Lexington, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky baseball team (20-24) surrendered 10 runs over the first three innings and never recovered from its early deficit, dropping a 15-6 decision to the University of Kentucky (25-22) on Tuesday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Senior Derrick Bussell opened the game with a solo homer (his first of the year) and led the Colonels with three hits, but could not help Eastern overcome a Wildcat offense which received five RBI from John Shelby.
Bussell's leadoff homer staked Eastern to an early 1-0 advantage but the team's lead was short lived, as the Wildcats struck for two runs in the bottom half then tacked on five more in the second. Shelby put UK on the board when his single plated Shaun Lehman. Shelby struck again in the second with a bases-clearing, three-run double to cap off a five-run inning and put Kentucky on top 7-1.
Antone DeJesus extended UK's lead to nine runs the following inning with a three-run homer to deep right. EKU cut into its deficit by a run in the fifth after freshman Joe Oliver got the team going with a leadoff double. Oliver advanced on a single by Bussell, then came around to score off a single by junior Brett Bolger to make it a 10-2 ballgame.
Kentucky scored its first 10 runs off freshman pitchers Shane Zegarac and Blake Anderson. Zegarac (2-5) got the nod for EKU, but lasted just 1.1 innings with five runs and five hits allowed (with one unearned run). Anderson didn't fare much better, surrendering five runs off two hits and four walks in 1.2 frames.
Senior Brian Engle took the mound for Eastern at the start of the fourth and threw a pair of shutout innings before UK scratched across a run in the sixth compliments of Shelby's fifth RBI of the game (a run-scoring single). The Wildcats plated four more runs in the seventh off Engle, thanks in part to a solo homer from Matt Fritts and a RBI single by Steve Deaton.
Tommy Warner took the mound at the start of the eighth for Kentucky and opened up by fanning the first two batters he faced, before struggling to get the third out. Warner surrendered doubles to the next three batters he faced (Will Whisenant, Clint Seymour and Tony Wells) as Eastern pushed across two runs. Wells came around to score moments later off a UK error to make it a 15-5 contest. Warner fanned the next hitter he faced to strike out the side, despite allowing four runs and four hits in the frame.
Eastern pushed across another run in the top of the ninth courtesy of a RBI single by Whisenant, but could not get any closer. Engle worked the final 5.0 innings for the Colonels, recording six strikeouts with five runs, three walks and seven hits allowed. Greg Dombrowski (1-0) got the win for the Wildcats after allowing just one run and five hits over 5.0 innings of relief.
Bolger and Whisenant both posted multi-hit efforts for the Colonels. EKU will look to regroup tomorrow afternoon when it welcomes Western Kentucky to Turkey Hughes Field at 3 p.m.
