Kentucky falls in extra innings to Texas A&M in series-opener

Kentucky lost an absolute heartbreaker late Thursday night (and into the early hours of Friday morning). The Bat Cats fell 3-2 in their opening match of a three-game set against Texas A&M down in College Station. The Aggies’ victory came by way of a walk-off home run in the 11th inning of a game that didn’t end until past 1:00 a.m.

Pitching and defense lead the way despite loss

Why mess with what’s working, right?

For the second straight week Kentucky went with a glorified bullpen game for the Friday contest — or in this instance, a Thursday night matchup with the Aggies. Mason Hazelwood got the nod once again and was given a little longer of a leash.

The Salvisa, KY native threw nearly four quality innings as he still works his way back to full strength after surgery last season. Hazelwood gave up four hits and an earned run in his stint but looked incredibly comfortable inside a hostile environment. Albeit, he needed a little help from his defense to keep it a low-scoring effort.

Fogey ain't afraid of no fence!@adamfogel55 with the #SCTop10 gem!

Catch us on the @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/36GKrICtsl

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) April 8, 2022

ZO FROM ONE KNEE!

Pew Pew! Don't run on @AlonzoRubalcaba. pic.twitter.com/gOmC4DKifK

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) April 8, 2022

Hazelwood fanned five while only allowing one free base in the process. He dropped his ERA down to an even 3.00 before getting taken out for Ryan Hagenow.

The sophomore from Knoxville, TN looked to be well on his way to a second straight sensational appearance before imploding in the sixth. Hagenow fell victim to that ridiculous “Ball 5” chant they do down in College Station, walking two batters on nine pitches before being taken out for Sean Harney.

Usually reserved for late-game situations, head coach Nick Mingione had to use Harney early to limit the damage. He let up a single to the first batter he saw, bringing in the tying run at the time but settled down quickly. With men on second and third with no outs, the grad student picked up three straight outs to keep the game squared up heading into the seventh.

He too needed some help from his fielders to get out of the inning.

E6 | UK 2, A&M 2@Harney17 does work and @danpapi1 does something spectacular!#SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/ZIPOaPyltl

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) April 8, 2022

He ended up going longer than any other Kentucky pitcher, making it to the 11th inning before giving up the walk-off home run to Troy Claunch.

Offense still not getting it done

The difference on Thursday compared to normal outings was that Kentucky grabbed the initial lead. The Wildcats grabbed a pair of runs in the fourth thanks to some clutch hitting. Adam Fogel drove in Ryan Ritter by dropping a single into right field. After stealing second, Fogel scored on a single from Alonzo Rubalcaba that snuck through the left side of the infield.

The ‘Cats had multiple opportunities to take the lead in this game, including a spot in the 11th inning where they had men in scoring position with one out. In all, Kentucky was 2-14 with runners in scoring position and 3-14 with two outs.

They’ll suit up again on Friday night for game two of the series, looking to avoid a series loss. Darren Williams is slated to be on the mound and first pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.