Recap: Batcats Finally Wake Up, Rally Late to 8-4 Win

It was a gorgeous day for baseball at The Cliff, with fans scarfing down as many $2 short stacks (in honor of National Pancake Day) and Taco Tuesday tacos as their hearts desired. What's even better, Gary Henderson and The Gang were able to mount a late-inning comeback to extend their winning streak to five in a row, beating Cincinnati 8-4. Let's get to the box score and some notes from the W. Kentucky (8-3):   Cincinnati (1-11):   Notes: Zach Logue kept the Cats in striking distance. You can't ask for too much from the sophomore's first start of the season. The lefty went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs (both coming from a Cincinnati home run in the fourth) on six hits and working out of a couple of jams early on in the contest. Head coach Gary Henderson was impressed with what he saw from Logue tonight, commenting on the success of his off-speed pitches in getting some early outs: "There's a lot of good stuff to build on." Leather was flashed all over the field. Defensive highlights are one of, if not the biggest reason why Cincinnati didn't run off with the game today. Storm Wilson came up with an incredible diving grab on a blooper to center that would have plated two and extended the Bearcats two-out rally in the bottom of the second. Freshman Tristan Pompey followed that up in the top of the fifth with a running catch in left that took away extra bases. Evan White proved why he's one of the best first basemen in the country by making an unassisted double play on a line drive look routine, and SS Riley Mahan rounded up the evening by turning what looked like a hit up the middle into another Kentucky double play. It took awhile, but the offense finally decided to show up. What looked like a frustrating evening at the plate turned into a huge comeback thanks to a seven-run seventh inning. If Cincinnati learned one thing on their trip to Lexington it's that walks will haunt. Bearcats pitching surrendered seven walks (and hit at least three more Wildcat batters) on the evening, and Gary Henderson's crew finally capitalized on those mistakes with some big hits when it mattered. Leading the charge - yet again - was Evan White. The sophomore collected three of the Cats' five hits in the game, one of which was a two-run single that sparked the seventh inning rally; cutting the Bearcat lead to one. Mahan followed with a single of his own to tie the game, then junior DH Gunnar McNeill blew the game open with a bases-clearing double. A sacrifice fly from Tristan Pompey put the exclamation point on the 8-4 win, and gave the Wildcat bullpen some extra cushion heading to the last two frames. Not a bad evening from the pen. Bo Wilson struggled in his one inning of work, giving up two runs on three hits. Thankfully, the offense came through with more than enough run support late, and the Kentucky pitching staff was able to close the door from there. Freshman Sean Hjelle was especially impressive in the ninth, striking out the side and sending the Kentucky faithful home happy. Comeback wins are nice. After back-to-back rallies for the win (first on Sunday afternoon, then tonight), there's a lot of energy around this team. "It gives us a lot of confidence," Evan White said. "We know people will get the job done, and we trust each other's approaches at the plate." That'll do it for tonight. The Batcats are back in action tomorrow afternoon against Murray State, with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at The Cliff. Head out to the ballpark for Wings Wednesday (as if things couldn't get any better after the National Pancake Day/Taco Tuesday combination) and more great weather or follow @TreyHuntsmanKSR for the updates and recap. @brooksHoltonKSR