Athens, (Ga.) ? Georgia scored five runs in the fifth inning and relief pitcher Will Startup shutout Kentucky over the final 4 2/3 innings of the game, as the Wildcats fell to the Bulldogs, 5-3, on Friday night in Athens. Startup (4-2) allowed just one hit and struck out four to pick up his fourth win of the season. The loss dropped Kentucky to 20-20 on the season and 5-14 in Southeastern Conference play.
?I?m really happy with the way we competed as a team tonight, but we just didn?t make the necessary adjustments,? UK head coach John Cohen said. ?It?s very frustrating to lose a game like this, but I saw some real positives that came from it.?
After he cruised through the first four innings, Georgia (28-15, 10-9 SEC) finally got to Kentucky starter Kalen Gibson in the fifth. The Bulldogs sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs on six hits in the inning. With two outs and a runner on second, Jonathan Wyatt doubled to left and was followed by three more hits, a walk and another hit, before Gibson finally got out of the inning. When the dust had settled, Georgia had a 5-3 lead.
Gibson (4-3) was saddled with the loss. He pitched five innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and striking out five. Reliever Matt Scott had another effective outing, no-hitting the Bulldogs over the final three innings.
Mike Breyman got the scoring started for Kentucky in the top of the fourth inning when he launched a deep home run into the trees behind the right-center field wall. The solo shot was Breyman?s seventh of the season, tying him for the team lead and putting UK on top, 1-0. Jake Kungl followed the home run with a double and later scored when J.B. Schmidt grounded out, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage.
Caleb Stewart retook the team home run lead and put Kentucky on top, 3-0, in the fifth when he blasted his eighth bomb of the year over the wall in left-center.
Breyman and Spencer Graeter led UK with a pair of hits apiece. Joey Side was 2-for-3 for Georgia.
The two teams will resume the three-game series on Saturday with a 4 p.m. (ET) contest. That game can be seen live on Fox Sports Net. UK will send Seth Stanley (5-1) to the mound, where he will be opposed by Georgia?s Michael Hyle (4-1). All the action can be heard live on 96.1 FM in Lexington, as well as on the UK web site at www.ukathletics.com. Live stats of the game are also available on the web site.
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