LEXINGTON, Ky. — Senior Brian Spear ripped his second homer of the season, to complement four-RBI, as the No. 4 Kentucky baseball team put the finishing touches on a doubleheader with Eastern Michigan, claiming game one, 18-5 and game two, 8-6, on Tuesday at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Spear led UK offensively with a 2-for-5 game, ripping a towering bomb and later adding the game-deciding double. Senior second baseman Ryan Wilkes, currently batting .500 (17-for-34), finished a club-best 3-for-4 in the second game, also drawing a walk. Preseason All-American outfielder Collin Cowgill added a 1-for-3, one run, one RBI, one-walk game. Cowgill ripped a double and stole his team-best 10th base of the season.
Keenan Wiley and Chris Wade extended their team-high hit streaks to 13 games and senior right fielder Sawyer Carroll added a 1-for-2, two-walk game. Wade added two RBI to his season total of 25, ranking second on the club.
With the game tied at 5-5 entering the bottom of the seventh, UK utilized a three-run rally, sparked by back-to-back doubles from Wilkes and Spear and a two-RBI single from shortstop Wade, to take a lead it would not surrender.
Kentucky (15-0) returns to action with its Southeastern Conference opening series with Alabama on Friday. First pitch at Cliff Hagan Stadium is slated for 4 p.m. ET.
Sophomore righty Clint Tilford picked up the win, working 1 2/3 innings with the contest in question, striking out two for his first win of the season. Tyler Henry got the start, lasting five innings and allowing five runs. Jesse Yano worked a 1/3 of an inning and Baber relieved Tilford in the seventh, setting the table for senior catcher and closer Tyler Howe. Howe, who caught the entire game before emerging from behind the dish to get the save and the final out of the game, appeared in his fourth career game on the mound, notching his first career save.
EMU starter Robert Wendzicki got the start, allowing five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Ace closer Matt Shoemaker took the loss, allowing the decisive three runs in the final 2 1/3 innings.
Kentucky wraps up its pre-conference schedule undefeated for the second consecutive season, rolling through its opening 15 games, outscoring the opposition, 175-39. UK is hitting for a .374 average, with 49 doubles, seven triples, 20 homers, and 159 RBI, stealing 30-of-36 bases. Pitching wise for the Wildcats, the team has posted a 2.10 ERA, striking out 138 in 133 innings, walking only 23.
For the day at the plate, several Wildcats excelled in the twinbill, as Carroll, Wilkes and Spencer Korus each batted 4-for-7 during the day, with Korus scoring a team-high five times. Carroll and Spear each added four-RBI games.
For the second consecutive game, Eastern Michigan jumped all over the Wildcat starter in the first inning, plating three runs on four hits. After Henry struck out the leadoff man and Zack Leonard singled to left field, Aaron Powell ripped a single to third base. Right fielder Jeff Davis came through with a two-RBI single through the right side. Josh Ivan followed with a groundout that scored Powell.
In the third inning, Kentucky plated three runs courtesy of Spear?s no-doubt shot. Cowgill led off with a double down the left-field line. Wilkes drew a walk, setting the stage for Spear. Spear sent the first pitch he saw soaring over the left-field fence, sending the ball bouncing into the back neighborhood fence, about 100 feet behind the 340-foot left-field fence.
The Wildcats pushed across a run in the fourth inning, as Howe led off with a hit by pitch, stealing second base. Wiley made a productive out, moving Howe to third with a groundout. Cowgill lofted a sacrifice fly into left field, scoring Howe.
In the fifth inning, Carroll ripped a two-out single to centerfield and Korus scored Carroll with a double into right field.
EMU tied up the game in the sixth inning with two runs on four hits and a Wildcat error. Steve Bradshaw and Aaron Powell singled to lead off the inning and Bradshaw moved to third on a fielding error charged to Carroll. Ivan ripped a two-run double into right center, scoring Bradshaw and Powell.
UK took the lead in the seventh, scoring the three decisive runs on three hits. Wilkes led off with a double down the left-field line and Spear scored him with a doubled of his own. Carroll drew a walk and Korus moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Bryan Rose came on to pinch hit, reaching on a fielders choice and Tyler Howe walks. Wade came through with a two-RBI single through the left side, scoring Spear and Rose.
EMU narrowed the UK lead in the eighth, pushing across one run to make the margin tight for the final few outs. Davis led off with a double to right and catcher Matt Skirving scored him with a fielders choice.
