UK baseball falls to Kansas 10-6 in opener of Louisville Regional
May 31, 2014
By: Joshua Huff
Poor base running, errors and shaky pitching doomed UK baseball in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday as Kansas rolled over the Cats 10-6 in a six-hour oft-delayed marathon of a game.
UK sophomore pitcher Kyle Cody got things going for Kansas in the top of the first inning as the Jayhawks took advantage of two errors in a three-run, rain-delayed first inning that took over an hour to complete. Cody never lasted past the delay, giving up three runs off two hits and one error. Junior Andrew Nelson took to the mound after the delay and struck out two to end the Jayhawks run.
“I did not see that coming,” UK head coach Gary Henderson said of Cody. “I certainly thought he was ready for the day. I was very glad we didn’t have to sit A.J. (Reed) there and use him.”
Junior Max Kuhn got the ball rolling in the bottom of the first for the Cats with a single up the middle. Junior A.J. Reed proceeded to walk setting the stage for sophomore Ka’ai Tom who rocketed a three-run home run to even the game and redeem Cody’s poor inning.
Kansas was not fazed as they came up to bat in the second as Blair Beck led off the inning with a single. Nelson retired Tommy Mirabelli but walked two straight batters to load the bases for Michael Suiter who hit a run batted in single to give Kansas the 4-3 advantage. Joven Afenir loaded the bases again for the Jayhawks after a single, and Tucker Tharp knocked in two more runs, pushing their lead to 6-3.
UK would not score again until the third inning when junior Austin Cousino doubled and advanced to third off a wild pitch by Kansas starter Jordan Piche. Another wild pitch by Piche sent Cousino home and closed the lead to 6-4.
The Cats rallied again in the bottom of the fourth as they tied the game after junior Thomas Bernal smacked a two RBI-single up the middle to score junior Micheal Thomas and red-shirt freshman Storm Wilson. Bernal ended the inning after being tagged out at third.
Another lengthy rain delay marked the third for the game as the Cats resumed play in the bottom of the sixth and placed a runner on third before a base running gaffe by Wilson ended the inning, costing UK a run and the lead.
The Jayhawk’s offense picked right up in the seventh inning, scoring two runs off junior Chandler Shepherd. After a three-up-three-down inning for UK, Kansas started the eighth inning off with a triple by Mirabelli. He then scored off a Justin Protacio single to left and Shepherd continued a disastrous outing with a wild pitch that increased the Jayhawks score to 10-6.
“It’s just disappointing, the both of us (Cody) are better than that,” Shepherd said. “The only thing we can do right now is get back to work and be focused and ready to go when we get the call again.”
The Cats never recovered after the third rain delay and their 27 year streak of losing the opening round of the NCAA Tournament continues as Kansas moves on to the winner’s bracket and UK awaits the loser of Louisville and Kent State.
“Last Friday I’m sitting at Hoover,” Henderson said. “And our girls lost the first game and ESPN threw that 85 percent number up on the TV that if you lose the first one the winner has an 85 percent chance of moving on and our girls went on to the next day. So the only thing we have tomorrow is the next game.”
