LEXINGTON, Ky. — After a long stalemate between Tennessee baseball, the Wildcats came up with the winning run in the 13th inning on Thursday night to take game one of the series in Lexington.
The teams were tied 2-2 from the end of the fourth inning on, but Alonzo Rubalcaba sent the Wildcats off the field happy with a walk-off single to bring home the winning run.
Top-ranked Tennessee failed to capitalize on numerous chances in the first three innings. The Vols left nine runners stranded on bases in that span while plating only two runs. Tennessee finished the contest with 16 runners left on base.
Kentucky dealt with the same issues in the later stages of the contest. The Wildcats finished the game with ten runners left on base. Rubalcaba's walk-off was the first RBI for UK with runners on base all game.
Knoxville native and Farragut grad Ryan Hagenow got the start on the mound against his hometown Vols. The sophomore righty went 2.1 innings with three strikeouts, but struggled a bit with control and walked six batters with four hits allowed.
Other local products squared off a couple of times in this matchup. Tennessee reliever Redmond Walsh, an Alcoa product, dueled against Maryville grad and Kentucky infielder Reuben Church for two at-bats. Walsh won the first meeting and struck Church out in the eighth, but Church responded with a single in the 10th inning off Walsh.
The Vols fell to 41-5 and 19-3 in SEC play following the loss, while Kentucky improved to 25-20 with its game one win. The teams will play game two in Lexington on Friday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m.
