April 26, 1998
LEXINGTON, Kty. – Josh Loggins scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning and reliever Ben Shaffar got out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning as Kentucky won 4-3 over No. 23 Arkansas Sunday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium on the UK campus. The Wildcats won their third consecutive SEC series for the first time since 1993.
“It really shows the character of our team to come back and win the final two games against a very talented team,” UK coach Keith Madison said. “We got some timely hitting and our pitching was very solid today. Our players gained some confidence heading into the final two weeks of the season .” The win moved UK (21-25, 9-15) into sole possession of third place in the SEC Eastern Division. The top three teams in each division and two wildcards advance to the SEC Tournament in Birmingham, Ala. The Wildcats have won eight of their last 11 games, including six of their last eight conference games.
UK starter Jason Chaney (3-5) won his second straight start, allowing nine hits and two earned runs in 6.1 innings of work. Shaffar relieved Chaney in the seventh with one out and the bases loaded. Shaffar struck out Arkansas’s No. 3 hitter Ryan Lundquist and got Rodney Nye to fly out to end the inning. Shaffar, who picked up his first save of the season, and Chaney didn’t allow an extra-base hit in the game. Arkansas (30-15, 10-11) got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Joe Jester had a leadoff single and advanced to third on an error by UK second baseman David Cheatle. Jester scored when Lundquist grounded into a double play. The Razorbacks increased their lead to 2-0 on a RBI single by Scott Crossett in the fourth inning.
Kentucky, who went hitless the first four innings, took the lead for good in the fifth. Andy Bendix had a two-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After a John Wilson walk, catcher Jason Pasero drove Bendix in with a single to right field. Sophomore Andy Green followed with a two-run double to left-center field to score Wilson and Pasero, putting the Wildcats up 3-2.
Arkansas’s Dan Wright (1-4) allowed four hits and four runs in six innings in a losing effort. Nye scattered only one hit in two scoreless innings of relief. Sophomore Aaron McGlone, a South Shore native, led the Wildcats with two hits. McGlone extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games.
Loggins had his hitting streak snapped at 14 games. Four different Razorbacks had two hits apiece as they outhit the Wildcats 10-2. UK begins a five-game road trip on Tuesday at Western Kentucky. UK returns to SEC play this weekend at Auburn.
