WildcatRick
04-22-2006, 06:02 AM
LEXINGTON – John Shelby launched the first pitch of the bottom of the 11th inning over the wall in left-center field to give No. 21 Kentucky a dramatic 10-9 victory over Southeastern Conference front-runner South Carolina on Friday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
The game looked to be over well before Shelby’s heroics as UK held a commanding 9-2 lead when starting pitcher Aaron Tennyson turned the ball over with one out in the eighth. However, the Wildcat bullpen allowed six hits and seven Gamecocks crossed the plate to tie it.
Chris Rusin became the fifth UK pitcher of the inning when he entered a tie game with two outs. He promptly got Reese Havens to strikeout and followed that with three perfect innings, retiring all 10 men he faced to improve to 4-0 on the year. It was just the second appearance in conference play for Rusin, a true freshman.
The home run by Shelby allowed the Wildcats to escape a second consecutive blown lead on a Friday night. Last week, UK lost a 9-4 lead in the ninth at Arkansas and dropped a 10-9 decision.
With the win, Kentucky (28-10, 9-7 SEC) became the first team to beat seventh-ranked South Carolina (30-9, 11-5 SEC) on a Friday night this year. The Wildcats go for the series victory on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and will send senior lefty Craig Snipp (4-3, 3.03) to the hill. The Gamecocks counter with southpaw Forrest Beverly (5-2, 5.10).
http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=36&url_article_id=1768 2&change_well_id=2
The game looked to be over well before Shelby’s heroics as UK held a commanding 9-2 lead when starting pitcher Aaron Tennyson turned the ball over with one out in the eighth. However, the Wildcat bullpen allowed six hits and seven Gamecocks crossed the plate to tie it.
Chris Rusin became the fifth UK pitcher of the inning when he entered a tie game with two outs. He promptly got Reese Havens to strikeout and followed that with three perfect innings, retiring all 10 men he faced to improve to 4-0 on the year. It was just the second appearance in conference play for Rusin, a true freshman.
The home run by Shelby allowed the Wildcats to escape a second consecutive blown lead on a Friday night. Last week, UK lost a 9-4 lead in the ninth at Arkansas and dropped a 10-9 decision.
With the win, Kentucky (28-10, 9-7 SEC) became the first team to beat seventh-ranked South Carolina (30-9, 11-5 SEC) on a Friday night this year. The Wildcats go for the series victory on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and will send senior lefty Craig Snipp (4-3, 3.03) to the hill. The Gamecocks counter with southpaw Forrest Beverly (5-2, 5.10).
http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=36&url_article_id=1768 2&change_well_id=2