Kentucky Baseball Falls to Missouri, 9-3

Junior outfielder Zach Reks had two hits, including his seventh home run of the season, but the Kentucky baseball team lost to Missouri 9-3 on Thursday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Reks continued his recent hot streak on Thursday night. He extended his personal hitting streak to nine games with a single in the sixth inning. Two innings later, Reks homered for the sixth time in Kentucky’s last 12 games.
Kentucky (30-24, 13-15 Southeastern Conference) scored all three of its runs in the eighth inning. Freshman outfielder Tristan Pompey walked and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Evan White then singled up the middle to bring Pompey home with the first Kentucky run of the game. In the process, White extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
That set the stage for Reks’ long ball, which cut the Tigers’ lead to 9-3.
Missouri (26-27, 9-19) scored a single run in the fourth inning, then extended the lead with four runs in the fifth inning. The Tigers added a single run in the sixth, and three more in the eighth.
Before scoring in the eighth inning, Kentucky threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning against Missouri starter Tanner Houck (5-5), but could not score. Freshman outfielder Tristan Pompey led off the frame with a single. Two outs later, it was Reks with a single to right field, advancing Pompey to third but Houck got a strikeout to end the threat.
The two teams are set to meet again on Friday in the second game of the SEC series. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. ET at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
For the latest on the Kentucky athletics, follow @UKathletics on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
by Tony Neely