North Carolina defeated Kentucky 6-5 on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill and the Tar Heels probably feel fortunate to have escaped with a victory.

Kentucky mounted a furious late rally in the seventh and eighth innings but couldn't quite even the score. It's the Cats' second loss in two days against the nationally-ranked Heels.

On Friday afternoon Kentucky had a hitting problem. The Cats struck out 15 times and crossing the plate just once against Tar Heel ace J.B. Bukauskus and the relievers who spelled him.

Saturday's game had more ebbs, flows and drama.

For the second consecutive game Zach Reks got Kentucky started with a leadoff hit in the first at bat of the game. Three batters later, Kole Cottam hammered an RBI double that got the Cats on the board first. At that point it seemed as though Kentucky would be much better prepared to handle UNC's number two starter, Jason Morgan, than they were Bukauskus.

But that was the last blood Kentucky would draw until the seventh inning. Morgan settled down and ended his day with just five hits and a single run allowed in 5.2 innings of work.

Zach Logue got the start for Kentucky and he allowed six hits and three runs, walking four, in 4.1 innings of work. The left-hander battled his way out of some trouble at times, but after he walked Zack Gahagan and gave up a single to Brandon Riley in the fifth, Nick Mingione went to the pen and brought in Alec Maley.

Maley gave up an RBI single but limited the damage to just one run, which was charged to Logue (0-1).

The real problems for Kentucky started in the sixth inning with North Carolina already leading 3-1.

Maley beaned UNC's Cody Roberts and two batters later he also hit Logan Warmoth with a pitch. From there things went from bad to worse.

UK second baseman Riley Mahan struggled in the field last year and with runners on first and second in the sixth, he committed his second throwing error of the two-game season to date. His error loaded the bases with only one out.

Mingione pulled Maley for Mark Doerries, who promptly threw a wild pitch that scored Roberts, giving UNC a 4-1 lead. After Doerries walked the next batter he was pulled in favor of Austin Keen.

Keen didn't have any more luck than Doerries, walking in two more UNC runs that were unearned because of the earlier throwing error. When Kentucky finally got out of the inning it was 6-1 with hope fading fast.

Then, in the seventh inning, the Cats found life at the plate. With the bases loaded and one out, Cottam hammered another double, this one plating two. The very next batter, Marcus Carson, made it back-to-back doubles as another run scored.

Kentucky narrowed their deficit to 6-5 in the top of the eighth when Storm Wilson scored on Mahan's sacrifice groundball. That put Reks at second with the go-ahead run at the plate, but Tristan Pompey flied out to end the inning. UNC reliever Josh Hiatt got that last out and put the Cats down in the ninth to get the seal the win.

While Mingione would love to have a win or two by now he's got to be happy with the play of Reks, his senior outfielder who came to Kentucky via Air Force.

Reks was a perfect 4-4 with a double, a walk and two runs scored against North Carolina on Saturday. Through the first two games of UK's season-opening series he's 7-8 with two walks. Because he's a leadoff man (and because he hasn't gotten a ton of help) Reks' hot start hasn't translated into a lot of scoring production (one RBI), but his .875 average and .900 OBP are the bright spot of Kentucky's season. He's also got a steal.

The last thing Nick Mingione wants for Riley Mahan is for his throwing issues to become more of a mental obstacle than they might already be.

The experienced junior from Cincinnati has the tools to be a big contributor for the Cats this year but his 30 errors in 2016 were a problem.

In Kentucky's first game Mahan made an errant throw to first base, and he committed his second throwing error on Saturday. The error didn't cost Kentucky in the season-opener, but Saturday's error contributed to a pair of unearned runs that amounted to the difference in the game's outcome.