‘I have a lot of very tough people.’ Five things to know before UK softball season begins.
The ice and snow from the latest winter storm in Lexington may just have melted, but the start of the Kentucky softball season is just hours away.
Kentucky’s 2022 season will start with 15 straight games outside of the commonwealth, before the home opener at John Cropp Stadium on March 3 against Michigan.
UK’s home stadium will also feature a new video board this season.
In total, head coach Rachel Lawson’s team will play 55 regular-season games, 24 Southeastern Conference contests and 30 games against teams that, like UK, made the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Wildcats — who are led by preseason All-SEC selections sophomore shortstop Erin Coffel and senior catcher Kayla Kowalik — will play 23 home games this season on the UK campus.
In the preseason D1Softball Top 25 rankings, UK checked in at No. 20 in the country.
After reaching an NCAA super regional last year and with the record-setting Kowalik back behind home plate, here are five things to know before the Wildcats take to the diamond in 2022.
1. Kentucky aims to take the next step and return to the Women’s College World Series. The Wildcats have been to the Women’s College World Series only once in program history. That came in 2014 when Lawson and UK finished in a tie for fifth place.
The six seasons since have seen UK reach at least an NCAA regional finals in each season.
In five of the last six seasons and in the last four NCAA Tournaments, Kentucky has been eliminated in a super regional.
By playing in the best softball conference in the country, UK gets plenty of opportunities each season for both quality wins and top-level competition before the postseason begins.
UK finished in a tie for fifth last season in a stacked SEC.
“We want to win the SEC and we want to be national champions, that’s what drives us and that’s what keeps us practicing hard and that’s what keeps us going,” Lawson said during UK softball’s media day on Tuesday.
“Would I rather play in another league and win it all the time versus playing in the SEC and get to see the amazing stadiums, the outstanding players and play at the highest level? I would much rather play in the SEC.”
UK has mastered the ability to be one of the final 16 teams in the country by reaching the super regional stage, but the next step for Lawson’s program is consistently advancing past it.
2. Kayla Kowalik looks to follow a record-setting season. By any measure, Kowalik had one of the best seasons in UK softball history in 2021.
A First Team All-America selection, Kowalik posted a .495 batting average and recorded 100 hits.
Kowalik set Kentucky school records for consecutive games with a hit (26), runs scored in a season (79) and hits in a season (100).
She also hit the first 12 home runs of her college career and led UK with a .554 on-base percentage.
Kowalik caught all 24 of UK’s SEC games last season, and for the season logged a .993 fielding percentage with more than 300 innings caught behind the plate.
On the basepaths, Kowalik led the Cats with a team-high 23 stolen bases, the most by a UK player in one season since 2009.
“I think especially in my position, I’m kind of forced to be a leader,” Kowalik said. “I think I’m definitely outspoken and I have a very loud personality that allows me to be a leader.”
Kowalik is the only upperclassman catcher on the UK roster, which also features two freshman catchers: Ella Emmert (who went to Lexington Catholic) and Hallie Mitchell.
Lawson, who played as a catcher at UMass, said while it’s unrealistic to expect a player to perform as well as Kowalik did last season offensively with the schedule Kentucky plays, her expectation is for Kowalik to remain the same person.
“My hope is always that other people take on her qualities and her characteristics,” Lawson said.
3. UK must replace two key pitchers in the rotation. In the circle, UK will have to replace its two most used pitchers from a season ago.
Gone are Grace Baalman and Autumn Humes, who combined to toss more than 282 innings last season, which was equal to more than 68% of the total innings pitched by Kentucky.
Lawson, who also serves as UK’s pitching coach and calls all pitches during games, will still have some key returners though.
Junior Miranda Stoddard, who also plays third base, went 5-0 last season with an ERA just over 3 and more than 53 innings pitched.
Lawson said Tuesday that Stoddard has been one of the standout offensive players of the offseason and is the current front-runner to play at third base, but Stoddard will likely need to pitch often for UK.
Senior left-handed pitcher Tatum Spangler, who also plays in the outfield, pitched 28 innings last year and went 4-3 in the circle with six starts.
Among the newcomers in the circle for Kentucky is a former Olympian, freshman Alexia Lacatena, who pitched for Italy at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
Also joining the Cats this season is senior Kennedy Sullivan, who transferred to UK from Western Kentucky University. Sullivan, who went to Scott County High School, went 9-0 last season with a 2.44 ERA.
“We’ve just got to figure out how to put it together as a staff, we have plenty of people now that they’ve developed their out pitches,” Lawson said. “But we don’t know quite yet how we all fit together. That’s probably going to be the biggest thing we’re assessing the first weekend.”
4. In-state star set to lead UK in the outfield. Fifth-year outfielder Lauren Johnson is a consistent and experienced presence in the outfield for UK.
Johnson, who is from Owensboro and went to Daviess County High School, had a .344 batting average and 42 RBI for the Cats last season.
Joining Johnson in the UK outfield will be senior Renee Abernathy (career-highs with a batting average of .357 and 48 RBI in 2021), junior Rylea Smith (who had a walk-off, series-clinching hit against Alabama last season) and the senior Spangler, who posted 53 hits last season hitting from the two-spot.
5. Annual UK-U of L rivalry game set for early April. This season’s annual rivalry meeting between UK and Louisville is scheduled for April 6 at Louisville.
The Wildcats beat the Cardinals in extra innings last season in Lexington, and UK has won four of the last five games in the series dating back to 2016.
Other notable games for the Cats this season include the home opener on March 3 against Michigan and a standout home game on March 22 at John Cropp Stadium against Oklahoma, the defending national champions.
UK’s SEC opener will be March 18 at Alabama, the team that eliminated UK last season in the NCAA super regional.
Kentucky’s first home game in SEC play will be March 25 against Auburn.
In conference action, Kentucky will host Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and Mississippi State, each in a three-game series. Kentucky will travel to Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and South Carolina, each for a three-game series.
“With this schedule, you’re either going to thrive or you’re just going to surrender,” Lawson said. “I have a lot of very tough people who understand the value of keeping things going.”
The end-of-season SEC Tournament will take place from May 10-14 and be hosted by Florida.
The tournament is single elimination and features 13 participating teams (Vanderbilt doesn’t sponsor a softball team).
Kentucky has never won the SEC Tournament, which has been held since 1997.
This year’s Women’s College World Series will take place from June 2-10 in Oklahoma City.
Season opener
No. 20 Kentucky vs. Wisconsin
What: Northern Lights Southern Nights showcase
Where: Leesburg, Fla.
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Live broadcast: FloSoftball.com
