LEXINGTON, Ky. — Needing one win to tie the school record for the best start to a season, the No. 2 Kentucky baseball team got two homers from senior first baseman Brian Spear ? part of five UK home runs on the day ? as the Wildcats pounded Xavier, 12-1, on a beautiful afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky (19-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) entered the game needing one win to tie the school mark for the longest winning streak and the best start to a season in school annals. UK delivered, belting a season-high five home runs, notching double-figure runs for the 13th time in 19 games. A year ago, UK ran up a 19-0 start to the season, all in non-conference action, before falling in the SEC opener vs. eventual Western Division Champion Arkansas.
Originally scheduled to be a mid-week game vs. Morehead State on Tuesday, inclement weather in the Lexington area over the past two days forced a cancellation of the contest with the Eagles. With Xavier having its mid-week games cancelled due to the same storm system, UK picked up the contest with the Musketeers on Thursday. With its first SEC road series of the year on Friday in Auburn, Ala., the Wildcats immediately boarded a bus after the game and headed straight to the airport where a charter plane will fly the team to Auburn.
The Wildcats will seek to take sole possession of the record, as Kentucky and Auburn kick off the three-game set on Friday, with a 7 p.m. ET first pitch scheduled at Plainsman Park, considered by many to be the finest college baseball facility in the nation. Fans can catch the action live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio), with Dick Gabriel calling the action Friday on WXRA 1580-AM in Lexington and WKJK 1080-AM in Louisville. After UK?s WNIT matchup with Middle Tennessee on Friday night, the regular Voice of UK Baseball, Neil Price will fly to Auburn to join Gabriel in the booth for the Saturday and Sunday games.
UK got monster performances at the plate from nearly its entire lineup, as four Wildcats totaled multi-RBI, with Spear leading the way with his third and fourth homers of the season. Preseason All-American centerfielder Collin Cowgill added a team-high four RBI, belting his sixth homer of the year – a two-run jack. Cowgill finished 2-for-4, with a walk and a stolen base, while Spear finished 2-for-4 with a walk and three RBI.
Junior third baseman Chris McClendon ripped his first homer of the season, a line-drive jack over the right-field wall and senior catcher Tyler Howe added his third homer of the season, finishing 2-for-5, with three RBI on the day. McClendon went 2-for-3 with a walk, double and homer in the game, while left fielder and leadoff man Keenan Wiley added a 2-for-5 day at the plate.
Senior second baseman Ryan Wilkes extended his hit streak to a team-high 14 games.
On the mound, UK sophomore right hander Clint Tilford (2-0) was hitless through 4 1/3 innings before allowing successive single in the fifth inning. Tilford finished the day, striking out three Musketeers in five innings of action. Freshman southpaw Mike Kaczmarek worked three scoreless innings in relief, striking out two and allowing two hits. Junior Jonathan Huff finished off the game, working the final frame allowing Xavier its lone run.
The second arm out of the bullpen for Xavier, Mike Creevy (2-1) took the loss, allowing UK?s first run in the second inning. Creevy was one of eight Musketeers to see action on the bump today, with only Brian Muransky working more then one inning.
Xavier (4-9, 0-0 A-10) entered the game after claiming one of three games with Youngstown State over the weekend. The Musketeers and the Wildcats faced off in the season opener on Feb. 23 in the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Ala., with UK winning 10-1. Xavier since traveled to Louisville, picking up a 9-4 win over the slumping Cardinals.
UK has dominated in its opening 19 games, outscoring the opposition 214-48, hitting for a league-high .367 average. On the mound, UK leads the SEC with a 2.02 ERA, striking out 171 in 169 innings, allowing only 40 walks.
UK got the scoring started in the second inning, as McClendon ripped a one-out homer over the right-field fence for his first home run of the year.
The Wildcats busted the game open with a seven-run fourth inning, beginning when Wilkes worked a one-out walk. McClendon followed with a walk of his own and Howe followed, belting a 1-0 pitch to dead centerfield for his third homer of the year. Troy Frazier and Wiley singled with two out and Cowgill cleared the bases with a double, sent screaming down the left-field line. After a quick pitching change, Spear launched the second pitch he saw from reliever Kyle Cowden into right field for his first homer of the afternoon.
In the sixth inning, UK added another run, as Sawyer Carroll drew a walk, one of his team-high 18 walks on the year. Carroll came around to score after McClendon ripped a ground-rule double that painted the right-field line.
The Wildcats added three more runs in the seventh, as pinch hitter Bryan Rose battled with a nine-pitch at bat, sending a rocket at the Xavier first baseman, who did not have a chance to make a play on the high hoper. As the ball skidded away from Xavier?s first baseman, Robbie Kelley, Rose motored into second base with a double. Cowgill followed a productive out from Wiley, belting a 1-0 offering into dead centerfield, clearing the 390-foot sign in center for a two-run homer. Spear completed the second back-to-back home run performance from the Wildcats of the season, ripping a 1-2 pitch into right center field, over the party deck in the outfield.
Xavier added a token run in the top of the ninth with two out, as Adam Pasono drew a walk and Andy Zellers singled up the middle. Sean Farrell followed with an RBI single, just under the glove of UK?s diving second baseman Neiko Johnson.
