Head coach Rachel Lawson


Centerfielder Sylver Samuel


Designated player/shortstop Kara Dill

HOOVER, Ala. -- The opportunities, as they have been for much of the season's second half, were there for Kentucky.

After a 4-1 loss to Ole Miss in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Tuesday, those opportunities are what the Wildcats were thinking about.

"The biggest issue the last seven weeks has just been getting the hit at a key moment," UK head coach Gary Henderson said.

The seventh inning was particularly frustrating. After chasing Ole Miss starter Mike Mayers, UK loaded the bases with one out on an infield single by Zack Storm. Micheal Thomas followed with a pop-up to second and Kyle Barrett grounded out to end the threat, accounting for three of the eight runners the Cats left on base as they were eliminated in the conference tournament.

The story has been all-too-familiar since UK (30-25) sprinted to a 22-6 start. Since then, the bats have fallen silent at all the wrong times and the Cats are 8-19 during that stretch. Most of the fans in attendance at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium were watching Kentucky for the first time, but they got a pretty clear picture of what the last two months have been like.

"You kind of saw a large part of the second half of the season for us today," Henderson said. "That's kind of what it is and has been unfortunately. They fought well. At times, we pitched extremely well. ... But we just didn't have enough offense. We couldn't sustain anything offensively over a period of time to really get out of where we were."

Because of that, UK will be reduced to hoping when they watch the selection show next Monday. UK is ranked No. 38 in the RPI and boasts 12 wins over fellow top-40 teams, but its 11 SEC wins and uneven finish leave the Cats in perilous NCAA Tournament position.

Heading to the eighth inning, Nikki Sagermann was due up fourth as the Kentucky softball team looked to break a 1-1 extra-inning tie against Marshall at John Cropp Stadium.

She watched from the dugout as Griffin Joiner led off with a double and Lauren Cumbess was intentionally walked. Sagermann was in the on-deck circle when runners advanced to second and third on an Andi Williamson wild pitch and she quickly realized it would all come down to her.

When Marshall opted to load the bases with a second straight intentional walk, the freshman third baseman was left pondering how she would approach her potential game-winning at-bat.

"I was just thinking, 'Get a sac fly,' " Sagermann said. "Because if they catch it, they can run home easily."

But just before she strode to the plate, her head coach pulled her aside. Rachel Lawson wanted her to think in even simpler terms.

"Coach told me to get behind the ball and get the ball on my barrel," Sagermann said.

Sagermann did exactly that, delivering a clean single up the middle to score pinch runner Sarah Frazer and give UK its first-ever postseason extra-inning win and school-record-tying seventh on the season.

"I got a hit, so it's even better," Sagermann said.

Sagermann - who went 2-for-3 in her NCAA Tournament debut - did a lot more than just hit on Friday. Against a Marshall team intent on keeping the ball on the ground and capitalizing on its speed, Sagermann's glove was put to the test. She responded with a team-high six assists and three more putouts, the last of which - a leaping catch of an Alexandra Bayne line drive - preserved a tie in the top of the eighth and stranded runners on second and third.

"That was crazy," Sagermann said. "That was a lot of emotions going on. I was really happy, still am."

Sagermann's happiness was clear as she fielded questions from reporters with a nearly constant smile, though she was a bit uncomfortable talking nonstop about what an excellent game she had just played.

"She's so used to me yelling at her all the time, she doesn't know how to take all this," Lawson said.

Through the first half of the season, most of that yelling was about Sagermann's defense. Her role was mostly limited to a role as designated hitter early in the year due to defensive limitations, but Lawson believed she was capable of more. One practice, Lawson told her that she could be UK's regular third baseman by simply being consistent with the glove.

"Since then, she's been making the plays," Lawson said. "And so as a coach it was really cool for me to see her - not just that last catch that she had - she made a lot of catches in that game. To see how far she's come in such a short amount of time has really been something special."

Sagermann was joined in the postgame press conference by fellow freshman Kelsey Nunley, who pitched all eight innings to move to 25-8 on the season. Three more classmates were also in the starting lineup: shortstop Christian Stokes, centerfielder Sylver Samuel and leftfielder Maisie Steed.

"I love our freshman class," Sagermann said. "We're a big family. We love each other and our team is really accepting of us. They had really had to teach us and make us adapt to be better."

But without the commitment by the freshmen to improve, none of the five would be in this position and their team likely wouldn't either.

"It's nice to see all their hard work pay off in the postseason and win their first game," Lawson said.

A victory in their first game now sets up an opportunity for their second on short rest. UK will take on Virginia Tech - which defeated Notre Dame 4-3 - at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday. But for at least a short while, Sagermann is going to enjoy this first one.

"I just lived the dream, and I'm still living it and I have three more years of it," Sagermann said.

So how does a college freshman celebrate one of the best nights of her career?

"I usually just hang out with my family and eat," Sagermann said.

Nerlens Noel and Archie Goodwin are both participating in the NBA Draft Combine this week in Chicago. On Thursday, Draft Express posted a video interview with Noel - the potential No. 1 overall pick. Watch it below.