ROUND ROCK, Texas – Emilien Pitre delivered the biggest blow, Patrick Herrera continued to provide his own contributions and No. 24 Kentucky defeated Kansas, 8-5, on the final day of the sun-splashed Karbach Round Rock Classic at Dell Diamond.
Evan Byers pitched 3.0 scoreless innings of relief to close out the game and earn the victory, as UK (6-1) made a six-run two-out rally in the fourth inning stand up. UK returns to Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday to host Western Kentucky.
With two outs and two on in the fourth, Ryan Waldschmidt grounded a ball to third base but the ensuing throw was high and wide, loading the bases. Herrera followed with a triple into the right field corner the clear the bases and Pitre greeted a Kansas reliever with an 0-2, two out, three-run home run the opposite way to give the Wildcats a 7-1 edge.
The Jayhawks close within 7-5 in the seventh and were threatening to erase the deficit when Byers started pumping strikes and forcing Kansas to earn any potential comeback via base hits. It could not square him up and the fearless lefty junior closed out the game while Waldschmidt added an insurance run with an RBI single in the eighth.
Kentucky returns to Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday to host Western Kentucky at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on SECN+. Audio coverage will be provided by the UK Sports Network on UKathletics.com and 98.5 FM (Lexington).
Au Revoir! Pitre’s Big Blast Powers Kentucky Past Kansas, 8-5 – UK Athletics​
Evan Byers pitched 3.0 scoreless innings of relief to close out the game and earn the victory, as UK (6-1) made a six-run two-out rally in the fourth inning stand up. UK returns to Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday to host Western Kentucky.
With two outs and two on in the fourth, Ryan Waldschmidt grounded a ball to third base but the ensuing throw was high and wide, loading the bases. Herrera followed with a triple into the right field corner the clear the bases and Pitre greeted a Kansas reliever with an 0-2, two out, three-run home run the opposite way to give the Wildcats a 7-1 edge.
The Jayhawks close within 7-5 in the seventh and were threatening to erase the deficit when Byers started pumping strikes and forcing Kansas to earn any potential comeback via base hits. It could not square him up and the fearless lefty junior closed out the game while Waldschmidt added an insurance run with an RBI single in the eighth.
Kentucky returns to Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday to host Western Kentucky at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on SECN+. Audio coverage will be provided by the UK Sports Network on UKathletics.com and 98.5 FM (Lexington).
Au Revoir! Pitre’s Big Blast Powers Kentucky Past Kansas, 8-5 – UK Athletics​
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