OXFORD, Miss. With his fourth strikeout of the night, Will Kline notched his 100th strikeout of the season and moved into a tie for ninth in the single season list, but it wasn’t enough as the Rebels fell to the Wildcats by a score of 8-1.
Kentucky (32-16-1, 11-13-1 SEC) made the most of Rebel miscues and jumped on the opportunities they got as the Wildcats defeated No. 18 Ole Miss (32-19, 13-12 SEC) Friday night in the opening game of a three-game series.
Ole Miss committed four errors on the night and Kentucky out hit the Rebels 11-to-6 as the Wildcats picked up the win. The Rebels had opportunities, but left nine runners on base while hitting into three double plays on the night.
Kline (5-2) suffered only his second loss of the season as he gave up six runs on seven hits with two walks and the four strikeouts.
Chris Rusin (5-3) picked up the win as he tossed a complete game against the Rebels, allowing only one run on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
“Early on, Will Kline pitched great,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “It is disappointing how we played offensively. We didn’t do enough to win the game. We had some opportunities early in the game that we just didn’t use to our advantage.”
Kentucky got on the board first with a two-RBI single to right center from Sean Coughlin that scored Antone DeJesus and Mike Brown from second and third, respectively. Brown singled before moving to second on a sac bunt. DeJesus was then hit by a pitch before both runners advanced on a hard ground out to third from Sawyer Carroll.
Ole Miss got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when Zack Cozart scored on a grounder to third from Logan Power that resulted in a throwing error from the Kentucky third baseman. The error allowed Power to reach safely and Cozart to score, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Kentucky loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning when Kline then hit DeJesus with a pitch to push a run across as Kentucky pushed the lead to 3-1. Rodriguez then entered the game to relieve Kline. A sac fly to center field from Carroll pushed a fourth run across for the Wildcats before a walk then loaded the bases again. A double to right center from Brian Spear pushed two more runs across as the Wildcats took a 6-1 lead on the Rebels.
Kentucky added to the lead in the ninth with an RBI single to center from Howe that scored Carroll from third. A pair of errors then helped the Wildcats push another run across as the lead grew to 8-1 in favor of Kentucky and set the final margin of victory.
Ole Miss and Kentucky will resume the weekend series with the second game of the weekend on Saturday. First-pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field with ceremonies honoring this year’s senior class taking place prior to the first pitch.
