Column: With win UK regains early-season magic

LOUISVILLE — A bloop down the left field line and a double against one of the best relievers in the Big East may have finally given the Cats the break they were looking for.

Entering the eighth inning Tuesday, the Cats were down two runs and appeared to be on the way to their eighth consecutive loss.  UK had only recorded two hits since the second inning, and both of those came from outfielder Chad Wright.

The eighth inning started innocently enough for the Cats with a fly out from first baseman Gunner Glad.  Third baseman Chris McClendon followed the fly out with a walk before the fireworks struck for UK.

Shortstop Chris Wade lined a triple off the center field wall to drive in McClendon and pull the Cats within one run.  Louisville then brought freshman reliever Tony Zych into the game to face light-hitting center fielder Keenan Wiley.

Zych was 2-0 on the season with a 0.47 ERA.  He’d given up one run all season and hadn’t been scored upon since his second appearance of the season.

The Bat Cats have been searching for a little luck all season but had found none during April.  UK had dropped its last seven games and had just won once this month.

In the eighth inning Tuesday, UK finally found some luck.

Wiley appeared to check his swing on a Zych pitch that he blooped down the left-field line for a game-tying single.  The centerfielder was caught stealing second, but catcher Marcus Nidiffer singled and right fielder Brian Rose doubled to plate the go-ahead run.

Just like that, UK’s luck had changed.

“It was a good win,” Rose said.  “It’s been a little while and I feel like we can get something going.”
“To get back in the win column is big,” UK head coach Gary Henderson said.  “To do it the way we did tonight is even bigger.”

The Cats’ bullpen had struggled recently and appeared on the way to another dismal night.  UK relievers surrendered five runs to Louisville after a strong start from junior pitcher Clint Tilford.

Freshman pitcher Braden Kapteyn did his best to fix the bullpens problems Tuesday by shutting down the Louisville offense for just one run in three innings.

“It felt good,” Kapteyn said.  “That’s what they asked me to do, so just go out and do it.”

UK finally completed the comeback they’d been looking for this month.  To make the victory even more special the Cats did it against Louisville’s best reliever.

“Your kids get confidence that they did it against Louisville’s best guy,” Henderson said.

With a stretch of winnable conference games ahead of them, the Cats earned a much needed, momentum-changing victory.  UK heads to Starkville, Miss., this weekend for the hyped matchup against former head coach John Cohen and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

“It’s just another SEC series,” Henderson said, “It’s just another week and we’ve obviously got to win the series.”

When asked if this was a possible season-changing win, Rose had a simple answer.

“I think it is,” Rose said.  “We made some big steps tonight.  I’m excited to see where we’re going.”

After UK’s luck finally changed Tuesday, the Cats appear to be going in the right direction.
Jon Hale is a journalism senior.  Email jhale@kykernel.com.