Kentucky pitching has to get better and sharper before postseason play

Freshman Izzy Harrison is one of the pitchers coach Rachel Lawson is hoping will continue to improve before postseason play. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Kentucky softball is 22-7 going into tonight’s home game with Ohio State even though coach Rachel Lawson admits the pitching has been way more “unpredictable” than she would like.

‘Me being the control freak that I am, unpredictability on the mound is something I have a hard time with. I believe in all of them and they have good stuff. Each one has put out something great,” said Lawson.

“I would feel a little more comfortable if one person would just step up and be more consistent in what they do well but right now I love the fight in them, I love they are playing hard together. I like what I am seeing but we are not even close to where we need to be.”

Lawson has six pitchers who have been in nine or more games. They have pitched between 18 and 50 innings going into tonight’s game.

So is it good or bad this far into the season — UK has already played six Southeastern Conference games — to be using so many pitchers?

“I ask myself that question all the time. On the one hand it is good that I can because it creates matchups with the other team. On the other hand, there is definitely somebody in the group that needs to step up but it’s hard to step up when you don’t get the ball consistently. It’s like a double-edged sword,” the Kentucky coach said.

“So every day I ask myself, do I just go ahead and put this person in and let them …. they are all young and inexperienced. Tatum (Spangler) is the only one that is older and she doesn’t have a lot of experience being a multi-position player.

“That is the question of the hour. As a coach, I struggle with that and wish I knew. I am not trying to be a super coach]. At the end of the day the best players tend to rise to the top and win games and that’s what we need to do.”

Freshman Alexia Lacatena, who was on the Italian Olympic team, is 6-1 with 2.36 earned run average in 32 2/3 innings. She has 22 strikeouts.

Junior Miranda Stoddard is 5-3 with a 3.62 ERA in a team-high 50 1/3 innings. She has a team-high 10 complete games (Lacatena and sophomore Stephanie Schoonover both have six complete games). Junior Sloan Gayan is 4-0 in 28 innings with a team-best 1.50 ERA . Schoonover in 3-2 in 27 innings with a 4.30 ERA and team-best 28 strikeouts.

Senior Kennedy Sullivan is 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA in nine outings while freshman Izzi Harrison has a 1-0 record and 3.50 ERA in 18 innings. Spangler, a senior, is 1-0 in three appearances in 4 2/3 innings.

Lacatena has started game one of each SEC series against Alabama and Auburn. Lawson is liking what she’s doing more every time she pitches.

“Some of it is just getting stronger. With the whole COVID thing and super senior thing, she is going up against people a lot older than she is. Some of it is getting comfortable with a different pitch caller. I am different,” Lawson said.

“I am actually developing other pitches so she has a bigger mix in her arsenal. Every day she gets better. She loves softball. .She is going to be somebody to really fight and be really good in the future.”

Lawson said the unpredictability on the mound has made her adjust. Normally she gets a scouting plan to use her pitcher’s strengths against a batter’s weakness. Now instead of a “pitch ahead, I am one pitch behind” because of the inconsistency.

“I don’t want it to be about me. I love that they are spinning the ball, they are trusting their stuff, they are going out there. I ask them to stand on the mound and be in the middle of the fire and they are doing that,” she said.

“They are not putting up a lot of walks. There are some walks but they have cut that down, so that shows me they have real courage and guts. I am happy with their attitude. I just think we need to get a little bit better and sharper if we want to make a really deep run (in postseason play).”