Ryan Waldschmidt Stays Scorching Hot, Collects Three More Hits

No. 2 Tennessee hit No. 3 Kentucky with a five-run first inning and the Wildcats couldn’t claw all the way back, falling 9-4 on Saturday afternoon to set up a series rubber match on Sunday at Kentucky Proud Park between two top three clubs.

UK (32-6, 15-2 Southeastern Conference) had its opportunities though and did not lose ground in the standings to its closest competitors. A record crowd of 7,304 poured into the ballpark for the second straight day.

The Cats got two of their own in the first inning when Ryan Waldschmidt delivered a first pitch home run to left, his fourth in three games, and Mitchell Daly lined a two-out RBI single over the second baseman’s head.

The Cats also had the bases loaded in the second and the first two on in the seventh but came up empty in both innings, allowing Tennessee to maintain its advantage. The hard-hitting Volunteers lived up their offensive billing, drilling eight extra-base hits (five homers, three doubles).

NOTES

• Kentucky now is 32-6 in 2024, 15-2 in Southeastern Conference play.
  • The loss ended Kentucky’s school-record 11-game SEC winning streak.
  • Kentucky is 19-5 in day games.
  • Kentucky is 8-2 in April.
  • Kentucky is 7-1 in SEC home games.
• The attendance of 7,304 is the largest crowd in UK history.
  • It is the second day in a row the game attendance record has been broken.
• Kentucky is 10-1 vs. ranked teams and 13-1 vs. Quad 1 opponents.
• Kentucky has hit 22 home runs in its last seven games.
• UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his eighth season at the helm and now owns a 248-156 career record.
  • Mingione needs 10 victories to become the second-winningest coach in school history.
  • UK is 57-56 in the month of April under Coach Mingione.
  • Mingione now is 9-11 vs. Tennessee.

• Junior Ryan Waldschmidt was 3-for-4 with two runs, a HBP and solo HR.
  • He clubbed his fourth home run of the week.
  • He becomes the second Wildcat in a week to homer in three straight games.
  • For the week he is 8-of-13 with two doubles, four home runs and nine RBI.
  • It was his 12^th multi-hit game of the season and 24th career.
• Senior Nick Lopez walked to extend his games reaching safely streak to 14.
• Junior Robert Hogan pitched 3.2 innings, struck out four and threw 66 pitches.
  • All were career highs.
  • Hogan has allowed just seven hits this season in 21.1 IP.

 ON DECK

The Wildcats and Volunteers will settle the series on Sunday. First pitch is at 1 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed on the SECN+ and there will be an audio broadcast via the UK Sports Network.