FB Recruiting RECAP: Hjelle brilliant in gem vs. Oakland

[Jeff Drummond]

RECAP: Sean Hjelle flirts with no-hitter, fans 13 in Cats' 10-1 win

Kentucky's Sean Hjelle delivered a pitch in Friday's win over Oakland.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- What Sean Hjelle displayed Friday could be bad news for the remainder of Kentucky's opponents this season.

The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year has added a new weapon to his arsenal.

Hjelle has developed a slider, and the early returns are impressive. The junior right-hander took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday against Oakland, striking out a career-high 13 batters and walking none in leading the No. 8 Wildcats to a 10-1 win over the Grizzlies at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

"It was a clinic on how to throw multiple pitches down in the zone for strikes," UK head coach Nick Mingione said of the gem.

The 6-foot-11 Minnesota native downplayed what his coach described as "about as good as he can pitch."

"It was a special night, and it went deep, but I'm just trying to go out and get the job done every night," Hjelle said. "They're all special. It's been a cool ride and a cool experience."

Hjelle fanned 13 of the 26 batters he faced and allowed only two baserunners via infield errors before Oakland designated hitter Jordan Jackson broke through with a line-drive single to centerfield with two outs in the eighth inning.

"He earned it," Hjelle said of Jackson. "I grooved him one. It was a good two-strike approach. He was squaring balls up on me all day. His first at-bat, without the wind, that ball was going out. I kinda got lucky on that one."

Mingione, who typically leaves pitching changes to assistant coach Jim Belanger, came out of the UK dugout to let Hjelle know his special night was finished at 94 pitches.

"I told him he would appreciate it more when we're dog-piling (at the College World Series) in Omaha that we're not trying to get a no-hitter in February," Mingione said.

Hjelle (2-0) lowered his season ERA to 0.66. In the first two starts of his junior season, he's allowed only one run on three hits while striking out 16 and walking only three.

Kentucky (5-1) gave Hjelle more than enough support, even without All-American outfielder Tristan Pompey, who is sidelined by a sprained ankle. The Cats got a three-hit night from newcomer Ryan Johnson and two hits apiece from T.J. Collett and Squires.

Collett hit his team-leading third home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth. Squires had three RBI to lead the Cats.

"We chased a lot of balls out of the zone on Tuesday night (in the home opener, a 3-2 loss to Xavier)," Mingione said. "We were just really excited, me included. We wanted that game really, really bad. Today, we only chased seven balls out of the zone. On Tuesday, it was over 40 pitches out of the zone. We were just trying to do too much."

Oakland (1-5) plated its only run in the ninth inning on a double by Ryan Fitzgerald and an RBI single by Ben Hart.

Grizzlies starter Jake Lee (0-2) took the loss, allowing six earned runs on six hits and four walks over 2.1 innings on the mound.

The series is scheduled to resume with a 1 p.m. ET first pitch on Saturday, but the weather forecast for Central Kentucky does not look promising. The series is slated to wrap up on Sunday at 1 p.m.

 

[Jeff Drummond]

 

[Jeff Drummond]

NOTES

• Kentucky moved to 21-2 in non-conference home games under coach Nick Mingione.
• The Cats are 22-0 when scoring 10 or more runs under Mingione.
• Uniform watch: UK is now 12-1 in the past two seasons when wearing blue jerseys with blue hats and white pants.

• Junior RHP Sean Hjelle pitched 7.2 IP, giving up one hit, no runs and striking out 13.
  • The 13 strikeouts are a career-high, besting the 10 he had vs. LSU on 5/25/17 at the SEC Tournament.
  • Hjelle retired the first 12 hitters he faced before back-to-back errors to start the fifth inning. He then retired the next 11 before Jordan Jackson’s single.
  • Hjelle now has 17 career wins, tying him for 12th on UK’s career list.
  • His career winning percentage of .733 ranks third on UK’s career list.
  • In his first two starts this season, Hjelle has pitched 13.2 IP, giving up just three hits, one run, two walks and striking out 16.

• Junior OF Tristan Pompey missed the game due to injury, ending a streak on 85 consecutive games started for the Cats.

• Sophomore C/1B T.J. Collett went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and RBI single.
  • Collett’s third home run of the year gives him four extra-base hits among his seven total hits.
  • For his career, Collett now counts five of his nine career hits as extra-base hits, including four home runs.
  • Collett has homered in back-to-back games, the first UK player to do that since Marcus Carson did so against Indiana and NC State in last season’s NCAA Regional.

• Senior C/1B Troy Squires went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBI.
  • Squires’ on-base percentage is .538, second only to Tristan Pompey’s .542.

• Junior OF Ryan Johnson went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI.
  • It was a career-high in hits for Johnson.
  • He has back-to-back multiple hit games.

• Redshirt freshman P Brett Marshall pitched 1.0 inning, giving one run and striking out a batter.
  • It was Marshall’s career debut after missing the 2017 season with an arm injury.

ON DECK

Kentucky returns to The Cliff on Saturday, Feb. 24 with a 1 p.m. first pitch for the middle game of a three-game series with Oakland. Fans can listen on the UK Sports Network via UKathletics.com and iHeart Radio, as well as on 98.5 FM. The game will air on the SECN+.

 

[Old_Red]

If they're going to return to the Cliff today, they may need a pontoon.