No. 16 UK baseball could not have asked for a better start to its weekend series with Vanderbilt on Friday, grabbing a 10-3 victory over the Commodores to take a 1-0 series lead. The Cats are now 20-7 overall and are tied for the league lead with a 6-1 conference record.

Against a team like Vanderbilt who is constantly contending, it is imperative that UK did not fall behind, especially with the pitching staff that the Commodores have and the Cats avoided just that.

For UK on Friday night, it did not waste much time getting after Vandy starter Patrick Raby who struggled with his control and that allowed the Cats to capitalize.  Raby walked two and hit a batter within the game’s first two innings, and the Cats took advantage in the second inning.

The Cats had the bases loaded with no outs and had their first run come across after Troy Squires was hit by a pitch. Marcus Carson and Evan White then ripped back to back singles to add two more to the Cats’ tally which was capped off by two more runs scoring on an error on a fielder’s choice play.

Up 5-0, UK continued to bother Raby with a double by Riley Mahan and a single by Tristan Pompey to start off the third. Two safety squeezes brought home both Cats runs in the fifth to give them a 7-0 lead after the first three innings.

Despite seven runs of support, all UK starter Sean Hjelle needed was a pair as the sophomore picked up his fourth win of the season. Hjelle tossed seven innings of three run ball, allowing just five hits while striking out nine Commodores in the process.

Hjelle’s performance on Friday night tied a career high in strikeouts and it was clear that he was dialed in from the start and helped the Cats set a tone on the mound after the offense gave him some early breathing room.

“That is a good team, that is a really good team,” Hjelle said. “(Pitching with a lead) there is no pressure, you just go out there, and I just felt so relaxed and I knew my defense had me behind me. It is such a relief to have (that lead).”

UK went on to score three more runs in the sixth, and even though those runs were not needed, it was a nice cushion for the Cats to have as they cruised to victory Friday night. This win for UK is its sixth in seven SEC games this year, and they remain on top of the standings.

Saturday’s game two will be no easy task for UK, as top six MLB-Draft prospect Kyle Wright will be taking the mound for the Commodores tomorrow against Zach Logue who is going for his fifth win of the year. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Cliff Hagan Stadium.