Kentucky falls 2-1 in series-opener to Ole Miss despite fantastic pitching

The Kentucky pitching staff painted themselves an absolute masterpiece on Friday night, holding No. 9 Ole Miss to five hits, but the ‘Cats still fell 2-1 to the Rebels at Kentucky Proud Park. The loss moves Kentucky to 17-10 on the season with a 2-5 conference record.

Pitching staff twirls best performance of season in loss

Attempt No. 1 of trying to stitch together a Friday night plan following the massive loss of Cole Stupp seemed to be a roaring success. It was unorthodox and almost surely won’t be the plan going forward but it worked tonight, which is all that matters for a staff dealing with so many issues this season.

Mason Hazelwood got the nod for the start for the first time in over a year. After undergoing Tommy John Surgery last season, the Salvisa, KY native has been eased back onto the field in a reliever role so far this season. The plan didn’t appear to have Hazelwood back in the starting rotation so quick. But like we’ve seen so often in the past, he’s maybe the most consistent pitcher on the Wildcat roster when healthy.

“It’s good to get Mason out there and get the start. It’s the longest he’s gone since the surgery.” Head Coach Nick Mingione said after the loss.

Got heem, @HazelwoodMason!

Watch on SECN+ pic.twitter.com/hWtcujq9TK

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) April 1, 2022

Hazelwood obviously was given a limited pitch count given his workload so far this season. The lefty went two innings while giving up a couple of hits, throwing 37 pitches. He allowed an unearned run in the first inning due to some defensive miscues. He threw wide of first base, allowing Ole Miss’ 2021 National Freshman of the Year Jacob Gonzalez to go to second.

Tim Elko drove in Gonzalez with an RBI single for the Rebels’ first run.

Ryan Hagenow came in to relieve Hazelwood and proceeded to have maybe his best performance in a Kentucky uniform. The sophomore went three hitless innings while fanning five in the process to keep one of the best offenses in the nation at bay.

“If you told me that we’d give up two runs before the game I’d say ‘All right I’ll take it,’ against that offense, it’s a really good offense.” Mingione said.

Tyler Guilfoil took over after Hagenow and continued his stellar inaugural season back in his hometown. The Lafayette High School product tossed 2.1 scoreless innings.

Guilfoil recorded one out in the eighth before seeing Sean Harney run in from the bullpen. Harney was rolling through the Rebel lineup until giving up the game winning run with two outs in the ninth when Hayden Leatherwood lined an RBI single into right field.

“We felt those guys were the guys who were going to give us the best chance and boy was I proud of them, they threw the ball exceptionally well.”

Offense couldn’t put it together when given the chance

The bats struggled overall throughout the night, mustering up just three hits total in the contest.

After falling behind before stepping up to the plate, Kentucky didn’t produce all that many scoring opportunities. Their first real chance came in the fourth inning when some tomfoolery from the umpires took a run off the board for the ‘Cats.

On a potential double-play scenario that would ultimately end the inning, Gonzalez threw wide of first base, allowing Hunter Jump to come in for what seemed like the tying run. However, Jase Felker was eventually called out for runner interference while sliding into second, canceling out the score.

“I give the umpires credit, they made the right call.” Mingione calmly admitted after the game.

Kentucky was able to break through just a few innings later thanks to some defensive blunders from the Rebels. Ryan Ritter reached first when a slow roller went through the pitchers legs inexplicably. He reached second on a passed ball, then took third on a delayed steal before the pitcher got the ball again. Chase Estep was able to bring the star shortstop in with an RBI groundout to tie the game at one apiece.

It wasn’t enough offense in the end though, as the ‘Cats would go on to drop the series-opener.

Kentucky looks to end their losing streak and get some momentum back on Saturday with the middle game of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. EST and will be on the SEC Network+.