HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team will travel down I-75 to Lexington tomorrow to face the Wildcats for a single game. The matchup against Kentucky will take place at 5 p.m., with the action carried live on ESPN3 and SEC Network+.
 
Northern Kentucky University Norse (7-17)
No. 15/15 University of Kentucky Wildcats (25-4)
March 22 – 5 p.m.
John Cropp Stadium (1,500); Lexington, Ky.
TV: ESPN3/SEC Network+ // Dave Baker (play-by-play), Carol Bruggeman (analyst) and Dorian Craft (analyst)
Series History: First Meeting
 
Last Time Out
In their last game at Memphis, Northern Kentucky lost 7-0 after Memphis pitcher Molly Smith tossed a three-hit shutout. In the loss, Jordan Harbacek, Sydney Ferrante, and Alina Maher all gathered a hit, marking the only hits of the game for the Norse. Charlie Nolen took the loss for NKU, moving to 3-8 on the year after giving up two earned runs on three hits and three walks in just two innings of work.
 
Scouting Kentucky
Kentucky moved to 25-4 on the year after taking two of three from Ole Miss last weekend. The Wildcats were led by Nikki Sagermann, who hit a solo home run and a double while also drawing a walk against Ole Miss. Currently, Kentucky has three players batting over .400. Katie Reed is hitting .422, Sylver Samuel is batting .411, and Brooklin Hinz is batting .406. As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .320 on the year while holding opponents to just .183 at the plate.  Abbey Cheek leads the team in RBIs with 32. Kelsey Nunley leads the team in ERA with 0.86 in 73.0 innings pitching to a 10-2 record. Meagan Prince is second on the team with a 1.47 ERA in 71.1 innings pitched while the team collectively maintains a 1.54 earned run average while their opponents have a 5.95 ERA.
 
The Series
The game against Kentucky tomorrow will mark the first time that Northern Kentucky has ever played Kentucky in softball. NKU comes into the game with a record of 7-17 while UK comes into the matchup with a record of 25-4.
 
On a Tear
Alina Maher has been on a tear to start the season. She is batting .313 and slugging .609. She leads the team in home runs with five and total bases with 39.