Kentucky's bats propel 'Cats to series win

Kentucky Baseball hit on all cylinders to claim its first three games of the season against Jacksonville State. 42 hits, to be exact.

The Wildcats pushed 31 runs across the plate in three matchups against the Gamecocks, posting 10 on opening day, a six-spot in game two and 15 in the finale on Sunday.

Red hot on opening day

You can chalk Kentucky’s 10-8 victory in game one of the three-game set up to jitters for the defense, but the Bat Cats lived up to their name on Friday.

UK would score runs in five innings, totaling 13 hits against the Gamecock pitching staff.

Oraj Anu did what he does best in the top of the second inning, going yard to right field, bringing in Chase Estep for a two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2.

Anu, who hit just .265 in the 2021 season, is looking to bounce back and match some of his numbers from his 2020 campaign, where he slugged .549 and held an on-base percentage of .368.

Estep got in on the action in the fourth, launching a solo shot down the right-field line, which gave UK a 4-2 lead. The Corbin, KY native totaled 36 hits last season, a number the Wildcats will need him to surpass in order to be successful in 2022.

He would get off on the right foot in game one against JSU, going 3-4 on Friday with two RBI.

Both Anu and Estep would rope RBI singles in the top of the sixth, breaking a 6-6 tie. The Wildcat pitching staff would give up the lead in the bottom half of the inning, once again relying on the bats to bail them out.

They would do just that in the top of the ninth, as shortstop Ryan Ritter would single home Daniel Harris IV, followed by a Hunter Jump base hit scoring John Thrasher.

Sean Harney would close the door on the Gamecocks, giving the Cats an exciting victory to kick off the year.

Eight different Wildcats would record at least one hit on opening day, as UK totaled 13 on the day. Anu and Estep each led the way with three knocks apiece.

Still mashing on Saturday

The Cats wasted no time in game two, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings.

After an Estep pop-out to the second baseman, a throwing error by JSU allowed two runs to score.

Hartford transfer John Thrasher picked up his first RBI of the day in the second, as a groundout scored catcher Alonzo Rubalcaba. Jump then lined a single to center to score Ritter, giving UK pitcher Magdiel Cotto an early cushion.

Although Kentucky would fail to score again until the ninth inning, they would tally hits in every inning except the eighth.

The damage would be done in the ninth, as Anu blasted a single to right, scoring Adam Fogel. Harris IV then executed an RBI bunt that brought in Estep for the final insurance run of the game.

Cotto picked up the win for the Cats, pitching four innings of three-hit, six-strikeout baseball, but the bats once again paved the way to victory.

Six Wildcats picked up two hits, as every player in the starting lineup reached base.

Late game eruption in finale

Game three looked as though it was going to be a change of pace, as the Cats had scored just three runs through seven innings.

Jake Plastiak kickstarted a five-run eighth inning with a two-run tank to center field. A few batters later, Harris would pick up another RBI on a single, before Nolan McCarthy and Ritter each plated another run, busting the finale wide open.

The ‘Cats wouldn’t stop in the top of the ninth, decimating the Gamecocks’ bullpen with seven more runs.

Anu earned yet another RBI single, continuing his excellent start to the season. McCarthy would provide the final push of the broom to complete UK’s sweep, hitting a towering grand slam to left field.

Kentucky’s pitching staff allowed just three hits as the ‘Cats brought another 15 to the table on Sunday.

Though it’s early, the 3-0 Wildcats have proven that they’re going to be a tough out if they are able to pile on the hits in the way they did on opening weekend against the Gamecocks in Jacksonville.