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Kentucky Collects 14 Hits, Darren Williams Shuts the Door in 8-3 Win Over Wright State

The Bat Cats slugged their way past the Raiders on Friday night, while senior reliever Darren Williams hurled three more hitless innings.
Hunter Shelton|
Kentucky Collects 14 Hits, Darren Williams Shuts the Door in 8-3 Win Over Wright State
Kentucky Collects 14 Hits, Darren Williams Shuts the Door in 8-3 Win Over Wright State

Pitching told the story of Kentucky's first four games of the season, but the Bat Cats lived up to their name on Friday night. 

Headlined by a combined five doubles from catcher Devin Burkes and second baseman Émilien Pitre, UK compiled a season-high 14 hits as it barged by Wright State 8-3 in game one of a three-game set at Kentucky Proud Park.

Just as Evansville did on Tuesday in Lexington, the Raiders (1-4) swiped an early lead. After Kentucky starter Logan Martin walked the first batter of the game, first baseman Julian Greenwell slugged a high fastball into the bullpen, over the right field fence, putting Wright State up 2-0. 

Kentucky (4-1) immediately responded, plating three runs in the opening home half. Center fielder Jackson Gray lofted a double into short left field, eventually making it home for UK's first run after his attempt to steal third base resulted in Wright State catcher Sammy Sass heaving his throw over 3B, allowing Gray to scurry home. 

Burkes then slugged the first of his three two-baggers, slicing one the other way onto the right-field line, jumping the fence for a ground-rule double. He was immediately brought home by Pitre, who continued his hot streak at the plate, roping a single up the middle. He was then brought home on a base hit from right fielder James McCoy. 

The Raiders tied the game in the top of the third, as shortstop Justin Riemer smoked a 1-1 heater to right, hitting the top of the fence and trickling over. That second homer would be the last bit of success the Raiders would have against Martin. 

The redshirt freshman settled in and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced. After taking a loss in the season-opener, Martin was rewarded with a win for his six-inning outing that witnessed just four hits, three earned, two walks and a whopping eight strikeouts. 

"He was special today," UK coach Nick Mingione said of Martin. "I love the way he settled down."

In his two starts, Martin has struck out 14 in 11 innings of work. 

Kentucky re-took the lead in the bottom of the third, as Burkes and Pitre each doubled, with the latter being driven home by a Hunter Gilliam single. Just like their win over Evansville, the Cats left the bases loaded, missing out on a prime chance to blow the game open.

After hurling six scoreless in his season debut, Wright State starter Jake Shirk failed to make it through three innings, allowing nine hits and five earned.

Another Gilliam RBI knock extended UK's lead to 6-3 in the fourth, but again, the bases were left juiced. While 14 hits is a season-high, the Bat Cats still managed to leave 13 runners on base in the win. 

Burkes' flashiest double of the day drove in third baseman Isaiah Byars in the fifth, as the catcher pummeled a pitch to right-center field with two outs. Pitre again sent Burkes across home plate in the bottom of the seventh, mirroring his teammate with a double to the same gap, increasing the UK lead to five runs. 

"We made a slight adjustment to my stance," Burkes told Wildcats Today after the win. "Brought me a little bit closer to the plate ... it felt good man."

Pitre's 3-for-4 day now brings the Repentigny, Quebec, Canada native's batting average up to .476. 

"That's my boy, man, he can ball," Burkes said of his teammate. "He's always grinding, so he's really good."

"They have good at-bats," Mingione said of Burkes and Pitre. "They can beat you with a walk. They can beat you with a specialty play. Whether it's a bunt — they can beat you with a double. They can beat you with a home run. So just those guys' abilities to have quality at-bats. It's just been really good."

A one-run lead was all the Wildcats needed, as seventh-year senior Darren Williams relieved Martin and proceeded to dominate. 

The Maysville, Ky. native did exactly what he did last weekend, silencing the Raider bats for three hitless innings. After striking out seven in his first appearance from Tommy John surgery at Elon, he fanned five of the nine batters he faced on Friday.

"Not surprised at all," Mingione said of Williams' early command. "He threw five pitches for a strike ... not surprised at all, but extremely happy and thankful that he's doing so well." 

"I told (Williams) in the dugout 'you're a bad man, you're a bad man.' He's really good," Burkes chuckled. 

Kentucky will return to the diamond on Saturday afternoon for game two against Wright State. Left-hander Tyler Bosma is set to start for the Wildcats.

First pitch is set for 1 p.m. EST and will be televised on SEC Network+. 

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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Hunter Shelton
HUNTER SHELTON

Hunter Shelton is a writer for Sports Illustrated-FanNation's Wildcats Today, covering football, basketball, baseball and more at the University of Kentucky. Hunter is a Lexington native and has been on the UK beat since 2021. 

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