Tennessee lefty Bryan Morgado seals things in the ninth by getting Chris McClendon to ground out for the first out. Braden Kapteyn reaches on a bloop single, but Troy Frazier lines out to third and Chad Wright strikes out. FINAL SCORE: Tennessee 8, Kentucky 2.
Cats face 8-2 deficit in bottom of the ninth
Tennessee gets a double from P.J. Polk to open the ninth. One out later, pinch-runner Jarred Frazier steals third. Frazier scores on Blake Forsythe’s single off the old scoreboard in right field. Two more strikeouts in the inning are a Vols season-high 17 for the game. Going to the bottom of the ninth: Tennessee 8, Kentucky 2.
Vols take 7-2 lead over UK into 9th
Vols break through with 4 in 8th, lead Cats 7-2
Tennessee restores its two-run cushion in the eighth. Chris Rusin matches the UK season high of 14 strikeouts by
Cody Brown
getting leadoff batter P.J. Polk. (James Paxton struck out 14 at LSU.) Kentrail Davis reaches on a high-hop infield single, then steals second. Blake Forsythe singles to center. Davis, planning to stop at third, continues home when center fielder Keenan Wiley bobbles the ball for an error. Cody Hawn singles, Forsythe stopping at second. That knocks out Rusin, who finishes with 14 strikeouts and having thrown 75 of 124 pitches for strikes. Braden Kapteyn, the DH, replaces Rusin. First pitch, Cody Brown greets Kapteyn with a three-run homer to right-center. Tyler Horne singles through the left side and Cody Grisham bunts for Tennessee’s sixth consecutive hit. A wild pitch puts the runners on second and third. Matt Ramsey strikes out for the fourth time in as many at-bats and Zach Osborne pops up to the pitcher. In the middle of the eighth: Tennessee 7, Kentucky 2.
Cats strike back in seventh to cut deficit to 1
UK’s half of the seventh begins with Marcus Nidiffer getting hit by a Bryan Morgado pitch. Keenan Wiley works an eight-pitch walk. Chris McClendon bunts the runners to second and third. On a full count, Braden Kapteyn draws a walk on a wild pitch that allows Nidiffer to score and Wiley to take third. UK Coach Gary Henderson sends Troy Frazier in to bat for Bryan Rose. Frazier also works the count full before taking a called third strike. Kapteyn steals second base without a play. Chad Wright, on yet another full count, walks to load the bases. Andy Burns lines an 0-1 pitch deep to right field, but right at Matt Ramsey, for the final out. Frazier remains in the game for UK, playing right field. At the end of seven innings: Tennessee 3, Kentucky 2.
Rusin gets 13th strikeout, but Vols pad lead to 3-1
Tyler Horne
Tennessee’s second hit of the game look much like the first one — a home run. Tyler Horne leads off the seventh inning with a line drive off the scoreboard in left-center. Chris Rusin retires the next three in order, including his career-high 13th strikeout of the game. That moves Rusin into third place on UK’s career strikeout list with 260, one more than Brandon Webb compiled from 1998 through 2000. Seventh-inning stretch time: Tennessee 3, Kentucky 1.
Tennessee leads Kentucky 2-1 through 6th
Kentucky gets a one-out walk to Chris Bisson, but he gets picked off by pitcher Bryan Morgado. Going to the seventh inning: Tennessee 2, Kentucky 1.
Vols’ Davis breaks up no-hitter with 2-run homer
Kentrail Davis
Tennessee’s Kentrail Davis ends Chris Rusin’s no-hit, shutout bid, as well as Kentucky’s lead with one mighty swing. Zach Osborne leads off the sixth with a walk, taking second on P.J. Polk’s sacrifice bunt. Davis then takes an 0-1 pitch deep into the parking lot beyond the right-field wall for a two-run homer. Blake Forsythe becomes Rusin’s 11th strikeout victim, but the UK lefty issues his season-high fifth walk of the game, this one to Cody Hawn. Rusin fans Cody Brown. In the middle of the sixth inning: Tennessee 2, Kentucky 1.
Cats head to 6th clinging to 1-0 lead over Vols
Kentucky’s fifth inning starts with an infield single — a hot shot off the throwing hand of pitcher Ty’Relle Harris — by Chris McClendon. Braden Kapteyn bunts McClendon to second base. Harris retires Bryan Rose on a fly ball. Then, apparently because of the ball he took off his hand, Harris exits and left-hander Bryan Morgado takes over. A passed ball allows McClendon to take third base. Chad Wright, on a full-count pitch, goes down swinging. Through five innings: Kentucky 1, Tennessee 0.
Rusin strikes out the side again in fifth
In the fifth, UK left-hander Chris Rusin strikes out the side for the second inning in a row. Rusin has 10 strikeouts overall, his latest victims being Tyler Horne, Cody Grisham and Matt Ramsey. Horne went down swinging, the other two taking called third strikes. In the middle of the fifth: Kentucky 1, Tennessee 0.
Double play ends Cats’ chances in fourth
Marcus Nidiffer
Kentucky gets a one-out single from Marcus Nidiffer, his second hit of the game. But Keenan Wiley grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. At the end of four innings: Kentucky 1, Tennessee 0.
Rusin strikes out the side in fourth; Cats lead 1-0
Tennessee’s Kentrail Davis opens the fourth by drawing a walk. But UK lefty Chris Rusin strikes out Blake Forsythe, Cody Hawn and Cody Brown. Through 3 1/2 innings, Rusin has seven strikeouts, with the score: Kentucky 1, Tennessee 0.
Kentucky leads Tennessee 1-0 through 3rd
Kentucky’s Andy Burns pokes a two-out single through the right side of the infield. But Chris Bisson bounces into a fielder’s choice. At the end of three innings: Kentucky 1, Tennessee 0.
Rusin sets Vols down in order in third
UK lefty Chris Rusin retires Tennessee in order for a second consecutive inning. getting a pair of groundouts and his fourth strikeout of the game. In the middle of the third: Kentucky 1, Tennessee 0.
McClendon double gives Cats 1-0 lead in 2nd
Chris McClendon
In the Kentucky second, Marcus Nidiffer fists a one-out bloop single down the left-field line, just over the reach of third baseman Cody Brown. One out later, Chris McClendon rips a run-scoring double towards the scoreboard in left-center. Nidiffer just beats the throw to the plate, with McClendon taking third on the throw. Braden Kapteyn lines out to left. After two innings: Kentucky 1, Tennessee 0.
Vols go down in order in 2nd
Chris Rusin
Tennessee goes down in order in the second as Chris Rusin picks up his third strikeout and gets a pair of fly balls. In the middle of the second: Kentucky 0, Tennessee 0.
Cats, Vols scoreless through first
Kentucky gets a bad-hop infield single from Chad Wright to open the bottom of the first. But Andy Burns lines to left and Chris Bisson grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Through one inning: Kentucky 0, Tennessee 0.
Tennessee threatens in first
UK lefty Chris Rusin retires the first two batters of the game, but then gives up his first first-inning walk of the season — to Kentrail Davis. Wild pitches advance Davis to second, then third, before Blake Forsythe walks. Forsythe steals second without a play. But Rusin strikes out Cody Hawn on a full-count pitch. After half an inning: Tennessee 0, Kentucky 0.
SEC baseball: Tennessee at Kentucky, game 2
Getting set for the second game of a three-game Southeastern Conference baseball series at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
Kentucky scored six runs in the sixth inning, rallying from a 3-0 deficit, en route to a 6-4 victory over Tennessee in Friday’s opener.
The teams enter play Saturday ninth (UK, 9-13) and 11th (UT, 6-16) in the SEC. Only the top eight will qualify for the SEC Tournament, May 20-24, at Hoover, Ala. South Carolina (10-12) is in the eighth spot, a game ahead of Kentucky.
The lineups:
Tennessee – Zach Osborne, ss; P.J. Polk, lf; Kentrail Davis, cf; Blake Forsythe, c; Cody Hawn, 1b; Cody Brown, 3b; Tyler Horne, dh; Cody Grisham, 2b; Matt Ramsey, rf. Pitching — RH Ty’Relle Harris (4-4, 6.57).
Kentucky — Chad Wright, lf; Andy Burns, ss; Chris Bisson, 2b; Gunner Glad, 1b; Marcus Nidiffer, c; Keenan Wiley, cf; Chris McClendon, 3b; Braden Kapteyn, dh; Bryan Rose, rf. Pitching — LH Chris Rusin (5-3, 3.73).
Umpires — John Whitaker, plate; Owen Butts, 1b; Tony Maners, 3b.
Weather – 56 degrees, overcast, calm wind.
