UK Baseball drops third straight; loses 4-2 at No. 13 Louisville

On3 imageby:Hunter Shelton04/19/22

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Despite doubling No. 13 Louisville in hits, Kentucky Baseball was unable to overcome the rival Cardinals, falling 4-2 inside Jim Patterson Stadium.

The Wildcats left 10 runners on base on Tuesday night as they were unable to overcome an early deficit.

UK (21-16, 5-10 SEC) was fanned 11 times by Louisville (25-11, 9-6 ACC) pitching, recording just one extra base hit as the Cardinals snapped a three-game skid.

Cardinals make every hit count

One of UofL’s four hits came in the bottom of the first inning, as left fielder Cameron Masterman tattooed his 13th home run of the season to right center on a 1-2 pitch from Seth Logue.

In the bottom half of the third, with two runners on via a walk and a hit batsmen, UK head coach Nick Mingione pulled Logue, replacing him with Wyatt Hudepohl. After a walk to load the bases, designated hitter Jack Payton rifled the first pitch he saw to left field, bringing home both runners to give the Cards an early 3-0 cushion.

Logue allowed three runs on three hits while striking out three batters in his seventh start of the season. He has now failed to pitch three or more innings in his last trio of appearances.

The Payton single would be the lone hit allowed by Hudepohl in his 1.1 innings of work. Sophomore Austin Strickland followed, tossing two hitless innings, his first hitless outing since March 18 at Arkansas.

Former starter Magdiel Cotto would surrender the fourth and final Louisville run in the seventh, facing just three batters. After an Isaac Humphrey leadoff single, a slow-roller to third base would advance him to second. Cotto couldn’t hold the right fielder at the bag, as Humphrey swiped third base in the next at-bat.

In a 3-2 count later the inning, Mingione made the decision to lift Cotto, opting for Daniel Harper to finish the at-bat and the inning instead. Harper wouldn’t have the control that Mingione was looking for, as he eventually walked a pair of batters, including one with the bases loaded, bringing home a run that was charged to Cotto.

On a night where they needed it, the Wildcats’ bullpen was solid. It just wasn’t enough to stuff the timely hitting from the Cards.

UK unable to single its way to victory

The Wildcats smashed seven singles on Tuesday night, with their lone extra base hit being an RBI two-bagger off the bat of Daniel Harris IV.

Kentucky earned a hit in seven of the nine innings, mounting more than one base knock in an inning just once, as Adam Fogel and Jacob Plastiak lined back-to-back singles in the second.

Seven ‘Cats earned at least one hit against the UofL pitching staff. First baseman Plastiak was the only player to notch a pair, including an RBI single in the sixth.

While UK was able to stack up hits, it couldn’t make them count when it mattered most. The Cats went 3-16 with runners on base, while 10 of those AB’s came with runners in scoring position.

As the ‘Cats were spacing out their hits, the Cardinals were spacing out their arms. Eight pitchers totaled nine innings on Tuesday night, with only the opener Kyle Walter not allowing a hit. Reliever Ryan Hawks was the only Cardinal to pitch two innings against Kentucky.

Harris’ double came with two outs and two strikes in the ninth, bringing home Jase Felker to cut the lead to two, putting the tying run in scoring position.

The ‘Cats got the right bat up to the dish, as third baseman Chase Estep stepped in the box. On a 2-2 pitch he rolled a grounder to third, where Louisville’s Ben Metzinger tagged out Harris who was scampering to the bag, ending the game.

Now or never for the Wildcats

Another opportunity will come this weekend for the struggling ‘Cats, as No. 17 Vanderbilt (25-10, 7-8 SEC) will head to Kentucky Proud Park for a three-game weekend series.

Kentucky is running out of time to make its plea for the NCAA Tournament, but a series win over the battle-tested Commodores may push things in the right direction with the end of April approaching.

Game one in Lexington is set for Friday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. EST.

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2024-03-28