OXFORD, Miss. – Johnny Hummel heard the crowd.
The graduate senior who transferred from Division II Erskine, stood on the mound with the bases loaded, a two-run lead and the game in the balance as nearly 10,000 fans roared.
Then he silenced all of them.
Hummel induced a groundball to end No. 15 Kentucky’s thrill-ride of a 5-3 victory over No. 22 Ole Miss at Swayze Stadium on a perfect night for baseball, giving the Wildcats (22-4, 6-1 SEC) the most true road wins in the Southeastern Conference to this point of the season. UK now has two chances to claim a road series victory over a ranked opponent.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but the Cats once again found a way. UK scored three runs in the sixth inning without an RBI to claim a 4-1 lead that dwindled to 4-3 in the bottom of the inning after a two-run home run, the only real blemish on starter Trey Pooser’s night. But Jackson Nove caught a Rebel looking to end the inning and Emilien Pitre broke out of his mini skid with a towering solo home run in the eighth inning to complete the scoring.
After Travis Smith threw two strong innings he walked the leadoff batter in the ninth and the Cats went to Hummel. The graduate senior saw the first batter flyout to the warning track and then walked a pair before inducing a shallow fly to centerfield for the second out. A ground ball to third ended it.
The Wildcats will try to win a road series at No. 22 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon. The contest between the Cats and the Rebels will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on the SECN+, with radio coverage available on 98.5 FM (Lexington) and UKAthletics.com.
Won Mississippi: No. 15 Kentucky Claims Series Opener at No. 22 Ole Miss – UK Athletics
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The graduate senior who transferred from Division II Erskine, stood on the mound with the bases loaded, a two-run lead and the game in the balance as nearly 10,000 fans roared.
Then he silenced all of them.
Hummel induced a groundball to end No. 15 Kentucky’s thrill-ride of a 5-3 victory over No. 22 Ole Miss at Swayze Stadium on a perfect night for baseball, giving the Wildcats (22-4, 6-1 SEC) the most true road wins in the Southeastern Conference to this point of the season. UK now has two chances to claim a road series victory over a ranked opponent.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but the Cats once again found a way. UK scored three runs in the sixth inning without an RBI to claim a 4-1 lead that dwindled to 4-3 in the bottom of the inning after a two-run home run, the only real blemish on starter Trey Pooser’s night. But Jackson Nove caught a Rebel looking to end the inning and Emilien Pitre broke out of his mini skid with a towering solo home run in the eighth inning to complete the scoring.
After Travis Smith threw two strong innings he walked the leadoff batter in the ninth and the Cats went to Hummel. The graduate senior saw the first batter flyout to the warning track and then walked a pair before inducing a shallow fly to centerfield for the second out. A ground ball to third ended it.
The Wildcats will try to win a road series at No. 22 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon. The contest between the Cats and the Rebels will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on the SECN+, with radio coverage available on 98.5 FM (Lexington) and UKAthletics.com.
Won Mississippi: No. 15 Kentucky Claims Series Opener at No. 22 Ole Miss – UK Athletics
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