UK Loses In Heartbreaking Fashion Again...Seriously
[caption id="attachment_178220" align="aligncenter" width="433"]
Photo from UK Athletics[/caption]
Yes, I know the final score was 13-3. But there was more to this game than the box score would indicate. Kentucky (25-19, 10-11) was one strike away from the potential outcome being totally different against defending National Champion and 6th-ranked Vanderbilt (34-13, 16-6) Friday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. However, the Commodores mustered up some insane timely hitting en route to a late 10-run rally to knock off the Wildcats.
Things were looking good...
The Cats found themselves toe-to-toe with one of college baseball's elite teams, and another pitching duel, for the better part of the game. Vandy opened the game with single runs in the first and second innings, but UK responded to tie it up in the bottom of the second. JaVon Shelby led off with a mammoth solo homer to cut the deficit in half. Dorian Hairston followed with a walk and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Marcus Carson. Seasoned veteran Thomas Bernal then ripped a whistling liner off the base of the leftfield wall to score Hairston, tying the game at two apiece.
UK captured a 3-2 lead in the third inning before the Dores leveled things in the fourth. Ka'ai Tom knocked a one-out single through the right side and reached second on a failed pickoff attempt. After Shelby walked on the following at bat, Hairston singled up the middle to score Tom. A Vandy solo shot in the following frame evened the game at 3-3.
Then it got weird...
UK starter Zack Brown, facing the bottom half of the Vandy batting order, quickly found himself in a predicament as Vandy loaded the bases with no outs. Showing great poise, Brown got a strikeout and a line out. With a full count and two away, leadoff man Ro Coleman punched a blooper to the left-center gap that turned into a 3-RBI double. Slugger Rhett Wiseman followed that up with his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to centerfield, which blew the game wide open and gave Vandy an 8-3 lead.
Even then, UK threatened in the bottom of the seventh. With bases loaded and two outs, Shelby battled Vandy reliever Kyle Wright but eventually struck out swinging on a breaking ball in the dirt. The Dores would pour it on in the top of the eighth with five more runs before the game finally came to end.
While this one stings, the Cats' sophomore hurler and emerging star Zack Brown will gain tremendous experience. Brown has been on a roll in series-opening starts, including shutout wins versus Tennessee and Florida, and looked the part of an SEC ace for nearly seven innings before the wheels fell off. Vandy starter Carson Fulmer is one of the premier pitchers in the country and Brown held his own for most of the game. Good news for the future of UK baseball.
The Cats will look to bounce back on Saturday at Cliff Hagan Stadium at 6:30 p.m. The pitching matchup at least seems favorable with UK junior righty Dustin Beggs (6-2, 2.84 ERA) facing Vandy's Phillip Pfeifer (3-2, 3.18 ERA).
@STHowle
Photo from UK Athletics[/caption]
Yes, I know the final score was 13-3. But there was more to this game than the box score would indicate. Kentucky (25-19, 10-11) was one strike away from the potential outcome being totally different against defending National Champion and 6th-ranked Vanderbilt (34-13, 16-6) Friday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. However, the Commodores mustered up some insane timely hitting en route to a late 10-run rally to knock off the Wildcats.
Things were looking good...
The Cats found themselves toe-to-toe with one of college baseball's elite teams, and another pitching duel, for the better part of the game. Vandy opened the game with single runs in the first and second innings, but UK responded to tie it up in the bottom of the second. JaVon Shelby led off with a mammoth solo homer to cut the deficit in half. Dorian Hairston followed with a walk and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Marcus Carson. Seasoned veteran Thomas Bernal then ripped a whistling liner off the base of the leftfield wall to score Hairston, tying the game at two apiece.
UK captured a 3-2 lead in the third inning before the Dores leveled things in the fourth. Ka'ai Tom knocked a one-out single through the right side and reached second on a failed pickoff attempt. After Shelby walked on the following at bat, Hairston singled up the middle to score Tom. A Vandy solo shot in the following frame evened the game at 3-3.
Then it got weird...
UK starter Zack Brown, facing the bottom half of the Vandy batting order, quickly found himself in a predicament as Vandy loaded the bases with no outs. Showing great poise, Brown got a strikeout and a line out. With a full count and two away, leadoff man Ro Coleman punched a blooper to the left-center gap that turned into a 3-RBI double. Slugger Rhett Wiseman followed that up with his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to centerfield, which blew the game wide open and gave Vandy an 8-3 lead.
Even then, UK threatened in the bottom of the seventh. With bases loaded and two outs, Shelby battled Vandy reliever Kyle Wright but eventually struck out swinging on a breaking ball in the dirt. The Dores would pour it on in the top of the eighth with five more runs before the game finally came to end.
While this one stings, the Cats' sophomore hurler and emerging star Zack Brown will gain tremendous experience. Brown has been on a roll in series-opening starts, including shutout wins versus Tennessee and Florida, and looked the part of an SEC ace for nearly seven innings before the wheels fell off. Vandy starter Carson Fulmer is one of the premier pitchers in the country and Brown held his own for most of the game. Good news for the future of UK baseball.
The Cats will look to bounce back on Saturday at Cliff Hagan Stadium at 6:30 p.m. The pitching matchup at least seems favorable with UK junior righty Dustin Beggs (6-2, 2.84 ERA) facing Vandy's Phillip Pfeifer (3-2, 3.18 ERA).
@STHowle
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