Alabama Baseball Falls in Both Doubleheader Games at Kentucky
Alabama baseball dropped a pair of seven-inning games at Kentucky on Sunday, losing the first game 5-2 followed by a massive 11-0 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats.
“This was a tough day for us against a good Kentucky team," Crimson Tide coach Brad Bohannon said. "We didn’t play very well offensively and obviously we didn’t pitch very well. We need to regroup after this one and get it out of our system before we head to UAB on Tuesday.”
Game 1 was initially scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed due to poor weather in the Lexington area.
After the first two innings of Game 1 went by without a run from either team, Kentucky picked up two runs in the bottom of the third. A one-out RBI single by center fielder Austin Schultz drove in the first run, while a two-out double by designated hitter Oraj Anu put the Wildcats up 2-0.
In the fifth inning, a one-out solo home run by catcher Coltyn Kessler added a run to Kentucky's side of the scoreboard. One out later, a two-RBI double by shortstop Ryan Ritter gave the Wildcats their fourth and fifth runs of the day.
Alabama's only two runs of the game came in the seventh from a two-run home run to right field by designated hitter Owen Diodati. However, the Crimson Tide could not mount a comeback and fell to the Wildcats 5-2 in seven innings.
In four and one-thirds innings pitched, Alabama starting pitcher Dylan Smith allowed four runs off of 11 hits and struck out six batters. Connor Shamblin came in to relieve Smith in the fifth inning, but also allowed a run off of two hits in one and two-thirds innings.
For Kentucky, the pitchers of the game had a much better day. Starting on the mound was Sean Harney, who threw for six innings and gave up only the two runs from Diodati's home run. On the day, Harney allowed only five hits and struck out five batters en route to the victory.
Smith (4-6) was saddled with the loss for the Crimson Tide while Harney (3-0) was credited with the win for the Wildcats.
In Game 2, it was nothing doing for Alabama on both the mound and in the batter's box.
A six-run second inning gave Kentucky a large lead near the beginning of the game. In 10 batters faced, Alabama starting pitcher Will Freeman allowed five runs off of five hits, giving the Wildcats an early command of the game.
Fast forward to the fifth, and even the Crimson Tide's primary closer Chase Lee was unable to stop the Wildcats from adding runs to their lead. Lee allowed three runs off of three hits as Kentucky continued to pull away.
The final two runs of the game were both scored by Kentucky in the bottom of the sixth, ultimately securing the victory for the Wildcats and sending the Crimson Tide home packing.
After a solid 10-1 victory by Alabama on Friday night, the team finished the series looking like an almost completely different team.
Freeman (0-1) was saddled with the loss for the Crimson Tide while Kentucky's Zack Lee (4-3) was credited with the win.
With the wins, Kentucky now rises to 24-13 on the season while Alabama drops to 24-15 the the losses.
Alabama baseball now has Monday off before traveling to Birmingham to take on UAB at Regions Field (6 p.m. CT).
