By Derek Terry

sports@kykernel.com

UK baseball started the season 2-0 after defeating Ball State and Richmond over the weekend.

The Cats used their offense to power past Ball State, defeating the Cardinals 11-7 on Friday. UK jumped out to the early lead in the top of the first thanks to a run-batted-in single from junior outfielder Ka’ai Tom. Then with two men on base, junior catcher Greg Fettes belted his first homerun of the day over the left field fence.

UK tacked on two more runs in the third and fourth inning apiece. Fettes then hit his second homerun of the day fifth inning, stretching the Cats’ lead out to 9-0.

Ball State got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning when Sean Kennedy and Brandon Estep each drove in a run to cut the lead to 9-2, but UK responded with a run of their own from a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning.

With the Cats in prime position to seal the win, Ball State answered with five runs on four hits in the bottom of the eighth inning. With the score at 10-7 heading into the final inning, junior second baseman JaVon Shelby drove in Bryce Bastien for his third RBI of the day.

Left-hander Logan Salow was brought in to close for the Cats. The sophomore walked two batters in the final frame, but was able to hold Ball State from scoring by striking out Cardinals catcher Mike Roberson to end the game.

UK starting pitcher Dustin Beggs went five and a third innings, allowing one run on five hits to pick up the win. The JUCO transfer struck out five in his debut for the Cats.

In Saturday’s game against Richmond, UK displayed another strong offensive performance, but it was the dominant pitching that ultimately shutdown the Spiders for the 10-1 win.

Junior right-hander Kyle Cody got the start for UK and pitched four innings of shutout baseball, allowing only four hits while striking out six. Senior right-hander Andrew Nelson relieved Cody in the fifth inning and was credited with the win for the game.. Nelson allowed two hits and struck out four in two shutout innings.

The Cats’ offense was able to pound out 11 hits on the day. Sophomore rightfielder Storm Wilson scored four runs and stole four bases, the most stolen bases in a single game for UK since 2010.

Tom and senior third baseman Thomas Bernal both had two hits and three RBIs in the game. Freshman Evan White and sophomore Connor Heady also had two hits in the game. It was the first multi-hit game in Heady’s career.

UK’s Sunday matchup with host school UNC Wilmington was canceled due to anticipated inclement weather. The Cats will be back in action on Thursday in Los Angeles where they’ll play the University of Southern California. First pitch is at 9 p.m.