A rough 2019 season came to an end on Saturday after a sweep by Vanderbilt at Kentucky Proud Park.
The No. 2 Commodores knocked the Wildcats out of contention for one of the final berths in the SEC Tournament with a 7-4 win over UK paired with South Carolina's 10-8 win over Mississippi State.
Kentucky (26-29, 7-23 SEC) failed to win a league series during a rebuilding season which saw the Cats attempting to replace 13 MLB Draft picks and being challenged by the nation's No. 6 strength of schedule.
The season finale also marked what is likely to be the last game in the stellar career of UK ace Zack Thompson. The junior left-hander, who is expected to be one of the Top 20 picks in next month's MLB Draft, would leave the program with the second-highest strikeout total (130) in a season, the third-most in a career (268), and the third-best career winning percentage.
The Indiana native finished just three strikeouts shy of longtime MLB pitcher Joe Blanton's school record of 133 punchouts in a season.
Thompson received a curtain call from the home crowd of 4,249 after leaving the game in the sixth inning. Thompson held the high-powered Commodores to four runs on six hits and struck out nine batters in a no-decision.
The Cats also said goodbye to seniors Marshall Gei, Ryan Johnson, Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Shinn on a day where each had moments. The Cats erased a 4-1 deficit to tie the game before Vanderbilt took the lead in the ninth inning.
Johnson and Gei combined for five hits on the day. Cam Hill added two for the Cats.
Austin Martin and Harrison Ray each homered to power the Commodores. Ray also doubled for Vanderbilt (45-10, 23-7 SEC).
Tyler Brown (2-1) earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief out of the Vandy bullpen. He allowed only one hit and struck out five.
Carson Coleman (2-5) took the loss out of the UK bullpen, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks over 1.2 innings on the mound.