Peter Serruto's Three-Run Homer lifts Indiana Past Kentucky; Cats Now Facing Elimination

"Sometimes it's meant to be. There couldn't be a better kid in the world than Pete Serruto to do that," Indiana coach Jeff Mercer said.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Having finally felt like it broke through, Kentucky saw the light at the end of the tunnel on Saturday night against its border-rival Indiana. 

A defensive miscue from the Hoosiers and a sacrifice fly plated two runs in the top of the seventh for the Wildcats, breaking a 1-1 deadlock. UK ace Zack Lee stepped back on the bump, looking to close his first NCAA Tournament start in style. 

Instead, IU nine-hole hitter Peter Serruto stepped up to the plate in the bottom half of the inning, turning the tides of both team's weekends and postseason hopes. In the sixth pitch of the at-bat, the senior catcher smoked a three-run home run the other way in right field to put the Hoosiers ahead 4-3. 

After an additional insurance run for IU in the eighth, Kentucky got the tying run on base in the top of the ninth, as reliever Connor Foley hit Jackson Gray and Felker with one out, bringing Devin Burkes to the plate as the go-ahead run. He smoked a line drive to the wall in right field, but Morgan Colopy — who entered as a defensive replacement — was there to make the catch. 

With runners on the corners and two down, Émilien Pitre, after hitting a home run just a couple of feet foul down the left-field line, popped out in shallow left field to end the game, giving the Hoosiers a rollercoaster 5-3 victory. 

The homer from Serruto spoiled what was otherwise a brilliant outing for the right-hander Lee, who struck out nine across seven frames. 

"Four of their five runs were on home runs, looked like one of those games where it looked like that was what it was going to take," UK head coach Nick Mingione said after the loss. "We had our chances offensively." 

Kentucky went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the loss and compiled just three hits with runners on base all game. The Cats have now been held to six hits in both of its NCAA Tournament games, following their 4-0 win over Ball State on Friday.

It took Indiana — the home team, despite playing in Lexington — one pitch to take the lead in the bottom of the first. Shortstop Phillip Glasser took a center-cut fastball from Lee deep over the wall in center field for a solo shot, his seventh of the season. 

After delivering that gift, Lee settled in and proceeded to fan the next three Hoosiers to retire the side. He was quickly picked up by the Cats' bats in the next half-inning. 

With one out, first baseman Hunter Gilliam — who had three hits in UK's 12-2 midweek win over Indiana on March 14 — stroked a double to the wall in left field off IU left-hander Ryan Kraft, who got the start on Saturday. 

The next batter was Ryan Waldschmidt, who worked a full count, then deposited an RBI single into centerfield, knotting things up at one run a piece. That frame was sandwiched between a pair of one-two-three innings for Kraft, who needed only 31 pitches to notch his first nine outs.

UK had a chance to take the lead in the top of the fourth, as Jase Felker stayed hot with a leadoff double over the head of LF Hunter Jessee. Following a walk, Indiana made a mound visit as the bullpen began to stir. Felker swiped third base, beating a pickoff attempt, though Kraft struck out Pitre for the first out of the inning. 

After a lengthy at-bat, Kentucky went with a hit-and-run. As Burkes took off from first base, Gilliam scorched a liner right at the SS Glasser, who made the catch and lobbed the ball over to first for an easy double play, ending the threat. 

That was the final pitch of the day for Kraft, who returned for the Hoosiers after missing the Big Ten Tournament due to forearm tightness. He allowed just the one earned run on three hits, walking one and striking out two. 

As UK couldn't find additional offense, Lee continued to work, mixing the fastball well with his sweeping breaking ball, keeping the Hoosiers guess-hitting. He stranded a runner on third in the third, struck out the side in the fourth, then worked around a leadoff baserunner following an error on Gilliam at first in the fifth. 

"I thought Zack threw the ball great," Mingione said of his starter. "Obviously the home run in the seventh, but that does not take away how well he threw. And he cruised for a really long time. And he attacked the strike zone. No walks. Got our defense involved." 

Kentucky continued to put runners on base against RHP Craig Yoho, the first arm out the Hoosiers' bullpen. With two outs in the fifth, a hit batter and a walk put two on for Gray, who struck out swinging on a pitch in the turf — Yoho's third K of the inning. 

The Cats again put two runners on in the sixth, but again couldn't cash in. Gilliam launched a deep fly ball to center that only managed the warning track before Yoho danced one past Waldschmidt for the third out of the inning. 

"They played really well defensively and they threw the ball exceptionally well. I thought Yoho gave them some good innings," Mingione said. 

Yoho labored in the seventh, once again allowing two runners on base, again with one out. Gray stepped up and smacked a grounder at Indiana second baseman Tyler Cerny, who looked to turn a double play to end the threat. 

Instead, he overthrew Glasser at the second-base bag, allowing pinch-runner Patrick Herrera to hustle around third and give UK a 2-1 lead, which led to an eruption from Big Blue Nation. Another hit batsman loaded the bases, calling for a pitching change. 

Connor Foley entered to face Burkes, who lofted a sacrifice fly to deep center field, scoring another run to increase the UK lead to 3-1. Still with two runners on, Pitre popped out to short, ending the inning, though the ducks left on the pond quickly came back to bite. 

Mingione sent Lee back to the bump for the seventh, sitting on 83 pitches. The rock-solid Darren Williams was warming up in the bullpen, ready to pitch out of a jam if need-be. 

A one-out double from Josh Pyne and hit batter put two on for the Hoosiers, as Lee appeared to be leaking gas. UK stuck with its ace anyways, as the bottom of the order continued to step up to the plate. 

"I felt good. I told Coach I was good to go. So I was good to go," Lee said.

After getting Cerny to fly out, Serruto stepped up to the plate and delivered the biggest hit of his Indiana career. He worked an 0-2 count full, then cranked a fastball the other way, carrying it just enough to fall into the IU bullpen in right field for a monumental three-run homer, flipping the game on its head, silencing KPP in the process. 

"I was just trusting myself that whole at-bat," Serruto said of the moment. "Sticking with my approach and my plan. Just controlling my breathing and controlling everything I'm taught to do. And once I got a fastball there and delivered, it was just kind of like a dream come true, just running around the bases and enjoying that moment with my teammates.

"I've learned in my life that God works in mysterious ways," Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer added. "Sometimes it's meant to be. There couldn't be a better kid in the world than Pete Serruto to do that."

Lee stayed in and finished the outing, though the life was sucked out of the ballpark. Darren Williams entered to pitch the bottom of the eighth, though the Hoosiers were ready to face the seventh-year senior, plating a huge insurance run thanks to two singles and a rare wild pitch.  

"(Lee) was throwing the ball so well. He was landing his slider, landing all his pitches. He was just throwing the ball exceptionally well. We wanted to get through that last hitter, get out of it and give (Williams) a clean inning," Mingione said. "Unfortunately, the guy hit the home run. But we had him ready, but we thought Zack was still a good matchup and we trusted him."

Kentucky will now face West Virginia in a win-or-go-home game on Sunday at noon EST. If the Wildcats can beat the Mountaineers, they'll play Indiana again on Sunday night, needing to beat the Hoosiers twice to make their second Super Regional in program history. 

A game recap of Kentucky's 4-0 win over Ball State can be found HERE, while more on reliever Mason Moore can be found HERE.

• For a complete preview of the action this weekend in Lexington, click HERE.
• For some UK baseball postseason lore, click HERE.
• Everything Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said about the draw HERE.
• More on Mingione HERE.
• More on Kentucky's pitching staff heading into the postseason HERE.
• Find out which Kentuckians are returning to their home state to play HERE.

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