Freshman Pitchers Excel in Wednesday Shutout
The Kentucky baseball team got a big effort from its pitching staff in Wednesday’s win over Western Kentucky. In particular, it was a group of freshmen that held the Hilltoppers in check for the first seven innings of a 15-0 Kentucky victory.
Starter Dillon Marsh bounced back from a tough outing over the weekend, pitching four innings of one-hit baseball, striking out three to earn his second win of the season. Marsh allowed only a second-inning single to WKU while facing the minimum 12 batters. But Marsh wasn’t the only standout, in the mind of UK head coach Nick Mingione.
“Dillon Marsh started it off, pounding the strike zone,” Mingione said. “I loved the way Ben Jordan looked good. I was really proud of those six guys. For us to go nine innings, we don’t walk a guy, we hit one guy. When you throw that many guys, that’s hard to do. Someone’s going to come in and maybe not throw a perfect, clean inning. To their credit, we didn’t walk anybody, so I love that.”
Jordan, who entered Wednesday’s game with an ERA of 99.00, pitched the fourth inning, retiring the side in order. In the process, Jordan lowered his ERA to 27.00.
Tyler Burchett followed with a perfect sixth inning, giving way to Braxton Cottongame who pitched the seventh inning. The left-hander allowed a single to WKU’s Davis Sims, ending a streak of 15 consecutive Hilltopper batters that had been retired. But Cottongame got the final two batters of the inning without allowing any further damage.
A pair of sophomores, Brett Marshall and Trip Lockhart, pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, completing the shutout. It was UK’s second shutout in the last week, as the Cats blanked Middle Tennessee 7-0 in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
Slugger T.J. Collett, who provided the early offense with a three-run home run in the first inning, loved the approach of UK’s young pitchers on Wednesday.
“It was awesome,” junior T.J. Collett said of the UK pitchers on Wednesday. “I love seeing our guys go out there and compete like that. It’s so much fun seeing them throw strikes.”
Mingione liked that the freshmen were able to hold the Hilltoppers in check, and he was also pleased that the pitchers had runs to work with in this game.
“That’s going to be big. Every game I feel like that. I’m glad we scored some runs today because, to be able to throw, even as a freshman, in some of those games, you can take a deep breath. You’re not hanging on every pitch like you would in a one-run game. I was really happy from that standpoint. I was really pleased with their body language, the way they conducted themselves on the mound.”
The young pitching will be crucial as the Wildcats begin SEC play at LSU this weekend.
