Kentucky finishes off sweep with 7-2 win over No. 17 Oklahoma

Kentucky took down No. 17 Oklahoma 7-2 on Sunday to finish off its first SEC series sweep of the season. The ‘Cats improve to 28-20 (13-14) and have put themselves in tremendous position to make their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

After dropping four of its first five conference series to open SEC play, Kentucky has now won three of its last four (No. 4 Tennessee, South Carolina and No. 17 Oklahoma).

Eight of Kentucky’s nine players in the starting lineup notched a hit, with second baseman Luke Lawrence, left fielder Cole Hage, first baseman James McCoy, DH Patrick Herrera and center fielder Carson Hansen totaling two apiece. Lawrence and shortstop Tyler Bell belted back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning.

Kentucky totaled 13 hits in the win, tied for its second most in a game this season. The ‘Cats hit the 13 mark in four other games this season (3/29 Texas A&M, 3/21 Auburn, 3/15 Georgia and 2/14 Lipscomb).

Sophomore left-hander Ben Cleaver made his 13th start of the season on Sunday and continued to prove that he is one of the best young arms in all of College Baseball. Cleaver allowed six hits and two earned runs with eight strikeouts in six innings of work. His season ERA improved to 3.30 on the season, which ranks eighth in the SEC.

‘Cats and Sooners trade early runs

After falling behind early in both of the first two games of the series (which it would go on to win), Kentucky scored first in the series finale on Sunday.

Luke Lawrence notched the first hit of the game with a one-out single through the left side, putting a runner on first for James McCoy. On the first pitch of the at-bat thrown by Oklahoma right-hander Malachi Witherspoon, McCoy hit a line drive to shallow center field. Oklahoma center fielder Jason Walk attempted to make a diving grab, but the ball fell out of his glove as he hit the turf which allowed McCoy to take second.

Lawrence scored standing up, giving Kentucky a 1-0 lead. The lead quickly grew to two though, as Carson Hansen tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second.

Oklahoma however responded with back-to-back RBI-singles in the top of the fourth by catcher Scott Mudler and second baseman Kyle Branch. Midway through four, the ‘Cats and Sooners were tied at two.

Bell and Lawrence smash Big Blue Bombs

The tie game didn’t last long however, as Kentucky’s middle infield duo went back-to-back in the bottom of the fourth to propel the ‘Cats to a three-run lead.

The half inning started off strong as Ryan Schwartz was walked and reached second on a sac-bunt, but Raphael Pelletier struck out to record the second out of the inning. The ‘Cats enjoyed a two-out rally however, as Tyler Bell blasted a two-run home run to deep right field to make it a 4-2 game. It marked Bell’s eighth home run of the season and he has now reached base in 47 of his 48 career games.

With the bases now cleared, second baseman Luke Lawrence jumped on a 2-1 pitch for a solo home run that just barely scraped over the right field fence. In a span of just five pitches, the Sooners went from being in a tie ball game to trailing by three.

Kentucky finishes off the sweep

Ben Cleaver‘s day came to an end following the sixth inning, capping off what was yet another quality performance by the sophomore. He held the Sooners to just six hits and two runs through six frames, allowing right-hander Simon Gregersen to take over in the seventh.

Kentucky’s three-run lead then became five in the seventh inning, thanks to RBI singles from Carson Hansen and Kyuss Gargett. The Sooners nearly plated a run in the top of the eighth, but Scott Mudler was thrown out attempting to take home on a wild pitch.

Left-hander Cole Hentschel took over in the ninth inning, where he sat Oklahoma down in order to cement the series sweep.

What’s next for Kentucky?

Following its series sweep of No. 17 Oklahoma, Kentucky will host Northern Kentucky in a midweek matchup at Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday night. Following that non-conference game, the ‘Cats will travel to Nashville for their final SEC series of the season at No. 11 Vanderbilt.

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