Tennessee ends UK's baseball streak at 22, one shy of SEC record

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee ended Kentucky's school-record, 22-game winning streak Friday one victory shy of equaling the longest winning streak in SEC baseball history.

Vols starter Zack Godley worked eight innings and allowed only one run on four hits in the best start of his career to lead Tennessee to a 4-1 win over No. 2 Kentucky Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Kentucky (22-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) fell just short of Louisiana State's 23-game run set in 2008.

Kentucky's 22-game streak had bettered the Wildcats' 19-0 starts in both 2007 and 2008.

UK entered the series as the only undefeated team in college baseball.

UK starter Taylor Rogers (4-1) pitched a season-high 61⁄3 innings, allowing only three hits and two runs and striking out five.

The quality start for Rogers was his third of the season and the 14th of his three-year career.

The Wildcats' run came in the first inning, when they got three of their four hits. Austin Cousino and Zac Zellers got hits and A.J. Reed drove in Cousino with a single. Reed has now hit in 14 straight games.

Then the Cats were hitless until the ninth when Thomas McCarthy singled off UT reliever Nick Blount, who got his first save of the season.

Tennessee also had only four hits, all singles. Leadoff man Will Maddox had one of the hits and scored twice. In the first inning he was hit by a pitch, went to second on the first balk of the season by Rogers and scored on a single by first baseman Davis Morgan.

Tennessee took a 2-1 lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Drew Steckenrider singled, went to second on a grounder, stole third, and scored on a fielder's-choice grounder up the middle.

The series will resume on Saturday at 4 p.m. with junior lefty Jerad Grundy (3-0, 2.73 ERA) pitching for UK, probably against senior lefty T.J. Thornton (0-0, 6.75 ERA).

Notes: Reed recorded his team-leading 15th hit of the year with two strikes in the first inning. ... McCarthy was hit by a pitch for the fifth time this season and Luke Maile drew his 16th walk.

kentucky 6, south carolina 3

south carolina Kentucky

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Marzill cf 2 0 0 0 Cousino cf 5 1 2 0

Celek 1 0 0 0 Zellers lf 4 1 1 1

Pankake ss 5 1 1 0 Maile c 4 1 2 2

Walker 1b 5 0 0 1 Reed 1b 4 1 2 0

Greiner c 4 0 1 1 Flynn rf 3 0 0 0

Payne 2b 4 1 2 0McCarthy 3b3 1 1 0

Dantzier 3b 4 0 2 1 Riddle 2b 4 1 1 0

Costen lf 3 0 1 0 Williams dh 4 0 1 2

Matthews dh/rf4 0 2 0 Reida ss 4 0 1 0

English 4 1 2 0

Totals 36 3 11 3 Totals 35 6 11 5

South Carolina 010 002 000— 3

Kentucky 200 013 00x— 6

E—Reed (1). DP—Kentucky 1. LOB—South Carolina 11, Kentucky 8. 2B—Dantzier (3), Cousino (9). HR—Maile (5). SH—Marzilli (2). SB—Zellers (3).

South Carolina IP H R ER BB SO

Holmes 41/34 3 3 2 3

Privette1/30 0 0 0 0

Belcher1/31 1 1 0 0

Seddon 0 0 1 1 1 0

Webb2/32 1 1 0 2

Sullivan 1 2 0 0 0 2

Munson2/32 0 0 0 0

Thomason1/30 0 0 0

Kentucky

Littrell 51/39 3 3 2 3

Wijas 21/32 0 0 0 1

Mahar1/30 0 0 0 0

Gott 1 0 0 0 0 2

HBP—by Littrell (Payne), by Wijas (Greiner).

Umpires—Home, Everett; First, Cox; Third, Arnold. T—3:14. A—2,571.

This story was originally published March 23, 2012 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Tennessee ends UK's baseball streak at 22, one shy of SEC record."