A look back at 2019
The Wildcats finished the 2019 season with a 36-24 overall record, which included a 14-10 conference mark. The Cats finished positively at home, with a 13-6 showing at John Cropp Stadium, but went just 11-11 in road games.
The ’19 season started rather sluggishly for the Wildcats, with three losses in the season-opening tournament. The squad dropped a number of games to top teams at the St. Pete/Clearwater Invitational, as well as the Mary Nutter Classic, but also posted victories over James Madison and Oregon. Later in the year, the Wildcats dropped a single game against archrival Louisville, and ended the regular season with a pair of losses to Texas Tech.
In SEC play, the Cats started out hot, sweeping through series’ on the road against South Carolina and at home against Mississippi State. The squad went on to drop the next four series’, including a sweep at the hands of Missouri and coming up on the short end of the stick in series’ against Arkansas; Ole Miss; and LSU. Once-again rebounding at the right time, Rachel Lawson’s squad ended the conference season with a dominant 3-game sweep over Auburn and a best-two-out-of-three series victory against Alabama.
A topsy-turvy conference race left the Cats as the #4 seed in the SEC tournament, where they earned a bye into the tournament quarterfinals. The squad recorded a run-rule victory over Ole Miss to open their tournament stay, before falling in the semifinal round to Alabama.
Selected as the #14-overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats hosted a regional in Lexington, going 3-0 over the course of that weekend, a weekend that was capped off with a regional-clinching, decisive run-rule victory over Virginia Tech in the regional final. Facing #3-seed Washington in the Super Regionals, the Wildcats were shut out in back-to-back games in Seattle, as the Huskies advanced to Oklahoma City and UK’s season ended.
Roster turnover
Reigning SEC Player of the Year Abbey Cheek – also named the NFCA National Player of the Year after last season – graduated following the year, taking her .428/20/53 stat line out of the lineup for the Cats. Major pieces also graduating after last season were all-American shortstop Katie Reed and starting catcher Jenny Schaper.
The Wildcats added six freshmen over the summer, each of them officially listed as infielders and/or utility players.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths – Second baseman Alex Martens has never received her due for being as talented as she is, but this is her offense to lead in 2020. The owner of a .306 career batting average, she is going to be one of the most relied-upon bats in the team’s lineup, and she’s proven to handle herself well under pressure. Autumn Humes and Grace Baalman – who split the lion’s share of pitching duties last year – each return, and both will look to improve their respectable statistics from a year ago. The Cats also have a far-less-dangerous non-conference schedule this season, which should make the win-loss record look a little better on paper.
Weaknesses – There is no doubt that the Wildcats benefited from being an SEC team when it came to the postseason and beyond last season. Their conference resume – and even the losses to top-level non-conference teams – undoubtedly played a role in postseason seeding. They won’t benefit from such a strength of schedule this year, with two games against Oklahoma in Norman and a single game against Minnesota serving as the major highlights of the non-conference year. The team lost a handful of incredibly-valuable offensive pieces, and will have some mighty shoes to fill in the batting order.
2020 outlook
Pitching – Humes – now a senior – and Baalman, a junior, combined for a 3.81 ERA in 291.2 innings of work between the pair last season. The numbers were good, if not great, but the duo were effective and even dominant when their team needed them to be. Consistency in the circle is always a positive thing, especially when it includes familiarity with SEC offenses.
Offense – Cheek and Reed went on to play professionally after their collegiate careers ended, which should say a good bit about their level of production and impact at the plate. Schaper was a quality bat in the order, as well, so the Cats will need to replace several crucial pieces. Martens can be expected to hold a leadership position in the team’s offense, while sophomore Kayla Kowalik and junior Mallory Peyton could see breakout roles.
Coaching – Rachel Lawson is a quality coach, always keeping her team in the hunt and in national contention. The 2019 season is a great example; the Wildcats had a so-so non-conference showing, at best, but thanks to Lawson’s scheduling and impressive rebounding in conference play, the squad still managed to pull off a top-16 ranking and yet another NCAA regional hosting opportunity. Her staff includes associate head coach Kristine Himes and assistant Molly Johnson Belcher. Program great Brittany Cervantes moved into the Cats’ Director of Operations role this summer.
Wrap-up
A solid, if not stellar, 2019 still saw success from the Wildcats, including another trip to the Super Regionals. Lawson’s program has a lot of offensive production to replace, but their schedule is a favorable one, with a lighter non-conference slate and the opportunity to host Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, and Arkansas in Lexington, traveling only to Mississippi State, Georgia, Missouri, and Ole Miss. You can always expect the Wildcats to be a mainstay in the national rankings, and to make some noise in the conference hunt.
