LEXINGTON, Ky. — No. 24 Tennessee dropped the second game of its conference series against Kentucky, 12-2, on Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park.
A quiet day offensively doomed the Volunteers on the afternoon, as they were limited to just four hits while striking out 11 times. The pitching staff struggled to find consistent rhythm in the contest, as well, allowing 12 hits and four free passes.
Evan Blanco got the start on the hill, with the senior lefty working a pair of scoreless innings to get the afternoon started. Blanco limited hard contact through his first two innings of work, including striking out two batters.
However, Kentucky opened the scoring in the third with a pair of homers, a solo shot and two-run blast to take an early 3-0 lead. Following a quiet top of the fourth for the UT offense, the Wildcats increased their lead to four, courtesy of a home run from Hudson Brown.
The Vols (30-17, 10-13 SEC) got on the scoreboard in the fifth to break up the shutout. Trent Grindlinger led off the inning by driving a 1-2 pitch in the right field corner for a double. He was followed by Reese Chapman, who pushed him across on a double of his own. Blanco responded with a quick 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half on just five pitches to get the bats right back on the field.
The offense continued its momentum in the sixth inning, with Blaine Brown leading off the frame with a solo blast out to right center, his 13th on the campaign, which cut the deficit in half. Garrett Wright reached on an infield single and then got into scoring position with no outs after a stolen base, however, the Big Orange were unable to capitalize as the next three batters went down in order.
The Wildcats (29-15, 11-12 SEC) responded with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to halt Tennessee’s rally. After loading the bases, a hit by pitch plated the first run of the frame. Two consecutive fielder’s choices brought in the final two runs of the inning and put UK ahead 7-2.
Kentucky increased its lead to nine in the seventh inning, scoring another four runs to all but put the game away. The Wildcats ended the game in the eighth, as a single to left field by Luke Lawrence put them ahead 12-2.
UP NEXT: The Vols close out the weekend set and look to salvage the series against the Wildcats on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. on SEC Network+ and the ESPN App.
