Yahoo Sports Kentucky wins 30-run, 33-hit, four-hour baseball marathon at Louisville
The University of Kentucky baseball team smacked four home runs and banged out 15 hits against its in-state archrivals on Tuesday night, and it was almost not enough against the persistent Cardinals in a 17-13 Wildcats win at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville.
Kentucky led 10-2 after scoring four runs in the second inning and five in the third but would need more in a nonconference college baseball game that took four hours and 16 minutes to unpack. By the fifth inning, Louisville closed its deficit to 10-7 before UK at last dealt the blow the Cardinals could not overcome — a five-run fifth inning for a 15-7 advantage. The Cards kept coming, with three runs in the sixth and three in the eighth — totaling 18 hits of their own — but that was largely that.
In typical midweek fashion, both teams reached deep into their bullpens, each sending eight pitchers to the mound. That was merely the beginning of the statistical folly.
Despite the 30 total runs scored, Kentucky left 11 men on base to Louisville’s 10. Kentucky hit four home runs to Louisville’s two. You like doubles? Four each.
Five batters were hit by pitches. Thirteen Wildcats went down by strikeout.
Junior left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt made the most noise at the plate Tuesday night, ripping a pair of home runs to increase his season total to six while collecting three hits, scoring four runs and driving in six.
Nick Lopez and Ryan Nicholson also had three hits each. Mitchell Daly drove in four runs, Nicholson three and Austin Fawley two. In addition to Waldschmidt, Daly and Nicholson — his 11th this season — homered for Kentucky.
Gavin Kilen led Louisville with four hits. Isaac Humphrey, Luke Napleton and Alex Alicea had three each. JT Benson and Humphrey homered for the Cardinals.
Cooper Robinson pitched one inning of relief to earn the win. Louisville starter Colton Hartman took the loss.
A crowd listed at 4,848 watched this mayhem unfold in what is probably the rivals’ only meeting this season. Last week’s scheduled confrontation in Lexington was rained out with no makeup date settled upon.
Kentucky now leads the all-time series between the teams 73-50-1.
The victory was Kentucky’s fourth in a row and moved the Wildcats’ record to 31-5 overall. Louisville dropped to 21-15.
Kentucky, which rose to No. 5 in the nation in this week’s USA Today coaches’ poll, will try to build on Tuesday’s rivalry momentum when it hosts No. 3 Tennessee (31-6, 10-5) for three Southeastern Conference games this weekend at Kentucky Proud Park. The Wildcats lead the league with a 14-1 record, four games in front of the second-place Volunteers.
