Offense Continues Scoreboard Assault in Rout of Old Dominion

NORFOLK, Va. – Zach Logue pitched six innings of one-run baseball and Troy Squires set a career-high with four runs batted in as Kentucky continued its assault on the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex scoreboard with a 19-2 victory over host Old Dominion on Saturday evening.

The Wildcats (2-4) scored three runs in the first inning – including senior outfielder Marcus Carson’s straight steal of home – on their way to their highest scoring output since plating 26 runs against Ball State on Mar. 9, 2014. The Cats also scored four in the third inning, one in the fourth, three in the seventh, five in the eighth and three in the ninth.

The game was delayed 34 minutes in the top of the fourth due to lightning and severe storms with UK leading 8-1. The interruption didn’t affect the Cats’ momentum at all, as junior left-hander Zach Logue continued to spin a gem on the mound against the previously undefeated Monarchs (4-1). Logue earned his first victory of the season after pitching six innings, giving up just four hits, one run and striking out four. Four UK relievers yielded just a single eighth inning run on one hit over the final three frames.

In the Cats’ 20-hit barrage against seven ODU pitchers, eight of the nine starting position players recorded a hit. Junior catcher Troy Squires drove in a career-high four runs, while Carson upped his season batting average to .500 with a 3-for-4 night that saw him score three runs. Senior outfielder Zach Reks hit his first home run of the season, while junior infielder Luke Heyer went 2-for-2 with a double and his first career home run after entering as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.

AT THE PLATE

The Cats’ offense was clicking for the second consecutive day, pushing its totals to 35 runs on 34 hits for the weekend. Of the 12 position players who saw an at bat, 10 recorded hits and eight had multi-hit games. UK smacked six doubles and two home runs on the evening, drew nine walks and stole four bases. 

ON THE MOUND

Logue provided the Cats with their first quality start of the young season, going 6.0 innings while giving up just four hits, one run, a walk and striking out four. Junior lefty Brad Schaenzer had his fourth scoreless outing of the year and sophomore southpaw Jake Hamilton made his UK debut with a perfect ninth that included striking out each of the first two batters he faced.

SCORING

Top 1st – UK’s three-run rally began with a two-out infield hit by Tristan Pompey, who stole second and scored on Kole Cottam’s single to LCF. Marcus Carson singled to LF, Luke Becker walked and Troy Squires walked to force in Cottam. Carson then pulled off the rare straight steal of home for the third run. UK 3, ODU 0.

Top 3rd – The first four batters of the inning reached base on singles, with Carson and Becker each driving in a run. Squires followed with a two-run double down the RF line. UK 7, ODU 0.

Bottom 3rd – Vinnie Pasquantino singled to start the inning, moved to second when Jared Young was hit by a pitch and scored on Zach Rutherford’s two-out bloop double down the RF line. UK 7, ODU 1.

Top 4th – Zach Reks connects on his first home run of the season to start the inning, a blast to RCF field. UK 8, ODU 1.

Top 7th – Becker smacked a double down the LF line to score Cottam, who had reached after being hit by a pitch. Squires drove in Carson with an RBI groundout and Tyler Marshall capped the inning with a sacrifice fly. UK 11, ODU 1.

Top 8th – Riley Mahan double the opposite way to lead off the inning and scored on Luke Heyer’s pinch hit double to the LF wall. Gunnar McNeill also smoked a pinch hit double to plate two runs. Storm Wilson scored on a wild pitch and McNeill came home on an RBI groundout. UK 16, ODU 1.

Bottom 8th – A pair of walks to start the inning resulted in a RBI single Kurt Sinnen. UK 16, ODU 2.

Top 9th – Heyer smoked his first career home run, a two-run shot to LF that scored Pompey. In his first career at bat, sophomore catcher Marshall Gei drove in a run on a ground ball to second base. UK 19, ODU 2.

NOTES

•Senior OF Zach Reks connected on his first home run of the season and eighth of his career. 

•Junior catcher Troy Squires set a career high with four RBI, besting the three he had on two previous occasions.

•Junior IF Luke Heyer hit his first career home run, a two-run shot in the ninth. Heyer entered as a pinch hitter and went 2-for-2 with a double, home run and three RBI. He has seven RBI on the weekend.

•Senior OF Marcus Carson went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs, two RBI and a walk. It was his eighth career multi-hit game and his second straight with an extra-base hit.

•Junior pitcher Zach Logue earned the victory, going 6.0 innings and giving up just one run.

•Sophomore left-hander Jake Hamilton made his first collegiate appearance on the mound in the ninth, striking out the first two batters he faced.

•Preseason All-America first baseman Evan White missed his fifth straight game due to a hip injury.

•The Cats’ 19 runs were the most they’ve scored since producing 26 against Ball State on Mar. 9, 2014.

•The Cats have outhit their opponent in each of the past five games.

•UK pulled off a triple steal in the first inning. 

ON DECK

UK will tangle with Delaware in the Sunday matinee game of a three-game round-robin tournament in Norfolk, Va. First pitch for Saturday’s game against the Blue Hens is scheduled for noon and fans can listen on the UK Sports Network via UKathletics.com and iHeart Radio or 98.5 FM in the Lexington area. The game will also be aired on CUSA.tv ($) online.