Kentucky softball has a budding star in Hailey Nutter.
The freshman pitcher tossed her second no-hitter of the season on Sunday, capping off a perfect weekend for the Widlcats at the Blues City Invitational in Memphis. It was Nutter’s second no-hitter in the last three weeks, making her the first Kentucky player with multiple no-nos since Kelsey Nunley in 2016. In the process, UK took down Indiana State 8-0 in five innings to polish off a 5-0 stretch that ran from Friday through Sunday.
Kentucky opened the Blues City Invitational with a doubleheader on Friday, picking up a 5-0 win over North Carolina A&T before shutting out Northern Illinois 11-0 in just five innings. The ‘Cats returned for another two-game slate on Saturday, beating Bradley 7-3 and Memphis 7-1, before wrapping up the event with Nutter’s Sunday no-hitter.
UK is now 12-4 on the season and riding a six-game winning streak. The ‘Cats will finally play a game in Lexington this weekend as they host the John Cropp Classic.
NO-HITTER!!!
— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) February 22, 2026
Friday’s start to the Blues City Invitational was a fun one for Rachel Lawson’s squad. Against Northern Illinois, Karissa Hamilton became the first Wildcat since 2001 to hit for the cycle while senior catcher Ella Emmert blasted her first career home run. UK tacked on eight runs in the fifth inning to force the early ending. Right before then, senior pitcher Sarah Haendiges struck out 12 batters in a complete-game shutout to beat North Carolina A&T.
Haendiges returned to the circle on Saturday in game two of the doubleheader, once again pitching a complete-game in the win over Memphis. UK also drilled a season-high four homers in the game, two coming from freshman Maddy Anson. Bradley actually took an early 1-0 lead in the game prior, but then gave up seven unanswered runs to Kentucky. Allie Blum paced the ‘Cats, going 2-3 at the plate with two runs plus an RBI.
Sunday’s no-hitter from Nutter was the highlight of the weekend, though. She finished her day with 12 strikeouts, tossing 72 pitches for 50 strikes. Offensively, Kentucky scored eight runs on 12 hits, with eight of nine Wildcats in the batting order logging at least one hit. Hamilton’s walk-off single in the bottom of the fifth put the game to bed right then.
Kentucky will now prepare for this weekend’s event in Lexington, where the ‘Cats will face a Michigan State team twice that is receiving votes in the national poll. Tickets can be purchased at UKathletics.com/tickets.
John Cropp Classic schedule
*All games will be streamed on the SEC Network+*
| DATE/TIME (ET) | OPPONENT |
| Friday, Feb. 27 | 3:00 PM | Michigan State |
| Friday, Feb. 27 | 5:30 PM | Dayton |
| Saturday, Feb. 28 | 3:00 PM | Michigan State |
| Saturday, Feb. 28 | 5:30 PM | Dayton |
| Sunday, March 1 | 3:00 PM | Murray State |