Kentucky baseball’s struggles continue with loss to Louisville in front of record crowd
A record-breaking crowd was not enough to help Kentucky baseball end a recent swoon in a 7-0 loss to rival Louisville on Tuesday.
The No. 15 Wildcats entered the matchup with a Louisville team that has spent most of the season ranked in the top 25 but dropped out of the Baseball America poll after being swept at Duke over the weekend having lost three consecutive SEC weekend series after a stellar start to conference play. Instead of building momentum against its archrival, Kentucky’s offense was unable to turn several line drives into runs and now faces a daunting final month of the regular season.
Kentucky (30-10 overall, 11-7 SEC) travels to No. 5 Vanderbilt this weekend and hosts No. 2 South Carolina next week. Series at Tennessee and against No. 4 Florida also remain on the schedule.
“This team hasn’t pressed, they haven’t panicked,” Coach Nick Mingione said after the loss, expressing confidence the current slump won’t spiral out of control. “It’s why we’ve been able to come back in so many games.”
Louisville (27-13 overall, 8-10 ACC) opened the scoring Tuesday with a solo home run from catcher Jack Payton in the second inning. Kentucky starter Travis Smith would not surrender another run, striking out eight batters while allowing just four hits and two walks in five innings, but the Wildcats’ offense had only one batter reach second base in the first seven innings despite multiple hard-hit line outs.
The Cardinals broke the game open with three runs in the seventh and two runs in the eighth inning. Former Bryan Station star Tyeler Hawkins hit a pinch hit home run in the ninth inning for Louisville.
“Weird game offensively,” Mingione said. “We had 11 line outs. I told our team I don’t know the last time I played in a game where we were smashing balls and we had 11 line outs. Obviously, it’s hard to score runs, but I told them I’ll never get onto you for hitting rockets.”
By the time Louisville recorded the final out, most of the 5,292 fans at Kentucky Proud Park had headed to the exits.
The game marked just the second time in program history at least 5,000 fans had attended a home game, topping the 5,005 that watched UK clinch an NCAA Tournament regional victory against North Carolina State at Cliff Hagan Park in 2017.
Similar home support will not be able to help Kentucky at Vanderbilt this weekend, but it could be key to the Wildcats’ chances of securing series wins against South Carolina and Florida in the final two series at Kentucky Proud Park. With 11 SEC wins already and a No. 2 ranking in the RPI, Kentucky is in a strong position for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but another series win or two is likely needed to feel good about the chances to host an NCAA Tournament regional.
“They make a huge impact,” Mingione said of the fans. “I’m really thankful for them and their support. ... There’s a lot of places we go on the weekends there’s a lot of people at those games. It means a lot having this many people out here supporting our guys, and I know it means a lot to them too.”
Next game
No. 15 Kentucky at No. 5 Vanderbilt
What: Opener of three-game SEC series in Nashville
When: 7 p.m. EDT Friday
TV: SEC Network Plus (online only)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 30-10 (11-7 SEC), Vanderbilt 29-11 (13-5)