It was a rough weekend for the UK baseball team as it took its show on the road for the fi­­­­rst time in Southeastern Conference play. In Tuscaloosa, Ala., UK (15-11, 2-4 SEC) was swept by the Alabama Crimson Tide in its three-game series.

It was the Cats’ first road trip in nearly a month after UK completed a 9-2 homestand in Lexington earlier this month, and some feared that the skid in Alabama would kill any momentum the team had built in recent weeks. Instead, the team remained poised and collected.

“We weren’t thinking about having lost any momentum,” UK head coach Gary Henderson said. “We were just thinking about coming out and having a good day and trying to play well.”

Tuesday, UK returned home to face off with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, and they looked like a team, at times, that hadn’t missed a beat since they left for Tuscaloosa. UK defeated Tennessee Tech by a score of 11-8 with strong pitching performances and consistent offense throughout the game.

The Cats looked sharp in every aspect of the game early. They were able to hit for power, recording 3 extra base hits including a three-run home run by freshman Luke Maile and two doubles by senior Taylor Black.

They were able to play small ball, going from first to third on singles and bunting with high efficiency. In one inning, Black and Thomas McCarthy, the heart of the Cats’ lineup, bunted for singles in back to back at bats. All in all, the Cats recorded 14 hits on the afternoon scoring their 11 runs, leaving an additional 11 runners stranded on base.

“In the SEC a lot of pitchers throw it down in the strike zone and at your knees,” Black said, “but they left some balls up and we hit them hard. I think that’s the biggest thing. They didn’t really give us as many pitches to hit this weekend as they did today and we capitalized.”

Freshman Corey Littrell started the game in his usual mid-week starting role for UK. He pitched three shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three, receiving his fourth win on the season.

After Littrell, Henderson went deep into his bullpen on a chilly day. A combination of six UK relievers combined to complete the final six innings of the game.

UK maintained Littrell’s shutout into the 7th inning when Jordan Cooper struggled on the mound, allowing five runs in the inning. All in all, the bullpen allowed all eight Tennessee Tech runs, but performed better than the stats might reveal.

“In terms of pitching I thought the first six innings were outstanding,” Henderson said. “(Cooper) clearly wasn’t sharp but in his defense he had to get six outs, and that’s a tough task for anybody. He’s struggling a little bit right now but he will get it figured out.”

Following the victory, the Cats will now head to Columbia, S.C., to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks, the defending College World Series champions, in another three-game SEC series. If UK wants to avoid a similar fate to Alabama, then they will have to put their last road trip behind them.

“We just have to go out there and play our game and not fall into it’s on the road or we’re not very good on the road,” Black said. “We just have to go out there and play our game and make sure we try to get some wins and score some runs.”