Walks, Runners Left on Base Haunt No. 13 Kentucky; Cats Swept in Doubleheader by Texas A&M

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky has chosen to live and die by small ball.

It died by it on Saturday, dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Texas A&M. UK left 21 runners on base and walked 16 batters in the two games, losing thanks to the little things that it has done so well throughout the season.

Head coach Nick Mingione didn't have much to say postgame. First baseman Hunter Gilliam summed things up the best he could:

"It was a tough day. We didn't cash in when we could've. We didn't do a lot of the stuff that it takes to win ballgames. So we just got to get back on track tomorrow," he said. "We got a bunch of grown men in the locker room, stuff like this, tough spots or a tough patch or whatever you want to call it, it's gonna happen. The good teams come out, and that's what we're gonna do."

GAME ONE: Kentucky Can't Capitalize, Struggle Against Lefties and Lose 6-3

The Wildcats left 13 runners on base, walked nine Aggies and paid for every bit of it, succumbing 6-3 in game one for their first SEC loss at Kentucky Proud Park.

A three-run home run from right fielder Brett Minnich in the top of the third gave A&M a lead it never relinquished, as Kentucky managed just six hits.

Kentucky starter Logan Martin walked five Aggies in his two-plus innings of work, but managed to avoid any damage. A&M had two on with no outs in the top of the second, but an infield fly, lineout and strikeout of shortstop Hunter Haas left both runners in scoring position. In 54 pitches, the D-III transfer threw only 26 strikes.

Kentucky took the lead in the second thanks to three walks from A&M starter Nathan Dettmer and a pair of sacrifice bunts from Devin Burkes and Grant Smith, the latter of which served as a safety squeeze, scoring the first run of the day for either team. Another walk re-loaded the bases, but UK failed to capitalize as Ryan Waldschmidt opted for another bunt with two outs that made for an easy play for Dettmer, retiring the side.

Leaving the bags juiced instantly came back to bite the Cats. After his fifth walk, Martin was pulled in favor of right-hander Ryder Giles (1-1), who needed 33 pitches to record three outs. Following a double from 3B Trevor Werner, right fielder Brett Minnich muscled a three-run home run to dead-center with the help of the wind. The shot traveled 424 feet and gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead.

A&M also had to make its first call to the bullpen in the third, as Dettmer's four walks led to his shortest outing of the season and the entrance of reliable lefty Evan Aschenbeck, who proceeded to fire a scoreless third and fourth as UK left three more runs on base.

Kentucky went to veteran RHP Darren Williams next, though the seventh-year senior wasn't as sharp as usual. Following two walks in the top of the fifth, LF Jace LaViolette collected an RBI single before designated hitter Ryan Targac reached on a fielder's choice, scoring another to make it 5-1.

The Wildcats added a run in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to a walk, base hit from Gilliam and sac fly from 3B Jase Felker. Williams continued to labor and allowed a hit in the sixth and seventh, but didn't allow the deficit to grow.

Needing a spark down by three, Gilliam stepped up to the plate and nearly knocked out his third home run in two games, but LaViolette — who stands 6-foot-6 — leaped, threw his glove above the wall and retrieved the fly ball for the first out of the frame.

A pair of doubles from Felker and Nolan McCarthy brought UK within two, but McCarthy was stranded as LHP Brandyn Garcia fanned James McCoy, the RF's third strikeout of the day.

For good measure, the Cats left two more on in the eighth, as A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle went to the bullpen for yet another lefty in Will Johnston, who struck out Gilliam looking in a big spot, freezing the 1B with a 1-2 off-speed pitch.

"We've been struggling against lefties, but we're putting in a ton of time off the lefty machine and trying to see some lefty breaking balls, so we're gonna be better," Gilliam said.

UK allowed only one insurance run in the top of the ninth, as Jackson Nove wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam via an RBI double play grounder from LaViolette and strikeout, but the bed had already been made, as a one-two-three inning for Johnston closed the door, handing the Cats their first home SEC loss of the season.

GAME TWO: Intentional Walk Leads to Two-Run Double, A&M Swipes an Ugly 8-7 Win

The Aggies sucked the life out of KPP early in game two, as CF Jordan Thompson took the first pitch he saw from UK starter Tyler Bosma into the Wildcat bullpen in left field for the second three-run home run of the day, giving A&M a quick 3-0 lead in the second.

Kentucky punched back, as Felker and CF Jackson Gray hit their way on base, setting the table for DH Reuben Church, who slung a single up the middle to score one. Smith then laid down his second safety squeeze of the day to score Gray, bringing the Cats within one.

Both Bosma and LHP Troy Wansing gave their teams length starting and kept the scores the same through four innings. Bosma stranded a one-out triple off the bat of Bost in the fourth, while Wansing struck out the side, racking up three of his four Ks.

A sac bunt from Waldschmidt and RBI single from Burkes tied things up in the fifth, but the rollercoaster ride was just getting started.

With a runner on third and two outs in the sixth, Church stayed back on a two-strike off-speed pitch from Wansing and deposited it under the scoreboard and over the fence in right field for a two-run blast, giving Kentucky a 5-3 lead and what felt like all of the momentum. That was, until the next frame.

After a scoreless sixth from reliever Austin Strickland, he exited with two outs in the seventh for Mason Moore — a right-hander that has emerged as one of the top options in the pen — but a walk and RBI single from Haas kicked off a three-run rally that propelled the Ags back on top. After intentionally walking 1B Jack Moss, Moore walked Werner with the bases loaded to tie the game before a wild pitch allowed the go-ahead run to scamper across home plate.

A&M finally went to its bullpen in the seventh, inserting hard-throwing righty Chris Cortez. A pair of walks and steals put two RISP for Gilliam, searching for that mammoth swing that eluded him in game one. He didn't connect on another 400-foot bomb, but instead of a bloop single that died in front of Thompson in center, allowing both runs to score, giving UK a 7-6 lead.

Both teams went scoreless in the eighth, bringing UK three outs away from evening the series. Mingione rode Moore till the wheels fell off, and unfortunately, they did.

Moss drove a double down the left-field line with one out before a fly out to center advanced him to third. With one out to go, Kentucky opted to intentionally walk Minnich, putting two runners on, a decision that would instantly come back to haunt. Moore let a 1-0 sit over the plate against Bost, resulting in the 2B drilling a go-ahead, two-run double to the gap in right-center.

Texas A&M took an 8-7 lead, then turned to LHP Will Johnston for his second save of the day, leading to a grueling doubleheader sweep for the Bat Cats. The call to walk Minnich mimicked what Kentucky did in LSU in its rubber-match loss to the Tigers, though neither decision panned out in the Cats' favor.

Regardless, Mingione firmly stood by it:

"We just liked the matchup behind him better, and sometimes, obviously you got to make decisions. You go over these before the series even starts and that was one we went over before."

Kentucky HC Nick Mingione on if they considered bringing Evan Byers in for Mason Moore to face Brett Minnich instead of the intentional walk:

"No, we didn't consider that."
— Hunter Shelton (@HunterShelton_) April 23, 2023

Kentucky will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. EST. The game will air on SEC Network+.

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