NASHVILLE ? Junior Ryan Strieby slugged two home runs and drove in four to power 13th-ranked Kentucky past No. 21 Vanderbilt, 11-9, to even the series on Saturday at Hawkins Field.
Sean Coughlin added a home run for the Wildcats as UK became the first opponent in more than two years to hit three home runs in a game at the cavernous Hawkins Field. Strieby?s second shot, which broke a 9-9 tie in the eighth, was a towering shot over the 30-foot wall in left field and onto the top of the old swimming pool building attached to Memorial Gymnasium.
With the win and a South Carolina loss, Kentucky (33-11, 12-8 Southeastern Conference) moved back into a first-place tie in the SEC Eastern Division. The Wildcats hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their sweep of USC last weekend. Vanderbilt (27-17, 11-9 SEC) falls one-game back in the division race.
Kentucky jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first without the aid of a hit. Antone DeJesus reached on a wild pitch after swinging through strike three. He advanced on a sacrifice bunt and came around to score on a throwing error by shortstop Dominic de la Osa.
Vanderbilt took the lead with a four-run third inning aided by a pair of UK errors. Ryan Flaherty provided the big swing in the inning with a two-run double.
Matt Buschmann was dominant early for Vandy, holding the Wildcats to just one hit over the first four innings, but Kentucky finally solved him in the fifth, tagging him for five runs in the inning.
An RBI double by Collin Cowgill plated Shaun Lehmann and Sean Coughlin singled home Antone DeJesus to cut the lead to 4-3. Strieby followed by launching a ball to the opposite field for a three-run homer and a 6-4 advantage.
Buschmann recorded two outs in the inning, but couldn?t make it to the sixth. He was charged with six runs on five hits while walking two and striking out seven. Tyler Rhoden became the third pitcher of the fifth inning after ? Cameron Betourne walked both batters he faced ? and struck out Lehmann to end the inning.
As quickly as the Wildcats took the lead, they lost it. The Commodores responded with a five spot in the home half of the fifth inning to retake the lead, 9-6. Relief pitcher Zach Dials committed a costly error by attempting to get the lead runner at third on a sac bunt attempt. His throw sailed into left field and one run scored while UK did not get a sure out.
Flaherty then scored from third on the second wild pitch of the inning to tie it and Ryan Davis gave Vandy the lead with a single. Pedro Alvarez made it a three-run game with a double into the left-centerfield gap.
Coughlin helped UK chip away at the lead with a two-out solo home run in the sixth before Ryan Wilkes roped a double down the left-field line to tie it. The hit scored Michael Bertram and John Shelby, who walked and singled, respectively, to open the inning. and John Shelby, who walked and singled, respectively, to open the inning.
That set up Strieby?s heroics in the eighth. It is the second weekend in a row he has broken up a tie game with an eighth-inning home run. Last week, he beat South Carolina with a three-run shot in the eighth.
The three runs to tie it were allowed by Rhoden and Ty Davis took the loss after giving up the blast to Strieby. He fell to 5-4.
Kentucky added an insurance run in the ninth before Andrew Albers nailed down the win in the ninth.
Albers was the one bright spot for both pitching staffs on the day. He entered with one out of a tie game in the seventh and promptly induced a double play ball by Alvarez, the Commodores most dangerous hitter. He worked a total of 2 1/3 innings, allowing a single hit and striking out two to earn the win and improve to 3-2.
The fifth pitcher of the day, Albers relieved Matt Robinson, who had his 12 inning shutout streak snapped in the fifth on Alvarez?s double.
Craig Snipp started but was chased in the third after giving up four unearned runs on six hits. Zach Dials came on to stop the bleeding, but was roughed up in the fifth for a pair of runs before Robinson came on.
Notes: John Shelby extended his hitting streak to nine games and has multiple hits in six of his last seven games ? Shelby?s streak of hitting an extra-base hit in eight straight games came to an end ? Strieby recorded his second two home run game of the year ? Strieby has at least two home runs in three straight SEC series and has totaled six homers in last six SEC games ? Strieby now has 60 RBIs, which is the most for UK player since All-American Jon Wilson had 65 in 2000 ? The 60 RBIs are tied for seventh most in school history ? Coughlin?s home run was his 10th, giving UK four players with double-figures in home runs for the first time in 10 years ? Kentucky has won 12 SEC games for the first time since 2000 ? Kentucky has scored at least six runs in nine consecutive conference games.
