April 22, 2003
Lexington, Ky. –
The University of Kentucky baseball team put five runs across the plate in the first but could never reach the scoreboard again, as the Cats fell, 7-5, to the Louisville Cardinals at Louisville Slugger Field Tuesday night, April 22. Caleb Stewart and Aaron Edwards both collected two hits for the Cats in the losing effort.
20 batters and four pitchers saw action in the first inning, as both teams combined to score 11 runs and pound out eight hits before the first six outs were recorded. Kentucky (16-23, 4-13 SEC) sent seven batters to the plate and scored three runs off Louisville starter Chase Cruz before the Cards (24-13, 9-8 C-USA) went to the bullpen and sent out freshman right handed pitcher Brian Halford to face Aaron Edwards. Edwards kept the rhythm going for UK, driving in two more runs with an RBI single to center field to give the Cats a 5-0 lead in the first frame.
Louisville answered UK’s five runs with six of its own in the bottom of the inning. The Cards got five hits and batted around on freshman starter Aaron Tennyson before the Cats called for relief in another freshman, Jimmy Rose, to counter in his eighth appearance of the season. Rose finished out the inning for UK, as Dave Williams Jr., who reached on a bunt, and Nick Haley attempted a double steal with two outs. Edwards’s attempt to catch Williams at second was thwarted by shortstop Joe Naill, who fired back to Edwards at home to catch Haley for the third out of the inning, leaving the Cards up, 6-5.
The Cats could not muster another run past the plate thanks to the Louisville relief pitchers. The Cards sent their leader in innings pitched in the third inning in Zach Jackson and closed with relief ace Carlos Fernandez. Fernandez, with an .084 ERA on the year, went the final two innings for the Cards, facing six Cats and striking out three and giving up only one base hit.
The Cards added on insurance run in the eighth. Williams hit the ball hard to left field and ran safely to second, but was awarded third by the first base umpire after contact from first baseman Mike Breyman. Mark Jurich then hit to Naill at shortstop, but Naill had no one to make the play as Josh Bolen was safe in what would have been the third out that instead scored Williams for a 7-5 final score.
UK returns to action this weekend as they host SEC foe Georgia at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Friday’s game is set for 6 p.m. EST, while Saturday and Sunday’s contest will start at 4 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
–UK–
