The first two games of the weekend series in Knoxville followed an extremely similar script. In both games, the Volunteers built an 8-1 lead over the ‘Cats before Kentucky’s bats finally woke up late and made things a bit interesting. Once again on Saturday, however, Nick Mingione’s Wildcats were unable to dig themselves out of that hole, falling 10-7 and dropping the weekend series to Tennessee.
The ‘Cats made it a one-run game after back-to-back three-run innings in the sixth and seventh, but the Vols immediately responded with a two-run bottom of the seventh to extend the lead back to three. Following Saturday’s game, Kentucky and Tennessee now sit at 14-12 in the SEC, with the Vols getting the advantage due to tiebreaker. A series sweep could possibly be detrimental to the ‘Cats, knocking them all the way to an eight- or nine-seed line. Avoiding a sweep on Sunday would be instrumental, as the ‘Cats may just lose their chance at a Regional with a weekend sweep.
Tyler Bosma suffered another brutal start on Saturday, lasting only 1.1 innings after giving up four earned runs. His ERA has now skyrocketed to 6.15 on the season. Austin Strickland took over for the middle innings of this one, spanning four innings and giving up four earned runs as well. After a stellar weekend from the Wildcat rotation/bullpen last weekend, the ‘Cats have now given up 20 runs through two games. Not great.
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Another Early Deficit Sinks 'Cats as they Fall to Tennessee 10-7 (on3.com)​
The ‘Cats made it a one-run game after back-to-back three-run innings in the sixth and seventh, but the Vols immediately responded with a two-run bottom of the seventh to extend the lead back to three. Following Saturday’s game, Kentucky and Tennessee now sit at 14-12 in the SEC, with the Vols getting the advantage due to tiebreaker. A series sweep could possibly be detrimental to the ‘Cats, knocking them all the way to an eight- or nine-seed line. Avoiding a sweep on Sunday would be instrumental, as the ‘Cats may just lose their chance at a Regional with a weekend sweep.
Tyler Bosma suffered another brutal start on Saturday, lasting only 1.1 innings after giving up four earned runs. His ERA has now skyrocketed to 6.15 on the season. Austin Strickland took over for the middle innings of this one, spanning four innings and giving up four earned runs as well. After a stellar weekend from the Wildcat rotation/bullpen last weekend, the ‘Cats have now given up 20 runs through two games. Not great.
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Another Early Deficit Sinks 'Cats as they Fall to Tennessee 10-7 (on3.com)​
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