Pair of big innings fuel No. 12 Wildcats past No. 1 LSU

No. 12 Kentucky used a pair of five-run innings to rally past No. 1 LSU, 13-10, on Friday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Led by designated hitter Chase Stanke’s three-hit, four-RBI night, Kentucky posted five runs each in the fifth and seventh innings to knock off the top-ranked Tigers. Stanke blasted a two-run homer in the second inning and later added a pair of RBI singles to the Wildcats’ 14-hit attack.

Jackson Gray and Emilien Pitre added three hits apiece for Kentucky.

Darren Williams pitched three innings in relief, giving up three runs and striking out three, to earn the victory for the Wildcats. Ryder Giles, a transfer from East Carolina, pitched a scoreless final two innings to earn the save.

With the win, the Wildcats improved to 28-6 on the season and 10-4 in the league, while the Tigers dropped to 28-6 overall and 8-5 in SEC play.

“Kentucky has a good offense and they put pressure on you in a lot of different ways,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “I thought we dictated the type of game that was played last night, and they dictated the game tonight. We’ve got to be better from the mound, we’ve got to be better defensively. I like the fight of our team, but if we play a little bit better, we win that game.”

LSU left-hander Griffin Herring (2-1), who entered the game in the fifth inning in relief of starter Ty Floyd, was charged with the loss as he allowed seven runs – three earned – on six hits in 1.2 innings with one walk and one strikeout.

Similar to the first game of the series, third baseman Tommy White got the Tigers on the board first with an RBI double. During Friday’s matchup, centerfielder Dylan Crews reached via a hit-by-pitch and White followed him up by smoking a ball into the right-centerfield gap to score Crews and make the tally after one inning, 1-0.

Kentucky responded with the two-run homer by Stanke in the second to take a 2-1 lead.

The Tigers struck back in the bottom half of the inning with shortstop Jordan Thompson starting off the frame with a single. Second baseman Ben Nippolt followed with a walk and catcher Alex Milazzo advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Left fielder Tre’ Morgan lined a two-RBI single over the shortstop’s head to retake the 3-2 lead for LSU.

After a scoreless third from both squads, White launched his 12th dinger of the season to straightaway centerfield in the bottom of the fourth. Before sending one over the wall, Morgan reached via HBP and Crews smoked a double to right-center to score Morgan and make the score 4-2.

White’s homer extended the LSU lead to four after four innings. The Wildcats scratched across five runs in the fifth with a three-run triple and an RBI single to take the 7-6 lead.

Kentucky extended its lead with a five-run seventh, anchored by three free passes, three hits, an error, and a sac fly. The Wildcats led 12-7 after seven innings.

LSU’s rally came in the bottom of the eighth inning, narrowing the deficit to two. The inning got started with a walk from pinch hitter Josh Pearson and an HBP from Morgan. Crews came through with a single to load the bases for the Tigers, and White drew the walk to make the score 12-8.

First baseman Jared Jones looped a two-RBI single to left field to close the margin even further to 12-10. Kentucky added one run in the ninth to account for the final score.

UP NEXT

The series finale of the LSU-Kentucky three-game set is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch and will be streamed on SEC Network+.