After SEC Tournament elimination, Kentucky baseball awaits NCAA regional hosting decision
Kentucky baseball will not have momentum on its side in its return to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats were eliminated from the Southeastern Conference Tournament in their first game Tuesday, a 4-0 loss to Alabama. Kentucky is considered a lock for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid for the first time since 2017, but the team now will have to weather several stressful days before learning if losses in five of the last seven games will prevent it from hosting a first weekend tournament regional.
Playing as the No. 8 seed in the SEC Tournament, Kentucky was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position against No. 9 seed Alabama. The Crimson Tide took the lead with a two-run home run from right fielder Andrew Pickney in the fourth inning then added single runs in the sixth and eighth innings for insurance.
Kentucky’s best chance to score came in the second inning when Pickney threw out Wildcats catcher Devin Burkes at home plate when he tried to tag on a flyout to right field. Kentucky challenged the out call at home plate, but the ruling was upheld after replay review.
Super senior right-handed pitcher Darren Williams, who has most often been used as a multi-inning reliever this season, made the start for Kentucky, surrendering three runs on five hits in five innings. He struck out six batters and walked none but was charged with the loss.
By throwing 74 pitches in five innings, Williams made a case to be included in Kentucky’s starting rotation for its NCAA Tournament regional. Head coach Nick Mingione and his staff will now have more than a week to develop a pitching plan for the double-elimination four-team regional.
Earlier this week, D1Baseball.com projected Kentucky as a regional host and the No. 9 overall seed. Losing to Alabama probably ends the Wildcats’ hopes of grabbing one of the top eight seeds that would come with a super regional hosting bid if Kentucky advanced through the first weekend, but the Wildcats’ No. 2 ranking in the RPI entering Tuesday’s games is a boost to the case to host a regional despite the team’s struggles down the stretch in the regular season.
The 16 regional hosts will be announced Sunday with the full NCAA Tournament bracket revealed Monday. Kentucky has not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, Mingione’s first season as coach when it advanced to the only super regional in program history.
SEC Tournament
At Hoover, Ala.
All times Eastern
TUESDAY
(Single-elimination format)
No. 6 seed South Carolina 9, No. 11 Georgia 0
No. 10 Texas A&M 3, No. 7 Tennessee 0
No. 9 Alabama 4, No. 8 Kentucky 0
No. 5 Auburn 10, No. 12 Missouri 4
WEDNESDAY
(Double-elimination format begins)
10:30 a.m.: No. 3 LSU vs. No. 6 South Carolina (SEC Network)
About 2 p.m.: No. 2 Arkansas vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (SEC Network)
5:30 p.m.: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 9 Alabama (SEC Network)
About 9 p.m.: No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. No. 5 Auburn (SEC Network)
THURSDAY
Games at 10:30, 2, 5:30 and 9 p.m. (SEC Network)
FRIDAY
Games at 4 and 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
SATURDAY
Single-elimination semifinals begin at 1 and about 4:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
SUNDAY
3 p.m.: Championship game (ESPN2)