‘It was actually a storybook season.’ Coach envisioned World Series for UK softball.
Though it has charged right up to the doorstep for the last several seasons, the University of Kentucky softball team has reached the Women’s College World Series just once in program history. Coach Rachel Lawson believed this was the year the Wildcats were destined to make it back.
“Everybody in our program really thought we were gearing up to go to the World Series,” Lawson said.
That was before the coronavirus pandemic brought an abrupt end to what had so far been another tremendous season for UK. The Wildcats had just staged an unreal comeback, erasing an 11-run deficit to knock off Marshall 16-15 and improve to 20-4 on the year. They were about to haul that momentum into their second Southeastern Conference series of the season.
But instead of gearing up for a trip to Mississippi State, the Cats packed their bags and headed to their respective homes, left to wonder just how far they could have gone.
Numbers don’t lie
Lawson spoke with the Herald-Leader by phone last week. She said this year’s Wildcats bore a striking resemblance to the best squad of her 13-year tenure at the helm of the program, the 2014 team that made it to the College World Series.
“This team in particular reminded me so much of our 2014 team, because when we started the season there were no superstars,” Lawson said. “So because there were no superstars coming in, some of them took that role on their back and ran with it. We had some big stars emerge. Certainly, Alex Martens was no surprise to me.”
Martens, a senior second baseman, took college softball by storm this year. She led the nation with 47 RBI, 11 more than the three players tied for second. She hit nine home runs and batted .507. Martens was named the No. 3 player in the country in Softball America’s final 2020 player rankings.
But Martens didn’t do it alone; she was surrounded by teammates who were also putting up big numbers.
Senior Bailey Vick was second in the country with a .556 batting average. Junior Mallory Peyton was tied for fourth in home runs with 11, just one behind the three players tied for first. Sophomore Kayla Kowalik, who made the SEC All-Freshman Team last season, led the country in triples. Kentucky was the highest-scoring team in the country with an average of more than nine runs per game and was fourth in batting average at .362.
“Our offense was tremendous. It was probably the best overall offense we’ve ever had at Kentucky,” Lawson said. “It was actually a storybook season offensively, and we had just had two unbelievable comebacks. We were working on our defense and our pitching and they were slowly getting better and catching up to the offense.
“We were arranging some people to get things in line for a run. Certainly the optimism was there for a deep finish in the postseason. That’s also why it was so disappointing, because we were so good at so many things. But, you’ve got to move on.”
‘It’s just over’
Lawson said her biggest worry when the call was made to cancel the remainder of the season was the well-being of the athletes whose careers were so cruelly cut short.
“We were so concerned with the senior class’ mental health,” Lawson said. “You’ve been an athlete your whole life. You play a game one night, then you wake up the next morning and it’s just over.”
When news began circulating about the seriousness of the pandemic, the program quickly took steps to get players out of harm’s way.
“We had three weekends in a row where we had multiple flights, several legs going through major airports,” Lawson said. “We knew based on what was going on in the world with facilities shutting down and campuses shutting down how serious it was. Prior to getting the official word we had already mobilized the players to have their stuff packed and be ready to go. They were so busy it probably wasn’t until they all got home that it dawned on them, ‘Oh my gosh, this really happened.’
“As sad as they were, they’re accepting of it. Which I think keeps them more mentally healthy in the long run.”
It’s small consolation under the circumstances, but Lawson has at least enjoyed the rare opportunity to catch up on some much-needed rest in the last couple of weeks.
“This is the first time in my life that I’ve ever gotten eight hours of sleep multiple days in a row. This has never happened,” Lawson said. “It’s probably been 26 years since I’ve gotten eight hours of sleep two days in a row.”
Something special
Though she’ll never know if this team of Wildcats would have ultimately brought home the program’s first College World Series title, Lawson said it will always be dear to her.
“This class for us is so special. One of the reasons we were such a good team and doing so many unbelievable things is they really are very selfless people,” Lawson said. “With this team, I’ll just remember how hard they played for each other and how there was just no quit in them. It didn’t matter who was up to bat or what we needed, somebody was going to find a way to make it happen.
“Teams like that don’t come around all the time, so it’s always special when you have one.”
