No. 21 Kentucky baseball (17-2, 2-0 SEC) came out on top in a nail-biter against Alabama (15-5, 0-2 SEC), winning 8-7 to take game two of the series.
The Wildcats struggled out of the gate as the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 2-0 lead, frustrating starting pitcher Ben Cleaver.
Cleaver was out of rhythm from the start, walking two batters and hitting another before a double from John Lemm forced Kentucky to pull the starter early after falling behind 2-0.
Kentucky’s offense was unable to respond early, going three up, three down in both the first and second innings.
Reliever Nile Adcock settled things down on the mound, delivering two strikeouts across the first two innings while allowing no hits.
The Wildcats scored their first run in the third inning when Owen Jenkins delivered a single that sent Tagger Tyson home after a fielding error by Bryce Fowler.
Tommy Skelding entered to begin the third inning and served as Kentucky’s anchor through the sixth, picking up his second win of the year.
Skelding surrendered a home run to Lemm in the third and another run in the fourth after a Will Plattner double was knocked in by a Fowler single.
Kentucky’s bullpen proved crucial in the victory. Along with Cleaver, Adcock and Skelding, Ira Austin IV, Burkley Bounds and Jack Bennett all saw time on the mound.
“I mean, you felt them the second we started making that comeback,” Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione. “I mean, I thought this place lifted our guys up. So, yeah the bullpen was just phenomenal. You know, eight and a third to do the job they did. And I literally just had them stand up in front of the team because they all needed to help us and they all got outs.”
Kentucky seized control of the game with a monster fifth inning.
The rally began with a Tyson single to right-center, followed by Jenkins’ second single of the day to left field.
Jayce Tharnish stepped up next and cut into the Crimson Tide’s lead with a double to left-center that sent Tyson home while Jenkins advanced to third.
Lawrence followed with a single to left field and advanced to second on the play, bringing both Tharnish and Jenkins across the plate.
The Wildcats continued to apply pressure with a walk for Tharnish and a bunt single for Lawrence.
Both runners were brought home when Hudson Brown launched his first home run of the year, a three-run shot to right field.
Jenkins capped off a strong performance with a ground-rule double, finishing the day 3-for-4 with a run scored.
“We’re just focused on executing every pitch,” Bounds said. “We’re not worried about the outcome. We just want to go out there and just be on the attack and not worry about anything besides one pitch at a time.”
Bounds carried Kentucky from the end of the sixth into the ninth inning, where Alabama nearly mounted a late comeback.
The Crimson Tide came out aggressively in the ninth, beginning with Neal hitting a double to left-center.
A walk for Jason Torres and a single up the middle from Luke Vaughn sent Neal home.
Bennett entered for Bounds to close but quickly ran into trouble, beginning with a single from Will Plattner. Bennett responded by striking out Peyton Steele before surrendering a two-run single to Brennan Holt.
Bennett recovered to strike out Fowler and seal the win for the Wildcats.
How about Jack,” Mingione said. “I mean, two days in a row, I feel pretty confident that guy never threw two days in a row in college baseball, for sure. So just to have the confidence to do that, and the energy was fantastic.
