Kentucky dominates Tennessee to win series opener in Lexington
By David Wasson
Published:
The Kentucky baseball team earned a solid SEC series-opening victory Friday night, knocking off 24th-ranked Tennessee 9-2 in front of 4,660 at Kentucky Proud Park.
Kentucky (28-15 overall, 10-12 SEC) improved to 18-5 at home this season and can earn the series sweep Saturday (3 pm ET, SEC Network+). Tennessee (30-16, 10-12) saw its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Wildcats did most of their damage via the long ball, as Ethan Hindle smacked a two-run homer in the first inning and Braxton Van Cleave cranked a three-run blast in the fifth. Kentucky added three runs in the seventh via a Tennessee wild pitch and an Owen Jenkins two-run single.
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The Vols scored their lone run in the eighth on a Henry Ford two-run homer – Tennessee’s lone extra-base hit among their seven total hits.
Van Cleave, Hindle, Jenkins, Jayce Tharnish and Tyler Bell each had two hits for Kentucky. Ford and Levi Clark each had two hits for Tennessee.
Ben Cleaver (2-3) scattered four hits and struck out four in seven innings to earn the victory. Tegan Kuhns (3-4) gave up 10 of Kentucky’s 13 hits (six of which were for extra bases) in six innings to take the loss.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
