Lexington, (Ky.) ? Kentucky scored five times in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to a 9-1 beating of Murray State on Wednesday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Six UK pitchers held the Thoroughbreds to just one earned run on eight hits, as Kalen Gibson (5-3) picked up his fifth win of the season. The game was the final home contest of 2004 for the Wildcats, who stand at 24-27 and have three games remaining with Vanderbilt this weekend in Nashville.
?We were glad to come out and get a win tonight in the final home game of the season,? said UK head coach John Cohen. ?We have a very bright future here at the University of Kentucky and tonight was a good way to lead into that. We need to get this same effort this weekend. I?m excited to get this win and excited about all the things that are happening with Kentucky baseball.?
UK went up 2-0 in the bottom of the second as Billy Grace doubled in Mike Breyman and later scored on a Murray passed ball. Meanwhile Gibson, who started the game for Kentucky on the mound, held the Breds scoreless on just two hits over the first three innings.
Alex Stewart scored after he doubled to lead off the fourth for Murray State, cutting the Kentucky lead to 2-1.
The Cats came back with two more runs in the fifth when Casey Gilvin doubled home Spencer Graeter and scored one batter later when Caleb Stewart grounded out.
UK put the game away in the sixth, scoring five times on five hits. Grace hit a two-run home run and Michael Bertram and Graeter each had run-scoring hits.
A combination of Adam Kunkel, Shane Boyd, Matt Scott, James Rodriquez and Aaron Tennyson held MSU (16-33) to one run on six hits the rest of the way as Kentucky cruised to the victory.
Grace finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the UK offense. Graeter was 2-for-2 and scored twice. Scotty Scott had two hits for the Breds. MSU starter Jon Ross Shelton (4-5) was saddled with the loss, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits in three innings of work.
The weekend series at Vanderbilt gets underway on Friday night at 8 p.m. (ET). That game will be broadcast on 96.1 FM in Lexington on a delayed basis at 10:30 p.m. Saturday?s contest is set for 5 p.m., while Sunday?s series wrap-up is slated for a 2 p.m. start. Both of those games will be live on 96.1 FM. Live audio and stats are available for all three games at www.ukathletics.com.
— UK —
