WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@#8 Kentucky 6,
Eastern Kentucky 2
South Alabama 8,
@Jacksonville State 3
Belmont 7, @Western Kentucky 6 (11 innings)
#8 KENTUCKY 6, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team fell to eighth ranked University of Kentucky, 6-2, on Wednesday.
The Colonels (3-4) fell behind 5-0 before getting on the board in the fifth. Demetrius Moorer reached on an error to start the inning. Luke Wurzelbacher followed with a single up the middle. Shaun Ball’s single through the right side allowed Moorer to score. Bryan Soloman’s ground ball to third was enough to allow Wurzelbacher to come home and cut the deficit to 5-2.
Kentucky (7-1) drew first blood in the second inning. J.T. Riddle led off with an infield single and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Max Kuhn followed with an RBI single through the left side.
EKU loads bases in third and fourth innings, but came up empty both times.
UK built a cushion in the bottom of the fourth. The first five batters reached base to start the inning, three on walks. The fifth, Matt Reida doubled down the right field line to push in two runs. Two batters later Micheal Thomas singled through the left side to score another and give the Wildcats a 5-0 lead.
Wurzelbacher finished 2-for-5 with a run scored. Sean Hagen also had a pair of hits.
Riddle was the only Wildcat to record more than one hit, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
SOUTH ALABAMA 8, JACKSONVILLE STATE 3
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jordan Patterson had a pair of hits and drove in three runs to lead South Alabama to an 8-3 win over Jacksonville State at Rudy Abbott Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Matt Bell (1-0) scattered four hits and had three strikeouts to earn his first win of the season for the Jaguars, while Adam Polk (0-3) gave up just two earned runs, but got stuck with the loss for the Gamecocks.
South Alabama jumped out to the early lead after scoring four runs in the first inning, after Patterson drove in two runs with a double, while Nick Zaharion and Whitt Dorsey each drove in a run to give the Jaguars the early advantage.
Jax State came out and plated three runs in the home half of the first inning after Eddie Mora-Loera reached on a one-out single and Griff Gordon followed with a single to right field. Coty Blanchard then hit his first home run of the year with a 3-run shot over the left field fence to cut the lead to 4-3.
South Alabama answered with two runs in the top of the second inning on a RBI by Nolan Earley, while Jeff DeBlieux scored on a Gamecock throwing error to extend the lead to 6-3.
The Jaguars added a run in the seventh on a RBI single by Patterson, and then Hayden Jones scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning for the final margin.
Andrew Bishop led the Gamecocks with a pair of hits, while Blanchard finished the game with three RBI. Hayden Jones had three hits to lead South Alabama, while Bud Collura, Whitee Dorsey, DeBlieux and Patterson each had two hits.
BELMONT 7, WESTERN KENTUCKY 6 (11)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Belmont Baseball (7-2) defeated Western Kentucky, 7-6, in eleven innings Wednesday to complete the midweek series sweep. The Bruins overcame a four run deficit in the seventh inning and held off the Hilltoppers in extras to pick up their fourth straight win.
A single from Joseph Stovall (Collierville, Tenn.) in the top of the second scored Jared Breen (Marietta, Ga.) for BU's first run of the game. WKU responded with a leadoff home run from Devin Kelly in the bottom half of the inning tying the game.
In the bottom of the third, WKU scored a run on a pass ball from freshman starter Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) to lead the Bruins, 2-1. Veltri went four innings, giving up three hits and a pair of runs. The right hander struck out four.
Zach Hodgkiss (Eads, Tenn.) relieved Veltri on the mound in the fifth. WKU's Ryan Huck blasted a three-run homer over the left center wall to put the Hilltoppers up 5-1. Hodgkiss saw just one inning of work, giving up four runs and three runs, bringing Jordan Deal (Brownsburg, Ind.) to the hill in the sixth.
Stovall hit a leadoff single to left center in the seventh and Ferguson hit the ball up the middle before Drew Turner (Shelbyville, Ten.) hit a double down the left field line scoring Stovall and Ferguson.
Judah Akers (Cookeville, Tenn.) doubled over WKU's third baseman's head to bring home Turner and make it a one-run ball game. Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) singles up the middle to score Akers and tie the game at 5-5, forcing WKU to go to the bullpen.
Jessie Snodgrass (Lebanon, Tenn.) retired the side in the seventh, keeping the score tied at 5-5.
In the top of the ninth, Turner hit a single between first and second with one out advancing Ferguson, who reached on a fielder's choice. Akers hit a sac fly to right center to move Ferguson over to third. Davis singled past the third baseman to score Ferguson and give the Bruins a 6-5 lead over the Hilltoppers.
WKU's Anderson Miller doubled down the left field line to tie the game at 6-6, forcing the game into extra innings. This was Belmont's third extra innings game of the season.
Turner hit a double down the right field line with two outs in the eleventh, bringing Akers to the plate, who singled to right center scoring Turner and giving the Bruins a 7-6 lead. Akers proceeded to advane to second after a WKU balk.
Davis took over at the mound in the bottom eleventh to close the game and secure Belmont's win.