No. 5 Vanderbilt Sinks No. 15 Kentucky in 9-3 Romp; Bat Cats Lose Fourth Straight SEC Series

"Vanderbilt was better today. That's the bottom line."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kentucky's hot start to begin SEC play and the entire 2023 regular season was always going to come in handy. It's becoming evident now that winning eight of its first nine games in conference may be its saving grace for making the NCAA Tournament. 

After dropping game one to No. 5 Vanderbilt on Friday night at Hawkins Field, No. 15 Kentucky put a sturdy foot forward once again on Saturday, but the effort wasn't enough. It wasn't all that close, either. The Commodores out-hit UK 13-9, struck out just four times and received four more lockdown innings of relief as it defeated the Wildcats 9-3 to win the series. 

Kentucky Head coach Nick Mingione put it best postgame, as his team has now lost four consecutive SEC series: 

"Vanderbilt was better today. That's the bottom line. They did all three facets a little better than we did. And as you do that, then obviously the outcome goes their way."

Vandy (31-11, 15-5 SEC) second baseman RJ Austin and designated hitter Chris Maldonado smoked back-to-back home runs off Wildcat starter Tyler Bosma in the bottom of the third to take a 4-2 lead, serving as one five different frames that witnessed the Dores plate a run. The pair were two of five VU players that two hits in the smushing. The freshman Austin had four RBIs.

Kentucky (30-12, 11-9) center fielder Jackson Gray had three of his team's nine hits, including a cranked solo homer in the top of the seventh to — at the time — pull UK within two runs. 

"I thought they made good pitches against us. We had some guys that had some good at-bats. Was it that everybody up and down the lineup had good at-bats the entire time? No. But they made some good pitches on us. We didn't capitalize when they did miss," Mingione said. 

Bosma got ahead of CF Enrique Bradfield 0-2 in the bottom of the first, but the speedy center fielder managed to work the count full and then drilled a line drive up the middle for a leadoff single. Two pitches later, he was standing on second base as he easily stole his third base of the weekend. 

A walk and infield single loaded the bases before Austin hit a towering sacrifice fly into no-man's land in shallow left field that forced UK shortstop Grant Smith to range over. He made the catch but had no chance of throwing out Bradfield at home. With one run already home, Maldonado drove an RBI single into center to double the Dores' advantage through one frame. 

Kentucky swung back, as it attempted to make up for its pitiful execution at the plate on Friday — in which it went 2-for-19 with runners on base in the 6-4 loss. After Smith worked a walk against Vandy starter Hunter Owen and Gray dropped a bunt single down the third-base line, Émilien Pitre and Hunter Gilliam each came through with two-out RBI singles that tied things up, 2-2. 

After a shaky first, Bosma seemed to have settled in, having retired the first two batters he saw in the bottom of the third. He then had Austin down two strikes, making him look foolish on a pair of breaking balls, but a mistake pitch then sat over the heart of the plate, allowing the 2B to unload on a no-doubt solo homer that had an exit velocity of 107 mph. 

He rounded first base as the ball ricocheted off Memorial Gymnasium. Just a few pitches later, Maldonado wouldn't be outdone as he too teed off on Bosma, blasting a big fly deep over the wall in left-center. The back-to-back jacks put Vandy back on top for good.

Bosma lasted just three innings and made way for Austin Strickland, who allowed a run in the fourth after two singles, a sac-bunt and wild pitch. The run came after UK left two runners on in the top half, as Owen finished his final inning of the day in style with a pair of strikeouts. He fanned six and allowed five hits and two walks in 75 pitches.

"Give them a lot of credit. We made some good pitches, they got a bunch of hits and strung them together. We got them down to two strikes, two outs and they still were able to get two home runs. They hit some good pitches and got the big hit when they needed it," Mingione said. 

Both Strickland and Vandy reliever Thomas Schultz pitched scoreless fifth and sixth innings, speeding the game along. It was the seventh that saw Kentucky's final effort to get back in the game. Gray boomed his homer to make it 5-3 Vandy, then Pitre laced a double down the right-field line with two outs to bring Gilliam to the plate as the tying run. 

The 1B engaged in a long AB, but Schultz eventually induced a grounder to get out of the jam. The bottom half of the inning saw Strickland unravel, allowing three hard-hit singles, the latter of which came off the bat of Austin, scoring a pair to give the Dores a four-run cushion. 

Two more hits and a wild pitch did the final bit of damage in the bottom of the eighth, putting Kentucky in danger of getting swept for the first time this season. 

"Well, at this point in time, we got to find a way to get a win — to come down here and just find a way to salvage a game," Mingione said. 

Game three at Hawkins Field in Nashville is set for 3 p.m. EST on Sunday, April 30 and will air on the SEC Network.

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