LEXINGTON, Ky. – WKU Baseball suffered a narrow defeat to Kentucky, 6-5, Tuesday afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park.
In a game that had multiple ties and lead changes throughout, an RBI-single by the Wildcats in the bottom of the seventh inning ended up being the difference.
"I challenged these guys with our non-conference schedule and they've performed well," said head coach John Pawlowski. "We were just looking for maybe one big hit here or there today and things could've changed, but we're very confident in what we do. I do believe that playing the schedule that we've played is certainly going to help us as we progress down the road. I think with the arms we've seen so far it's going to give our guys a lot of confidence as we move forward that we've kind of seen some of the best that we can see."
Devyn Terbrak earned his first start for the Hilltoppers in the matchup, allowing just two earned runs while striking out a pair in 5.0 frames. Ryan O'Connell, Aaron Shiflet and Luke Stofel all saw relief action in the game, with the trio combining to allow three earned runs while recording two strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work.
At the plate, WKU combined for eight hits on the day, with two players producing multi-hit efforts in the game. Davis Sims went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run, while Matthew Meyer hit 2-for-5 and scored one run.
SCORING SUMMARY
Kentucky opened the scoring in the first frame with an RBI-double to left field.
WKU scored its first runs of the contest in the fourth inning, tying the game on an RBI-groundout by Richard Constantine before taking a 2-1 lead after Jackson Gray scored on a wild pitch.
The Wildcats evened the score in the fifth frame, using an RBI-double to make it 2-2.
Kentucky then regained its lead in the sixth inning, scoring three runs in the frame to put the game at 5-2.
The Hilltoppers answered back in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs of their own to tie things up again. WKU scored its first run of the inning after Sims sent an RBI-single to left field, with Meyer scoring from third in the next at-bat following a passed ball. Constantine then used a sac fly to right field to plate Ray Zuberer III and even the game at five apiece.
The Wildcats would go on to recapture their lead in the bottom of the inning, scoring off an RBI-single up the middle to take a 6-5 advantage.
WKU was held scoreless from there, leading to the eventual victory for Kentucky.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will return home for a four-game series against Bowling Green beginning at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, March 12 at Nick Denes Field.
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