Hjelle Shines in Friday Win over South Carolina
In his last three starts, Kentucky junior pitcher Sean Hjelle had not produced his usual results. In those three outings, the defending SEC Pitcher of the Year had given up four earned runs in each appearance, while giving up as many as nine hits, which came in last Friday’s start at Alabama. For Hjelle, those results were unacceptable.
Friday night, Hjelle snapped out of his un-Hjelle-like stretch, pitching seven innings, allowing just one unearned run and five hits in a 14-1 win over South Carolina at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
“I didn’t really do anything differently, just trust in the process and the routine a bit,” Hjelle said. “I tried to pitch off of that fastball. When I’ve struggled, I haven’t been able to do that.”
Hjelle picked up his fifth win of the season, and the 20th of his UK career. He joined Andrew Albers, Jeff Keener and Paul Kilgus in a tie for seventh in career wins in UK history. The right-hander from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, struck out eight while walking no one in the win.
UK head coach Nick Mingione was pleased with the effort of his big right-hander.
“I can’t say enough about Sean Hjelle and the way he pounded the strike zone,” Mingione said. “I don’t think he did much different (than in his previous outings). He’s been throwing the ball great. He’s making quality pitches. For whatever reason, our opponents have been able to string a couple of hits together in a row and that led to some runs. I thought he threw the ball well. He was Sean Hjelle again.”
Hjelle did not allow a South Carolina runner to get past first base until the seventh, when the Gamecocks scored their only run. The game started with Hjelle retiring the first six South Carolina hitters. After Riley Hogan got South Carolina’s first hit of the game, Hjelle retired the next six batters he faced. After a Justin Row single, Hjelle proceeded to retire the next five Gamecocks.
“It started on the mound with Sean Hjelle really pounding the zone, setting the tone for us,” said senior catcher Troy Squires of Friday’s win.
Kentucky (21-9, 4-6 SEC) gave Hjelle plenty of support, scoring three times in the second inning and four times more in the third. Squires knocked in a career-high five runs, including a grand slam, while Tristan Pompey tied his career high with five RBIs.
For the Wildcats, getting a win in the first game of a three-game series was significant.
“It’s very important,” Squires said. “You get a win on Friday night in this league, it’s huge.”
Hjelle agreed with his catcher.
“It’s important to get the upper hand just in the weekend,” Hjelle said. “We were just trying to think about getting ahead for the weekend going forward for SEC play.”
Hjelle got the results he was looking for on Friday, giving the Cats a big Friday win in SEC play.
