May 11, 2002

The Kentucky baseball team exploded for 12 runs in the first inning and went on to a 19-7 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday night at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn.

The Wildcats pounded 10 hits in the first frame, highlighted by two-run doubles by Brad Pickrell and Mike Ferris, as Commodore starting pitcher Steven Faulkner (3-4) recorded just one out before being relieved. By the second inning, every Wildcat starter had at least one hit and eight of the nine starters had scored.

Kentucky continued with one run in the second inning, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth. Gordon Tyler got the Cats’ only home run of the game with a three-run shot in the eighth, his fourth homer of the season. The Wildcats ripped season highs for runs (19) and hits (21) and also tied a season high for doubles with six. The 19 runs marked the most for the Wildcats in a Southeastern Conference game since a 22-11 win over South Carolina in 1995.

Designated hitter Robert Newton led the hit parade with four singles and three RBI. Tyler had three hits, including the homer, drove in five runs, and scored four times. Pickrell had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and also scored four runs.

Kentucky starting pitcher Joseph Blanton went six innings for his second consecutive victory, improving his record to 5-6. Blanton struck out 12 batters, his fifth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. He moved to third place on the Kentucky single-season strikeout list with 120 and sixth place on the career strikeout list with 218.

Mark Galvin, Jeff Archer, and James Rodriquez each pitched a single inning for the Wildcats, with Archer and Rodriquez notching a shutout inning.

Kentucky is now 17-31 overall, 6-20 in the Southeastern Conference while Vanderbilt is 21-25, 5-19 in league play. The final game of the series will be Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT as Kentucky’s Rob Corrado (1-2) will pitch against Jeremy Sowers (4-5) of Vanderbilt.

– UK –