RECAP: Bullpen comes up big for Cats in 8-5 win over rival Cards
Kentucky freshman right-hander Carson Coleman picked up his first career win with 1.2 innings of strong relief work Tuesday against Louisville.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A work of baseball beauty, it was not.
A win over the arch-rival, it was, and Kentucky will take that every time.
The No. 9 Wildcats overcame a shaky outing from their starting pitcher and five errors from the defense on Tuesday evening at sold-out Cliff Hagan Stadium to claim an 8-5 win over No. 21 Louisville.
A regular-season record crowd of 4,798 was on hand for the game, which began with temperatures approaching 80 degrees and winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour. The conditions made for an unusual four-hour affair.
Kentucky's bullpen trio of Carson Coleman, Jimmy Ramsey and Chris Machamer did not allow an earned run over the final 5.2 innings as the Cats overcame early deficits of 1-0 and 3-2.
Coleman (1-0) helped starter Daniel Harper escape a jam in the fourth inning and got out of another in the fifth to keep UK in the lead. It paved the way to the first collegiate victory of the redshirt freshman's career.
"At first I didn't really know I had it until coach told me, so that was awesome," said Coleman, a right-hander out of Lexington Catholic High School. "... My fastball was working good. Just shoving it in there."
Meanwhile, Ramsey deftly bridged the gap to Machamer, who slammed the door with 2.1 innings of hitless relief to earn his third save of the season.
"I thought the story of the game was our bullpen," UK coach Nick Mingione said. "We went 5 2/3, zero earned runs... I thought Chris Machamer, we brought him in the seventh there because that was the game. The game was on the line, and we went to our best guy."
The "long" save did not faze Machamer. "I just love to pitch. I want to be out there as much as I can."
Louisville (19-9) loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning after pulling within three runs of the Cats. Ramsey recorded a strikeout of Justin Lavey for the second out, and Machamer came on to retire Tyler Fitzgerald on a foul pop-up to end the threat.
Machamer navigated the eighth and ninth innings in routine fashion, retiring five of the last six batters he faced.
The teams combined for 14 walks, eight errors, six hit batsmen, a wild pitch and a passed ball in the sloppy affair.
Kentucky (20-9) took bigger advantage of the miscues, producing eight runs on only eight hits. Troy Squires led the Cats with two hits, while Tristan Pompey and Luke Heyer drove in three and two runs, respectively.
Louisville starter Riley Thompson (1-3) took the loss, lasting only one inning and surrendering four earned runs on one hit, three walks and a hit batsman.
The Cats and Cards will meet again on April 17 in Louisville.
Kentucky returns to action this weekend in an important SEC series against South Carolina at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Game 1 is slated for Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Kentucky freshman right-hander Carson Coleman picked up his first career win with 1.2 innings of strong relief work Tuesday against Louisville.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A work of baseball beauty, it was not.
A win over the arch-rival, it was, and Kentucky will take that every time.
The No. 9 Wildcats overcame a shaky outing from their starting pitcher and five errors from the defense on Tuesday evening at sold-out Cliff Hagan Stadium to claim an 8-5 win over No. 21 Louisville.
A regular-season record crowd of 4,798 was on hand for the game, which began with temperatures approaching 80 degrees and winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour. The conditions made for an unusual four-hour affair.
Kentucky's bullpen trio of Carson Coleman, Jimmy Ramsey and Chris Machamer did not allow an earned run over the final 5.2 innings as the Cats overcame early deficits of 1-0 and 3-2.
Coleman (1-0) helped starter Daniel Harper escape a jam in the fourth inning and got out of another in the fifth to keep UK in the lead. It paved the way to the first collegiate victory of the redshirt freshman's career.
"At first I didn't really know I had it until coach told me, so that was awesome," said Coleman, a right-hander out of Lexington Catholic High School. "... My fastball was working good. Just shoving it in there."
Meanwhile, Ramsey deftly bridged the gap to Machamer, who slammed the door with 2.1 innings of hitless relief to earn his third save of the season.
"I thought the story of the game was our bullpen," UK coach Nick Mingione said. "We went 5 2/3, zero earned runs... I thought Chris Machamer, we brought him in the seventh there because that was the game. The game was on the line, and we went to our best guy."
The "long" save did not faze Machamer. "I just love to pitch. I want to be out there as much as I can."
Louisville (19-9) loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning after pulling within three runs of the Cats. Ramsey recorded a strikeout of Justin Lavey for the second out, and Machamer came on to retire Tyler Fitzgerald on a foul pop-up to end the threat.
Machamer navigated the eighth and ninth innings in routine fashion, retiring five of the last six batters he faced.
The teams combined for 14 walks, eight errors, six hit batsmen, a wild pitch and a passed ball in the sloppy affair.
Kentucky (20-9) took bigger advantage of the miscues, producing eight runs on only eight hits. Troy Squires led the Cats with two hits, while Tristan Pompey and Luke Heyer drove in three and two runs, respectively.
Louisville starter Riley Thompson (1-3) took the loss, lasting only one inning and surrendering four earned runs on one hit, three walks and a hit batsman.
The Cats and Cards will meet again on April 17 in Louisville.
Kentucky returns to action this weekend in an important SEC series against South Carolina at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Game 1 is slated for Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
