Vols overcome 17 strikeouts

TENNESSEE 8, KENTUCKY 2

By Mark Maloney / mmaloney@herald-leader.com

Sunday
Tennessee at Kentucky
When: 1 p.m.
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
SEC standings
East
SEC GB All
Georgia 14-8 — 33-13
Florida 14-8 — 32-14
South Carolina 11-12 31/229-18
Vanderbilt 10-12 4 27-19
Kentucky 8-15 61/223-23
Tennessee 7-16 71/221-26
West
Louisiana St. 14-7 — 34-12
Arkansas 13-7 1/230-12
Mississippi 14-8 1/234-13
Alabama 13-9 11/231-15
Auburn 8-14 61/227-20
Mississippi St. 6-16 81/221-25
Saturday's games
Tennessee 8, Kentucky 2
Florida 7, Georgia 6
South Carolina 14, Vanderbilt 5
Mississippi at Auburn (n)
Alabama at Mississippi State (n)
LSU at Arkansas (n)

Kentucky has had more hard-luck losses this baseball season than it would like.

But Tennessee's 8-2 win over the Wildcats on Saturday might top the list.

Left-hander Chris Rusin (5-4) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out a career-high 14, yet lost. Two more Wildcats combined for three more strikeouts.

That's 17 total strikeouts in a losing effort.

"We struck out, but we did have some good swings in between those," said Todd Raleigh, coach of the Volunteers. "We hit three homers and almost four ... but that kid (Rusin) pitched a heck of a game."

Kentrail Davis broke up the no-hitter with a two-run homer that gave Tennessee a 2-1 lead. Tyler Horne led off the seventh with a homer, and Cody Brown added a three-run shot in the eighth.

The outcome evens the three-game series at a game apiece. Both sides see Sunday's finale, 1 p.m. at Cliff Hagan Stadium, as a must-win situation. UK (23-23, 8-15 SEC) began the day ninth in the SEC overall standings, the Vols (21-26, 7-16) 11th. Only eight teams will qualify for the SEC Tournament.

"Absolutely," UK Coach Gary Henderson said of the "must-win" assessment. "We've got to win a series, we're at home, and then you've got to win another series next weekend. So absolutely."

"We figured we had to win two this weekend, we've got to win two against South Carolina and two against Vandy to have a chance," Raleigh said. "So it's a must win."

As good as Rusin was, UK didn't do much better against Vols righty Ty'Relle Harris.

Marcus Nidiffer, who singled, scored on Chris McClendon's second-inning double for a 1-0 lead.

In the fifth, McClendon lined an infield single off of Harris' throwing hand. Harris retired the next two batters, then turned things over to lefty Bryan Morgado (3-1).

Morgado worked the last 41⁄3 innings, holding UK to a run, two hits and four walks.

Rusin's sixth-inning trouble began with his fourth walk.

A sacrifice bunt later, Davis homered deep to right.

"There was a man on second so I knew he wasn't going to give me anything special to hit," Davis said. "He threw me a good breaking ball, and I just kept my hands back, and I hit it."

UK got a run in the seventh with a hit batsman, wild pitch and three walks, but left the bases loaded.

Brown's three-run blast in the eighth came on the first pitch offered by reliever Braden Kapteyn.