Kentucky falls to Oklahoma 5-1 in First Round of SEC Tournament

Kentucky will officially head into the NCAA Tournament riding a four-game losing streak after dropping its SEC Tournament First Round matchup to Oklahoma 5-1 on Tuesday. The ‘Cats fall to 29-24 (13-17) but remain a consensus No. 3 seed in the latest Field of 64 Projections.

In 31 SEC games played this season, Kentucky has held a lead on 28 different occasions. Just 13 of those resulted in wins. Nick Mingione is also now just 5-10 in the SEC Tournament as head coach at Kentucky.

It was a disappointing performance all around from the ‘Cats on Tuesday, as they recorded just six total hits. Second baseman Luke Lawrence, who hit two singles and doubled, was responsible for three of the team’s six base knocks.

Senior right-hander Scott Rouse got the start for Kentucky, but lasted just 2 1/3 innings after giving up four hits and three earned runs. He was followed by four relievers (Byers, Nove, Smith and Skelding), who combined to allow just three hits and two earned runs with four strikeouts over the final 6 2/3 innings.

Kentucky strikes first, but Oklahoma responds quickly

Kentucky, known for jumping out to an early lead in SEC play this season (and most times being unable to finish), nearly totaled a couple of runs in the top of the first inning. Luke Lawrence and James McCoy recorded singles and Cole Hage was walked to bring up Patrick Herrera, who still looks to be nursing an injury.

Herrera did the one thing he couldn’t do, which was ground into an inning-ending double play. Kentucky’s starting pitcher Scott Rouse however held the Sooners scoreless in the first and second innings, bringing the Wildcat lineup back up to bat in the top of the third.

Lawrence notched his second hit of the game, a one-out double off the center field fence, and advanced to third base on a balk to put a runner 90 feet away for the ‘Cats. James McCoy delivered with a hard-hit grounder that snuck under the glove of Oklahoma third baseman Dawson Willis, giving Kentucky an early 1-0 lead.

After taking the early lead, the ‘Cats have now held a lead in 28 of their 31 SEC games this season.

That lead didn’t last for long however, as Oklahoma center fielder Jason Walk belted a two-run home run and catcher Easton Carmichael recorded an RBI-single inn the bottom of the third to give the Sooners their first lead of the game.

Sooners coast to win behind solid pitching

Oklahoma tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth via a Kyle Branch RBI-groundout, extending its lead to three runs. This was an insurmountable task for Kentucky, which scored just one run.

The Sooner pitching trio of freshman left-hander Jaden Barfield, senior left-hander Jamie Hitt and senior right-hander Dylan Crooks turned in an incredible performance on Tuesday, holding the ‘Cats to just six hits and one (unearned) run with four strikeouts.

Kentucky recorded just two hits (singles) over the four innings of play and were held scoreless, once again meaning it has scored just 52 runs in the final four innings of its 31 SEC games this season. The ‘Cats love jumping out to early leads, but have been awful down the final stretch of games and it’s pushed them to a “Last Four In” type team in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

If not for the Oklahoma sweep two weekends ago, the season likely would’ve ended on Tuesday for the ‘Cats.

What’s next for Kentucky?

Kentucky will now wait for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday, May 26, at 12 p.m. ET. If selected, it’ll mark the third consecutive season (for the first time in program history) that the Wildcats are headed to the NCAA Tournament.