April 5, 2024 • 20 mins
Erin Coffel stops by to talk about UK Softball and her home run and RBI records that she captured this season. We also look ahead to a big weekend across UK Athletics!
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(00:09):
Happy Friday, Big Blue Nation,and welcome inside the UK Sports Network Today
podcast presented by the Big Blue Brew. Really good episode today, featuring a
great guest and one that needs nointroduction but will give one to her anyway.
It's Aaron Koffl, the All Americansoftball player for Kentucky that has just
(00:29):
about every record and still going formore in her senior campaign. She is
the all time leader in home runsand RBIs a multi All American, I
mean, one of the most decorated, if not the most decorated softball athlete,
even before you factor in all theaccolades she's going to have after this
senior campaign. And oh, bythe way, she played with Team USA
(00:52):
this past fall. We'll talk aboutall that. We'll talk about this year's
version of the softball program as well. But first to remind you that the
UK Sports Network Today podcast is broughtto you by the Big Blue Brew.
You can sign up today at UKAthletics dot com slash Big Blue Brew for
the official newsletter of UK Athletics.It's completely free and it hits inboxes every
(01:15):
weekday morning. That is Ukathletics dotcom slash Big Blue Brew. Now,
without further Ado. Let's welcome inAaron Koffle. Great to be joined by
Aaron Koffle, already a UK softballlegend and still carving out that legacy here
at the University of Kentucky. Beensuch a joy to watch her these last
three plus years. Aarin, thankyou so much for your time. First
(01:38):
of all, I know it's verybusy and kind of a weather chaotic day
right now across across Kentucky. Butthanks for joining us. Yeah, of
course, thanks for having me.It's been a great year. You've picked
up right where you left off.It's kind of business as usual for you,
at least it seems on paper.How has been your year been for
you so far? I think it'sbeen pretty good. I'm just trying to,
(02:00):
you know, being my last year, I'm trying to not worry too
much about you know, results andstats and stuff, and trying to just
really be where my feet are andplay with this team because I think this
team this year is super, superspecial. So I'm trying not to get
too caught up in you know,records and all that kind of stuff.
I just have one mission, andone mission only is to get to Okay.
(02:20):
See, so I think taking itone game at a time and just
being just being present and in themoment with my teammates is all I've really
been focusing on. So yeah,we'll definitely get to those records here a
little bit later on. But youknow, the other night we had the
game on the network, Stephanie schoonoverin the opener against Alabama. It's unfathomable
to me, one hundred and eightyone pitches? What do they look like
(02:43):
from your view? You know,I didn't since I was so focused and
you know, not worried about thesurroundings. I had no clue that it
was one hundred and eighty pitches.But now like thinking like outside of the
box and thinking about that game,like it's it's actually, I don't know
how many pitches she can throw ina bullpen, but I don't know if
it's even that many. So it'sactually it's actually crazy and the way she
(03:07):
did it, and I feel likeshe, our team and her both really
needed that game, and I feellike it really got us going again,
and so I felt like she reallypulled us up and like was like,
let's go, and she put themin our favor. So I thought that
was awesome, And to make iteven crazier, she came back and threw
one hundred and forty two days later. So that's like three hundred and twenty
(03:29):
pitches if I'm doing the math right, and basically sixty hours or so.
So it's just it makes my armhurt. Just you mentioned how bad,
you know, the Cats needed it. It was a really rough schedule to
open things up as far as boy, the opponents that you guys had right
out of the gate. It startedright away with number three LSU. I
know the Southeastern Conference is tough,but it seems like even with that tough
(03:52):
conference, you got the top endof it. So that was a huge
series to get two out of threeagainst a very good Alabama team. Yeah,
I mean, especially you know,starting with LSU. I felt like
our team, you know, playedpretty well for the most part against LSU.
We just had a few few momentswhere we weren't the best, so
and you can't do that against thenumber three team of the country. So
and then playing against Florida, Ifelt like it it was kind of a
(04:13):
rough series all around, both pitching, hitting, defensively, so and then
to come back and you know,really come around against Alabama, and really
I felt like everything was clicking,you know, offensively, you know,
we had the timely hits pitching,you know, we had Steph and then
on Saturday we had a mix ofyou know, Lacitena, Sid and Jaden,
you know, even though we didn'tget the win, but yeah,
(04:34):
I just felt like it was areally well rounded series from everyone. So
well, you mentioned schoonover, anduh, there's some youth to this team
as well. It's a really niceblend of upperclassmen like yourself, but you
also have some contributing freshmen and sophomores. Sydney Langdon that she's been very impressive
inside the circle this year and reallytough. I would imagine to come in
as a freshman to compete in theSEC like she has. Yeah, I
(04:56):
mean she's been She's been pretty goodfor us so far this year. I
mean, I don't know what it'slike to be a pitcher in the circle
as a freshman, but I knowwhat it's like to be a freshman and
playing in the SEC, and it'sit's a lot of pressure and it can
feel like a lot of moments,but I feel like she's handled it pretty
well, and I feel like asthe season continues to roll forward, she'll
get more comfortable in the sec Soyour approach is kind of at least again
(05:18):
from an outsider's perspective, would loveto get your take on it has been
similar as far as you're just incredibleat getting on base, and you know,
I know, the accolades are thehome runs, and again we'll get
to that, but you led thecountry and on base percentage last year,
the amount of walks that you take, and how pitch selective you are,
but are still able to put upthe numbers that you do. What is
(05:38):
that approach at the plate like foryou? Yeah? For me, I
felt like, you know, earlierearly on in this season, I was
being a little too passive, becauseyou can get in that mindset when you
think are they going to try topitch around me in this situation? So
I think I was overthinking it alittle bit. But I felt like this
past series I got a little bitbetter at it and being more pitch selected
(05:59):
but also being aggressive when my pitch. So I felt like you have to
kind of find a happy medium withit, and I would rather fall on
the more aggressive side and get myselfout swinging than being passive and you know,
sometimes getting a walk. But soI think it's just finding a good
happy medium. But I'd rather fallon the more aggressive side. So you
mentioned that series against Florida and itwas just tough. In general. That's
(06:21):
a really tough place to play inGainesville and John Crop Stadium. It's amazing
whether the weather is not so greator whether it's a beautiful out, which
hopefully it will be. Uh,you know, the last the last you
know, month and a half orso of the season, the regular season.
How tough is it to go onthe road in the SEC? And
also a follow up to that,I guess is how tough is it for
(06:42):
an opponent to come in and playat John Crop? Yeah, going on
the road in the SEC is it'stough. But I personally love it.
I love, you know, kindof when we score, I love it
being silent. All you can hearis our dugout cheering, and you know,
when we strike someone out, allyou can hear is our dugout and
our fans. So I kind ofI kind of love that personal I'm not
sure how my other teammates feel aboutit, but because I honestly it feels
(07:03):
like a little bit of a lesspressure because when you're in front of BBN
like you want to you want tobe at your best and you want to
perform at your best. But butyeah, I love I love playing on
the road, but being in frontof like at John Crop Stadium, it's
one of a kind of especially thispast weekend, I mean it was insane.
We just took a glance around thestadium. Burn was full, stands
(07:24):
are full, There were dogs everywhere. It was awesome. I'm glad I
didn't see a basket hown because Iwould have left the booth. There would
have been a broadcast listening and Iwould have had to pad a basket down
dogs. Yeah, you're right,that atmosphere was jumping this past weekend at
CROs Stadium. Now, I promisedwe would get to those records, and
I know you're your team first,but I do want to ask you,
(07:46):
you know, when you came toKentucky, was that something that you thought
would be even possible that you're nowthe home run and RBI champion in a
very rich history here at UK Softball. To be honest, I didn't ever
really think about it much. Idon't don't really ever think about records,
to be honest, but just kindof as this as my career has gone
on. I mean, I've putup the numbers, and I knew there
(08:07):
wasn't a chance this year, butI tried my best not to think about
it. I know, it's kindof internally I was thinking about it a
little bit because how can you not. But yeah, so, I mean
it's it's tough not to think about. But to be in the name of
some of the legends that are here, like Abby Cheek, Brittney Samontes,
so people like that, I mean, it's it's incredible to even be a
name of them. So people likeme make that hard to like kind of
(08:30):
focus on because it's obviously a bigtopic that we constantly bring up on broadcasts
about especially I remember when you weregetting were you were approaching both records.
When did you become aware? Wereyou kind of keeping track of that or
was that just something that you playeda series and then you just kind of
saw where the chips fell. Imean, I knew kind of of it
this year a little bit. Atthe beginning. I knew there was a
chance. I know, people mentionedit in a couple of like interviews and
(08:54):
stuff like that, and I askedChris a couple of times where I was
at, But other than that,I was like, tried not too much
not to focus on it. Soyou had an incredible experience this past fall.
The one thing that jumped out atme. You played for Team USA
and the pan Am Games. You'rethe only active collegiate player chosen, which
(09:15):
I think shows where you're at inyour game and how advanced you are in
your game. What was that experiencelike with Team USA? It was incredible
to you know, be one ofthe oldest here at UK in the fall
and now obviously, and then goingthere and being one of the youngest and
by far the youngest pretty much.It was such an awesome experience just to
(09:37):
be around some of those girls likeMontana Fouts, Ali Carta, Amana Lorenz,
you know, Hayley mcleanny, allthose people. I mean, it
was amazing and I learned so somuch. But I also just learned like
they don't they don't take the gametoo seriously, Like they have their moments
and when they need to be focused, their focus, but for the most
part, like they're they're having funand they're they're just being in the moment.
(09:58):
So yeah, Coach Lost and alsogoing to be involved with Team USA
that just recently got announced. Whathas it been like for you to play
for Coach Loss in these three plusyears. Yeah, it's it's been awesome.
I love her and I love ourrelationship that we have. She's tough
on me, but I think that'struly made me the player that I am
today. And without her, Idon't think I would be anywhere near where
(10:20):
I am right now. So inhaving the opportunities with Team USA and stuff
like that, I don't think thosewould have ever came up truly. So
she's been she's been awesome, andI've loved having her as a coach and
maybe I'll have her as a coachagain, so after this that would be
That would be incredible. Would youhad a long time partner in crime Kayla
Kowalak And I know she's still aroundthe program, But how weird is it
(10:41):
to just not see her behind thedish these days? It's very weird,
but I think I've kind of gottenused to it now whenever I'm up in
the on deck and stuff like that, and she always yes. But I
don't know if you ever see itbut she always puts her arm around me,
and it's like, how you feelingfeeling good? KLA. I don't
think I'm going to tell her I'mfeeling bad sometimes, but yeah, so
(11:01):
it's it's definitely been a change,but we're still best friends and she's added
a different aspect of the game forme personally. She's kind of has an
outsider's perspective now, so I thinkit's good. So, yeah, I
spent my summers in Indianapolis. Soapology apologies, geography with Indiana is incorrect,
but I believe you grew up inthe region right up in the northeast
(11:24):
Indiana more like middle like dead centermiddle like. So was that when did
Kentucky kind of enter your radar asfar as because you were very highly recruited
out of out of high school,so you had your pick of the litters,
so to speak. As far aswhere to go, it was I
think like eighth grade year is whenI first kind of caught their attention and
(11:50):
they caught mine. But yeah,it was like eighth grade year and then
I toured some more schools and thenmy freshman year, I just had to
commit to Kentucky. So for freshmanyear. Yeah, freshman year before I
played a high school game. Wow. And yeah, you held steadfast on
that commitment for four days. Idid. Yeah, I'm glad I did.
That's incredible. I do commit fromlike what I'm gonna eat for lunch
(12:11):
every day. And that's uh.So that's this relationship that you spoke about
with coach Lawson. That's not that'snot just a couple year thing on campus
here. That's been cultivated really sinceyou were in middle school, essentially correct.
Yeah, I mean we, likeyou know, obviously it's tough to
stay in like constant communication throughout highschool. But yeah, they they always
(12:33):
made it a priority to come tomy travel ball games as much as I
could to senior play even when Iwas committed. So I knew that they
were a very loyal program from that, and just by the way they communicate
with you and stuff like that,it really showed me like how much they
care, truly care about you.So and that's that's uh, stay true
today. So my last question afterthis one will of course be about the
(12:56):
rest of the season, but Ididn't want to ask you. It's that
time of year, I guess kindof where you know, you start to
think about summer plans and all thatis. You certainly will have your pick
professionally. Is that something that's onyour radar right now of playing after college?
Yeah, definitely is. I don'tknow what I'm gonna do quite yet.
I know Team USA is kind ofmaybe in the picture au it could
(13:18):
be WPF, so I have noidea, but I do know I want
to continue playing softball, That's allI know. So we can't wait to
see where you end up. That'sthat's going to be fun for us to
follow, especially this summer. Solast question for you, Aaron. You
mentioned this this Alabama series Kentucky winningtwo out of three, kind of writing
the ship, so to speak,after the first two series didn't go your
(13:39):
way. What are your thoughts onthe rest of the season and what are
some of those goals because I knowyou're still seeing Oklahoma City is the ultimate
destination. YEP. I think forus it's we came out this weekend with
a different type of passion and energythat I haven't seen from us all year,
and I think our crowd definitely helpedthat. But I also think it
was an internal flywer within us thatwe one did not want to get swept
(14:01):
again into we are so much betterthan the past two series showed. So
I think we came out this weekendand you know, a bunch of different
people stepped up and they are readywhen their time was called. So I
think that was huge for us,and everyone was really just you know,
there present, you know. SoI think that was great. And if
we can continue that momentum going forward, I know there's gonna you know,
(14:22):
there's gonna be tough games where wedon't perform the way we want. But
if we can stay consistent, youknow, for the most part throughout the
season, I think I think wewere pretty good shots. So Aaron,
thank you so much for your time. I know it's precious this time of
year, busy with school, busywith busy with softball on your schedule,
and you've got a mid week gamecoming up. But we look forward to
following you the rest of the yearand hopefully deep deep into into the summer
(14:43):
as well. Yeah, thank youso much. Go Kats Kawfel and the
Cats have another big series this weekend. We spoke to her before what was
supposed to be a mid week gameagainst Northern Kentucky. Of course, all
the crazy weather that rolled through theentire state of Kentucky earlier this week,
that game got postponed. No wordyet on makeup date for that, but
(15:05):
what we do know is that conferenceplay resumes later on tonight, Friday,
that is seven pm first pitch,and it's again the number thirteen team the
updated poll, Texas A and Mtaking over the number thirteen slot. The
Aggies a great season so far,twenty nine and seven overall, eight and
four in SEC play. And what'smore remarkable and a great challenge for Kentucky,
(15:28):
they are eighteen and one in CollegeStation. They've only dropped one game
this year. Big reason why atrio of great pitching for those Aggies,
Emily Kennedy leading the way fourteen andfive for her a one point six y
five earned run average, Emily Levittseven and one on the campaign, and
e Oray of just two and aquarter, and then Shale Ackerman is six
in one with a two point threesix mark. So it's going to be
(15:52):
a challenge for the Kentucky offense,but one that Aaron Koffl and company certainly
up to and we look forward toseeing that three game series is the Cats
look to continue to climb up theboard in the SEC standings. Friday is
a seven o'clock first pitch on SECNetwork Plus. Saturday is a nationally televised
game. That game will get underwayat four pm on SEC Network, and
(16:15):
then it's back to digital on Sunday, a two o'clock first pitch in the
series finale against the Aggies. Thatgame on SEC Network Plus, and then
next week it is off to therival Louisville before they return home next weekend.
But again that's Friday through Sunday againstTexas A and M in College Station
seven o'clock on Friday, four o'clockSaturday on SEC Network, and then a
(16:38):
two o'clock start on Sunday. Bestof luck to the softball team this weekend.
While softball journeys out on the roadto College Station, baseball returns to
Kentucky Proud Park. Like softball,they were unable to get their game in
with Louisville this midweek, so thatgame has yet to be rescheduled as well.
But number eleven Alabama in town fora huge, huge conference showdown.
(17:03):
Kentucky is high as number twelve andsome poles between twelve and seventeen depending on
the publication. Either way you sliceit or dice it. The Cats trending
in a great direction as they areeight in one in SEC play, fresh
off that three game sweep in Oxford, Mississippi against Ole Miss. They'll get
things started against number eleven Alabama onFriday night at six point thirty. That
(17:23):
game on SEC Network Plus, butyou can tune into the UK Sports Network
beginning at six point fifteen. MyMan Darren Hedrick will have pregame coverage.
Bama coming in with a twenty twoand seven record overall, four and five
in SEC play. They've done alot of their damage at home. They're
sixteen and two in Tuscaloosa. Thiswill be just their eighth true road game
(17:45):
of the year. They are threeand four on the road and two names
to watch for the Crimson Tide GageMiller hitting four fifty for the year,
thirteen home runs to leave the Tidewith thirty nine runs knocked in, and
then TJ McCants a three thirty threeback, but he's got twelve doubles,
twelve homers, and ten stolen bases, so the Cats will want to keep
him off the bases and keep thebase pads empty in front of Gage Miller
(18:10):
again. That's a six thirty starton Friday. Pregame on the UK Sports
Network at six point fifteen Day Baseballat Kentucky Proud Park on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday is a two o'clock first pitch, which means one forty five coverage
on the network and then the finaleon Sunday should be a great one nationally
televised affair and it's an early startat noon. It'll be on the SEC
(18:32):
network. You can go ahead andmute that turn up there in beginning at
eleven forty five am. Mason Mooresix and zero a two point eighty seven
era on the year. He isscheduled to toe the rubber looking for that
seventh victory of the campaign. Kentuckylooking to continue this outstanding start, one
of the best in fact, witha win on Friday, it can be
the best start in the Nick Mengiera, which is certainly saying something.
(18:56):
A year after they went to theSuper Regionals against LSU. Big congrats in
order for the seven seed Kentucky gymnasticsteam as they are headed to the NCAA
Regional Final in Fayetteville, Arkansas.They posted a score of one hundred and
ninety seven point one in the semison Thursday, so they along with out
(19:18):
with the Arkansas who had a narrowlyhigher score at one ninety seven point three
two five, advancing together out ofthat semi final into the regional final and
that'll be on Saturday at six pm. As of Nebraska and Arizona both posting
scores below one ninety seven, Nebraskaat one ninety six point six, Arizona
at one ninety five point six,so their season ends and Kentucky moving on
(19:44):
to that regional final along with Arkansasagain that is Saturday at six pm.
And also a big congrats to LadyFryes she made the cut. She'll play
the final round at Augusta National GolfClub this upcoming Saturday, so as usual,
a stacked, stacked weekend for UKAthletics. A big thanks to Aaron
(20:06):
Koffle taking a time out of herbusy schedule to chat with us. We
certainly look forward to checking in withher this summer to see where her next
steps are once Kentucky softball season isconcluded. And big thanks to everyone at
the UK Sports Network and UK Athleticsalso a big shout out to Chris Sholz
for helping coordinate that interview. Andboy, what a great weekend we have
(20:26):
on tap, softball, baseball,gymnastics this Saturday, tennis back in action,
all kinds of stuff going on andso stick to UK Athletics dot com
and the UK Sports Network for updates. That does it for this episode of
UK Sports Network Today, for everybodyat the network. I met her Kapus
saying thanks for listening.
Happy Friday, Big Blue Nation,and welcome inside the UK Sports Network Today
podcast presented by the Big Blue Brew. Really good episode today, featuring a
great guest and one that needs nointroduction but will give one to her anyway.
It's Aaron Koffl, the All Americansoftball player for Kentucky that has just
(00:29):
about every record and still going formore in her senior campaign. She is
the all time leader in home runsand RBIs a multi All American, I
mean, one of the most decorated, if not the most decorated softball athlete,
even before you factor in all theaccolades she's going to have after this
senior campaign. And oh, bythe way, she played with Team USA
(00:52):
this past fall. We'll talk aboutall that. We'll talk about this year's
version of the softball program as well. But first to remind you that the
UK Sports Network Today podcast is broughtto you by the Big Blue Brew.
You can sign up today at UKAthletics dot com slash Big Blue Brew for
the official newsletter of UK Athletics.It's completely free and it hits inboxes every
(01:15):
weekday morning. That is Ukathletics dotcom slash Big Blue Brew. Now,
without further Ado. Let's welcome inAaron Koffle. Great to be joined by
Aaron Koffle, already a UK softballlegend and still carving out that legacy here
at the University of Kentucky. Beensuch a joy to watch her these last
three plus years. Aarin, thankyou so much for your time. First
(01:38):
of all, I know it's verybusy and kind of a weather chaotic day
right now across across Kentucky. Butthanks for joining us. Yeah, of
course, thanks for having me.It's been a great year. You've picked
up right where you left off.It's kind of business as usual for you,
at least it seems on paper.How has been your year been for
you so far? I think it'sbeen pretty good. I'm just trying to,
(02:00):
you know, being my last year, I'm trying to not worry too
much about you know, results andstats and stuff, and trying to just
really be where my feet are andplay with this team because I think this
team this year is super, superspecial. So I'm trying not to get
too caught up in you know,records and all that kind of stuff.
I just have one mission, andone mission only is to get to Okay.
(02:20):
See, so I think taking itone game at a time and just
being just being present and in themoment with my teammates is all I've really
been focusing on. So yeah,we'll definitely get to those records here a
little bit later on. But youknow, the other night we had the
game on the network, Stephanie schoonoverin the opener against Alabama. It's unfathomable
to me, one hundred and eightyone pitches? What do they look like
(02:43):
from your view? You know,I didn't since I was so focused and
you know, not worried about thesurroundings. I had no clue that it
was one hundred and eighty pitches.But now like thinking like outside of the
box and thinking about that game,like it's it's actually, I don't know
how many pitches she can throw ina bullpen, but I don't know if
it's even that many. So it'sactually it's actually crazy and the way she
(03:07):
did it, and I feel likeshe, our team and her both really
needed that game, and I feellike it really got us going again,
and so I felt like she reallypulled us up and like was like,
let's go, and she put themin our favor. So I thought that
was awesome, And to make iteven crazier, she came back and threw
one hundred and forty two days later. So that's like three hundred and twenty
(03:29):
pitches if I'm doing the math right, and basically sixty hours or so.
So it's just it makes my armhurt. Just you mentioned how bad,
you know, the Cats needed it. It was a really rough schedule to
open things up as far as boy, the opponents that you guys had right
out of the gate. It startedright away with number three LSU. I
know the Southeastern Conference is tough,but it seems like even with that tough
(03:52):
conference, you got the top endof it. So that was a huge
series to get two out of threeagainst a very good Alabama team. Yeah,
I mean, especially you know,starting with LSU. I felt like
our team, you know, playedpretty well for the most part against LSU.
We just had a few few momentswhere we weren't the best, so
and you can't do that against thenumber three team of the country. So
and then playing against Florida, Ifelt like it it was kind of a
(04:13):
rough series all around, both pitching, hitting, defensively, so and then
to come back and you know,really come around against Alabama, and really
I felt like everything was clicking,you know, offensively, you know,
we had the timely hits pitching,you know, we had Steph and then
on Saturday we had a mix ofyou know, Lacitena, Sid and Jaden,
you know, even though we didn'tget the win, but yeah,
(04:34):
I just felt like it was areally well rounded series from everyone. So
well, you mentioned schoonover, anduh, there's some youth to this team
as well. It's a really niceblend of upperclassmen like yourself, but you
also have some contributing freshmen and sophomores. Sydney Langdon that she's been very impressive
inside the circle this year and reallytough. I would imagine to come in
as a freshman to compete in theSEC like she has. Yeah, I
(04:56):
mean she's been She's been pretty goodfor us so far this year. I
mean, I don't know what it'slike to be a pitcher in the circle
as a freshman, but I knowwhat it's like to be a freshman and
playing in the SEC, and it'sit's a lot of pressure and it can
feel like a lot of moments,but I feel like she's handled it pretty
well, and I feel like asthe season continues to roll forward, she'll
get more comfortable in the sec Soyour approach is kind of at least again
(05:18):
from an outsider's perspective, would loveto get your take on it has been
similar as far as you're just incredibleat getting on base, and you know,
I know, the accolades are thehome runs, and again we'll get
to that, but you led thecountry and on base percentage last year,
the amount of walks that you take, and how pitch selective you are,
but are still able to put upthe numbers that you do. What is
(05:38):
that approach at the plate like foryou? Yeah? For me, I
felt like, you know, earlierearly on in this season, I was
being a little too passive, becauseyou can get in that mindset when you
think are they going to try topitch around me in this situation? So
I think I was overthinking it alittle bit. But I felt like this
past series I got a little bitbetter at it and being more pitch selected
(05:59):
but also being aggressive when my pitch. So I felt like you have to
kind of find a happy medium withit, and I would rather fall on
the more aggressive side and get myselfout swinging than being passive and you know,
sometimes getting a walk. But soI think it's just finding a good
happy medium. But I'd rather fallon the more aggressive side. So you
mentioned that series against Florida and itwas just tough. In general. That's
(06:21):
a really tough place to play inGainesville and John Crop Stadium. It's amazing
whether the weather is not so greator whether it's a beautiful out, which
hopefully it will be. Uh,you know, the last the last you
know, month and a half orso of the season, the regular season.
How tough is it to go onthe road in the SEC? And
also a follow up to that,I guess is how tough is it for
(06:42):
an opponent to come in and playat John Crop? Yeah, going on
the road in the SEC is it'stough. But I personally love it.
I love, you know, kindof when we score, I love it
being silent. All you can hearis our dugout cheering, and you know,
when we strike someone out, allyou can hear is our dugout and
our fans. So I kind ofI kind of love that personal I'm not
sure how my other teammates feel aboutit, but because I honestly it feels
(07:03):
like a little bit of a lesspressure because when you're in front of BBN
like you want to you want tobe at your best and you want to
perform at your best. But butyeah, I love I love playing on
the road, but being in frontof like at John Crop Stadium, it's
one of a kind of especially thispast weekend, I mean it was insane.
We just took a glance around thestadium. Burn was full, stands
(07:24):
are full, There were dogs everywhere. It was awesome. I'm glad I
didn't see a basket hown because Iwould have left the booth. There would
have been a broadcast listening and Iwould have had to pad a basket down
dogs. Yeah, you're right,that atmosphere was jumping this past weekend at
CROs Stadium. Now, I promisedwe would get to those records, and
I know you're your team first,but I do want to ask you,
(07:46):
you know, when you came toKentucky, was that something that you thought
would be even possible that you're nowthe home run and RBI champion in a
very rich history here at UK Softball. To be honest, I didn't ever
really think about it much. Idon't don't really ever think about records,
to be honest, but just kindof as this as my career has gone
on. I mean, I've putup the numbers, and I knew there
(08:07):
wasn't a chance this year, butI tried my best not to think about
it. I know, it's kindof internally I was thinking about it a
little bit because how can you not. But yeah, so, I mean
it's it's tough not to think about. But to be in the name of
some of the legends that are here, like Abby Cheek, Brittney Samontes,
so people like that, I mean, it's it's incredible to even be a
name of them. So people likeme make that hard to like kind of
(08:30):
focus on because it's obviously a bigtopic that we constantly bring up on broadcasts
about especially I remember when you weregetting were you were approaching both records.
When did you become aware? Wereyou kind of keeping track of that or
was that just something that you playeda series and then you just kind of
saw where the chips fell. Imean, I knew kind of of it
this year a little bit. Atthe beginning. I knew there was a
chance. I know, people mentionedit in a couple of like interviews and
(08:54):
stuff like that, and I askedChris a couple of times where I was
at, But other than that,I was like, tried not too much
not to focus on it. Soyou had an incredible experience this past fall.
The one thing that jumped out atme. You played for Team USA
and the pan Am Games. You'rethe only active collegiate player chosen, which
(09:15):
I think shows where you're at inyour game and how advanced you are in
your game. What was that experiencelike with Team USA? It was incredible
to you know, be one ofthe oldest here at UK in the fall
and now obviously, and then goingthere and being one of the youngest and
by far the youngest pretty much.It was such an awesome experience just to
(09:37):
be around some of those girls likeMontana Fouts, Ali Carta, Amana Lorenz,
you know, Hayley mcleanny, allthose people. I mean, it
was amazing and I learned so somuch. But I also just learned like
they don't they don't take the gametoo seriously, Like they have their moments
and when they need to be focused, their focus, but for the most
part, like they're they're having funand they're they're just being in the moment.
(09:58):
So yeah, Coach Lost and alsogoing to be involved with Team USA
that just recently got announced. Whathas it been like for you to play
for Coach Loss in these three plusyears. Yeah, it's it's been awesome.
I love her and I love ourrelationship that we have. She's tough
on me, but I think that'struly made me the player that I am
today. And without her, Idon't think I would be anywhere near where
(10:20):
I am right now. So inhaving the opportunities with Team USA and stuff
like that, I don't think thosewould have ever came up truly. So
she's been she's been awesome, andI've loved having her as a coach and
maybe I'll have her as a coachagain, so after this that would be
That would be incredible. Would youhad a long time partner in crime Kayla
Kowalak And I know she's still aroundthe program, But how weird is it
(10:41):
to just not see her behind thedish these days? It's very weird,
but I think I've kind of gottenused to it now whenever I'm up in
the on deck and stuff like that, and she always yes. But I
don't know if you ever see itbut she always puts her arm around me,
and it's like, how you feelingfeeling good? KLA. I don't
think I'm going to tell her I'mfeeling bad sometimes, but yeah, so
(11:01):
it's it's definitely been a change,but we're still best friends and she's added
a different aspect of the game forme personally. She's kind of has an
outsider's perspective now, so I thinkit's good. So, yeah, I
spent my summers in Indianapolis. Soapology apologies, geography with Indiana is incorrect,
but I believe you grew up inthe region right up in the northeast
(11:24):
Indiana more like middle like dead centermiddle like. So was that when did
Kentucky kind of enter your radar asfar as because you were very highly recruited
out of out of high school,so you had your pick of the litters,
so to speak. As far aswhere to go, it was I
think like eighth grade year is whenI first kind of caught their attention and
(11:50):
they caught mine. But yeah,it was like eighth grade year and then
I toured some more schools and thenmy freshman year, I just had to
commit to Kentucky. So for freshmanyear. Yeah, freshman year before I
played a high school game. Wow. And yeah, you held steadfast on
that commitment for four days. Idid. Yeah, I'm glad I did.
That's incredible. I do commit fromlike what I'm gonna eat for lunch
(12:11):
every day. And that's uh.So that's this relationship that you spoke about
with coach Lawson. That's not that'snot just a couple year thing on campus
here. That's been cultivated really sinceyou were in middle school, essentially correct.
Yeah, I mean we, likeyou know, obviously it's tough to
stay in like constant communication throughout highschool. But yeah, they they always
(12:33):
made it a priority to come tomy travel ball games as much as I
could to senior play even when Iwas committed. So I knew that they
were a very loyal program from that, and just by the way they communicate
with you and stuff like that,it really showed me like how much they
care, truly care about you.So and that's that's uh, stay true
today. So my last question afterthis one will of course be about the
(12:56):
rest of the season, but Ididn't want to ask you. It's that
time of year, I guess kindof where you know, you start to
think about summer plans and all thatis. You certainly will have your pick
professionally. Is that something that's onyour radar right now of playing after college?
Yeah, definitely is. I don'tknow what I'm gonna do quite yet.
I know Team USA is kind ofmaybe in the picture au it could
(13:18):
be WPF, so I have noidea, but I do know I want
to continue playing softball, That's allI know. So we can't wait to
see where you end up. That'sthat's going to be fun for us to
follow, especially this summer. Solast question for you, Aaron. You
mentioned this this Alabama series Kentucky winningtwo out of three, kind of writing
the ship, so to speak,after the first two series didn't go your
(13:39):
way. What are your thoughts onthe rest of the season and what are
some of those goals because I knowyou're still seeing Oklahoma City is the ultimate
destination. YEP. I think forus it's we came out this weekend with
a different type of passion and energythat I haven't seen from us all year,
and I think our crowd definitely helpedthat. But I also think it
was an internal flywer within us thatwe one did not want to get swept
(14:01):
again into we are so much betterthan the past two series showed. So
I think we came out this weekendand you know, a bunch of different
people stepped up and they are readywhen their time was called. So I
think that was huge for us,and everyone was really just you know,
there present, you know. SoI think that was great. And if
we can continue that momentum going forward, I know there's gonna you know,
(14:22):
there's gonna be tough games where wedon't perform the way we want. But
if we can stay consistent, youknow, for the most part throughout the
season, I think I think wewere pretty good shots. So Aaron,
thank you so much for your time. I know it's precious this time of
year, busy with school, busywith busy with softball on your schedule,
and you've got a mid week gamecoming up. But we look forward to
following you the rest of the yearand hopefully deep deep into into the summer
(14:43):
as well. Yeah, thank youso much. Go Kats Kawfel and the
Cats have another big series this weekend. We spoke to her before what was
supposed to be a mid week gameagainst Northern Kentucky. Of course, all
the crazy weather that rolled through theentire state of Kentucky earlier this week,
that game got postponed. No wordyet on makeup date for that, but
(15:05):
what we do know is that conferenceplay resumes later on tonight, Friday,
that is seven pm first pitch,and it's again the number thirteen team the
updated poll, Texas A and Mtaking over the number thirteen slot. The
Aggies a great season so far,twenty nine and seven overall, eight and
four in SEC play. And what'smore remarkable and a great challenge for Kentucky,
(15:28):
they are eighteen and one in CollegeStation. They've only dropped one game
this year. Big reason why atrio of great pitching for those Aggies,
Emily Kennedy leading the way fourteen andfive for her a one point six y
five earned run average, Emily Levittseven and one on the campaign, and
e Oray of just two and aquarter, and then Shale Ackerman is six
in one with a two point threesix mark. So it's going to be
(15:52):
a challenge for the Kentucky offense,but one that Aaron Koffl and company certainly
up to and we look forward toseeing that three game series is the Cats
look to continue to climb up theboard in the SEC standings. Friday is
a seven o'clock first pitch on SECNetwork Plus. Saturday is a nationally televised
game. That game will get underwayat four pm on SEC Network, and
(16:15):
then it's back to digital on Sunday, a two o'clock first pitch in the
series finale against the Aggies. Thatgame on SEC Network Plus, and then
next week it is off to therival Louisville before they return home next weekend.
But again that's Friday through Sunday againstTexas A and M in College Station
seven o'clock on Friday, four o'clockSaturday on SEC Network, and then a
(16:38):
two o'clock start on Sunday. Bestof luck to the softball team this weekend.
While softball journeys out on the roadto College Station, baseball returns to
Kentucky Proud Park. Like softball,they were unable to get their game in
with Louisville this midweek, so thatgame has yet to be rescheduled as well.
But number eleven Alabama in town fora huge, huge conference showdown.
(17:03):
Kentucky is high as number twelve andsome poles between twelve and seventeen depending on
the publication. Either way you sliceit or dice it. The Cats trending
in a great direction as they areeight in one in SEC play, fresh
off that three game sweep in Oxford, Mississippi against Ole Miss. They'll get
things started against number eleven Alabama onFriday night at six point thirty. That
(17:23):
game on SEC Network Plus, butyou can tune into the UK Sports Network
beginning at six point fifteen. MyMan Darren Hedrick will have pregame coverage.
Bama coming in with a twenty twoand seven record overall, four and five
in SEC play. They've done alot of their damage at home. They're
sixteen and two in Tuscaloosa. Thiswill be just their eighth true road game
(17:45):
of the year. They are threeand four on the road and two names
to watch for the Crimson Tide GageMiller hitting four fifty for the year,
thirteen home runs to leave the Tidewith thirty nine runs knocked in, and
then TJ McCants a three thirty threeback, but he's got twelve doubles,
twelve homers, and ten stolen bases, so the Cats will want to keep
him off the bases and keep thebase pads empty in front of Gage Miller
(18:10):
again. That's a six thirty starton Friday. Pregame on the UK Sports
Network at six point fifteen Day Baseballat Kentucky Proud Park on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday is a two o'clock first pitch, which means one forty five coverage
on the network and then the finaleon Sunday should be a great one nationally
televised affair and it's an early startat noon. It'll be on the SEC
(18:32):
network. You can go ahead andmute that turn up there in beginning at
eleven forty five am. Mason Mooresix and zero a two point eighty seven
era on the year. He isscheduled to toe the rubber looking for that
seventh victory of the campaign. Kentuckylooking to continue this outstanding start, one
of the best in fact, witha win on Friday, it can be
the best start in the Nick Mengiera, which is certainly saying something.
(18:56):
A year after they went to theSuper Regionals against LSU. Big congrats in
order for the seven seed Kentucky gymnasticsteam as they are headed to the NCAA
Regional Final in Fayetteville, Arkansas.They posted a score of one hundred and
ninety seven point one in the semison Thursday, so they along with out
(19:18):
with the Arkansas who had a narrowlyhigher score at one ninety seven point three
two five, advancing together out ofthat semi final into the regional final and
that'll be on Saturday at six pm. As of Nebraska and Arizona both posting
scores below one ninety seven, Nebraskaat one ninety six point six, Arizona
at one ninety five point six,so their season ends and Kentucky moving on
(19:44):
to that regional final along with Arkansasagain that is Saturday at six pm.
And also a big congrats to LadyFryes she made the cut. She'll play
the final round at Augusta National GolfClub this upcoming Saturday, so as usual,
a stacked, stacked weekend for UKAthletics. A big thanks to Aaron
(20:06):
Koffle taking a time out of herbusy schedule to chat with us. We
certainly look forward to checking in withher this summer to see where her next
steps are once Kentucky softball season isconcluded. And big thanks to everyone at
the UK Sports Network and UK Athleticsalso a big shout out to Chris Sholz
for helping coordinate that interview. Andboy, what a great weekend we have
(20:26):
on tap, softball, baseball,gymnastics this Saturday, tennis back in action,
all kinds of stuff going on andso stick to UK Athletics dot com
and the UK Sports Network for updates. That does it for this episode of
UK Sports Network Today, for everybodyat the network. I met her Kapus
saying thanks for listening.
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