RECAP: Commodores take down Cats in series opener
UK coach Nick MIngione.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK
Kentucky's final SEC series of the regular season did not begin well on Thursday in Nashville.
Vanderbilt starter Drake Fellows shut down the potent UK offense in an 8-1 victory over the No. 19 Wildcats. The 6-foot-5 right-hander allowed only three hits and did not walk a batter.
Fellows (6-4) turned the game over to Chandler Day, who allowed just one hit over the final 1.2 innings.
Kentucky's lone run came courtesy of a Tristan Pompey RBI double in the eighth inning to score Ben Aklinski, who had singled. To that point in the game, the Cats did not have a runner reach second base.
The Pompey hit did allow the Cats to extend their streak of 61 straight games without being shutout.
It was a rough outing for UK starter Sean Hjelle (7-5), who surrendered four runs on eight hits an three walks before leaving after throwing 123 pitches in six innings.
Vanderbilt's Phillip Clarke did most of the damage. The Commodores' designated hitter had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in three runs. Connor Kaiser added two hits and two RBI for the winners.
Kentucky (34-19, 13-15 SEC) dropped a game behind Vanderbilt (29-24, 14-14 SEC) in the league standings as a large number of teams are jockeying for seed positioning in the upcoming tournament.
The series is scheduled to resume on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
UK coach Nick MIngione.
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated.com
@JDrumUK
Kentucky's final SEC series of the regular season did not begin well on Thursday in Nashville.
Vanderbilt starter Drake Fellows shut down the potent UK offense in an 8-1 victory over the No. 19 Wildcats. The 6-foot-5 right-hander allowed only three hits and did not walk a batter.
Fellows (6-4) turned the game over to Chandler Day, who allowed just one hit over the final 1.2 innings.
Kentucky's lone run came courtesy of a Tristan Pompey RBI double in the eighth inning to score Ben Aklinski, who had singled. To that point in the game, the Cats did not have a runner reach second base.
The Pompey hit did allow the Cats to extend their streak of 61 straight games without being shutout.
It was a rough outing for UK starter Sean Hjelle (7-5), who surrendered four runs on eight hits an three walks before leaving after throwing 123 pitches in six innings.
Vanderbilt's Phillip Clarke did most of the damage. The Commodores' designated hitter had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in three runs. Connor Kaiser added two hits and two RBI for the winners.
Kentucky (34-19, 13-15 SEC) dropped a game behind Vanderbilt (29-24, 14-14 SEC) in the league standings as a large number of teams are jockeying for seed positioning in the upcoming tournament.
The series is scheduled to resume on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
