May 7, 2000
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The ninth-ranked Louisiana State Tigers took advantage oftwo seventh-inning errors by the Kentucky Wildcats to score four unearnedruns on Saturday at Cliff Hagan Stadium, breaking open a one-run ball gameand holding on for a 6-3 win in the second game of their SoutheasternConference series. UK (31-18-1, 8-16-1 SEC) has now lost a season-high fivestraight games and 13 of its last 19.
With the Wildcats trailing the Tigers 2-1 in the seventh inning, leftfielder Aaron McGlone dropped a fly ball hit by Brad Hawpe for what wouldhave been the second out, but put runners on second and third with just oneout. A balk called on UK starter Scott Wade then plated the lead runner andopened the floodgates for the Tigers. One hitter later, Blair Barbierdoubled home Hawpe, who was 4-for-5 in the game, making the score 4-1.Another double made it 5-1, knocking Wade from the game.
Wade, who fell to 7-6, allowed six runs (two earned) on 14 hits whilewalking just one and striking out four. Earning the win for the Tigers wasright-handed starter, Bo Petit who scattered nine hits over 6-2/3 innings.Petit (5-3) walked two and struck out six in helping the Tigers move backinto first place in the SEC Western Division on the heels of MississippiState’s 9-6 loss to Florida in 11 innings.
UK tallied single runs off Petit in the second and seventh innings. In thesecond, designated hitter Dax O’Daniel doubled in Vince Harrison, who haddoubled leading off the inning, and Jeff Meade scored on a wild pitch inthe seventh.
The second-inning run by the Wildcats ended a string of 19 consecutivescoreless innings against the Tigers, a streak spanning four games and twoseasons. Before being shut-out in the first inning, UK lost 9-0 in theopener on Friday night, lost 10-0 in seven innings by mercy-rule in anelimination game of the 1999 SEC Tournament and didn’t score in the finaltwo innings of a 6-4 loss in the series finale of last year’s regularseason series in Baton Rouge.
In the ninth, UK managed to threaten the Tigers again as Seth Morris ledthe inning off against new pitcher Trey Hodges by lacing a double down theleft field line, followed by a bunt single by Andy Green and a run scoringsingle by Jeff Meade. But the right-handed Hodges retired McGlone, JohnWilson and Breck Price so end the rally and the game.
The loss lowered the magic number for Ole Miss to clinch the eighth andfinal spot in the upcoming SEC Tournament to three, but the Cats did notlose ground in the race as the Rebels lost for the second straight day,5-4, to Georgia in Athens.
The Wildcats will be trying to avoid their second SEC home series sweep ofthe season when they meet the Tigers for game three of the series, tomorrowafternoon at 1:07 p.m. EDT.
(Listen to webcasts of all UK baseball games on the University of Kentucky’sofficial home on the web, www.ukathletics.com.)
