Bat Cats' Comeback Bid Falls Short in 12-9 Loss to Wright State

LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the second time in as many series, Kentucky baseball will head to a Sunday rubber match.

On Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats' pitching staff faltered for the first time this season, doing so in a major way, allowing 13 hits in a 12-9 loss to Wright State.

Veteran left-hander Tyler Bosma threw six scoreless innings last weekend in a victory over Elon, but his fate would be much different in his home debut for the 2023 campaign.

Raiders hitters went to work early, scoring in the top of the first for the second game in a row. Wright State shortstop Justin Riemer led the game off with a single, advancing to second base after a throwing error, the first of four on the day from the Wildcats.

First baseman Julian Greenwell then roped an RBI double, giving the Raiders a lead they wouldn't relinquish, though that wasn't all the scoring they'd do in the opening stanza.

With two outs, Bosma hummed an 0-1 pitch in the zone for center fielder Andrew Patrick, who then proceeded to deposit a three-run home run over the wall in left-center field. In the blink of an eye, UK was down four runs, yet to take an at-bat.

Wright State left-hander Sebastian Gongora walked one and hit a pair of Cats in the bottom of the first, but CF Jackson Gray was unable to do damage with the bases loaded, grounding out to end the inning.

Bosma ran into trouble again in the third, allowing three hits with two outs, capped by a double from Patrick, scoring the second run of the inning, putting Wright State up 6-0. UK coach Nick Mingione had seen enough from his starter, going to the bullpen in the third inning, the earliest he's had to do so this season. Bosma allowed seven hits, six earned runs and struck out just two.

In relief came righty Austin Strickland, who gave the Cats some energy, striking out four of the first five batters he faced. Kentucky got on the board in the bottom of the fourth via a Grant Smith bunt that brought Gray home.

Wright State then got to Strickland in the fifth, as Jay Luikart — who went 4-for-4 with three RBIs — doubled home a run, leading to Patrick's second homer of the game, officially blowing the game open, 9-1.

After allowing just one hit in five innings, Gongora was relieved by Tristan Haught, whom the Bat Cats would get to in a monster seventh inning.

After a James McCoy double, DH Devin Burkes stroked a two-run double to right-center, rejuvenating his team. First baseman Hunter Gilliam would work a 12-pitch walk with two outs, setting up Gray for the biggest hit of the early season.

The Western Kentucky transfer sat on a 1-1 pitch from Haught, cranking it over the wall in left-center, capping off a five-run inning for UK, slicing the Wright State lead to 10-7.

Kentucky right-hander Colby Freida struck out the side in the eighth, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Nolan McCarthy to smack a full-count tank over the head of the right fielder. The solo shot pulled UK within two runs, though it had just three outs to play with heading into the ninth.

Frieda and sidearm-righty Ryder Giles would both be tagged for a run each in the top of the final frame, stymying the Cats' momentum. Luikart ended his big day with a home run to extend the Raiders' lead to 12-8.

UK added one more run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough to pull off the comeback bid. All five pitchers who took the mound for the Cats allowed an earned run on Saturday.

Burkes continued his hot streak with two more RBIs, though Kentucky had just six hits on the day. The final game of the three-game set is set for Sunday afternoon, with first pitch at 1 p.m. EST.

The game will be televised on SEC Network+. Right-hander Zack Lee is expected to start for UK.

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