April 20, 2003
Lexington, Ky. –
Tennessee scored two runs in the top of the ninth to earn a 9-8 lead over the Kentucky baseball team on Sunday afternoon, April 20. The game, which featured two ties and six lead changes, saw Kentucky fall to the Volunteers, failing to finish off the sweep after taking the first two games of the Southeastern Conference weekend series 1-0 and 4-1.
Tennessee (23-16, 8-10 SEC) got out of the gate quickly for the second straight game, as UT’s first two batters, Jordan Czarniecki and Josh Alley, reached base on a walk and a hit by a pitch, respectively. Michael Rivera then singled to left, driving in Czarniecki to give the Volunteers an early 1-0 advantage.
Kentucky (16-22, 4-13 SEC) countered in the bottom of the fourth, pounding out four runs on three hits. One of those came from Casey Gilvin, who got things going for UK with a stand-up double to right. After Mike Breyman was intentionally walked, Spencer Graeter made the Volunteers pay by blooping a single to shallow right and bringing in Gilvin. Jake Kungl walked, and Caleb Brock’s line drive to right scored all three Kentucky base runners, putting the Cats ahead, 4-1.
UT didn’t stay down long, as Czarniecki blasted a three-run home run over the left field wall to tie the game at 4-4 in the top of the fourth. The Volunteers went on top by one, 5-4, in the fifth before the Cats tacked on two runs in their half of the inning. Graeter’s double to left brought in Brad Pickrell, who had an extra base hit to begin the inning. Kungl then singled for his first hit of the day, bringing up Brock, who struck once again with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Graeter for a 6-5 lead and giving the senior his fourth RBI of the game.
The Volunteers tied the game for a second time, 6-6, in the sixth when Walter Sevilla doubled and scored following a sacrifice fly to center from Kyle Norrid two batters later. The Volunteers then took the lead from the Cats in the seventh with another run for a 7-6 advantage, but UK added two more after the seventh inning stretch. Kungl received credit for the first RBI with the Cats third single of the inning, bringing in Pickrell. Brock grounded into a double play with no outs that brought home Breyman, who had walked, and Kentucky regained an 8-7 lead heading in to the eighth inning.
The score remained the same until the ninth, when UT took the lead for good. Nick Crowe, Czarniecki and Alley all hit for consecutive singles, with Alley’s hit being good enough for the tying RBI. Rivera’s foul ball was caught by Michael Bertram past first base, who then threw out Alley at second for a double play. Javi Herrera’s grounder went into left field for the game-winning single, scoring Czarniecki from third, providing the final 9-8 margin.
Graeter finished 3-for-4 at the plate for the Cats with two runs and two RBI on the day. Kungl and Pickrell had two hits apiece, and Brock finished with a team-high four RBI. The Cats used four pitchers, as Kalen Gibson (2-3) took the loss on the mound after relieving James Rodriguez in the ninth.
UT finished with 18 hits, as seven Volunteers had at least two hits in the game. Crowe led the way with a 4-for-5 day at the plate, and Brandon Crowe (3-0) earned the win after four innings of relief, giving up two earned runs on four hits, and striking out three Cats.
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday afternoon, as it travels to face intrastate rival Louisville at 6 p.m. EST.
–UK–
