UK softball falls in game one of super regional | Our Sports

University of Kentucky junior pitcher Chanda Bell made one mistake Saturday, but California capitalized on that mistake to earn a 1-0 win in game one of the NCAA softball tournament super regional.

With one out in the fourth inning, California junior center fielder Frani Echavarria slugged a solo home run on a 1-2 pitch to plate what would be the game?s only run.

?(The pitch) slowed down, it didn?t get the right spin it needed,? Bell said. ?It was a high ball, so if it lacked speed it was going to be gone.?

?I?m not any home-run hitter, but I make good contact? Echavarria said. ?I just picked my pitch, and I hit it and I got it out. I wasn?t trying to do anything but get on base for my team.?

The run proved to be all California sophomore pitcher Jolene Henderson needed. Henderson surrendered just one hit in seven shutout innings while striking out four batters and walking one to improve to 38-7 on the season.

?I think my defense was what made me successful today,? Henderson said. ?I wasn?t getting a lot of K?s or anything like that. They were just fielding all the balls coming at them.?

Hosting the first NCAA tournament super regional in program history, UK had trouble getting anything going against Henderson. The Cats? best chance to score came in the third inning when sophomore right fielder Annie O?Brien walked, and senior catcher Megan Yocke singled to put runners on first and third base with two outs.

Sophomore shortstop Kara Dill then lined a ball down the third base line, but California junior third baseman Jace Williams made an excellent catch to end the threat.

?(Henderson) quick pitches, kind of,? Yocke said. ?It definitely took our hitters awhile to get used to the speed of her getting back on the mound and throwing.?

?She changes her motion throughout the game, throughout the inning, throughout the hitter,? said UK head coach Rachel Lawson of Henderson?s pitching style.

The game was played in front of a UK-record 1,717 fans, and Yocke said the Cats were not quite prepared for the raucous atmosphere.

?We?re not used to this on our home field,? she said. ?Going into Michigan we were ready for that atmosphere. Being on our home field, we?re not used to it yet so I think today was like ?whoa.??

While UK may not have surprised by the crowd?s enthusiasm, Lawson said the fans helped keep the game as close as it was.

?If anything, I think it really helped us in the situations where we did make mistakes,? she said. ?They had runners on, and I think the crowd helped really Chanda stay in the game and put some pressure on their hitters.?

Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday. If UK wins the first game, a decisive third game will be played shortly following the end of game two.

California will send Henderson back to the circle for the game two start, but Lawson has not decided whether she will send Bell out again.

?I thought Chanda did an exceptional job (today),? Lawson said. ?I?m going to wake up tomorrow and see how she feels.?

While UK tallied just one hit in the game, Yocke and Lawson said there were positives on offense the Cats could take into Sunday.

?We hit a lot of line drives that were shots,? Lawson said. ?We can feel pretty good about that.?

?I told the team to take everything good we did today into tomorrow,? Yocke said. ?If we don?t, then it?s just like starting fresh again.?

Bell fell to 15-7 on the season after surrendering one run on six hits in six innings. She struck out eight batters and walked none.

?I felt like it was a pretty good day for me, besides that one pitch,? she said. ?It?s kind of upsetting that one pitch can change the whole game.?

Box Score

By Jon Hale
jon@kyforward.com

Photo of Chanda Bell by Jon Hale.

Source: http://www.kyforward.com/our-sports/2011/05/28/uk-softball-falls-in-game-one-of-super-regional/

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