Fresh off a successful opening week at Kentucky Proud Park, the Kentucky baseball team dropped its home game against the Boston College Eagles on Wednesday. The game began as a low-scoring affair, with Kentucky leading in the sixth and seventh innings, but quickly turned south for the Cats as the Eagles brought in several runs at the end to stomp out the Cats 12-3.

Scoreless for the first three and a half innings, each team pulled through with immense defensive strength early on. The Cats halted the Eagles from touching home in the first four, two of which ended with the Eagles’ bases fully loaded.

The fourth saw the first run of the game when Kentucky junior TJ Collett hit a home run, netting his second at Kentucky Proud Park and fourth of the season. The rest of the inning went by quickly as the Eagles successfully retired the remainder of UK’s hitters.

Boston was quick to respond in the fifth, their first up to bat hitting his own home run on his sixth pitch. The Eagles’ defense waivered slightly as Kentucky senior Ryan Johnson touched base on an error, but the Cats still left the inning scoreless.

The Cats scored their second run in the sixth, as Collett touched home for the second time in the game off an RBI from junior Jaren Shelby. Freshman pitcher Hunter Rigsby successfully retired the Eagles hitters in the seventh on a 3-up, 3-out run to keep the Cats at a 2-1 lead.

In the eighth, Boston went on a scoring frenzy after many Cats on the field switched out. Three Eagles got walked instantly, filling the bases with runners to make the error on Wildcats’ first baseman detrimental, as two Eagles ran home off an RBI. Two more Eagles managed a run off the very next hitter’s triple on his third pitch.

Senior Ryan Shinn touched base on a double hit for Kentucky, but they were quickly retired by the Eagles’ pitcher to leave the eighth inning score 5-2.

The final inning brought 7 additional runs to Boston. Most of their success can be attributed to weak pitching from Kentucky, as the ninth had three hitters walk, four wild pitches and one batter hit by a pitch. Their triumphs forced the Cats to plow through their bull pen, eventually ending the first half of the inning with redshirt sophomore Brett Marshall striking out the Eagles’ final hitter.

Junior Dalton Reed added one more run to Kentucky in the final minutes of the game, himself doubling to left field and scoring on a wild pitch. The remainder of UK’s hitters had no luck in scoring.

The Wildcats will return to Kentucky Proud Park on Friday, March 8 when they open their weekend series against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. Friday’s game will begin at 4 p.m.