UK trumped by Aces, 8-4

It must have been in the name.

The Evansville Aces trumped UK’s ace, sophomore pitcher Alex Meyer, in a sixth inning that saw five runs score against the Cats’ front-of-the-rotation arm en route to a 8-4 loss for UK (10-2).

Meyer, UK’s No. 1 starter, entered the game in the fifth inning out of the bullpen with UK holding a 4-3 lead.  He promptly recorded a three-up, three-down inning.  He said he didn’t feel uncomfortable having to come on in relief.

The game appearance replaced Meyer’s bullpen session.

“I was trying to get him a couple innings of pitching,” head coach Gary Henderson said.  “As good as the first one went, I thought the second one at the time seemed like a good decision.”

And then disaster struck.

Evansville had its first three batters of the inning reach base when Meyer issued two walks and hit a batter.  With the bases loaded, Greg Wallace roped a bases-clearing double that cleared the bases.

When the next batter launched a two-run home run, Meyer was removed from the mound after giving up five runs and recording no outs.

“It was just one of those night,” Meyer said.  “It wasn’t the mechanical, it was just me.  It’s just like any other sport, you have to come out ready to go and the last couple nights I haven’t been.”

After Meyer’s bipolar pitching performance, the Aces held all the cards.  They held onto their 8-4 lead the rest of the game.  There would be no aces up the Cats’ sleeves, as they were unable to answer Evansville’s scoring burst with anything but zeroes.

“We didn’t do much past the fourth,” Henderson said.  “We certainly left guys on base.  We had a chance to capitalize early and often.”

That sixth frame represented exactly why the snowballing inning is a team’s worst nightmare.

Up until that point, UK looked in control of the game.  The Cats scored one run in each of the first four innings, with junior infielder Neiko Johnson serving as a catalyst at the top of the order.  Despite not getting a hit, Johnson reached base his first two plate appearances, stole three bases and scored two runs, helping UK build a 4-3 lead.

“He did a nice job of getting on base, creating some energy for us by scoring a couple runs,” Henderson said.

Sophomore outfielder Corey Farris, a left-handed hitter starting against a left-handed pitcher for the first time all year, was a bright spot in the lineup.  Farris went 3-for-3 with a home run and a double.

“I’m glad to see him hitting,” Henderson said.  “I was really pleased to see him come through and get three hits.”