Fall practice comes to an end today. Kentucky is hosting Morehead State for a 14-inning scrimmage at Kentucky Proud Park today. Refresh this news story throughout the day for updates.
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Kentucky won the first scrimmage 6-5. Game two began at 3:45.
NOTE: Due to a prior obligation, I needed to leave after the fourth inning of game two. Here's what happened to that point:
Here's how UK is lining up defensively:
C Owen Jenkins
1B Ryan Schwartz
2B Caeden Cloud
SS Tyler Bell
3B Tyler Cerny
LF Ryan Foscolo
CF Jayce Tharnish
RF Carson Hansen
EH Scott Campbell
DH Alex Duffey
RHP Nate Harris
Fourth inning
TOP HALF: Freshman Will Coleman takes the mound in the 4th inning. Tagger Tyson is in to catch. Coleman issued a lead off walk to Kean to begin the frame. Coomer also drew a walk to put two on with no outs. Tyson threw behind the runner at second and picked him off for the first out, but Coleman followed that up with another walk. Dutton hit a ball to shortstop that got under the glove of Cloud at shortstop and into left field, but the runner slid headfirst into third and could not get up in time to race home. With bases loaded and one out, Kearns drove the ball back up the middle for a two-RBI single. Tough play but Cloud got a glove on it. Either way, the walks come back to haunt Coleman. Morehead State took its first lead of the day on a safety squeze. Coleman struck out the next batter to end the frame.
Inning results: Three runs, one hit, no errors
BOTTOM HALF: Tyson shoots one back up the middle for a single to lead off the fourth but he was caught stealing for the first out. Campbell reached on a walk. Braxton Van Cleave entered to run for him and moved up to second on a passed ball. Hindle struck out looking for the second out. Tharnish bounced out to the pitcher to end the inning.
Inning results: No runs, one hit, no errors
Third inning
TOP HALF: Harris fanned Jaden Correa for the first out. Harris had a four-pitch walk to the second batter, who moved up to second on a passed ball. Krupp singles up the middle to tie it at 1. Good at-bat from Krupp. Jenkins throws out Krupp trying to steal second. Nice throw from the freshman for the second out. Harris struck out Germann to end the frame.
Inning results: One run, one hit, no errors
BOTTOM HALF: Bell drew a walk to leadoff the frame. Schwartz one hopped the wall for a double. Looked like Bell would've scored, but Nick Mingione held him up at third. Hansen brings him home on a sac fly to right field. Schwartz advanced to third base on the play. Schwartz scored on a sac fly to deep right off the bat of Tyler Cerny. Cloud popped out to the catcher to end the inning.
Inning results: Two runs, one hit, no errors
Second inning
TOP HALF: Harris opened the second inning with a strikeout of Brayton Coomer. Harris walked the second batter of the inning. Harris struck out JJ Dutton for the second out and then struck out Kearns to end the inning. Good frame there for Harris.
Inning results: No runs, no hits, no errors
BOTTOM HALF: Scott Campbell, who is being used as an extra hitter, struck out on a 94 mph fastball from Josh Furtado. Alex Duffey flew out to center field for the second out. Tharnish popped out to shallow left field for the third out. Still 1-0.
Inning results: No runs, no hits, no errors
First inning
TOP HALF: Sophomore RHP Nate Harris is taking the mound for game two. Kyle Krupp, a freshman from St. Xavier High School in Louisville, bounced out to Bell at short to open the game. Harris struck out Germann for the second out. Kean flew out to Cloud at second to end the first inning.
Inning results: No runs, no hits, no errors
BOTTOM HALF: Tharnish reached first on an error by second baseman Aubrey Kearns. Bell drew a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs. Schwartz also walked. Hansen was hit by a pitch to make it 1-0. Tyler Cerny struck out looking. Freshman Caeden Cloud also struck out looking. Owen Jenkins hit a liner down the left field line that was tracked down by left fielder Germann.
Seventh inning
TOP HALF: Jack Bennett is on to try to get the last three outs of the first portion of the scrimmage. He struck out Olson on three pitches to start the frame. Sheridan hit a grounder to shortstop for the second out. Kean drew a two-out walk. McCubbin singled into right field, sending Kean to third base. Germann flew out to right field for the third out.
BOTTOM HALF: Kentucky will still bat in the bottom half. Hansen drew a lead off walk, bringing Hindle to the plate. Hansen tried to go from first to third on a bad pickoff throw, but he's cut down at third for the first out. Hindle popped out in foul ground for the second out. Brown bounced out to second base to end the inning.
There will be a brief break and then the second scrimmage will begin.
Sixth inning
TOP HALF: Soucie is back out to begin the sixth inning and worked a clean three-up, three-down frame.
Inning results: No runs, no hits, no errors
BOTTOM HALF: Duffey walked to leadoff the inning. Caeden Cloud came in to run for him. Tharnish tried to drop down a sac bunt but popped it into the air, which the third baseman made a nice diving play on in foul territory. Bell popped out to the short stop in shallow left field for the second out. Schwartz flew out to right field to end the inning.
Fifth inning
TOP HALF: Mattison returns to the mound. He walked Peak, the nine hitter, to begin the frame. Peak advanced to second on a weak roller to second base for the first out. Olson struck out swinging for the second out. Sheridan bounced to shortstop deep in the hole. Bell fielded it cleanly but overshot Brown at first for a throwing error. Sheridan moved up to second on the error. Kean lined a first pitch fastball into center for another run. McCubbin doubled down the right field line to make it 6-4. Another single scored the fourth run of the inning to make it 6-5. Mattison's day is over. South Carolina transfer Jackson Soucie entered the game and struck out Correa on a 93 mph heater to end the frame.
Inning results: Four runs, three hits, one error
BOTTOM HALF: Hansen bounced a grounder between the second baseman and first baseman for a leadoff single. Hindle was called out for sticking his arm out. Hansen stole second during Brown's at-bat. Brown drew a walk to put runners on first and second for Jenkins, but a balk moved them to second and third. Jenkins worked the count full but struck out. Lawrence struck out looking to end the inning.
Inning results: No runs, one hit, no errors
Fourth inning
TOP HALF: Mattison returned to the mound for his first full inning. He got a flyout to the warning track in right field for the first out. He worked Correa for a three-pitch strikeout for the second out. Lexington native Nick Griffith of Dunbar High School flew out to center field for a three-up, three-down inning.
Inning results: No runs, no hits, no errors
BOTTOM HALF: Good swing from Jenkins as he lines a double into the opposite field gap to get the inning started. Lawrence drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Duffey collects his second line drive hit of the day. Jenkins had to hold up at second off the bat, so he's held up at third. No reason to push the issue with the top of the order coming up and no outs. Tharnish delivers another base hit, his third of the game, to make it 5-1. Bell, hitting from the right side now as MSU has a lefty on the hill, bounces to shortstop for a fielder's choice, but Tharnish is called for runners' interference to take Bell off first. A run scored on the play to make it 6-1. Following another pitching change, Schwartz faced a righty but struck out looking on a good offspeed pitch.
Inning results: Two runs, two hits, no errors
Third inning
TOP HALF: Cleaver is back out for his third inning of work to face 9-1-2. Austyn Peak flew out to Schwartz in right field for the first out. Hart, the leadoff hitter, draws another walk. Olson struck out for the second out. Sheridan drew a full-count walk. Kean, who homered his last time up, also drew a full-count walk to load the bases for McCubbin. That walk ends Cleaver's day. Grand Canyon transfer Connor Mattison enters the game with bases loaded. Mattison fires a 90 mph fastball by McCubbin to end the inning.
Final line on Cleaver: 2.2 IP, ER, 2 H, 6 Ks, 4 BB
Inning results: No runs, no hits, three runners left on base
BOTTOM HALF: Hansen bounced out to first to begin the inning. Hindle flew out to center field for the second out. Brown flew out to left field for a three up, three down inning.
Inning results: No runs, no hits, no errors
Second inning
TOP HALF: Cleaver is back out for his second inning of work. Alex Kean unloaded on a pitch and sent it way out of here, beyond the right field wall, to tie the score at 1. Cleaver bounced back to strike out Ian McCubbin. Davis Germann laid down a nice bunt for an infield single and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Garmann stole third. Hindle made a great play to keep the throw from going into left field. Jaden Correa chased a fastball out of the zone for the second out, and Nick Griffith watched a fastball for strike three. Cleaver strands the go-ahead run at third.
Inning results: One run, two hits, one runner left on base
BOTTOM HALF: Hudson Brown worked the count full to begin the inning but flew out to center field. Freshman Owen Jenkins with an infield single with one out. Second baseman Luke Lawrence chops one through the left side on a well-executed hit-and-run. Catcher Alex Duffey comes through with a double into the left center field gap to score Jenkins to make it 2-1. Tharnish was first pitch swinging and roped a double down the left field line to score two more. Tharnish has a double and a triple in his first two at-bats. He moved up to third base on a wild pitch. Bell chased a pitch out of the zone to strike out. A couple of tough at-bats for him with a runner on third both times. Schwartz flew out to deep right to end the frame.
Inning results: Three runs, four hits, one runner left on base
First inning
TOP HALF: We're underway from Kentucky Proud Park. Cleaver issued a leadoff walk to Morehead State outfielder Jaden Hart. Infielder Griffin Olson struck out for the first out. Hart, who was running on first movement, was picked off by Cleaver for the second out. Hudson Brown at first base fired a good throw down to Tyler Bell, who put the tag on for the out. Caden Sheridan, the catcher, struck out looking to close out the first.
Inning results: No runs, no hits, no errors
BOTTOM HALF: Jayce Tharnish tripled down the right field line to open the inning. He can really run. Shortstop Tyler Bell struck out looking on an 88 mph fastball. Right fielder Ryan Schwartz roped a fastball through the right side for an RBI single. Carson Hansen was hit by a pitch after a lengthy at-bat to bring up Ethan Hindle with runners on first and second. However, Schwartz strayed too far off the bag and was picked off for the second out. Hindle struck out to end the inning.
Inning results: One run, two hits, one runner left on base
Derek Terry is the founder of Bat Cats Central, a leading source for University of Kentucky baseball coverage. Before leaving full-time sportswriting, Derek worked for The Cats' Pause (2017-22) and Cats Illustrated (2015-17).
Derek Terry
Derek Terry
Derek Terry
