Kentucky Baseball opens new ballpark with a win over EKU

After a long weekend that the baseball Wildcats get swept aside by No. 3 Texas Tech, the Cats got back on track Tuesday with a 7-3 win over Eastern Kentucky.

The game was the first at Kentucky Proud Park the new home of the baseball team and drew 4,074 fans.

Kentucky opened the scoring in the second inning as Cam Hill reached on a throwing error and Dalton Reed came into score.

With a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth the Wildcats were able to extend their lead as TJ Collett slugged a two-run home run for the first home run at Kentucky Proud Park.

Later that inning, Jaren Shelby wowed the crowd with three stolen bases including a steal of home that pushed the Wildcat lead to 4-0.

The Colonels would plate a run in the top of the sixth, but the Cats were quick to respond.

Breydon Daniel and Zeke Lewis scored on an error, and Ryan Shinn came home on a wild pitch as EKU’s sloppy play helped the Cats push their lead to 7-1.

EKU scored two runs in the ninth inning, but their comeback fell short as Kentucky closed out a 7-3 victory to improve their record on the season to 4-3 and snap a three-game losing streak.

Grant Macciocchi earned the win for the Cats after a strong start that saw him go 5.2 innings and allow just three hits and one run.

Jacob Ferris took the loss for Eastern Kentucky after 4.2 innings of work that saw him allow three earned runs.

Kentucky will be back at home tomorrow as they host another in-state foe in the Northern Kentucky Norse at 4 p.m. The game can be watched on SEC+ and listened to on the UK Sports Radio Network.