Kentucky baseball rallies to beat EKU for 15th victory in a row
The University of Kentucky baseball team extended the nation’s longest current NCAA Division I winning streak to 15 games Tuesday night and had to come from behind to do it.
The 22nd-ranked Wildcats scored three runs in the seventh inning and four in the eighth to wind up with a comfortable 9-3 victory at Kentucky Proud Park — but not before some early tension.
Kentucky scored a run each in the first and second innings and was coasting comfortably with a 2-0 lead through four innings on the shutout pitching of starter Travis Smith.
However, Smith opened the fifth by hitting EKU’s Roderick Criss with a pitch then allowed a single to DJ Sullivan.
At that point, Kentucky Manager Nick Mingione turned to his bullpen, but the damage wasn’t done.
Ryder Giles struck out Ron Franklin looking but then gave up a run-scoring double by Hayden Duffield. After Santiago Peralta lined out to shortstop, Logan Thomason drove a single through the left side to bring home two runs and give the Colonels (8-12) a 3-2 lead.
Kentucky’s pitchers — totaling four additional relievers — blanked the Colonels thereafter with only two more hits the rest of the night, clearing the decks for the Wildcats’ comeback.
UK’s three runs in the seventh resulted from a two-run homer by sophomore catcher Devin Burkes and a run-scoring double by Chase Stanke.
In the eighth, Burkes drove in another run with a sacrifice fly and Stanke walked to force home a run. James McCoy then drove home Kentucky’s final two runs with a single to center field.
UK wound up with 10 hits on the night, with Jase Felker and Grant Smith getting two each.
Kentucky’s six pitchers wound up combining to strike out 13 Colonels batters while scattering five hits.
Ten pitchers went to the mound for Eastern Kentucky in the non-conference contest.
Kentucky’s Jackson Nove (3-0) picked up the win. EKU’s Anthony Vargas (1-1) took the loss.
Nove fipped the momentum to the Wildcats in the top of the seventh inning. After allowing a leadoff triple to EKU’s Franklin, UK’s sophomore left-hander struck out three consecutive Colonels to end the threat.
That set the stage for the go-ahead home run by Burkes moments later.
Kentucky’s winning streak is now its longest since the 2012 team opened the season 22-0.
The Wildcats (19-2 overall, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) will be back in action Friday when they visit No. 25 Alabama (18-4, 1-2) for the start of a three-game weekend series (7 p.m. EDT, SEC Network Plus).
