LEXINGTON — Rachel Lawson's Kentucky softball program is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament super regional round.
But the Wildcats carved a new path to the tournament's second weekend in reaching the eighth super regional in program history Sunday. For the first time, Kentucky advanced through the loser's bracket of the regional to advance, bouncing back from a 12-3 run-rule loss to Notre Dame Saturday with a sweep of two games versus the fighting Irish by a combined 11-0 score Saturday.
Kentucky won three consecutive elimination games -- a 7-2 win over Northwestern Saturday evening and 7-0 and 4-0 victories over Notre Dame Sunday -- to advance to the program's fourth consecutive super regional.