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The Kentucky Wildcats lost for the first time ever at Kentucky Proud Park on Wednesday afternoon, as they fell by a final of 12-3 to the Boston College Eagles.
The first three innings saw both teams exchange zero’s, but it did not go without drama.
Twice, the UK pitching staff was able to work out of bases-loaded jams. In the first, starting pitcher Mason Hazlewood was able to survive a two-out jam to leave the bases loaded and in the third Cole Daniels came in relief to clean up a bases loaded one out mess left by Hazlewood.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, Kentucky’s TJ Collett opened the scoring with one swing. The designated hitter slugged his fourth home run of the season with an opposite-field shot giving Kentucky a 1-0 lead.
His name is Timothy John Collett, and he hits dingers!!@CollettTj goes oppo to give the Cats a 1-0 lead in the fourth! It's his fourth BIG BLUE BOMB of the season! #WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/mWTLv8dbkx
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 6, 2019
Kentucky’s lead would not last for long. In the top of the fifth, Eagles right fielder Sal Frelick hit a solo home run to left field to tie the score. Frelick’s home run was the first by a visiting player at the brand new Kentucky Proud Park.
The game would remain tied until the bottom of the sixth when the Wildcats started some two-out magic.
Collett hit a double to left field to put a runner in scoring position for Jaren Shelby. Shelby would not disappoint as he drove in Collett with an RBI single to put UK on top by a score of 2-1.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Eagles flew ahead.
With the bases loaded and two men out Sal Frelick hit an infield single allowing not only one but two runs to score as Kentucky first baseman Dalton Reed made a throwing error.
Later that inning, Brian Dempsey cleared the bases with a two-run triple as Boston College took a 5-2 lead.
In the top of the ninth, Boston College added seven insurance runs, making it a 12-2 ballgame.
Kentucky would chip away in the ninth as a wild pitch allowed Dalton Reed to score, but it was far too little as Boston College grabbed a road win.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Cats (8-4).
Kentucky will be back in action Friday when they host the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders to open a three-game series. It will be the last weekend of non-conference play for the Cats as SEC play begins on March 15th.