Cats' rally comes up short as LSU clinches series
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- An early 7-1 lead for LSU proved too much for Kentucky to overcome on Saturday night in Game 2 of the three-game series between the Tigers and Wildcats.
LSU built a big lead by the fifth inning at Kentucky Proud Park and held off a late rally by UK in an 8-6 victory to clinch the series.
The Cats put the tying runs on base and had the go-ahead run at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, but LSU reliever Devin Fontenot got one of UK's best hitters, leadoff man Austin Schultz, to ground out to second base to end the threat.
Garrett Edwards slammed the door in 1-2-3 fashion in the bottom of the ninth for his third save of the year.
LSU (20-11, 3-8 SEC) posted 11 hits a day after recording 17 in a 15-2 win over the Cats. Jordan Thompson had three hits for the Tigers, while Gavin Dugas had two hits and clubbed a home run for the second straight night.
A.J. Labas (2-0) started and picked up the win for LSU. The right-hander held the Cats to three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out six batters over six innings on the mound.
Kentucky starter Ryan Hagenow (1-2) struggled with severe control problems, walking four batters and hitting another in the second inning before being pulled from the game. The Tigers were able to build a 2-0 lead without the benefit of a hit.
The Cats' bullpen did not fare much better as Holt Jones, Daniel Harper, and Sean Harney all surrendered runs before UK mounted its comeback effort.
Cam Hill had a career-high three hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs to lead the UK offensive attack. Coltyn Kessler and Ryan Ritter each added two hits for the Cats.
Kentucky (19-9, 5-6 SEC) lost its fifth straight league game.
The series wraps up on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET as the Cats attempts to avoid the sweep.
Cam Hill delivered a career-high three hits and three RBI, including his second home run of the season, as the Cats stormed back from a six-run deficit to pull within one. The junior outfielder drove in a run in three different at bats while logging the fifth multi-RBI game of his career.
Sophomore infielder Ryan Ritter stayed red-hot as well, notching a pair of hits to give him six hits in three games this week to go along with five runs scored, seven RBI, a double and a home run. Senior catcher Coltyn Kessler also produced his fifth multi-hit game in Southeastern Conference play.
Despite the late rally the Cats dropped their fifth consecutive SEC game and fell to 5-6 in league play, 19-9 overall. Walks early in the game and some well-placed ground balls by LSU (20-11, 3-8 SEC) later contributed to a 7-1 deficit after five innings. Freshman right-hander Ryan Hagenow struggled to find the strike zone in his second conference start, walking four and hitting a batter in 1.1 innings.
Senior righty Sean Harney steadied things on the mound and allowed just one run in four innings, striking out five. A bouncer that eluded the shift in the ninth inning was the only blemish on his night.
The two teams will close the series on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. ET start on the SEC Network+.
