Alabama Baseball Tops Kentucky 10-1 in Series Opener

A great start by starting pitcher Tyler Ras and 11 hits from Crimson Tide bats boosted the team to a 1-0 start in the road series

A brilliant outing by starting pitcher Tyler Ras and an all-around solid performance in the batter's box was the difference in a 10-1 victory for Alabama baseball over the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday night in Lexington.

In seven innings pitched, Ras faced only 23 batters and struck out six of them. Of those 23 batters, only three managed to register hits and one home run by Wildcats first baseman T.J. Collett was the only run of the game allowed by Ras.

“It always starts on the mound," Alabama coach Brad Bohannon said after the win. "Tyler Ras was just outstanding and then Hunter Ruth was exciting for two really quality innings there in relief. Those guys did a great job throwing nine innings, allowing no walks, using multiple pitches and moving the ball around the strike zone well. Both guys were outstanding.”

Ras improves to a 6-1 record on the season with the win.

The Crimson Tide led off the scoring with an RBI-double by designated hitter Owen Diodati in the top of the second. An inning later, Alabama added another run off of a triple by right fielder William Hamiter and then a third run thanks to a single to right field by catcher Sam Praytor.

With Collett's home run coming in the bottom of the fourth for Kentucky, the scoring quieted down until the seventh inning.

With runners on second and third for the Crimson Tide, Hamiter reached due to a throwing error attributed to the Wildcats second baseman, sending another run across the plate for Alabama. A sacrifice fly by Praytor for the first out of the inning added another run for the Crimson Tide, putting it up 5-1.

But Alabama wasn't done yet in the seventh. With the bases loaded, left fielder T.J. Reeves took a full-count walk with the bases loaded to pick up an RBI. A bases-loaded single to right by Diodati gave Alabama another run, and a wild pitch during the next at-bat allowed first baseman Drew Williamson to slide in at home plate.

A two-run double by shortstop Jim Jarvis was the final scoring of the game for Alabama. In total, the Crimson Tide added seven runs to their side of the scoreboard in the seventh. The runs would be the last of the game for either side, and Alabama emerged with a 10-1 win to begin its series in Lexington up 1-0 over Kentucky.

Hamiter, Praytor, Diodati and Jarvis all finished the game with two RBIs, while Reeves had one.

On the mound, Ras (6-1) picked up the win for Alabama while Kentucky's Cole Stupp (4-3) was saddled with the loss.

With the win, Alabama improves to 24-13 on the season and is now 8-8 in SEC play. Kentucky drops to 22-13 overall and is 7-9 in the conference.

The Crimson Tide and the Wildcats will meet again on Saturday for Game 2 of the three-game series (1 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).