No. 10 Kentucky Breaks Georgia's Bullpen in 7-4 Comeback Victory on the Road

The Bat Cats never quit. That was proven once again on Friday night in Athens.

Kentucky baseball has worn the "battle tested" moniker well throughout the 2023 season, fighting tooth-and-nail in every game its played. The No. 10 Bat Cats put that on full display in game one of a three-game set against Georgia on Friday in Athens.

Trailing 4-0 in the seventh inning, five two-out RBIs and a wilted Bulldogs bullpen helped UK swipe a 7-4 victory at Foley Field, its 23rd win in its last 24 games. The bottom of the order came through in a monstrous way, helping the Cats claw back into a game that stayed stale through the first few innings. 

After managing just one hit and four total baserunners through the first six frames against Georgia starter Jaden Woods, Kentucky (27-3, 9-1 SEC). finally tagged the crafty left with a pair of singles before designated hitter Reuben Church — who made only his 10th appearance of the season on Friday — blasted a two-run double to left-center field with two outs, bringing UK within two runs, taking Woods out of the game. 

Freshman right-hander Matthew Hoskins was the first UGA (16-14, 1-9) arm out of the bullpen, but he failed to retire the first three batters he faced, walking Grant Smith, Jackson Gray and Jase Felker, allowing Church to trot home to make it 4-3. 

Hoskins returned to the mound for the top of the eighth, but subsequently allowed UK to tie the game, thanks to a Ryan Waldschmidt single, then a booming two-bagger off the bat of Nolan McCarthy — who drove in four runs in Kentucky's midweek win over Dayton on Tuesday — bringing his teammate home, silencing the Georgia faithful at Foley Field. 

Walks continued to kill UGA in the ninth. RHP Chandler Marsh handed out a free pass to Gray, base hit to Felker and then another pair of walks, the latter of which saw UK second baseman Émilien Pitre work a full count, taking a fastball high and away, allowing Gray to stroll home, giving Kentucky the lead. 

First baseman Hunter Gilliam — who went 0-for-5 and saw his hitting streak get snapped at 22 games — sent a sacrifice fly out to deep left field, scoring one before Waldschmidt notched his third hit of the game, lacing a two-out RBI single to left, scoring Devin Burkes. 

While the bats staged the comeback, sophomore righty Mason Moore denied Georgia from a lick of offense, facing the minimum in the final three innings of the game, retiring all nine batters faced for his second win of the season and a save. He threw 34 pitches, rolling six groundouts, one fly out and two strikeouts. 

Georgia pitching walked nine UK batters and allowed eight hits, spoiling a terrific outing from its starter. All the Bat Cats could muster at the plate in the first five innings was three free passes, as Woods managed an impressive mixture of fastballs and breaking balls, denying solid contact. 

Redshirt freshman Logan Martin took the ball to open the series for Kentucky, firing two hitless innings, striking out three while allowing two walks and no hits. He didn't pitch last weekend due to a non-arm related injury that has hampered him over the past month. 

UK head coach Nick Mingione once again piggybacked veteran RHP Darren Williams behind Martin, sending the Maysville, Ky. native out for the third. He allowed just three baserunners in his first three innings of work. 

Georgia did its damage against the seventh-year senior in the bottom of the sixth. First baseman Charlie Condon — who entered the weekend hitting .449, the second-best mark in the SEC — sat on a first-pitch breaking ball, turning on it and whacking it over the fence in left for a solo home run, his 12th of the season. 

Williams then labored, allowing three more hits, a walk and a hit-batsman. With one out and the bases loaded, shortstop Sebastian Murillo chopped a two-run base hit over the head of Gilliam down the right-field line. Second baseman Mason LaPlante then added UGA's fourth and final run via a sac-fly. 

While he wasn't superbly effective and allowed four earned runs, Williams still ate four innings of relief, facing 21 batters, eventually setting up a nice change of pace for Moore, who proceeded to dominate to the highest order. 

UGA had just six hits, as the top of the order — CF Ben Anderson, LF Connor Tate, Condon — went 1-for-12. 

Game two of the series will attempt to commence on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST, though rain is in the forecast. LHP Tyler Bosma will attempt to build off his best start of the season, which came last weekend against Missouri. He'll face off against another Georgia lefty, Liam Sullivan. Kentucky will look to extend its winning streak to seven games. First pitch will air on SEC Network+. 

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