No. 2 U of L baseball completes sweep of UK – The Courier-Journal

These two rivals might well see each other again soon, but in completing the regular-season sweep of its two meetings with the University of Kentucky baseball team Wednesday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium, Louisville exposed a Wildcats weakness that could preclude a prolonged postseason.

For the second time in eight days, UK’s bullpen proved unreliable and relinquished a lead, this time collapsing in the sixth inning of a 5-2 loss. D1baseball.com has the Cats and Cards are on a collision course for Round 3, projecting they’ll end up in the same NCAA Tournament regional, hosted by Louisville, at the end of the month.

That happened just last season, when UK and U of L met in the regional final at Jim Patterson Stadium and the Cardinals punched their ticket to a Super Regional en route to a second straight College World Series. If the Wildcats (26-21) want to prevent a repeat against second-ranked Louisville (38-11), they’ll need to address the pen.

“I think that’s a really good way to put it,” UK coach Gary Henderson said. “Certain guys are getting better. There’s no doubt about that. Certain guys are getting better and certain guys are getting stuck. … Clearly, we had some guys that struggled a little bit with command, and we have some guys that are growing up.

As was the case in their first meeting this season, when Kentucky allowed just one hit through eight innings on the road only to see the Cards tie it in the ninth and walk off with a win in the 10^th, this was a story of missed opportunity for the Cats. They stranded eight runners in scoring position through the first six innings Wednesday, including men left on second and third in the first, third and fourth frames.

“The game came down to who was gonna get a two-out hit. I mean, they had good opportunities and we were fortunate to get out of those jams,” U of L coach Dan McDonnell said. “I like (UK’s) lineup, I like their team. Like always, they got a chance to beat anybody on any given day.”

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the Wildcats loaded the bases with no outs and still struggled to score. They did manage to tie the game (on a dropped fly ball) and briefly take a 2-1 lead (on a walked-in run), but cleanup hitter Dorian Hairston left the bases still loaded when he grounded out to end the inning.

The Cards, who stranded six runners of their own through the first four, finally made UK pay in the sixth inning. A four-run outburst by the visitors doomed the home team.

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Zach Lucas led off with a double, then slid safely into third on a fielder’s choice. Right-handed reliever Andrew Nelson came on to pitch for the Cats and promptly walked back-to-back batters, bringing in the tying run. Then Nick Solak’s ground ball slid under second baseman JaVon Shelby’s glove and rolled deep into the outfield to score two more.

Freshman Brad Schaenzer replaced Nelson on the mound, but his wild pitch allowed yet another run to cross the plate for the final margin.

While the Cards’ bullpen allowed just two hits and no runs in six innings, the Cats’ relievers surrendered seven hits, fourwalks and all five U of L runs in the last seven frames. That’s the trouble for Kentucky, which ranks top-five in the Southeastern Conference in batting average and on-base percentage but dead last in team earned-run average and strikeouts.

That problematic pitching staff kept the Cats from adding to their SEC-best total of eight wins over ranked opponents this season. Louisville, meanwhile, rolled on. The Cards have now won 11 of their last 13 games.

* Sibling Rivalry. Brothers Dorian (UK) and Devin (U of L) Hairston, Lexington natives, were in opposing dugouts for just the second time in their lives Wednesday. Dorian, the Cats’ right fielder and cleanup hitter, doubled to the wall in right-center in the first inning.

Devin, a freshman shortstop at the bottom of the Cards’ order, stranded a runner on third in the second when he hit a fly ball to his brother. He returned that favor in the seventh and ninth innings, throwing out Dorian on a pair of grounders to short. Devin was hitless but walked and scored a run.

“It’s gonna be tough because he got us twice this year. Thanksgiving this year, I’m definitely going to hear a mouthful of that,” Dorian said. As for a possible postseason rematch: “Oh yeah, I’d absolutely love it. We’re real competitive. If we do end up in a regional, we’ll be better prepared to do something special.”

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.