KENTUCKY BASEBALL POSTGAME NOTES
No. 2 South Carolina at No. 28 Kentucky
May 8, 2016
Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky.
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 5, South Carolina 4 (12 innings)
Senior outfielder Dorian Hairston led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a home run to right field to give the Wildcats a walk-off win.
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky is now 29-19 overall, 13-11 in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina is 36-11, 16-7 in league play
- UK head coach Gary Henderson is 255-193 in his eighth season.
- South Carolina leads the series, 46-33
- UK has a 9-3 record vs. South Carolina in the last four home series, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. USC was ranked in the top five nationally in all four series
- Next for UK: Kentucky plays at Indiana on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (Note that the game time was listed at 4 p.m. on preseason schedules.) The game will be available on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Team Notes
- Kentucky is 5-6 against ranked opponents this season. All of UK’s ranked opponents have been ranked in the top six in the nation at the time the game was played
- This was UK’s longest game since a 12-inning game at LSU at LSU on March 27, 2015. Ironically, that also was a 5-4 win for the Wildcats
- Kentucky is 3-1 in extra-inning games this season, including 2-1 in SEC play
- This was Kentucky’s fifth walk-off win of the season. Additional walk-offs:
* On March 6, 10-9 over Buffalo in the 10th inning (Arnold singles in Becker)
* On March 27, 5-4 over Florida in the 10th inning (Marshall scores on WP)
* On April 9, 6-2 over Alabama in the 9th inning (Mahan grand slam)
* On April 23, 5-4 over Arkansas in a seven-inning game (Squires 2-run 1B)
- Kentucky won today despite being outhit 14-5, as South Carolina left 15 runners on base.
* Four of UK’s five hits were for extra bases, including three home runs.
- Kentucky is 20-9 in home games this season
- UK is 19-17 when facing a right-handed starting pitcher
- UK has a 23-7 record in day games
- UK is 3-2 in May
- UK is 8-2 on Sundays.
Game Notes
- Senior right-hander Kyle Cody made his 12th start of the year. He did not have the decision today and remains with a 5-2 record for the season
- South Carolina got two runners on base in each of the first six innings but Cody battled through multiple jams. He finished with 5.2 innings, allowing two runs (only one earned), on eight hits, striking out four and walking three.
* He threw a career-high 114 pitches.
- Freshman reliever Sean Hjelle entered in the top of the ninth inning and retired the Gamecocks in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th innings before the Wildcats broke through with the winning run.
* In his longest appearance of the year, Hjelle pitched four shutout innings, allowing two hits, striking out five and walking three.
* It was his longest appearance of the year. Previously, one inning had been his longest outing.
* Hjelle was especially impressive in the 11th inning. After a walk and a single left runners on first and third with nobody out, Hjelle got out of the jam by striking out three batters.
- Junior third baseman JaVon Shelby hit a two-run homer to left field in the third inning. He leads the SEC with 11 home runs.
- Sophomore second baseman Luke Becker doubled in the fourth inning.
* It was his second consecutive game with a two-bagger and his ninth of the season. He came around to score on a wild pitch.
- Junior left fielder Zach Reks homered to right field in the eighth inning, his fourth home run of the season. It was his second long ball of the series, having also homered on Friday. Reks’ homer tied the score at 4-4, where it stayed until the 12th inning.
- Senior right fielder Dorian Hairston ended the game by leading off the bottom of the 12th inning with a home run to right field. It is his fifth home run of the season.
