Feb. 7, 1998
PHOENIX – Kentucky (2-0) pounded out 11 hits and held No. 6 Oklahoma State (1-1) to only four as they beat the Cowboys 5-4 in the College Sports Classic at Phoenix, Ariz. The game was held at the Peoria Sports Complex, which is the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres spring training site.
“This was a big win against a nationally-ranked team,” UK Head Coach Keith Madison said. “It was the way we won, not only who we beat that impresses me. This had the atmosphere of a regional tournament and our young players responded well.”
Three UK pitchers combined for the four-hitter, allowing only one hit in the final eight innings. Senior Tim Rowland got his first victory after pitching 2 1/3 innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out three. Starter Josh Paxton logged five innings, allowing two runs on three hits. Paxton kept OSU hitless after the first inning. Junior Matt Borne pitched a scoreless ninth en route to his second consecutive save.
“I was really proud of the poise that Josh showed after giving up two runs in the first inning,” Madison said. “Tim pitched solid in relief and Matt Borne came in and showed his leadership, ending the game with bases loaded.”
The Cowboy’s had the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth inning after a UK error and two walks. OSU’s Josh Holliday grounded out to Borne to end the game.
UK took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a RBI triple by catcher Josh Loggins, knocking in sophomore Aaron McGlone. OSU answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs on three hits. Billy Gasparino led off the inning with a double and scored on a Marc Fournier triple.
After a UK error, Tony Lucca knocked in Fournier with a double, giving OSU a 2-1 lead. UK manufactured a run in the second with back-to-back singles by senior Justin Bunch and freshman John Wilson. Senior Mark Murphy reached on a fielder’s choice, advancing Bunch to third. Andy Bendix followed with a fielder’s choice, scoring Bunch and tying the game at 2-2.
UK added another run in the third inning, sparked by a one-out double by senior David Cheatle. Cheatle scored after teammate Aaron McGlone reached on an error.
OSU took a 4-3 lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and a RBI single. In the eighth, Cheatle slapped a one-out single and scored on McGlone’s second double of the game. McGlone moved to third on a Loggins’ groundout and eventually scored on a Cowboy error to give UK a 5-4 lead.
Cheatle went 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Cheatle is 5 for 9 in the Wildcats’ first two games. McGlone went 2 for 4 with a RBI. Senior Bendix also contributed two hits.
UK concludes the round-robin classic Sunday against Kansas State at 4:30 p.m. EST.
