Six-Run Sixth, Southpaws Pace 6-2 Win over Xavier

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Southpaws Zach Logue and Logan Salow combined to hold Xavier to just a hit over the first six innings and No. 12 Kentucky used a six-run sixth inning to post a 6-2 win over the Musketeers, on Wednesday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. 

Kentucky (18-7) broke open a scoreless game with a six-run sixth inning, getting RBI hits from Riley Mahan, Gunnar McNeill and Tristan Pompey in the frame. Logue worked three shutout innings in the start, before Logan Salow (1-0) earned the win with three hitless. 

The Wildcats collected nine hits in the game, adding four walks and two hit batters. McNeill extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest in the Southeastern Conference, with a 1-for-4 game. White, the regining SEC Player of the Week, was 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. UK also got hits from Mahan, Pompey, Luke Becker, Connor Heady, Dorian Hairston and Zach Reks, with Storm Wilson drawing a walk and hanging a sac fly, Kole Cottam driving in a run and JaVon Shelby drawing a pair of walks. 

A native of Mason, Ohio, Logue worked three shutout, one-hit innings on a pitch limit, allowing a walk and striking out three. Salow started the fourth inning in relief of Logue, working three-shutout, no-hit innings, walking two and striking out two. Freshman lefty Daniel Tillo started the seventh, getting an out, before Zach Strecker cleaned up the frame in his 69th career relief appearance. Strecker worked 1.2 shutout innings, before giving way in the ninth. Dylan Dwyer got one out in the ninth and Bo Wilson retired the final two. 

Xavier (8-17) starter Greg Jacknewitz (0-5) worked five+ innings, allowing five hits and one run, walking three and striking out three. Xavier also used relievers Trey Schramm, Garrett Schilling and Sam Czabala each worked in relief. 

Kentucky will return to action on Friday, traveling to Tennessee for a three-game series with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. ET at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. 

The Wildcats got on the board first in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Shelby led off with his second walk of the game. McNeill then pounded a one-strike pitch down the line in leftfield, scoring Shelby from first. Becker then greeted the reliever with a single through the right side and Mahan scored McNeill with a RBI single through the left side. Reks then laid down a pinch-hit bunt single to load the bases for Pompey. Pompey doubled down the rightfield line, scoring Mahan and Becker. Cottam then grounded out to score Reks and Wilson hung a sacrifice fly to score Pompey. 

Xavier got on the board in the seventh inning, with David Morton drawing a one-out walk vs. Tillo and scoring on Rylan Bannon’s double down the leftfield line.