Kentucky baseball (25-17, 10-11 SEC) fell to Western Kentucky (35 -10, 11-7 C-USA) 6-4 after a fifth inning collapse.
The Wildcats entered the game looking to build momentum following their series victory against South Carolina.
Ethan Walker got the start and pitched a three-up, three-down first inning of work. However, the next few innings would not be the same for the right-hander.
Walker worked around two singles in both the second and third innings to keep the Hilltoppers off the board.
The righty bounced back in the fourth with another three-up, three-down inning before things unraveled in the fifth.
The Wildcats entered the inning leading 3-0, but Western Kentucky got on the board after a one-out single was followed by a double that cut the Kentucky lead to 3-1.
Things continued to get away from Walker and the Wildcats as a fielding error and a bunt single loaded the bases.
Ryan Wideman tied the game 3-3 on a single to left. Evan Byers came on to replace Walker and walked the first batter he faced to reload the bases.
Ethan Lizama broke the tie with a single to left that gave Western Kentucky a 4-3 lead after five innings of play.
The Hilltoppers added to their lead in the sixth after they plated two runs on a sacrifice fly and a double that extended the deficit to 6-3.
Back in the first inning, the Bat Cats opened the scoring after a Tyler Bell single, a wild pitch and two sacrifice bunts gave Kentucky a 1-0 lead.
After going scoreless for two innings, Cole Hage led off the fourth with a double and quickly came around to score on a Ryan Schwartz single.
Before things went awry for Kentucky in the fifth inning, James McCoy deposited a home run over the left field wall that extended the Cats’ lead to 3-0.
Following a single to open the bottom of the seventh, play was halted due to a lightning delay.
After a two hour and 17-minute rain delay, the duo of Leighton Harris and Tommy Skelding combined for two scoreless innings to keep the Hilltoppers from extending their lead.
The Bat Cats were held off the board in the ninth, but Bell kept the game alive with an RBI-single that cut the deficit to 6-4.
Also on the single, Bell appeared to tweak his ankle rounding first base and was removed from the game.
Kyuss Gargett popped out to short to end the game.
This is the first time Kentucky has lost to Western Kentucky since 2022 and only their second loss in the last 11 meetings between the two teams.
Following the loss, Kentucky will stay on the road as it begins a three-game set against Mississippi State on Friday, May 2, with first pitch of game one set for 7 p.m. ET.
