,” Johnson, who also had a key catch in left field in the seventh inning, said. “You could tell how good a team we are. I think it just proves when we are tied or down we can come back. We proved that and no matter what we are going to keep fighting. That builds confidence in our team going into the home stretch.
“There was a different vibe on our team tonight. Everyone was playing confident and not tight. Wins like these just push us forward.”
Lawson knows two other things that will help push UK forward — a solidified batting order and better defense.
“I keep changing the (batting) lineup. I have got to settle on one,” Lawson said. “They also got a lot of runs because we didn’t make plays. We have got to get faster on defense soon and play at another level or great teams will pick us apart.”
