Rachel Lawson likes her pitching staff even if she is not quite certain what roles each pitcher will have this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Borrowing a line from Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari, UK softball coach Rachel Lawson said Tuesday that “I like our pitchers” going into the season even though she lost the top two pitchers off last year’s team.
She says the pitchers have shown they are “getting it together” the last few weeks and each pitcher has been perfecting an “out” pitch that is a necessity against Southeastern Conference competition.
“The biggest question mark is we do not have a lot of experience. The most experienced is transfer Kennedy Sullivan (of Western Kentucky). She’s big-time under pressure. She is a winner,” Lawson said.
Sullivan helped Western Kentucky reach the NCAA Tournament last year and was the winning pitcher when the Hilltoppers beat UK during the season. She was 9-0 last season with a 2.44 earned run average and has a career ERA of 2.79.
Miranda Stoddard has an “outstanding” January and was 5-0 in limited duty last year with a 3.17 ERA in 53 innings. She also was a regular at third base.
Another returnee is lefty Tatum Spangler who pitched 28 innings last year with a 4-3 mark in nine games. She was also a regular in the outfield.
“Tatum worked hard in the offseason. Being a lefty, she can spin the ball. Miranda has more power,” Lawson said.
The biggest surprise has been sophomore Stephanie Schoonover who pitched only seven innings in 2021. Lawson said the ball was “jumping” out of her hand and she has hit 66 miles per hour regularly with her pitches.
“She’s not that big, so that is shocking. She has changed her type of pitches,” the UK coach said.
Lawson called freshman Izzy Harrison the “wild card” on the pitching staff.
“You do not know where the ball is going but it goes hard and spins a lot,” the UK coach said.
The most intriguing prospect could be freshman Alexia Lacatena, who pitched in the Olympics for Italy. She pitched against Team USA in the Olympics and Lawson gave her a start against SEC rival Tennessee during the fall season.
“She has a lot of big-time experience,” Lawson said.
All-American catcher Kayla Kowalik said Lacatena has been impressive and she definitely thinks the freshman will be a factor for UK this season.
“We have plenty of people. We just do not know yet how they will fit together and that’s one of the biggest things we have to assess,” Lawson said.
