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Kentucky falls victim to Vanderbilt walk-off once again; lose 9-8

Danby: Daniel Hager05/17/25DanielHagerOn3
Kentucky-falls-victim-Vanderbilt-walk-off-once-again
Kentucky's Nick Mingione (Photo via UK Athletics)

Déjà vu in Nashville.

Kentucky once again fell to No. 9 Vanderbilt via the walk-off Friday night, this time by a score of 9-8. The ‘Cats drop to 29-22 (13-16) and are now currently the No. 13 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament.

Heading into the ninth inning trailing by two, Tyler Bell and Cole Hage belted solo home runs to tie the game. Kyuss Gargett then delivered the go-ahead RBI-double to give Kentucky the late lead. Right-hander James McCoy entered in the ninth to attempt to close out the win, but gave up a walk-off two-run home run to Jonathan Vastine.

Absolute heartbreak for the ‘Cats (again).

A sweep on Sunday would be a huge gut punch, as it would push Kentucky closer and closer to the NCAA Tournament bubble. 13-17 in the SEC has always been close to a lock, but the addition of two more teams this season in Texas and Oklahoma has changed that a bit. Kentucky is currently a projected No. 3 seed in On3’s latest Field of 64 Projections.

Kentucky’s offense totaled 16 hits in the loss, its second most in a game this season. Eight of its nine starters recorded at least one hit, while six different ‘Cats recorded an RBI. Shortstop Tyler Bell, who seems to be an All-SEC Freshman Team lock, tied his career-high with four hits (three singles and a solo home run).

Senior right-hander Nic McCay made his 14th start of the season on Friday and fell into danger immediately. He allowed four runs in the first inning, but bounced back and held the ‘Dores without any more runs until the fourth inning. He’d ultimately exit after 3 2/3 frames, where he allowed six hits and four earned runs with six strikeouts in that span.

Vandy jumps to early lead in wild first inning

Fresh off that walk-off loss on Thursday night, Kentucky came out on Friday and once again jumped to an early lead in the top of the first inning.

Tyler Bell singled through the left side on the first pitch of the game thrown by Vanderbilt left-hander JD Thompson, setting the pace for the Wildcat offense. Bell reached second on a Luke Lawrence ground out and took third on a Cole Hage fly-out, bringing up red-hot James McCoy with two outs in the frame.

McCoy continued his late season surge with an RBI-double to right field, bringing home Bell to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead. That lead soon grew to 2-0, as Patrick Herrera followed McCoy with an RBI-single to give the ‘Cats a two-run advantage.

This early lead didn’t last long at all though, as Vanderbilt’s offense jumped all over Kentucky right-hander Nic McCay in the bottom of the first.

McCay walked the first batter he faced and then allowed a double to center fielder RJ Austin, putting runners on the corners with no outs for Vanderbilt. First baseman Riley Nelson drove home the Commodores’ first run of the game with an RBI-groundout, but third baseman Brodie Johnston would give them the lead in the next at-bat with a two-run home run.

The ‘Dores capped off an exciting opening frame with an RBI-single from shortstop Jonathan Vastine, giving them a 4-2 lead. Following this nightmare first inning for McCay however, he would retire his next 10 batters in order.

Back and forth they go in Nashville

After falling behind by two runs, the ‘Cats bounced back and tied it up in the top of the second.

Devin Burkes and Tyler Bell singled to put runners on the corners with two outs in the inning, bringing Luke Lawrence to the dish. Lawrence hit a chopping groundball up the middle that Vanderbilt second baseman Rustan Rigdon was able to snag, but he beat out the throw to first and Burkes was able to score.

Vandy’s Thompson then walked Cole Hage to load the bases, and then walked James McCoy to bring home Bell to tie the game at four.

Nic McCay nearly got through the fifth inning with his fourth consecutive scoreless frame to preserve the tie, but Carson Hansen dropped a two-out pop-fly in right field that would lead to an RJ Austin RBI-single. He however would redeem himself in the top of the fifth, as he belted an RBI-double to tie the game at five.

As they headed to the latter innings, the ‘Cats and ‘Dores were tied at five at Hawkins Field.

Vanderbilt does it again

Just as it did on Thursday night, a home run propelled Vanderbilt back in front.

Left-hander Ethan Walker forced a fly-out to open the bottom of the sixth, but then gave up a solo home run to Jonathan Vastine to give the ‘Dores a 6-5 lead. That lead would soon increase to 7-5, as Riley Nelson delivered with an RBI-double in the bottom of the seventh to give Vanderbilt its largest lead of the game.

Vanderbilt threatened to blow it open in the bottom of the eighth as it loaded the bases, but left-hander Hayden Smith got the ‘Cats out of the frame unharmed. This ended up being massive for Kentucky, as freshman phenom Tyler Bell led off the ninth inning with a solo home run to pull them within one. Luke Lawrence then struck out, but Cole Hage stepped up when it mattered most.

Hage belted a solo home run to tie the game, and then Kyuss Gargett shot an RBI-double to the left field gap to complete the unbelievable Kentucky comeback. Right?

Well, no. Right-hander James McCoy swapped his first base glove for a pitcher’s glove and attempted to close out the Wildcat victory, but Vanderbilt’s Jonathan Vastine blasted its second consecutive walk-off home run to steal another game over Kentucky.

What’s next for Kentucky?

Kentucky and No. 9 Vanderbilt will collide in the series finale on Saturday at 3:00 pm EST.

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2025-08-03