Spartanburg, S.C. – In just the second meeting between the two teams, the Patriots fell behind No. 25 Kentucky early and the Wildcats used a pair of two-run homers to power their way to an 8-6 win over Mason at USC Upstate's Harley Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (1-1) took the lead in the first inning against Mason starter Joe Williams. Junior Storm Wilson was hit by a pitch and wasted no time stealing second. With two outs, junior Gunner McNeill plated Wilson with a RBI single to center to put Kentucky in front 1-0.
In the third, Kentucky sophomore Evan White led off with a single and after making his way to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a pass ball, he came in to score when junior Javon Shelby ripped a double down the left field line to make it 2-0.
Later in the third, the Kentucky lead doubled when freshman Tristan Pompey made his first collegiate hit count. He belted a two-run home run into the cloudy afternoon sky and over the left field fence giving Kentucky a 4-0 advantage.
Mason got a run back in the fourth inning. Sophomore Brady Acker, senior Kent Blackstone and sophomore Trevor Kelly collected three straight singles, with Kelly's RBI base hit driving in Acker with the Patriots first run. The Patriots had their leadoff hitter reach base in only two innings in the game.
The Patriots scored five of their runs over the last two innings. In the eighth, Mason took advantage of two Kentucky errors to start the rally and make it a one-run game. After Timothy Turner singled, Alejandro Aponte then reached on an error when a throw to second found its way into right field. Turner never stopped as he cruised all the way around from first to score, and Aponte found his way to second on the play.
Leadoff man Brandon Gum also reached on a throwing error in the eighth, with Aponte going to third and the Patriots had runners on the corners with no outs. Michael Smith grounded into a fielder's choice to push another run across the plate and cut the Wildcats lead to 4-3.
Acker had a two-run homer on opening day and nearly had another on Saturday that would have given Mason the lead. His towering shot was hit to the deepest part of the ballpark and was caught right at the wall in center field (402 feet).
Kentucky batted around in the ninth adding some insurance and they would need it. Junior Gunner McNeill connected on a two-run homer to right field and sophomore Luke Becker drove in a pair of runs with a double down the line to make it 8-3.
Mason still wasn't done. With one out in the last half of the ninth, catcher Tyler Nelin was hit by a pitch and DH Tim Quinn drew a walk. That set the stage for sophomore Timothy Turner, who belted a three-run homer over the center field wall.
That was as close as the Patriots would get. Wildcats freshman pitcher Justin Lewis entered and retired Aponte and Gum to end the game and earn his first career save in his NCAA debut.
Wildcats starter Dustin Beggs (1-0) worked six innings, allowing just one run on four hits and after allowing a RBI single in the fourth, he retired the last eight Mason batters he faced. Beggs fanned five and walked just one Patriots batter.
Kentucky had three players record a multi-hit game. Zack Reks had three singles coming off the bench and two of Shelby's three hits were doubles. For the Patriots, Turner went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Mason was 2-for-6 while the Wildcats were 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
Mason starter Joe Williams (0-1) allowed four runs on five hits over four innings of work, striking out four and walking one. He threw 70 pitches, 44 for strikes. Relievers Ryan Ricci, Brian Marconi and Saul Aguilera combined to toss four scoreless innings.
Junior Tyler Tobin allowed four runs on four hits in 0.2IP. Tyler Kardas faced two batters to end the Kentucky ninth.
Aponte (0-for-4, R), Quinn (0-for-3, R) and Marconi(1.2IP,2H,1BB) each made their first collegiate appearance.
The Patriots are back on the diamond on Sunday, playing at Wofford against the Terriers. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
