(WKYT) – Kentucky Baseball’s season comes to an end after back-to-back losses to West Virginia, the finale being a 6-5 loss in extra innings.
Armani Guzman hit the walk-off RBI single to take the win in the 10th inning.
This is the second year in a row that Kentucky’s season ends at the hands of West Virginia in the regional final.
Kentucky won its first two games of the weekend before losing the final two to the hosting Mountaineers.
Hudson Brown went 2-3 with 2 HRs and 4 RBI’s. Ethan Hindle went 1-4 at the pate with a HR. Tyler Bell went 1-3 at the plate.
Kentucky found itself in this position due to multiple mistakes in Sunday’s game and that trend continued in the first inning of the final game. Jackson Soucie started the game on the mound and got a strikeout for what should have been the third out, but UK catcher Owen Jenkins lets the ball pass him and allows the runner from third to score and extend the inning.
WVU would add another run in the 3rd on a fielder’s choice. Kentucky finally got on the board in the 4th with a solo homer run for Hudson Brown, his 6th of the year.
Kentucky didn’t have much of a problem against West Virginia ace Maxx Yehl on Saturday, scoring four runs in the first inning. But it was a complete 180 in the final game, Yehl went 5.0 innings, only giving up three hits, one earned run and had six strikeouts.
After three innings of work from Soucie, Kentucky ace Jaxon Jelkin was inserted into the game. WVU was able to add two more runs in the 5th off a pair of RBI hits but Jelkin was able to work out of a bases loaded situation. WVU led 4-1 after five.
Kentucky had an opportunity with runners on second and third in the 6th but could not capitalize on its best situation of the day thus far.
The feeling was opposite for the Mountaineers, WVU star hitter Gavin Kelly hit a solo shot in the bottom half to extend the lead to four.
Then out of nowhere, Kentucky had life. The Cats got two runners on base, followed by Brown hitting his second homer of the day, a 3-run shot to make it a one run game. It didn’t take long for the game to be tied. Ethan Hindle was up next and followed Brown’s lead, a solo shot to tie the game at five.
Jack Bennett was then inserted into the game and delivered a six-pitch inning to put the Cats back up at the plate with a chance to take the lead in the 9th.
The game went into extra innings where the Cats had two runners on but couldn’t capitalize in the 10th. West Virginia would go on to win the game with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom half to advance to the Super Regionals.
Kentucky’s season comes to an end with a 33-23 record.