LEXINGTON ? The Kentucky baseball team clinched a winning season for just the second time since 1997 with its 29th win of the year, a 7-3 victory over Tennessee Tech Wednesday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
The win was also a milestone victory for Wildcat head coach John Cohen, who tallied his 200th career victory in his sixth year as a head coach. Of the wins, 53 have come at UK in the past two seasons. Prior to his time in the Bluegrass State, Cohen registered a 146-84 mark at Northwestern (La.) State while leading his team to a pair of conference championships.
As a team Kentucky improved to 29-24 overall and it has three chances this weekend against South Carolina to hit the 30-win plateau. The team already has shown a five-win improvement over last year. Tennessee Tech dropped to 12-40 on the year with the loss.
John Shelby got the Wildcats started in the first with a two-out single that plated Antone DeJesus and Billy Grace. The two RBIs give Shelby 51 on the season, which is the most for a UK player since All-American John Wilson tallied 65 in 2000.
After a pair of scoreless innings, Kentucky posted a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to push the lead to 5-0. DeJesus knocked in Ryan Wilkes with a sacrifice fly in the third. An inning later, Michael Bertram scored on a Wilkes fielder?s choice. J.P. Lowen came home on the play when the Golden Eagle shortstop sailed his throw to first while trying to turn the double play.
Tennessee Tech?s only offense came in a three-batter stretch in the seventh. With one out, Corey Kemp and Clint Alexander belted back-to-back doubles and Nathan Marty homered to make it 5-3.
The home run closed the book on starter Matt Robinson, who improved to 2-0 after hurling 6 1/3 innings and striking out seven while walking none. Brock Baber relieved him and retired the final eight batters of the game while recording five strikeouts to earn his sixth save.
Outside of the three-hit stretch in the sixth, Kentucky allowed just three hits and erased two of those base runners on a double play and caught stealing.
After their lead was cut to two, the Wildcats answered with single runs in the seventh and eighth to put the game out of reach. DeJesus walked, stole second and scored on a Billy Grace triple in the seventh before Justin Scutchfield doubled and came home on Collin Cowgill?s single in the eighth.
Kentucky had numerous other opportunities as the team stranded a runner in every inning and 14 overall.
The Wildcats take to the road Friday when they face No. 23 South Carolina at Sarge Frye Field in Columbia, S.C. Last year, UK took two-of-three from the Gamecocks, who eventually reached the College World Series.
