UK prevails 11-6 in back-and-forth battle

It took a total team effort to get this win.

UK (16-5, 1-2 SEC) used six pitchers and saw six hitters tally at least one RBI in an 11-6 win over Xavier.

“That just shows that all the way through the lineup, everyone’s got your back,” sophomore Chad Wright said of the offensive balance.

Sandwiched in between two SEC series, against a 4-15 Xavier team, this game might have had the makings of a trap game.  UK and Xavier were tied 6-6 through five and a half innings, with errors and walks a heavy factor, and it didn’t seem as though UK could pull away.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves with the poor defense and the number of walks,” head coach Gary Henderson said.  “Between those two things, we let them stay in the game a lot longer than we would have liked.”

In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Cats were able to build a lead that would hold up.  After Lance Ray reached base with a single and Taylor Black got hit by a pitch, Wright drove in both with a double to deep left-center.

“I was really pleased with Chad to be able to come up and get a two-strike double after those two strikeouts,” Henderson said of Wright, who had struck out twice before his timely hit in the sixth.

On the day, six players recorded at least one RBI, led by Black with three.  Black drove in runs with small-ball, bunting in a run in the second inning, and with the long ball, hitting a two-run home run in the fourth.  It was his first home run of the year.

“It was actually a hit-and-run, so the whole time I was thinking get the ball on the ground,” Black said.  “But the ball was up, and I just put a swing on it.  It felt good to hit my first home run as a Wildcat.”

Six UK pitchers saw time on the mound.  The Cats used most of their mid-week arms, including freshmen Sam Kidd (one earned run) and Jordan Cooper (two earned runs), who combined for the first four innings.  Nick Kennedy picked up the win in relief, throwing 2.2 innings with one hit and two earned runs.

“I was pleased that Nick Kennedy was able to find some poise late in the game,” Henderson said.  “And Kidd pitched better than the stats show, in my opinion.”