FB Recruiting Bat Cats suffer doubleheader sweep at LSU to start SEC play

[Jeff Drummond]

LSU opens series with doubleheader sweep of Cats

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK

Kentucky squanders dominant start by Zack Thompson, suffers 2-1 loss in opener; Tigers roll 16-4 in second game at Baton Rouge.

Kentucky junior left-hander Zack Thompson was brilliant in Game 1 but wound up getting a no-decision.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated

In a series delayed a day by rain in Baton Rouge, La., Kentucky did not begin SEC play on the proverbial right foot.

The Wildcats squandered a dominant starting pitching performance by Zack Thompson in losing the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader, 2-1, and were not competitive in a 16-4 blowout in the nightcap.

Thompson, a junior left-hander and preseason All-American, allowed no runs on four hits over six innings and struck out nine, but LSU rallied to tie the game in the eighth inning and pushed the winning run across in the 12th against the UK bullpen. Both runs scored via bases-loaded walks.

Trip Lockhart (0-1) took the loss, allowing two hits and a walk in the 12th, although the winning run was walked in by Ryan Johnson.

Kentucky's lineup struggled against LSU's Zack Hess and Devin Fontenot (3-0), going just 3-for-18 with runners on base in the opener. A T.J. Collett RBI single in the first inning accounted for the Cats' lone run.

In the second game, No. 11 LSU (14-5, 2-0 SEC) plated nine runs in the first three innings against UK starter Grant Macciocchi and never looked back. The Cats were hurt by eight walks and three errors behind their pitchers.

Austin Schultz and Elliott Curtis each had three hits for UK in a better offensive showing than the first game. Collett also had two hits and two RBI.

LSU's Cole Henry (1-0) started and allowed three runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked four. Trent Vietmeier earned his first save of the season for the Tigers by working the final four innings, allowing just one earned run.

Kentucky (13-6, 0-2 SEC) will attempt to avoid the sweep in Sunday's finale at Alex Box Stadium. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. ET.

 

[Jeff Drummond]

GAME ONE SCORING

Top 1st – Breydon Daniel walked, stole second and moved to third on Ryan Shinn’s single to LF. T.J. Collett singled up the middle, scoring Daniel. UK 1, LSU 0.

Bottom 8th – Zach Watson singled to CF to open the inning. Chris Reid and Daniel Cabrera walked to load the bases. Drew Bianco walked, scoring Watson. UK 1, LSU 1.

Bottom 12th – Watson singled to LF and advanced to third on Reid’s hit-and-run single. Cabrera was intentionally walked. Pinch hitter Giovanni DiGiacomo drew a bases loaded walk, scoring Watson. LSU 2, UK 1.



GAME TWO SCORING

Bottom 1st – Zach Watson blooped a single to LF. Antoine Duplantis was hit by a pitch. Chris Reid doubled into the LF corner, scoring Watson and Duplantis. LSU 2, UK 0.


Top 2nd – Dalton Reed singled to RF and Coltyn Kessler was hit by a pitch. Austin Schultz moved the runners up on a groundout. Cam Hill reached on a fielder’s choice to the pitcher, scoring Reed. LSU 2, UK 1.


Bottom 2nd – Giovanni DiGiacomo singled to RF and Brock Mathis walked. Hal Hughes moved both runners up with a SAC bunt. Josh Smith was hit by a pitch. Watson reached on error by RF, scoring DiGiacomo. Duplantis reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Mathis. Daniel Cabrera singled to CF, scoring Smith and Duplantis. Cade Beloso singled to LCF, scoring Reid. DiGiacomo singled to LF, scoring Cabrera. LSU 8, UK 1.


Bottom 3rd – Watson reached on a two-out bloop single and Duplantis reached on an error. Reid walked to load the bases. Watson scored on a wild pitch.LSU 9, UK 1.


Top 4th – Schultz doubled to RF and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Hill walked. Elliott Curtis had a pinch hit single to LF, scoring Schultz. Breydon Daniel walked to load the bases. Hill scored on a wild pitch. LSU 9, UK 3.


Bottom 4th – Beloso singled to RF, DiGiacomo reached on an error and Hughes walked. Smith walked, scoring Beloso. DiGiacomo scored on a wild pitch. Watson homered to LF, scoring Hughes and Smith. LSU 14, UK 3.


Bottom 6th – Smith walked and scored on Watson’s double to LF. Watson scored on Brant Broussard’s groundout to SS. LSU 16, UK 3.


Top 9th – Dalton Reed singled, advanced to second on Orlando Adams Jr.’s walk and scored on Schultz’s single up the middle. LSU 16, UK 4.


NOTES

·Kentucky has scored in 83 consecutive games and 159 of the past 160 dating to the 2016 season. The lone shutout came in a seven-inning game. The current streak is the sixth-longest in school history.


·Junior LHP Zack Thompson got his fourth no-decision in five starts in the first game.

oThompson pitched 6.0 innings, giving up four hits, no runs, two walks and striking out nine.

oThompson now has 46 strikeouts against just nine walks this season.

oHe is striking out 14.44 batters per nine innings.

oBatters are hitting just .188 against Thompson.

oThompson now has 184 strikeouts for his career.


·Sophomore C/INF Coltyn Kessler extended his reached base safely streak to 14 games but saw his career-long hitting streak end at 11 in the first game.

·Junior IF Elliott Curtis had a career-high three hits in game two.

·Freshman IF Austin Schultz had a career-high three hits in game two.

·Senior C Marshall Gei has reached base in 10 straight games.

 

[floboi03]

Has UK won a single game against P5 team all year? Got swept by Texas Texh and now 0-2 vs LSU. Pretty hard to go to post season play unable to win games like these.

Starting to think Ming only won with Henderson’s players. Unless drastic change happens (which is very difficult to see once u watch them play) this will be 2 straight years of missing post season play. Very frustrating as a die hard baseball fan.

 

[hs_sportsfan]

Don't want to jump the gun but this is a bad bad baseball team. When Thompson is on the mound we might have a chance because of him. Outside of that it isn't very good and to be quite honest they make some head scratching decisions from the bench.

 

[TennCat]

This is just the first conference series of the season with a lot of games left to be played, but I don’t think we should be surprised that this program is going to take a step back this year. We lost too many key players who were major contributors last year. Playing in the toughest conference in College Baseball is a grind. Mingione has recruited well and has brought tremendous enthusiasm to the program. I feel good about the future with him at the helm.