Bowling Green, (Ky.) ? The Kentucky offense enjoyed another big day, scoring 18 runs on 16 hits in an 18-6 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Wed. in Bowling Green. Caleb Stewart and Jesse Barber both continued their hot hitting, racking up three hits and three RBI a piece, while Mike Breyman posted a three-hit afternoon as well, including a grand slam home run. The win improved the Wildcats to 10-4 on the season while the Toppers fell to 7-9.
?We?re swinging the bats really well of late,? UK head coach John Cohen said. ?We?ve had good approaches at the plate and delivered some timely hits.?
UK took a 6-3 lead in the top of the fourth inning with three consecutive hits. After Aaron Edwards led the inning off with a walk, he came around to score on a two-out single from Spencer Graeter. Barber then doubled to score Graeter and Barber scored the third run of the inning on Caleb Stewart?s double.
Barber?s two-run double and Stewart?s two-run homer fueled a six-run fifth that blew the game open for the Wildcats. John Shelby, Casey Gilvin, Michael Bertram and Graeter all scored ahead of Barber and Stewart in the frame. In all, UK batted around in the inning and scored the six runs on just two hits combined with three WKU errors to take a 12-3 lead.
The Hilltoppers scored three times in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 12-6 game. Matt Grunning was cut down trying to score the fourth run at the plate on a tremendous throw from Stewart in right field to end the frame.
In the UK half of the seventh, Justin Scutchfield was hit by a pitch and Barber and Stewart had back-to-back singles to load the bases. Breyman promptly cleared the bases, blasting a long grand slam home run over the center field fence to give the Wildcats a 16-6 advantage.
Western Kentucky opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning off UK starter Aaron Tennyson. Matt Ransdell drew a walk to start the inning and came in to score on a single by Tim Grogan. Grogan was plated on Matt Grunning?s double down the right field line and the Hilltoppers were up 2-0 at the end of an inning.
UK answered the call, however, getting three runs of its own in the top of the second to take the lead. The rally was highlighted by Edwards? double to score Breyman. Shelby, who reached base on a bunt single, scored on a wild pitch and Edwards scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk to Barber.
Western knotted the game at three in the bottom of the second inning with three consecutive two-out singles, the last one by Ransdell scoring Phillip Thayer. Breyman preserved the tie for the Cats, making a diving catch in left field to prevent two more runs from crossing the plate.
Adam Kunkel (1-0) came on in relief of Tennyson to pick up his first win of the season. Kunkel threw four innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out a pair of Western batters. Grady Hinchman (0-3) took the loss for WKU.
Kentucky returns to Lexington to play host to the UK Invitational Tournament at Cliff Hagan Stadium this weekend. Michigan, Dayton and Youngstown State will join the Wildcats in the tournament field. The action begins on Friday with Dayton and Michigan playing at 12 p.m. (ET), followed by Youngstown State and Kentucky at 3:30 p.m.
— UK —
