LEXINGTON ? Starting for the first time in a collegiate uniform, freshman Greg Dombrowski tossed a complete game to lead Kentucky to an 8-1 victory over Murray State on Tuesday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
The win improves the Wildcats to 28-24 and guarantees the team a .500 record this season for the first time in five years. With two wins in its final four games, the team can reach the 30-win plateau for just the second time since 1997. The Thoroughbreds fell to 25-28 on the year with the loss.
Starting for the first time in 15 appearances, Dombrowski was in complete control throughout. He needed just 95 pitches to get through nine innings. He allowed just seven hits, two of which were infield singles, and did not walk a batter to hurl the third complete game for a Wildcat this season.
Dombrowski induced 17 groundball outs, most of which went the way of second baseman John Shelby who tallied 10 assists and five putouts in the contest. The win improved Dombrowski to 2-0 on the year as he earned a win last week against Eastern Kentucky in relief. He has now allowed just two runs in his last 14 innings.
?How about Dombrowski tonight,? Kentucky head coach John Cohen said. ?He was extremely efficient with his pitches and did a great job of getting Murray to pound balls into the ground. He did what we ask our pitchers to do by throwing strikes all night.?
At the plate, Billy Grace got Kentucky going with a two-run home run in the second inning. It was the first hit of the game for the Wildcats after three batters reached via base on balls. Grace laced a two-run triple high off the wall in left-center field an inning later, one batter after Michael Bertram drove in two with a single to right field. At that point the score was 7-0.
Shaun Lehmann capped the scoring for Kentucky as he plated Antone DeJesus, who was hit by a pitch and stole second base, in the third inning. DeJesus finished the game with two hits and a pair steals.
Grace kept alive hope for the cycle in the fifth when he singled, but he was walked in his final plate appearance. It was the second time this year he has singled, tripled and homered in a game and was given a free pass in his last chance for a double.
?I thought Billy did a nice job at the plate today,? Cohen said. ?He?s been working through a tough stretch lately and really came up big for us today.?
Kentucky returns to action on Wednesday for its final home game of the year. The Wildcats will face Tennessee Tech at 6:30 p.m.
