The No. 4 Texas A&M Softball team hits the road for a three-game series at No. 18 Kentucky, beginning Friday night at 5 p.m.
Texas A&M enters the weekend series with a 40-5 (14-3 SEC) record. Riley Sartain leads the team with a .387 average with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. Kristen Cuyos and Tori Vidales have each added 10 home runs while Cuyos is second on the team with 37 RBI. The Aggies hold a 1.41 team ERA, led by Trinity Harrington (12-2, 1.20) and Samantha Show (16-3, 1.42 ERA). Lexi Smith is 11-0 on the year and has a 1.46 ERA.
The Aggies are coming off a sweep against Georgia for their sixth conference series victory of the season in as many tries. Keeli Milligan led the offense with .500 weekend while Show added two dingers. Sartain and Ashley Walters each slugged a home run. Show also tossed two complete-game victories, while Lexi Smith closed out the series with a 6-hit shutout.
Kentucky is currently 32-13 (9-9 SEC) on the season, and is led offensively by Bailey Vick, who dons a .350 average and Abby Cheek, who powers UK with 10 homers and 33 RBI. In the circle, Meagan Prince is 16-6 with a 1.50 ERA, while Erin Rethlake is 9-2 with a 1.36 ERA.
Texas A&M and Kentucky have met six times in school history with both schools winning three games. The teams first met in 2014 in Lexington, Ky., where the Aggies won the first game, 6-1, but fell in the last two. In 2015, the Wildcats traveled to College Station where Texas A&M won the first two games of the series, but fell in the finale.
Texas A&M pitching coach Kara Dill returns to Lexington, where she served as an All-SEC shortstop and volunteer assistant for coach Kara Lawson and the Kentucky Wildcats. By the time she ended her career (2009-13), Dill finished eighth in hits with 201, sixth in stolen bases with 57, fifth in batting average at .330 and seventh in runs scored with 119 to go along with two All-SEC selections.
Dill was named to the Frank G. Ham Society of Character, which annually honors Kentucky athletes who have shown an extraordinary commitment to academic excellence, athletic participation, personal development, career preparation and serving as a role model.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast on the SEC Network with Pam Ward and Cheri Kempf on the call, while Friday and Sunday’s contests can be seen on SEC Network +, available through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. All three games can be heard locally on Willy 1550 AM.
