Kentucky's unorthodox approach to "wearing" pitches at the plate paid off in a big way Saturday against No. 14 Oklahoma.
The Wildcats stood their ground in the batter's box and were hit by four pitches. Three of those runners came around to score as UK clinched the series over the Sooners with an 8-5 win despite collecting only five hits on the day.
Kentucky, which set a school record with 133 hit batters on the season, also drew seven walks and got a three-hit, four-RBI performance from freshman outfielder Ryan Schwartz. His bases-clearing double in the fifth inning proved to be the difference.
The win comes on the heels of a thrilling 4-3 victory on Friday night in the series opener that moves Kentucky (27-20, 12-14 SEC) one step closer to an NCAA Tournament bid. Most analysts believe the Cats need 13 league wins to secure a spot in the Field of 64.
Oklahoma (32-16, 13-13 SEC) saw almost all five of its pitchers used on the day struggle with their command. The Sooners also had some defensive lapses behind their pitchers, turning two UK singles into triples that were misplayed by the outfield.
The Sooners got a home run and a two-run double from Scott Mudler, but for most of the afternoon, they could not come up with the key hit, striking out nine times.
UK starter Nic McCay (5-0) stayed unblemished on the season despite allowing five earned runs on six hits and three walks over 5.2 innings on the mound. The senior right-hander struck out four.
McCay got 3.1 strong innings of relief from Nile Adcock and Ethan Walker to preserve the win. Adcock got the Cats out of a jam in the sixth inning, recording a strikeout with runners at second and third to end the threat. Walker allowed only one hit and struck out five over the final three innings to record his first save of the season.
Cade Crossland (4-4) started and took the loss for Oklahoma. He allowed five runs over three innings, allowing just three hits but walking four and hitting two batters.
The series concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. ET first pitch at KPP.
