LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky took full advantage of Missouri's sloppy play in the ninth inning Saturday, claiming a 5-4 walk-off win over the Tigers without the benefit of a hit in the decisive final frame.
The Wildcats turned two hit batsmen, an intentional walk, a stolen base, and two passed balls into a winning rally at Kentucky Proud Park.
Cam Hill, a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth inning, got things started for UK when he was hit by a pitch from Missouri pitcher Ian Lohse. He advanced to second on a passed ball and stole third.
After reliever Lukas Veinbergs recorded a strikeout, catcher Chad McDaniel committed his second passed ball of the inning, and Hill raced home with the winning run to give Kentucky back-to-back wins over the Tigers and a series-clinching victory to begin SEC play. The Cats (13-3, 2-0 SEC) will go for the sweep on Sunday at KPP.
Missouri (7-12, 0-2 SEC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead against UK starter Mason Hazelwood in the second inning but was held scoreless until the ninth as the Cats battled back.
Kentucky's late rally came after a frustrating day at the plate. The Cats were just 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, including leaving the winning run at third base in the seventh inning with three consecutive strikeouts by the 2, 3, and 4-hole hitters after a leadoff triple by Austin Schultz.
The Kentucky bullpen was outstanding, though, holding Missouri to just one run over the final four innings of play until the offense could break through. Holt Jones pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Hazelwood, and Sean Harney (1-0) earned his first win as a Cat despite giving up the tying run in the top of the ninth inning via some bad luck with a weakly-hit infield single by the Tigers.
Harney came up with a big two-out strikeout of Missouri's Mark Vierling in the ninth inning with the go-ahead runner at second.
After racking up 12 hits and drawing nine walks in Friday's 10-2 win over the Tigers, UK's bats were not as productive on this day. The Cats recorded only six hits, including two by Schultz, but they did have productive at-bats once again with eight walks. Ryan Ritter gave UK a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth with a clutch sacrifice fly.
The series concludes on Sunday at Noon ET at KPP.
