Tyler Bell and Luke Lawrence delivered at the dish as Kentucky baseball (14-3, 1-1 SEC) defeated No. 4 Georgia (20-2, 1-1 SEC) 10-7 to even the series.
The middle infield duo hit a combined 3-8 for six RBIs in the win.
In game one, the Bat Cats started off strong, but then the offense became obsolete in the back half of the game, which resulted in the 12-6 defeat.
After finishing with just five hits in game one, the Wildcats tallied 13 in the game two win.
The hot start continued for Kentucky as they got out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a double by Bell, who notched his first ever SEC RBI.
Unfortunately for the Cats, the lead only lasted one batter into the bottom half of the first as Slate Alford tagged Ben Cleaver for a homerun to tie the ballgame at 1-1.
Like the first inning, the Bat Cats put more traffic on the bases as a hit-by-pitch, walk and bunt single loaded the bases.
Following a pitching change by the Bulldogs, Luke Lawrence and Bell both hit sacrifice flies to bring home two more runs to give the Cats a 3-1 lead.
After the Bulldogs plated a run in the second, Kentucky baseball had a textbook offensive inning as they scored by putting more pressure on the Georgia pitching staff.
Two hit-by-pitches paired with a walk loaded the bases yet again and Cole Hage delivered a single that plated two more runs.
Lawrence caught Alton Davis II sleeping on the mound and stole home to score the third run of the inning.
Bell delivered his third RBI of the game as he ripped a single into right field that extended the Cats lead to 7-2.
The runs kept coming in the fourth as the bases were loaded once again and Lawrence delivered a two-run single that made the score 9-2 Wildcats.
Throughout the next three innings, the bats went quiet for Kentucky, which allowed the Bulldogs to creep back in by scoring three runs.
Patrick Herrera added some insurance for Kentucky in eighth when he sent a home run over the left field wall to make the score 10-5.
Georgia did not go down quietly as a two-run home run slimmed the Cats’ lead to 10-7 and brought up the tying run in the ninth but Scott Rouse shut the door in the ninth to secure the win.
While the Bulldogs took advantage of free passes from Wildcat pitching to win game one, Kentucky returned the favor by doing the same in game two as they took advantage of seven walks and four hit-by-pitches.
Due to all the traffic on the bases, the Bat Cats finished 7-19 with runners in scoring position, which is good for a .368 average.
The Wildcats snapped the Bulldogs 17-game winning streak with the win.
With the series even, Kentucky and Georgia will play the rubber match on Sunday, March 16, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET.
