Observations (4/19): Kentucky falls 13-6 to drop its fifth straight SEC series
Kentucky fell to Vanderbilt to drop to 8-10 in the SEC.
Kentucky baseball dropped its fifth straight series after a 13-6 loss to Vanderbilt in the rubber match of the three-game set. With the loss, the Wildcats move to 26-12 overall and 8-10 in league play.
Below are a few takeaways from the series finale.
Kentucky short-handed for game three
The Wildcats had already been operating without the lineup they expected by this point in the season, but the lineup and rotation were both thinner in game three against the Commodores. The first blow was that shortstop Tyler Bell was unavailable as he served a one-game suspension per NCAA rules after being ejected in game two.
Along with Bell, first baseman Hudson Brown also remained out for his seventh straight game due to illness. Both infielders being out shuffled the defensive alignment as Luke Lawrence and Ethan Hindle were in the middle infield. Tyler Cerny moved to third and Will Marcy made his first start at first base as a Cat. The senior had played 11 games at first base during his college career prior to the start.
Sophomore righty Nate Harris was set for the series finale earlier in the week, but appeared on the initial availability report Thursday night as questionable. He was removed for the first two games of the series, but reappeared on Sunday as out and did not make the start. UK coach Nick Mingione confirmed it was a shoulder injury that prevented Harris from pitching.
“I mean, it's unfortunate, but I don't have an answer," Mingione said about Harris' future availability. "I don't have an answer, we'll see. He wasn't able to throw today, so it's actually more like day-by-day.”
Failure to get the big hit haunts Kentucky again
A recurring issue for Kentucky in its losses has been the inability to hit with runners on. The Wildcats were given 15 (11 walks and four hit batters) free passes in the game, but only scored six runs. Kentucky had seven hits in the game and left 16 runners on. The Wildcats finished 4-21 (.190) with runners on and 3-17 (.176) with runners in scoring position.
"We could have done some things differently, but give them credit," Mingione said. "They end up getting a big inning, they got two big innings in the game, and we didn't get any, and that was clearly the difference in the game."
The first opportunity for production came in the first after center fielder Jayce Tharnish, Lawrence and Marcy drew walks to load the bases. However, back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning. A nearly identical scenario presented itself in the second as Kentucky loaded the bases with two outs. This time, second baseman Hindle and Marcy drew walks to bring home two runs.
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Left fielder Scott Campbell Jr. hit a one-out double in the third, but was stranded at third. The traffic continued in the fourth as Lawrence walked and stole second, along with Marcy drawing a two-out walk. A flyout stunted another possible rally for the Bat Cats. Cerny and right fielder Carson Hansen drew walks in the fifth before catcher Ryan Schwartz cashed in with an RBI single.
After Vanderbilt took a 7-3 lead in the sixth, Kentucky responded by loading the bases with one out. Campbell Jr. brought home a run on a sacrifice fly, but a strikeout ended the inning. The Wildcats went three-up, three-down in the seventh.
The traffic continued in the eighth as Marcy and DH Braxton Van Cleave delivered back-to-back one-out singles. After an out, Campbell Jr. and Hansen delivered RBI-singles to make it a one-run game. Both were stranded and a flyout ended the inning. Tharnish singled in the ninth, but was stranded to end the game.
"We had ton of traffic," Mingione said. "We got the starter out of the game exactly like we were supposed to. Did our exact game plan, and then we just didn't get the timely hit. We had multiple chances to put this game away offensively, and we just didn't."
Connor Mattison gives Kentucky a solid start
With Harris unavailable, Kentucky turned to junior righty Connor Mattison for the spot start. Mattison was moved from relief to the midweek starting role against Miami (OH) for his first start and he allowed two runs over three innings. He started the following week against Louisville and threw three more innings, but only allowed one run. Mattison threw one inning and allowed four runs in his last outing in the series finale against Auburn.
Mattison retired the side in six pitches to open the game. He got into his first bit of trouble in the second after giving up a single and hitting a batter. However, he rolled a double play to keep Vanderbilt off the board. After getting a 2-0 lead, Mattison gave up a single, but got out of it unscathed in the third.
The righty gave up a leadoff double to start the fourth, but he bounced back with back-to-back strikeouts. Ryker Waite singled to bring home a run off Mattison in the fourth, but was thrown out, retreating to first to end the frame. Mattison came back out for the first and worked around a walk for another scoreless frame.
Things escalated quickly for Mattison in the sixth as he hit the first batter, then Colin Barczi launched a two-run homer that tied the game. He struck out the next batter, but hit the following batter to end his afternoon. Overall, Mattison set a season-high in innings pitched at 5.1. He allowed four runs on five hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
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Bullpen falters in relief of Mattison
After Mattison departed with one out and one on in the sixth, Kentucky called upon senior righty Nile Adcock. The right-hander has become the highest leverage arm for Kentucky in recent weeks as he entered with a seven-inning scoreless streak. Adcock pitched in game one and threw a scoreless frame before Van Cleave's walkoff grand slam in the ninth.
The righty came on in a 3-3 game and struck out the first batter he faced before surrendering a walk. Adcock got another strikeout, but it was on a wild pitch so it loaded the bases instead of ending the frame. Will Hampton made Kentucky pay with a grand slam that gave Vanderbilt a 7-3 advantage.
Redshirt sophomore Oliver Boone came on in the seventh and worked around to double to keep the deficit at four after Kentucky plated a run in the sixth. The righty was back on for the eighth and got two quick outs before he hit a batter and they stole second putting a runner in scoring position. However, he struck out the next batter to end the frame.
Boone was back on for the ninth in a one-run game after his offense plated two in the eighth and gave up a leadoff home run to Brodie Johnston. The righty gave up a walk and double following the homer that ended his afternoon. Sophomore Leighton Harris came on in relief and gave up a single that brought in a run, but Campebll Jr. threw out the other runner at home.
The lefty gave up back-to-back singles that scored another run for the Commodores and ended Harris’ outing. Senior righty Ira Austin IV came on and allowed a run to score on a sacrifice bunt. He hit a batter to load the bases and end his afternoon. Junior righty Ryan Mullan was next and he gave up a sacrifice fly to bring home another run before a strikeout ended the frame.
Kentucky will travel to Louisville on Tuesday for the second game of its home-and-home series with first pitch set for 7 p.m.
