Kentucky Baseball drops fourth straight SEC series; postseason hopes fading

Kentucky Baseball had yet another opportunity to reclaim some hope in the 2022 season over the weekend but failed to overcome the Vanderbilt Commodores, dropping two of three games at home.

The Wildcats (22-18, 6-12 SEC) have now lost four consecutive SEC series after being no-hit on Friday and giving up 13 hits on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match against Vandy (28-11, 9-9 SEC).

With just 15 games remaining in the regular season, it will take a miraculous run to get UK within striking distance of the NCAA Tournament.

Strikeouts plague Cats from get-go

Nothing went right at the plate for the Wildcats on Friday night, as they were no-hit in a 10-0 loss in game one.

Chris McElvain and Christian Little combined for nine near-perfect innings, walking just four hitters. UK didn’t do itself any favors in the batter’s box, as the ‘Cats struck out 13 times in 31 plate appearances.

The two through six hitters in the lineup were as unproductive as ever, with each batter striking out twice. Third baseman Chase Estep was the only ‘Cat to reach base more than once, drawing two walks.

13 different Wildcats would step up to the plate on Friday, all of whom were unable to reach base on a ball put in play.

Commodore pitching would fan seven more on Saturday, though the Wildcats were able to squeak out a 3-2 win, evening the series.

Five ‘Cats went down swinging, with first baseman Jacob Plastiak recording a hat trick of K’s. In the rubber match on Sunday, eight more punch-outs doomed any hope of Kentucky completing a five-run comeback.

Reliever Thomas Schultz closed the door for Vanderbilt, striking out four in the final 2.2 innings of work.

A grand total of 28 strikeouts stymied the Kentucky bats, which managed to compile just six runs in three games over the weekend.

Jekyll and Hyde pitching earns just one win

Pitching has been an atrocity for Kentucky this season, thanks to both performance and injury.

Unable to get a break in the SEC, another tall task awaited the pitching staff in a fiery Commodore offense.

Mason Hazelwood provided length for UK in game one on Friday, tossing five innings where he allowed two runs on five hits, walking and striking out five batters each.

While Hazelwood finally gave the bullpen a bit of breathing room, the arms out of the pen were unable to contain the Vandy offense.

Ryan Hagenow and Daniel Harper combined for just two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs in the process.

Freshman Colby Freida was hit in the late innings, allowing four runs of his own on four hits, while also walking three batters. UK pitching walked 12 Commodores on Friday.

Saturday was a monumental turnaround for head coach Nick Mingione’s staff, as just two arms were used in game two.

Zack Lee allowed just two runs in five innings of work, easily his longest outing of the season. The Commodores totaled six hits against the righty but mustered just the pair of runs while drawing only two walks.

In relief, Tyler Guilfoil was stellar for UK. In four innings, the Lexington native surrendered just one hit, striking out five, earning the save along the way. In his last three appearances, the Lafayette High School alum has fanned 19 batters.

With the series on the line, the starting pitching faltered for UK on Sunday.

Seth Logue took the mound but exited after facing just three batters. Enrique Bradfield Jr. led off the game with an opposite-field home run for Vanderbilt before the next two batters also reached base.

Logue’s final line read with 0.0 innings pitched, three hits and three runs. Go-to arm Sean Harney stopped the bleeding a tad while giving Mingione length, throwing six innings, giving up six hits and two runs.

Mason Moore and Austin Strickland combined for three scoreless innings, but the early damage was already done, sealing UK’s fate.

Not much time left for Kentucky

Kentucky now has four SEC series remaining in the regular season, three of which are against ranked opponents. After a Tuesday game against Dayton, the ‘Cats will head down to Gainesville for a three-game weekend set against the Florida Gators.

If Mingione is to get his team back to the postseason, a strong finish to the year has to begin with a series victory in the Sunshine State.

The game between the Wildcats and Flyers is set for April 26 at 6:30 p.m. EST inside Kentucky Proud Park. It will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.