April 25, 1999

John Wilson belted his SEC-leading 18th home run of the season and Nathan Kent pitched his second consecutive SEC complete game as the Kentucky Wildcats (18-24, 8-13 SEC) defeated the Tennessee Volunteers, 11-4, in the rubber game of the series at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and appeared to have the game under control, but a shaky second inning saw four UT runs cross the plate and the Cats lose the advantage.

Kentucky fought back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning on Wilsons home run and an error by Tennessee third baseman Josh Morris to regain the lead. Nathan Kent (4-5), the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, settled down and allowed only 3 more hits in the game as he picked up his third consecutive victory and increased his innings pitched total to a team-leading 94.1 for the season.

UKs bats came to life in this weekends series against the Volunteers (22-24, 5-16 SEC). Aaron McGlone was seven-for-14 with two doubles and six RBI, and Andy Green had six hits and scored six runs. Since the Arkansas series two weeks ago, McGlone and Green have raised their batting averages by 41 and 55 points, respectively.

With todays victory, the Wildcats have won two consecutive SEC weekends and three of the last four. UK is currently in third place in the Eastern Division and is looking for a berth to the conference tournament in Birmingham, Ala. The top two teams from each division and four wild card teams will play for the conference title on May 19-23 at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, home of the Double-A Birmingham Barons.

Kentucky takes a break from conference action for two midweek games, playing host to Western Kentucky on Tuesday, April 27, and traveling to Louisville to face the Cardinals on Wednesday, April 28. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.