Observations (3/7): Kentucky beats The Citadel in a 12-7 Thriller
After giving up a five-run lead, Kentucky used a six-run eighth inning to win the series over The Citadel.
After a 10-5 game one win, No. 21 Kentucky defeated The Citadel 12-7 to take the series in another come-from-behind win. The win moves Kentucky to 13-2 on the year.
“We just have a relentless fight to us, it doesn't matter. As long as I've ever been the coach here, that's the thing we've always preached,” UK coach Nick Mingione said. “It's like you're never out of any game. I don't care what the score is, we're still going to compete and do whatever it takes to win. And it's two days in a row where the guys have fought back.
Below are some takeaways from the game.
Offense delivers late
Kentucky used a big six-run seventh to take game one, but game two started much better as center fielder Jayce Tharnish and shortstop Luke Lawrence got on to start the first. Two wild pitches later and Tharnish scored, along with Lawrence moving to third. Second baseman Ethan Hindle brought home Lawrence with an RBI-single.
Designated hitter Tyler Bell walked and stole second to start the fourth and was driven home by left fielder Scott Campbell Jr. for the lone run in the fourth. The Bat Cats struck out in order in the fifth before rallying again in the sixth.
First baseman Hudson Brown and Bell drew walks to start the inning and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Campbell Jr. Third Basemen Caden Cloud brought home both runners to boost the Kentucky lead. Catcher Tagger Tyson capped off the three-run rally with an RBI-single.
After The Citadel tightened the score to 6-5 in the seventh, the Bat Cats went down in order in the bottom half. The Citadel kept the momentum going with a two-run eighth to take a 7-6 lead. Bell led off the eighth with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Cloud walked and right fielder Ryan Schwartz reached on an error to load the bases.
Tyson hit a double down the left field line to bring home two and retake the lead. Tharnish delivered the dagger with a three-run homer, which was followed by Hindle hitting a solo home run to finish off the six-run rally that gave Kentucky the decisive 12-7 lead.
Overall, the offense finished with 12 runs on nine hits and five walks.
Ben Cleaver continues to labor
Junior lefty Ben Cleaver got the ball for his fourth start of the season after going just three innings against St. John's last weekend. The short outing was not due to runs, as he did not allow any against the Red Storm, but more so because he had long innings of high-stress moments. That did not change against The Citadel.
Cleaver threw just 16 pitches in the first as he hit a batter, but worked out of it. After a strikeout to start the second, Cleaver gave up a double and bounded back with a flyout before walking a batter. However, the lefty got a strikeout for another clean inning, but it took him 27 pitches. He started out the third with a walk before Tyson threw him out. That was followed up with a single and a walk.
After a fly out moved a runner to third, The Citadel used one of Kentucky's plays against them where the runner at first falls down and the runner at third breaks for home. Catcher’s interference was called on the play, which allowed a runner to score. Cleaver struck out the final batter of the third and his outing. He threw 28 pitches in the third and 71 overall, with 37 strikes to 34 balls.
Cleaver finished with the following line: three innings, two hits, one run, zero earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts.
“Give him credit. I mean, he goes three innings and doesn’t give up an earned run,” Mingione said. “He's definitely fighting his delivery, and to try to just land and execute some of his pitches. But, I mean, boy, what a competitor. He just keeps fighting.”
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Bullpen collapses late
Senior righty Nile Adcock was the first reliever into the game in the fourth and he struck out a batter before giving up a double. He responded by punching out the next two batters to end the frame. Redshirt sophomore righty Tommy Skelding was next and he gave up a leadoff double, but retired the next three batters in order before tossing a three-up, three-down sixth.
Things got off the rails in the seventh after Skelding walked the first two batters of the inning before being replaced by senior lefty Jackson Soucie, who walked the first batter he faced to load the bases. Lane Tobin tagged Soucie for an RBI single to end his outing. Mingione called upon sophomore righty Burkey Bounds in the big spot and he gave up an RBI single before getting a double play that also brought home a run and shrunk Kentucky’s lead to 6-5.
Bounds came back on for the eighth and struck out the first batter he saw before giving up a single and a walk. An error loaded the bases and Jayden Williams gave The Citadel a 7-6 lead. Bounds got a double play to limit the damage to just that.
Senior right-hander Ryan Mullan got the ball in the ninth with some cushion after the big eighth at the plate and got into immediate trouble by hitting a batter and walking the next one. However, he struck out the next two batters and got a flyout to secure the win.
Kentucky will go for the sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m.
