Logan Darnell closes out Kentucky’s 17-11 win over Tennessee. He retires Cody Brown on a comebacker, pinch-hitter Matt Hamaker on a grounder to second and strikes out Tyler Horne. Overall, Darnell retires the last 11 batters in a row. FINAL SCORE: KENTUCKY 17, TENNESSEE 11.
Cats take 17-11 lead over Vols into 9th inning
Tennessee right-hander Matt Ramsey disposes of Kentucky’s first two batters in the eighth, but issues a walk to No. 9 hitter Marcus Nidiffer. No harm, though, as Chad Wright grounds into a fielder’s choice. Going to the ninth inning: Kentucky 17, Tennessee 11.
Darnell is perfect in 8th; UK leads Vols 17-11
Kentucky’s Logan Darnell retires Tennessee in order for the second inning in a row. Overall, Darnell has retired eight batters in a row. In the middle of the eighth inning: Kentucky 17, Tennessee 11.
Glad homers in 7th to give UK 17-11 lead
Gunner Glad
Kentucky gets its offense cranking again in the seventh. Andy Burns leads off, drawing his fourth walk of the game. One out later, Gunner Glad smacks a two-run homer to the deck in right-center. Tennessee’s bullpen gets another call, this time for right-hander Matt Ramsey. He gets a pair of fly balls to end the inning. At the end of seven: Kentucky 17, Tennessee 11.
Darnell sets down Vols in order in 7th
Logan Darnell
Cats lefty Logan Darnell retires Tennessee in order in the seventh, getting a pair of groundouts and catching P.J. Polk looking at a full-count called third strike. At seventh-inning stretch time: Kentucky 15, Tennessee 11.
Cats go down 1-2-3 in 6th, hold 15-11 lead
Kentucky goes down 1-2-3 in the sixth via a pair of strikeouts and an infield fly. Going to the seventh inning: Kentucky 15, Tennessee 11.
Forsythe homer cuts UK lead to 15-11 in 6th
Tennessee cuts into Kentucky’s lead in the sixth as Blake Forsythe sends a one-out solo homer over the left-field wall. In the middle of the sixth inning: Kentucky 15, Tennessee 11.
Kapteyn slam caps 5-run 5th; Cats lead 15-10
Marcus Nidiffer
Braden Kapteyn
The hits (and the runs) just keep on coming. Kentucky’s Marcus Nidiffer leads off the bottom of the fifth with a home run off of the light tower in left-center, snapping a 10-10 tie. Chad Wright singles up the middle, his third hit of the day, and takes second on a wild pitch. Andy Burns walks before Chris Bisson flies to shallow left for the first out. Tennessee Coach Todd Raleigh calls for his fifth pitcher of the game — left-hander Joey Rosas, whose only other appearance of the season came Feb. 21. Gunner Glad walks to load the bases. Braden Kapteyn crushes a 1-1 pitch for a grand-slam homer to right-center. Rosas retires the next two batters. Through five complete innings: Kentucky 15, Tennessee 10.
Tennessee plates 4 in 5th to tie Cats, 10-10
Charley Thurber
Tennessee comes back again in the fifth, roughing up Mike Kaczmarek. Kentrail Davis reaches on an infield single, then scores on Cody Hawn’s double to right-center. Blake Forsythe walks. Cody Brown lays down a sacrifice bunt and is safe at first as Kaczmarek bobbles the ball for a base-loading error. Charley Thurber knocks a two-run single through the right side, moving Brown to second. That finishes Kaczmarek as Coach Gary Henderson summons another lefty, Logan Darnell. Tyler Horne ties the game with a run-scoring single down the third-base line, Thurber stopping at second. Cody Grisham’s bunt is misplayed by first baseman Gunner Glad, loading the bases. Zach Osborne flies to shallow left for the first out. P.J. Polk reaches on a fielder’s choice as third baseman Chris McClendon throws to catcher Marcus Nidiffer for a forceout. Kentrail Davis flies to deep right, leaving the bases juiced. Through 4 1/2 innings: Kentucky 10, Tennessee 10.
Nothing doing for UK in 4th, but Cats lead 10-6
Kentucky goes down in order for the first time today. At the end of four innings, the Wildcats have made a call to the bullpen for left-hander Mike Kaczmarek. The score: Kentucky 10, Tennessee 6.
Leadoff homer cuts UK lead to 10-6 in fourth
Tyler Horne
Tennessee’s Tyler Horne leads off the top of the fourth with a homer to straightaway center field. UK right-hander Clint Tilford retires the next three in order, all on grounders. In the middle of the fourth: Kentucky 10, Tennessee 6.
Cats score twice to build 10-5 lead over Vols
Third-inning homer cuts Cats’ lead to 8-5
Tennessee rallies in the third as Cody Hawn belts a one-out solo homer over the scoreboard in left-center. The Vols put two more runners on before an unusual double play. Charley Thurber’s popup drops between three Cats, just beyond the infield dirt between short and third. The infield fly rule made Thurber an automatic out. When the ball fell, Blake Forsythe ran from second to third, where he was tagged out by pitcher Clint Tilford. In the middle of the third: Kentucky 8, Tennessee 5.
UK explodes for 8 runs, leads Vols 8-4 through 2 innings
Chris Bisson
Keenan Wiley
In the bottom of the second, Kentucky gets a one-out single from Troy Frazier. One out later, Marcus Nidiffer walks. Chad Wright beats out a slow chopper to shortstop, loading the bases. Andy Burns battles back from an 0-2 count by taking a ball and fouling off a pair of pitches. His grounder to shortstop is too hot for Zach Osborne to handle. The error allows Frazier to score and keeps the bases loaded. Chris Bisson drives a full-count pitch to the wall in right-center for a three-run triple, tying the game at 4. Gunner Glad singles through the left side of the infield, driving in Bisson with the go-ahead run. Tennessee Coach Todd Raleigh goes to his bullpen, calling in right-hander Stephen McCray. Braden Kapteyn, UK’s ninth batter of the inning, draws a walk. Keenan Wiley drives the next pitch over the wall in right-center, his fourth homer of the season, to plate three more runs. Troy Frazier fouls out to close the inning. At the end of two innings: Kentucky 8, Tennessee 4.
Tennessee goes down in order in second
Tennessee goes down in order in the second with two groundouts and a fly ball. In the middle of the second: Tennessee 4, Kentucky 0.
Cats leave a pair of runners on in first, trail 4-0
In the bottom of the first, Kentucky gets a one-out walk by Andy Burns and a bloop single by Chris Bisson. But Tennessee lefty Steven Gruver strikes out Gunner Glad and Braden Kapteyn. After one inning: Tennessee 4, Kentucky 0.
Tennessee bolts to 4-0 lead in first inning
Blake Forsythe
Cody Brown
Tennessee strikes quickly in the top of the first. A single, walk and an error load the bases with one out. Blake Forsythe singles to left, driving in Zach Osborne with the game’s first run. Cody Brown rips a three-run double to the left-field corner. Clint Tilford’s errant pickoff throw moves Brown to third. Cody Thurber walks. Tyler Horne grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. After half an inning: Tennessee 4, Kentucky 0.
SEC baseball: Tennessee at Kentucky III
Getting set for the final game in a three-game Southeastern Conference baseball series at Cliff Hagan Stadium matching Kentucky and Tennessee. The teams split the first two games.
Kentucky was scheduled to start freshman right-hander Alex Meyer, but he is a late scratch due to a calf injury. Filling in is righty Clint Tilford.
The lineups:
Tennessee (21-26 overall, 7-16 SEC) – Zach Osborne, ss; P.J. Polk, lf; Kentrail Davis, cf; Cody Hawn, 1b; Blake Forsythe, c; Cody Brown, 3b; Charley Thurber, rf; Tyler Horne, dh; Cody Grisham, 2b. Pitching: LH Steven Gruver (0-1, 6.49).
Kentucky (23-23, 8-15) — Chad Wright, lf; Andy Burns, ss; Chris Bisson, 2b; Gunner Glad, 1b; Braden Kapteyn, dh; Keenan Wiley, cf; Troy Frazier, rf; Chris McClendon, 3b; Marcus Nidiffer, c. Pitching: RH Clint Tilford (1-4, 6.04).
Umpires — Owen Butts, plate; Tony Maners, 1b; John Whitaker, 3b.
Weather — Overcast, 57 degrees, wind 10 mph out to right field.
