No. 1 seed Kentucky took care of business in the Lexington Regional opener on Friday, beating frisky No. 4 Western Michigan 10-8.
After scoring just four runs in last year’s Lexington Regional opener against Ball State, the Cats scored four runs in just three innings on Friday. They finished with 10 runs and 13 hits.
Kentucky led 8-0 through four innings, but Western Michigan outscored it 8-2 over the final five innings. However, the Cats held the Broncos scoreless over the final three innings, cementing the victory.
“You have seen us play. “How many times have we been in the same game?” Nick Mingione joked after the game. “I feel like we’ve been there so many times.”
James McCoy was the unlikely star of Kentucky’s victory on Friday, as it snapped out of its 0-for-21 hitless skid in a big way. McCoy hit a two-run home run and an RBI double, contributing three RBIs on the day.
Kentucky’s victory marked its 18th NCAA tournament victory in program history. The Cats have won three consecutive regional openers (2017, 2023, 2024).
The Cats will now face the winner of Indiana State/Illinois on Saturday at 6:00 pm EST. Western Michigan/Loser Indiana State and Illinois will play a playoff Saturday at noon EST, with the loser returning home.
Kentucky baseball player flexes in dugout before first game of NCAA tournament – Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio
Game players:
- RF James McCoy: The right fielder broke out of his slump, hitting a two-run homer and an RBI double.
- 3B Mitch Daly: Daly, no stranger to the NCAA tournament, went 2-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.
- RHP Robert Hogan: Hogan was a great relief for the Cats on Friday, allowing just two hits and no earned runs in the final 3 1/3 innings pitched.
Cats scratch the first runs
Kentucky Lefty Dominic Niman He made his 15th start of the season for the Cats on Friday, a move that puzzled many given their recent struggles.
In his previous 19 innings pitched before Friday’s start, Niman had an ERA of 11.84 and made it past the fifth inning in only two of his last seven starts. The left-hander, however, came out on top in the first inning, striking out two Broncos in a scoreless effort.
Then, the Kentucky offense came up to bat for the first time in the bottom of the first and drove in a run using their world-famous “Mingione Ball.”
Kentucky Ryan Waldschmidt, Émilien Pitreand David Burkes everyone tied 3-2 to open the game. While Pitre flew, Waldschmidt and Burkes drew walks. This hit machine brought out Nick Lopez with runners on second and third after a steal by Burkes.
Lopez lifted an RBI sacrifice fly deep to right center field, allowing Waldschmidt to easily trot home to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. After another scoreless inning from Niman, the Cats extended their lead in the second.
After Nolan McCarthy single with one out, one fight James McCoy He stepped forward to bat. McCoy, who had not totaled a hit in his last 21 at-bats, has been struggling mightily since his 4-for-3 performance in the series opener against Florida (May 10).
McCoy had a great performance for the Cats, as he lifted a two-run home run just over the right field fence. Breaking his 0-for-21 hitless streak, McCoy scored his sixth Big Blue Bomb of the season to give the Cats a 3-0 lead.
“I saw a slider on the pitch earlier,” McCoy said after the game. “They called it a ball, but he hit it again, so it felt good to hit it. When I first hit it, I thought it was going to be a foul hook, so I came out of the box and thought, ‘oh, it’s a foul.’ But I took a couple more steps and said, ‘Oh, that’s fair,’ so it was cool to see it happen.”
Four-run third inning extends Wildcat lead
Kentucky scored four more runs in a strong effort in the third inning, extending its lead to seven.
Devin Burkes and Nick Lopez opened the inning with a single and a double, immediately putting two in scoring position for Mitch Daly. Daly hit a cutting grounder to Western Michigan second baseman Grady Mee, who fumbled on an error. Burkes scored, giving the Cats a 4-0 lead.
The runs kept coming for the Cats, as an RBI single Ryan Nicholsonan RBI double by James McCoy and a Grant Smith RBI sac-fly extended Kentucky’s lead to seven at the bottom of the third.
Another run in the fourth on an RBI double by Mitch Daly gave the Cats an 8-0 lead, but that wouldn’t last long. A big inning was coming up for a Western Michigan team struggling to make it a game once again.
Western Michigan defends itself in fifth place
“Buzzard’s luck” struck the Cats in the fifth, when Kentucky allowed five runs without a WMU hit getting out of the frame.
Niman loaded the bases with a walk, a hit by pitch and an infield single by Greg Budig. WMU’s Grady Mee, who made an error early in the game allowing a Kentucky run to score, then hit a soft ground ball to Grant Smith to score WMU’s first run of the game.
Jackson Kitchen followed Mee’s infield single with one of his own, a helicopter to third that Mitch Daly couldn’t make. Consecutive runs scored on infield RBI singles, bringing the Broncos within six.
Three more WMU runs would score in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk, another RBI infield single by Dylan Nevar and an RBI groundout by CJ Sullivan.
Dominic Niman’s day came to an end after allowing three runs without recording an out. Two of his baserunners he put in ended up scoring, bringing his earned run total to five on the day. He was relieved by the right Cam O’Brienwho got the Cats out of a big bind.
The Broncos threatened with runners on second and third with one out in the inning, but O’Brien got out of trouble with consecutive strikeouts.
Cats and Broncos exchange blows
After allowing Western to get within three, Kentucky scored two runs in the fifth to extend that lead to five. A sacrifice fly driven in by Ryan Waldschmidt and an RBI single by Émilien Pitre did the job, but the Broncos simply refused to go away.
Left handed Evan Byers He got the first two outs in the sixth inning, but gave up a single and a walk to put runners on first and second. Cade Sullivan took advantage, launching an RBI single up the middle to bring WMU within four. After a hit by pitch to load the bases, MAC batting title winner CJ Richmond hit a two-run double down the left field line to take the breath away of the many, many Kentucky fans in attendance.
Suddenly, Western Michigan fell behind by just two.
Kentucky holds on to victory
Looking to put out the fire in the sixth, right-hander Robert Hogan came in to get the Cats out of another jam. Hogan was a guy Mingione would have liked to save for later this weekend, but using him in that situation was a no-brainer.
Hogan came in and completely shut down WMU’s surging offense, allowing just one hit in 2 1/3 innings pitched.
Kentucky failed to score in the final three innings, allowing the Broncos to come back to bat in the top of the ninth trailing just two.
The right-hander stayed in the game in the ninth, allowing just one hit but nothing else. However, he hit a batter and walked to load the bases with two outs, putting everyone at KPP on pins and needles. Hogan, however, forced a fly out to preserve the Wildcat victory.
I guess just throwing strikes. That was the most important inning, just being able to throw every pitch to get a strike. That keeps hitters off balance.
“I have an unbelievable defense behind me,” Hogan said after the game. “So it’s easy to pitch when you have guys like G (rant Smith) behind me and James (McCoy). They are getting balls that not many teams can get. “It’s a lot easier to pitch like that.”
Victoria, Cayts.
What’s next for Kentucky?
Kentucky will face the winner of Indiana State/Illinois on Saturday at 6:00 pm EST.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.