Rylie Smith had a game-tying home run in the seventh inning and then drove in the winning run in the eighth inning.
When Kentucky got behind 4-0 to No. 3 Alabama in the sixth inning Monday even coach Rachel Lawson admitted she was a bit down. Then she remembered how Kentucky was down 6-0 to Alabama in the opening game of the series but came back to get four runs off star pitcher Montana Fouts.
Lawson said that let her believe there was “still hope” and she was right. Kentucky rallied to tie the game with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to force extra innings and then got the winning run in the eighth to beat the Crimson Tide 5-4.
Lawson said she couldn’t remember a Kentucky team hitting the ball harder from batter one through nine against pitchers as good as what Alabama had.
“After they scored four we could have buried ourselves,” Lawson said.
Instead, freshman shortstop Erin Coffel launched her 12th homer of the season in the sixth to start the rally before Renee Abernathy and Kylie Smith launched back-to-back homers leading off the seventh inning to tie the game.
“Everyone in the dugout had faith (in Abernathy and Smith). That was awesome. I know they can both do it,” Coffel said.
Smith drove in the winning run in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, she hit a chopper to shortstop. Tatum Spangler barely beat the throw home to score the winning run and touch off a UK on-field celebration.
Smith said she was no hero but did admit it felt good to bring home the winning run.
“We just knew we had to string something together and things would have to fall eventually,” Smith said. “Knowing we were making contact and putting balls in play, we had faith we could pull something through.”
Lawson told her before her final at-bat that she just needed something “bouncy” and nothing “too crazy” from her, something she knew she could do.
“I knew I didn’t need to pull something crazy out of nowhere,” Smith said.
No she didn’t but Kentucky (25-4) certainly pulled out something crazy to take two out of three games against Alabama and is now 3-3 in SEC play after facing Florida and Alabama, two of the nation’s top teams.
