Logue, Squires Help No. 4 Cats Bounce Back on Saturday

After suffering a tough 5-3 loss on Friday in the series opener against Georgia, the fourth-ranked Kentucky baseball team was in need of a lift. The Wildcats allowed four unearned runs in the ninth inning on Friday and left the ballpark less than content with their effort. 

Starting pitcher Zach Logue knew his team needed him to step up on Saturday. And the junior from Mason, Ohio, did just that. Logue pitched six and two-thirds innings, allowing five hits and four runs, while walking three and striking out a career-high 11 on a career-high 111 pitches in a 7-4 Kentucky win on Saturday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

“He was unreal, the score doesn’t reflect how good he actually did pitch,” said Kentucky catcher Troy Squires. “He was dialed in from the beginning, had his stuff working. That was big for us.”

Logue had struggled in his last three outings prior to Saturday. But he worked with pitching coach Jimmy Belanger to make a change that paid dividends in Saturday’s game.

“Earlier this week, me and Coach Belanger made a little bit of a mechanical adjustment to help me drive the ball down in the zone,” Logue said. “I was mixing all three of my pitches, throwing them for strikes. That really helped me a lot.

Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione knew how important Logue’s effort was, especially after Friday’s loss.

“That hurt, yesterday, that hurt everybody because we felt like we did everything right,” Mingione said. “They forced us to make plays, and we didn’t. An inexperienced team would come out today and you would see the effects of that. And I give our guys a lot of credit because you couldn’t tell.”

Mingione also knew that Saturday’s game was important for Logue after he had struggled recently.

“He has not had the best outings the last couple of outings,” Mingione said. “We went back and watched every single home run he gave up, every single strikeout he had, we were determined to figure out what we needed to do different. Give him credit, the guy makes an adjustment and it works and Coach Belanger looks really smart. I’m happy for (Logue) because, when things aren’t going right, we make adjustments.”

Logue also knew the importance of coming up big on Saturday.

“It’s always big to win a series at home, and it’s kind of expected,” Logue said. “We’re trying to get first in the SEC, so I felt like I needed to step up for the team.”

Logue’s effort was aided by his battery mate, Squires, who laced a three-run double to center field in the third inning to extend Kentucky’s lead to 4-0. 

Kentucky led 6-1 before Georgia rallied in the seventh inning. The Bulldogs got within 6-4 on a three-run homer to right field by Tucker Maxwell. After a tiring Logue allowed two more singles, freshman Zack Thompson came out of the bullpen to shut the door before the Bulldogs could do any further damage.

In the bottom of the seventh, Squires struck again, this time with a run-scoring double to left field, bringing in Luke Becker to make it 7-4 Kentucky.

“He’s an amazing leader,” Mingione said of Squires. “To his credit, he was awesome today. All four of the runs he knocked in today were with two outs. The guys is just competing his heart out.”

Squires said he was sticking to the game plan.

“I was just basically trying to stick to our approach,” Squires said. “I was just trying to hit a line drive up the middle and that’s what I was trying to do and luckily, I got it done.”

Thompson, a freshman from Selma, Indina, would pitch the last two and a third innings to earn his first career save. In fact, Thompson did not allow a baserunner while striking out five of the seven batters he faced.

Kentucky and Georgia will meet in the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Wildcats will send sophomore right-hander Justin Lewis to the mound against a Georgia starter to be determined.