Kentucky baseball (20-15, 6-10 SEC) fell to No. 4 Tennessee (33-5, 12-4 SEC) by a score of 8-2.
The Wildcats had a tall task ahead of them as they were facing one of the best starting pitchers in the country in Liam Doyle.
The Vols’ ace came into the game leading the country with 94 strikeouts. However, the Bat Cats got to him early in the first inning.
Patrick Herrera started the game with a single and after two outs, Devin Burkes launched a home run over the right field wall to give Kentucky a 2-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived as Nate Harris found himself in immediate danger after giving up back-to-back singles to start the first.
After a slight delay due to an umpire switch, Harris walked the next batter to load the bases. A groundout and a two-out single turned into a 3-2 advantage for Tennessee.
The Bat Cats continued to hit Doyle in the second as James McCoy hit a one-out double but was left stranded after a groundout and flyout.
The third and the fourth turned into a duel between Doyle and Harris as a Vols walk was the only offense.
Kentucky’s offense had an opportunity in the fifth as Doyle hit Dylan Koontz and Herrera before walking Tyler Bell to load the bases.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Kyuss Gargett flew out and Burkes struck out as Doyle escaped the jam.
Dean Curley tagged Harris for a home run that extended the Vols lead to 4-2.
After the Cats when three-up, three-down in the sixth, Harris walked a batter to end his night after five innings. Evan Byers came on and gave up a single before Cannon Peebles launched a three-run home run that moved the Vols lead to 7-2.
The Wildcats continued to have no answers for Doyle as he struck out two more batters in his seventh inning of work.
Peebles hit his second home run of the game in the eighth that resulted in the decisive 8-2 score.
The Cats had no success off the Tennessee bullpen in the eighth and ninth innings, ultimately resulting the loss.
Overall, Doyle did not give another hit after McCoy’s double in the second. The left-hander walked one and struck out nine in his outing.
In fact, a ninth inning single by Luke Lawrence was the only other hit of the game for the Bat Cats.
Kentucky will look to even the series in game two against Tennessee on Saturday, April 19, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. ET.
