Bat Cats hold off Georgia 16-10 in high-scoring SEC opener
Behind 14 hits and 16 runs, Kentucky opened SEC play with a 16-10 win over Georgia on Friday.
The Wildcat offense rolled, as seven different batters finished with a hit and eight batters finished with an RBI. The Cats also hit three home runs (Lopez, Daly, McCarthy), which is tied for their most in a game this season (USC Upstate).
15 of Kentucky’s 16 runs scored came in just three innings, as the Cats put up a five-run inning three times (fourth, sixth and seventh innings).
Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Travis Smith made his fourth start of the season for Kentucky and continued his early season struggles. He lasted five innings, allowing five hits and five earned runs while walking more batters (four) than strikeouts (three). His ERA is up to 6.57.
The Wildcat bullpen continued its impressive season however, allowing just two hits and four earned runs in relief.
Georgia jumps out to 4-0 lead
Kentucky’s trend of getting out of the box slow continued Friday, as Georgia jumped out to an early 4-0 lead.
Power-hitting superstar Charlie Condon was hit to open the game, putting a runner immediately in scoring position after he advanced to second on a wild pitch. Dylan Goldstein singled to left field, driving in a Georgia run with just one out in the inning.
Smith loaded the bases after a walk and another HBP, allowing Henry Hunter to drive in another Bulldog run via a sacrifice fly.
The Bat Cats went down in order in the bottom of the first, allowing the Dogs to add onto their lead in the second. After an inning opening strikeout, Dillon Carter blasted a solo home run to right field to extend Georgia’s lead to three. Carter’s second inning home run was his fifth of the season.
Georgia tacked on one more run in the second, courtesy of a Travis Smith bases-loaded walk. Smith however forced an inning ending groundout with the bags full to avoid any more damage.
After falling behind 4-0, Kentucky outscored Georgia 16-6 over the remaining seven innings.
Double trouble propels Cats to lead in fourth
Kentucky scored one run in the bottom of the second inning on a wild pitch, but trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the fourth inning. By the end of the half inning however, they had jumped out to a 6-4 lead.
Nick Lopez continued his phenomenal season with an inning opening single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, setting up Ryan Nicholson with a RISP. Nicholson delivered, singling to right field to drive in Lopez from second. After a rough start to the season, Nicholson has been playing much better over the last five games.
Nicholson’s RBI set off an explosion of the Wildcat offense, as Reuben Church, Nolan McCarthy, and Ryan Waldschmidt followed each other with back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles. Emilien Pitre knocked an RBI-single to right field for the fourth consecutive run-scoring hit, driving in the fifth run of the inning.
Suddenly, the Cats held the lead.
Back-to-back big innings put game away
Georgia reclaimed a 7-6 victory in the top of the sixth inning, but Kentucky slammed the door shut with back-to-back five run innings in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings.
Nolan McCarthy’s big day continued in the sixth, blasting a solo home run to re-tie the game. He was followed by a Ryan Waldschmidt double and an Emilien Pitre single, putting runners on the corners with Devin Burkes up to bat.
The bottom of the sixth was the epitome of Nick Mingione’s “bunts and bombs” philosophy, as a Devin Burkes sacrifice bunt scored Waldschmidt from third. After Pitre scored on a wild pitch, Mitch Daly blasted a home run to cap off their second five-run inning of the game.
The Cats scored five more runs in the seventh, which was started with a Ryan Waldschmidt RBI single. After another score on a wild pitch and a Pitre RBI sac-fly, Nick Lopez belted a two-run home run to put Kentucky ahead by nine runs.
Kentucky opens conference play with win
RHP Colby Frieda and RHP Johnny Hummel closed out the Dogs in the ninth inning, allowing just two runs in the ninth to secure the six-run victory.
The Bat Cats are back in action on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EST as they look to start the SEC slate with a series victory.
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