Baseball Suffers 6-2 Loss to 12th-Ranked Kentucky on Friday

Friday, April 5

Lexington, Ky.

5:30 p.m. CT

Alabama

22-8, 4-6

Kentucky

25-4, 9-1

Alabama

Kentucky

Baseball Suffers 6-2 Loss to 12th-Ranked Kentucky on Friday

4/5/2024 9:37:00 PM | Baseball

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The Wildcats scored five runs across the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Alabama baseball suffered a 6-2 loss to 12^th-ranked Kentucky on Friday evening at Kentucky Proud Park. Following the series opener, the 11^th-ranked Crimson Tide is now 22-8 on the season and 4-6 in Southeastern Conference play.

A low-scoring affair early, Kentucky struck first with a single tally in the second. Alabama then got on the board to start the fifth with a run of its own, sending the game to the home half knotted up at one apiece. The tie would not last long as the Wildcats posted three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to put the game out of reach. The Tide continued to battle, reaching the leadoff man in each of the final five innings but crossed just one run in the seventh for the 6-2 final.

The win went to Trey Pooser (3-0), who tossed 7.0 innings of two-run baseball, giving up six hits and issuing one walk to go with three strikeouts. Alabama's Ben Hess (3-2) suffered the loss despite a solid start. The junior allowed five runs on four hits and four walks with nine strikeouts across 5.1 innings of work.

From Head Coach Rob Vaughn

"All in all, (Kentucky) just did the little things that they needed to do better than we did tonight. We can pout about it, we can be mad about it, and I can sit here and yell about it, or we can acknowledge it and try to grow from it. We need to come out and try to be a little bit better version of who we are tomorrow."

How It Happened

B2 | The Wildcats began the inning with a hit-by-pitch. The leadoff man then moved to second on a wild pitch before an RBI-single brought him home. (1-0, Kentucky)
T5 | Will Hodo led off with a double. He then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Mac Guscette before scoring on a Max Grant sac bunt. (1-1)
B5 | A pair of walks put two aboard before a one-out double brought in the go-ahead run. Following the second out, a walk loaded the bases before a single to center crossed a pair. (4-1, Kentucky)
B6 | Nolan McCarthy added to the lead with a two-run homer to left. (6-1, Kentucky)
T7 | Hodo opened the frame with a single before coming home in the next at-bat on an RBI-double from Guscette. (6-2, Kentucky)

Postgame Notes

The Crimson Tide pitchers totaled 11 strikeouts on the night and have posted double-digit Ks in 16 total games, including five of the last six.
Gage Miller has reached base safely in all 29 games that he has played in. That is the longest reached base streak by a Crimson Tide hitter since Taylor Dugas' 34-game streak to start the 2012 season. The 34-game stretch was part of Dugas' 46-game streak overall that included the final 12 games of the 2011 campaign.
Ian Petrutz has reached base in 18 consecutive games. He has also gotten on base in all 10 SEC contests so far.
Petrutz has recorded a hit in his last seven games. Over that stretch, the junior is batting .464 (13-28) with four doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored and four walks.
Will Hodo extended his hitting streak to seven games. During the streak, the junior is batting .423 (11-26) with three doubles, two homers, seven RBI, eight runs and four walks.
TJ McCants moved his hitting streak to six games.
Justin Lebron extended his hitting streak in SEC play to nine games. Over that stretch, the freshman is batting .406 (13-32) with one homer, three RBI, six runs, three walks and a hit-by-pitch.

The Crimson Tide and Wildcats will return to the diamond on Saturday for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch. Game two of the series will feature senior left-hander Greg Farone on the mound for UA with Kentucky starting fellow lefty Dominic Niman. Fans can catch Saturday's contest live on SEC Network+.

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