Murray State shocks Kentucky 5-4 in midweek clunker

Fresh off of dropping two of its first three SEC games of the season, Kentucky fell to Murray State 5-4 at Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday night. The ‘Cats have now lost three of their last four games.

The Racers, who nearly knocked off another SEC team in No. 18 Ole Miss earlier this season, never trailed in the game. Murray State jumped out to a 4-1 lead before Kentucky tied it in the sixth. The Racers however scored their fifth run in the bottom of the eighth and held the Wildcats scoreless over the remainder of the game.

Although Kentucky totaled nine hits, it was a rough night for the Wildcats offensively. The Murray State pitching staff struck out nine Kentucky players, including six on watched third strikes. Tyler Bell and Dylan Koontz led the way with two K’s apiece. The ‘Cats also stranded seven runners on base, including the bases loaded in the first inning.

Kentucky’s attention now turns towards No. 20 Auburn, who will head to Kentucky Proud Park this weekend for the first home conference series of the season for the ‘Cats.

Kentucky squanders early opportunity

After scoring a combined 26 runs in three games against No. 4 Georgia, it looked as if Kentucky would keep things going early against Murray State.

Shaun Montoya opened the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff single, putting a runner on base for Luke Lawrence. Lawrence delivered with a double to the center field fence, which prompted Montoya to attempt to score from first base. The Murray State defense however snuffed out the attempted run, as Montoya was thrown out at home to keep the game scoreless.

Not all was lost however though, as the ‘Cats would eventually load the bases with just one out in the inning. Kentucky however failed to score as Dylan Koontz struck out and Patrick Herrera grounded into a fielder’s choice, giving the Racers all the early momentum.

Murray State rides early momentum to lead

Freshman right-hander Nate Harris made his fourth start of the season for Kentucky on Tuesday and cruised through his first two innings. He however ran into some trouble in the top of third frame, where Murray State quickly put runners on second and third with one out.

Murray right fielder Dustin Mercer delivered for the Racers, singling up the middle to give them a 1-0 lead. Following a Will Vierling drawn walk, left fielder Dan Tauken lofted an RBI sac-fly to right field to drive home the second Racer run of the game.

Third baseman Carson Garner continued to add onto the Murray State lead in the top of the fourth inning, as he led off the frame with a solo home run, his fourth of the season. Kentucky sophomore first baseman Hudson Brown got a run back for Kentucky with an RBI-double in the bottom of the fourth, but the Racers immediately responded with another run in the top of the fifth. The aforementioned Will Vierling drove home Murray’s fourth run of the game on an RBI-single, making it a 4- 1 game.

Shaun Montoya ties game in sixth inning

Until the bottom of the sixth inning, it was all Murray State at Kentucky Proud Park.

The Racer pitching staff was getting whatever it wanted and was not making any mistakes, as they issued no walks through five innings. This however changed in a big way in the sixth inning, as three Wildcat batters drew walks.

Devin Burkes pinch-hit for Dylan Koontz and singled to open the frame, putting an immediate runner on for the ‘Cats. Hudson Brown then drew a walk, putting two on with just one out. Things took a turn for the worst however, as Burkes was picked off at second by Murray State catcher Will Vierling. With two outs in the inning though, Kentucky loaded the bases on back-to-back drawn walks by Griffin Cameron and Ethan Hindle.

After stranding the bases loaded in the first, Kentucky could not fall victim to the same fate again with a three-run deficit. That indeed did not happen again, as leadoff batter Shaun Montoya cleared the bases with a three-run triple to knot the game at four apiece.

WE. ARE. TIED.@shaunmontoya10 fights off a pair of two-strike pitches, lines a ball into the LCF gap for a bases loaded game-tying triple.

E6 | 4-4 pic.twitter.com/EBcXxspNQl

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 19, 2025

Racers hold on for big-time win

Although Kentucky tied the game at four in the bottom of the sixth, it was unable to ride that momentum to a lead. Murray State weathered the storm and kept the ‘Cats scoreless over the next two innings.

In the top of the eighth inning, Murray’s Carson Garner singled to open the frame. He was followed by second baseman Dom Decker, who drew a walk. Garner advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, and was eventually brought home on an RBI sac-fly from shortstop Conner Cunningham.

It seemed as if Kentucky was poised to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth however, as Patrick Herrera kicked off the inning with a leadoff double. He was then moved to third on a groundout, bringing pinch-hitter Kyuss Gargett to the plate. Gargett hit a shallow pop-fly to center field, but Nick Mingione decided to send Herrera home. He was nowhere close to reaching safely, as Murray threw out its second runner at home to end the eighth.

The ‘Cats came back up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth down to their final three outs and failed to plate a run, cementing the upset win for Murray State.

What’s next for Kentucky?

The ‘Cats will host No. 20 Auburn at Kentucky Proud Park this weekend in their first home conference series of the season. First pitch for Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST.