‘That’s what you dream of.’ A Kentuckian saves Senior Night against No. 2 team in nation.
The University of Kentucky baseball team is assured its first winning record in Southeastern Conference play since 2017 thanks in part to the efforts of a seventh-year senior.
Darren Williams struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning Friday night as 20th-ranked Kentucky defeated No. 2 Florida 6-4 at Kentucky Proud Park in the second game of a three-game series to close the regular season.
The Wildcats (36-16 overall, 16-13 SEC) and Gators (41-13, 19-10) were to square off in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
Florida entered Saturday with a one-game lead over Vanderbilt for first place in the league. Kentucky was attempting to secure its best possible seeding for next week’s SEC Tournament, which gets underway Tuesday in Hoover, Ala.
Williams, a 25-year-old native of Maysville, began his college career at Eastern Kentucky University in 2017 before moving on to UK. The 6-foot-6 right-hander overcame the COVID cancellation of 2020, a transfer after the 2021 season and Tommy John surgery last year on his way to Friday night’s critical ninth inning in Lexington.
The Cats and Gators battled back and forth all evening. Kentucky scored a run in the first inning, two in the fourth and three in the fifth, while Florida put up one in the first, two in the third and one in the sixth.
Williams took the mound to start the ninth in front of 4,286 fans on Senior Night attempting to preserve the win for senior starter Zack Lee in his 13th appearance this season.
“That’s why you work hard, all last summer, coming back from rehab,” Williams said. “Moments like that, that’s what you dream of.”
Williams, a 2016 Mason County High School graduate, faced three Gators and struck them all out swinging on 15 pitches — BT Riopelle on a 2-2 pitch, Tyler Shelnut on a 3-2 count and Luke Heyman on a 1-2 pitch to end it for his second save this season.
“If there was ever a guy who deserved that moment, it was Darren Williams,” Nick Mingione said after the Wildcats locked up their first winning SEC season since going 19-11 in the Kentucky coach’s first campaign in 2017.
Lee (5-2) allowed three runs and two hits and struck out six in five innings before Morehead native Mason Moore gave up one run on three hits and struck out five over the next three innings. By the time the night was over, UK’s pitchers totaled 14 strikeouts.
Reuben Church and Grant Smith homered for the Wildcats. After his solo shot in the fourth inning, Church delivered a two-run single in the fifth. Church, Devin Burkes, Jackson Gray and Ryan Waldschmidt each had two hits for the Wildcats, who finished the night with nine off Florida pitchers Brandon Sproat (7-3) and Cade Fisher.
Kentucky, which lost the series opener to Florida 10-3 on Thursday night, aimed Saturday to close the season strong and gain momentum for the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats appear to be a lock to make the 64-team NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 but have larger goals in mind.
“We want to host a regional in Lexington,” Williams said. “We want to break down that wall. We want to host the first regional at (Kentucky Proud Park).”
This story was originally published May 20, 2023 at 10:17 AM.