Emory Donaldson led the Kentucky Wildcats softball team to a 10-2 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday in Santa Barbara, California. Donaldson had a standout performance, going 3-for-3 at the plate and hitting her first career home run.
The win brings Kentucky’s record to 5-1 for the start of the 2026 season. This marks their second consecutive run-rule win after defeating Minnesota 8-0 in San Diego on Sunday. Alongside Donaldson, Maddy Clark and Carly Sleeman each recorded two hits, contributing to Kentucky’s total of ten hits in the game.
Sarah Haendiges earned her second win of the year as starting pitcher, throwing for 3.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. McKenzie Oslanzi provided relief by securing the final four outs without giving up a hit or a run and striking out one batter.
Kentucky will next travel to Palo Alto to participate in the Cardinal Classic hosted by Stanford. The Wildcats are scheduled to play Stanford and Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Oregon on Friday, and will conclude with games against Oregon and Cal Poly over the weekend.
Donaldson opened the game with a single and later scored on Karissa Hamilton’s hit. In the second inning, Kentucky capitalized on UCSB errors to score four runs. Donaldson extended Kentucky’s lead with her home run in the fourth inning. UCSB managed an RBI double in their half of the fourth but could not close the gap further.
In the fifth inning, Clark hit a two-run double followed by Ella Emmert grounding out to bring in another run, sealing Kentucky’s ten-run total.
Donaldson also contributed defensively with a catch in foul territory during UCSB’s third inning at bat. Oslanzi ended UCSB’s momentum in the fourth with an inning-ending strikeout.
Kentucky played error-free defense throughout the game.
For updates on UK Softball, fans can follow @UKSoftball on Twitter and Instagram.
