Kentucky baseball ‘officially hot’ after three straight ranked rivalry wins
What a difference a week has made for Kentucky baseball.
Seven days ago, the Wildcats were coming off a heartbreaking series loss to No. 2 Texas and a less-than-inspiring 4-3 midweek win over Miami (Ohio). Now, Nick Mingione’s team appears to be surging just in time for the Southeastern Conference stretch run.
Kentucky began building momentum by taking two of three at No. 4 Tennessee over the weekend. It followed its best weekend of the season by blowing out No. 19 Louisville 17-5 in a mercy-rule shortened game Tuesday at Kentucky Proud Park played in front of a boisterous crowd gathered for the annual rivalry’s lone game in Lexington.
“For so many reasons — and a lot that I won’t even mention — it is good to get in a game like this to where you feel like you can kind of take a deep breath, especially against your in-state rival,” Mingione said after Tuesday’s win. “They’re a great team. They’re well-coached. But to not play a nail-biter, that felt good, there’s no doubt.”
There were signs the surge might be coming even before the Tennessee series.
Kentucky has led at some point in 17 of 18 SEC games this season. Six of its 10 SEC losses have come by one or two runs. UK lost the rubber match in its series against Texas, which has since risen to No. 1 in the D1Baseball.com top 25, by just one run. From March 30 to April 12, five of UK’s seven games went to extra innings.
WarrenNola.com ranks Kentucky’s schedule as the seventh-most difficult in the country. Kentucky opponents had won 60.5% of their games entering Tuesday.
“We just pretty much said we’re tired of being almost there,” said senior third baseman Patrick Herrera, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, triple and five RBI against Louisville. “We need to get over the hump. So we just kind of made it personal and said, ‘We’re going to find ways to win, no matter what it takes.’”
There appears to be room for the Wildcats to build further momentum, too.
UK’s next two SEC series are against Mississippi State and South Carolina, two teams with a combined 10-26 record in league play. The last two SEC series (vs. No. 14 Oklahoma and at No. 9 Vanderbilt) offer further opportunities to build the NCAA Tournament resume.
Fears of Kentucky missing the tournament for the first time in three years have largely vanished thanks to the last week of results, but with a No. 30 ranking in the RPI as of Tuesday morning there still could be hope to force its way into the battle for one of the final 16 hosting spots in the tournament’s first weekend. The Wildcats might need to win all four remaining SEC series for a realistic shot at that goal, but there are reasons beyond the final scores to think they are poised for a strong finish.
The weekend rotation looks stronger after the move of freshman Nate Harris into the Friday night spot. Saturday starter Nic McCay was named SEC Pitcher of the Week after holding Tennessee to one run in 7 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts and three walks. Sunday starter Ben Cleaver has performed like one of the best pitchers in the league with a 2.48 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 54 innings this season.
While Kentucky is unlikely to be confused with an offensive juggernaut anytime soon even after Tuesday’s barrage, Mingione has been willing to juggle his lineup recently in search of a spark by giving younger players more opportunities.
After hitting cleanup for most of the season, star freshman shortstop Tyler Bell has hit first or second in the last eight games, including leadoff in each of the last three games. Sophomore second baseman Kyuss Gargett is 9-for-26 (.346) since moving into the starting lineup two weeks ago against Texas. Freshman utility man Ryan Schwartz has started four straight games in the outfield after appearing in just four of the first 33 games. He has at least one hit in each of those starts.
“We’re asking so many guys to do things that they’ve never had to do before,” Mingione said. “Some of them have played college baseball, but not at this level. And then we’re playing freshmen and redshirt freshmen, and we’re just playing a bunch of different guys, and they’ve deserved this opportunity. I’m just so thankful for these guys because they’ve waited.
“Some of these guys have waited for their opportunities, sometimes a year, sometimes two, sometimes just this year, and they’re taking advantage of it. And one thing we’ll never be accused of is not trying. We’ve moved guys up and down in spots, and to say we’ve even got it figured out, I don’t think we do. But the thing I love right now about our team is the way they’re competing.”
While Kentucky was playing so many close games that did not go its way, Mingione stressed constant improvement to his players.
Now that the results have turned in the Wildcats’ favor, the message has not changed. Mingione planned to give players until midnight to celebrate the rivalry win before an off day Wednesday. The end of the academic semester in the first week of May will bring new challenges off the field, as will handling success on it.
But facing those challenges certainly seems a lot more fun after three straight wins against ranked teams than it did a week ago. Asked how his team planned to build on its newfound momentum, junior center fielder Carson Hansen responded with a smile after slugging a home run against Louisville.
“I think the Cats are officially hot as of now,” he quipped.
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 8:05 AM.