2017 Lexington Regional Preview
The Kentucky Wildcats (36-17) enter the weekend as the No. 14 national seed and will host a regional at John Cropp Stadium. Illinois (37-18), Marshall (41-10) and DePaul (29-21) will travel to Lexington for the double-elimination style bracket. Illinois and Marshall will square off in the first game on Friday at noon ET on ESPN2 and Kentucky will play DePaul at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
Top Seed
The Wildcats entered this season unsure about their pitching situation. Kelsey Nunley had been the ace for four years in Lexington but Meagan Prince and Erin Rethlake have risen to the occasion and done a fantastic job for head coach Rachel Lawson. Prince is 19-7 with a 1.98 ERA and Rethlake is 9-5 with a 1.96. Prince earned a win in the SEC Tournament against South Carolina and Rethlake pitched a gem against Auburn. She got the loss because of one pitch but held the Tigers to three hits. Abbey Cheek is a force at the plate and on defense. The third baseman has a .946 fielding percentage and is hitting .319 with a team-high 12 home runs and 39 RBI.
Best Shot at the Upset
Marshall didn’t have a great Conference USA Tournament but the committee was impressed with its body of work. The Thundering Herd advanced to its first NCAA Tournament in 2013 after winning the C-USA Tournament. Jordan Dixon no-hit Western Kentucky in the conference tournament opener before losing back-to-back games to Florida International and Louisiana Tech. Morgan Zerkle leads the offense with a .484 average, 74 hits, 12 doubles, five triples, .804 slugging percentage and .518 on-base percentage. Elicia D’Orazio will run if she gets on base. She has stolen 56 of 65 bases this year. Dixon is 31-8 with a 1.73 ERA. She has pitched 258.2 innings and completed 28 starts. The Herd will most likely ride her arm throughout the regional.
Players to Watch
Jessica Cothern, Nicole Pihl and Missy Zoch are players to watch from DePaul. Cothern is tied for a team-high .338 batting average and Pihl leads in doubles (18), RBI (39) and slugging (.608). Zoch has pitched the most innings for the Demons (156.2) and enters with a 14-7 record and 2.86 ERA. Of the 24 games, she has started, she has completed 15. Nicole Evans has launched 17 homers and collected 55 RBI to lead the Illini offense. She is slugging .806 with a .361 batting average and .485 on base. Breanna Wonderly has been the arm in the circle. Her 212.2 innings pitched is the most of the staff. She has a 2.73 ERA and a 20-14 record with 41 appearances and 22 complete games.
Prediction
Prince has proved that she can pitch in the postseason and Rethlake gained the confidence after hold Auburn to three hits. The offense out-hit Auburn and shined against South Carolina. Kentucky should win this regional.
