LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Preseason All-American John Rhodes hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth inning and the Kentucky bullpen delivered a dominant performance Tuesday as the Wildcats defeated Eastern Kentucky 6-3 at Kentucky Proud Park.
The visiting Colonels had tied the game at 3 in the top of the fifth inning and seemed to have all the momentum when Rhodes bashed his second home run of the young season, an opposite-field shot over the wall in right.
That blast made a winner out of UK reliever Seth Logue (1-0) who had worked the top of the fifth.
From there, Cole Daniels and Sean Harney worked the final four innings, striking out 10 of the 12 batters they faced. Daniels racked up seven of those punchouts, and Harney recorded his second save of the season.
Kentucky improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2012. It marked the Cats' 11th straight win dating back to last season. EKU dropped to 2-5.
The Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning that featured a pair of triples by Austin Schultz and Ryan Church against EKU starter Jake Lewis. T.J. Collett also had an RBI single to get UK rolling.
Kentucky made it 3-0 in the third inning on an RBI double by Oraj Anu to score Rhodes, who had drawn a walk.
Eastern Kentucky battled back to tie the game on a run in the fourth against UK starter Ryan Hagenow and two in the fifth (one earned) against reliever Logue.
Rhodes' homer in the fifth and a sacrifice fly by Collett in the sixth gave UK all the insurance runs it would need.
Garret Simpson (0-1) took the loss for the Colonels, allowing three runs in two innings of work out of the EKU bullpen.
Hagenow, a freshman right-hander and jewel of UK's most recent recruiting class, allowed one run on five hits and a walk over four innings of work. He struck out three. The Tennessee native has pitched eight innings on the season,allowing just one earned run on six hits with nine strikeouts and only one walk.
The UK pitching staff has struck out 56 opposing batters and walked only six to open the season.
The Cats return to action on Wednesday at KPP against Evansville. First pitch is slated for 4 ET.
