SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team opened the 2018 season with a 6-1 loss to #8 Kentucky at Russell C. King Field. The Wildcats had three home runs in the first four innings and held the Terriers to only two hits in the game.
                    
Wofford opens the season 0-1, while Kentucky is 1-0. The Terriers were led by Mack Nathanson with two hits and an RBI, while Adam Scott threw five innings with seven strikeouts. The Wildcats had three players with two hits each, while Luke Heyer had a three-run homer.
 
Both teams were retired in order in the first inning. The Wildcats had two runners on base in the top of the second after a walk and hit by pitch. With two outs, Luke Heyer hit a home run for a 3-0 lead. After Wofford was retired in order in the bottom of the second, Kentucky led off the top of the third with a solo home run by Tristan Pompey for a 4-0 advantage. The Terriers went in order to end the third frame.
 
In the top of the fourth inning, Kole Cottam hit a solo home run to push the lead to 5-0. The Wildcats left one runner on base. McClain Bradley walked with one out in the bottom of the fourth and Mack Nathanson followed with a single. A double steal moved the runners into scoring position, but both were stranded.
 
With two outs in the top of the fifth, the Wildcats had a double and an RBI single for a 6-0 advantage.  Wofford went in order to end the fifth inning. Kentucky led off the top of the sixth with a single, but the runner was stranded on second. Alex Malsch opened the bottom of the sixth with a walk. With two outs, Mack Nathanson doubled to left field to score Malsch and cut the lead to 6-1.
 
The Wildcats had a single in the top of the seventh, but the runner was caught stealing second to end the top half. Wofford went in order in the bottom of the seventh. A double play turned by the Terriers ended the top of the eighth inning. Wofford had one runner reach in the eighth on a walk by Brett Rodriguez with two outs, but was stranded. Kentucky left one on base in the top of the ninth. Wofford went in order in the ninth to end the game.
 
Adam Scott (0-1) started for the Terriers and threw five innings. He struck out seven batters and allowed six runs on five hits with only one walk. Clay Schwaner went three innings without allowing a run, while striking out three and giving up three hits. Jake Zoller closed the game and had one strikeout with one hit in an inning.
 
Kentucky starter Sean Hjelle (1-0), the 2017 SEC Pitcher of the Year, went six innings with one run allowed on two hits. He struck out three batters and walked two. Carson Coleman threw two innings and did not allow a hit with five strikeouts. Alec Maley struck out the side in the ninth.
 
The Terriers will host Fordham on Saturday at 5:00 pm and Dayton on Sunday at 1:00 pm to wrap up the opening weekend.