Other Sports

Baseball Cats Go 2-1 Against Wright State Raiders in First Home Series

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2023

UK Athletics

It’s now transitioning to baseball season in Lexington. The Kentucky baseball is underway in Lexington and the Bat-Cats already have a few wins under their belt. This past weekend, the Cats opened their home season opener against the Wright State Raiders, a good program that has the most conference tournament championships in the Horizon League.

Game One: Kentucky 8-Wright State 3

𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘, 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘!

F | UK 8, Wright State 3

Four straight for the Cats. pic.twitter.com/Djj5pkOrGW— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 24, 2023

Starting the series on Friday, the Wildcats beat the Raiders 8-3 in what was all around hitting clinic for the Cats. Fourteen hits on the day, six of which were doubles. The Raiders started the game by scoring two runs quickly at the top of the first, the Wildcats then answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first.

Catcher Devin Burkes finished the game with three doubles and three RBIs, Second Baseman Emilien Pitre also had three hits and three RBIs.

Through six, Pitcher Logan Martin allowed four hits and three runs before Darren Williams closed out the game by allowing zero hits and zero runs in the closing three innings of the game.

Game Two: Wright State 12-Kentucky 9

pic.twitter.com/6YfS2bY2O1— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 25, 2023

The second game of the series started a little differently for the Cats. The Raiders came out hot, hitting two home runs by Andrew Patrick and Jay Luikart in the first inning, capping off a 4-0 lead early on.

The Raiders’ lead got up to 9-1 through the first five innings. The tale of the Wildcats’ struggles on Saturday was the multiple errors made by the infield. Four error total, three of which were failed pickoff attempts.

The Wildcats used five different pitchers in the game that let up a total of twelve runs on the day. Starting pitcher Tyler Bosma took the loss after pitching 2 1/3 innings allowing 6 runs. Austin Strickland, Seth Logue, Colby Freida, and Ryder Giles all finished the Cats’ pitching game. Each pitcher allowed at least one run, with Strickland allowing three.

The Cats closed the deficit to as close as 10-8 through the 8th inning, but couldn’t grab a lead as Wright State closed out the game with a 2-run 9th inning to seal the game 12-9.

Game Three: Kentucky 15-Wright State 0

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘!!

F | UK 15, Wright State 0

Cats take 2 of 3 from team that's be in NCAA Regionals last two years. pic.twitter.com/WTq8XI2BhM— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) February 26, 2023

The Wildcats came to play on Sunday for the final game of the series. Devin Burkes homered to deep left field with James Mccoy on base, putting the Cats up 2-0 early after the first inning. Kentucky then followed their hot start with a 4-run second inning.

The Wildcats lead got up to 9-0 after six innings of play, forcing the Raiders to use five different during that stretch.

RHP Zach Lee pitched a gem. Through six, he allowed zero runs off three hits before getting pulled. Ryan Hagenow came in at the top of the seventh allowing zero runs. Junior LHP Magdiel Cotto came in to close the game at the top of the eighth.

Kentucky didn’t let up, scoring six runs in the bottom of the eight, behind a Hunter Gilliam 2-run home run, stretching the score to 15-0. Devin Burkes finished the game hitting 3-6 with a home run and seven RBIs.

Series Wrap Up

For the series, the Cats played overall pretty well. Totaling 36 hits and 32 runs on the weekend. Kentucky improves their record to 5-2 early on this season and hopes to finish their non-conference schedule strong before SEC play starts in a few weeks.

Kentucky plays one game against Morehead State on Tuesday, the opens a three-game series against Indiana State next weekend in Lexington.

Other Sports

Kentucky Baseball Looks To Carry Momentum In Final Series Of The Season

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2025

Kai McClelland

Ethan Rand | UK Athletics

After losing four games in a row, the Wildcats did a complete 180, winning four games in a row and reasserting themselves in every conversation they seemingly left.

Sweeping one of the top ranked teams in the nation surely did not come easy, but the Bat Cats defended Kentucky Proud Park against the Oklahoma Sooners from May 9-11 and later took down Northern Kentucky on May 13 by a score of 6-1.

Now, Kentucky looks ahead to a matchup with Vanderbilt, a top ten team in the nation, and has more than enough momentum to propel itself forward and gain a couple of conference wins to round out the season.

However, one scenario would be extremely daunting for the Wildcats, and that’s leaving Nashville without a single win. Then, that sets up a world where Kentucky will have to go on a deep run in the SEC Tournament to escape being in the bubble trap once again.

In the world of college baseball however, the Wildcats can win just one game this weekend and be “fine” heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Bat Cats are currently projected as a No. 2 seed in Baseball America’s Field of 64 projections.

Whether it’s another solid start from Nate Harris followed by a gem mound performance from Ethan Walker, or a strikeout-filled performance from Ben Cleaver, Kentucky will lean on the pitching staff to take advantage of Vanderbilt’s poor team hitting average (.267), which ranks 217th in the NCAA.

The Wildcats will kick off the series on Thursday, May 15, looking to win 30 games for the fourth consecutive season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

🆚 No. 9 Vanderbilt
🏟️ Hawkins Field; Nashville
⌚️ 7 p.m. ET / 6 CT
📺 SECN+
📻 @UKSportsNetwork, @UKAthletics app pic.twitter.com/fAfwXjq7ig— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) May 15, 2025

Other Sports

Kentucky Softball Reaches 2025 Women’s College World Series

Published

5 days ago

May 12, 2025

Israel Schill

Ethan Rand | UK Athletics

Kentucky softball was selected to compete in the NCAA Championship for the 16th consecutive season under head coach Rachel Lawson, earning an at-large bid.

Dust off your shoes, #BBN … THE CATS ARE GOING DANCING!!!! 💃💃💃#WeAreUK x @NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/yK0FCcHZBz— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) May 11, 2025

Lawson and her squad will travel to Clemson, South Carolina, alongside Northwestern and USC Upstate to face off in the NCAA Clemson Regional from May 16-18.

The Wildcats hold the No. 2 seed in the regional and will battle No. 3 Northwestern to open the tournament at 2 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 16, on ESPN+.

With a tournament selection every year since 2009, Kentucky is one of 12 programs in the country to achieve that feat over the past 16 seasons. The Cats join Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida State, UCLA and Washington as the 12 to do so.

All 14 of the Southeastern Conference’s eligible teams were selected to the Women’s College World Series, setting the NCAA record for most teams picked from one league to compete for a national title.

https://twitter.com/SEC/status/1921743848146919430

Other Sports

What’s Next For Kentucky Baseball?

Kentucky baseball, after suffering a series sweep, now has more questions than answers.

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2025

Kai McClelland

Aran Steele | UK Athletics

Just over a week ago, the Wildcats were a presumed “lock” for the NCAA Tournament, gearing up to be one of the top seeds. Now, Nick Mingione and the Cats are sitting on the bubble after four consecutive losses.

Western Kentucky took down the Bat Cats 6-4 on April 29, a respectable loss, but Big Blue Nation did not expect a Mississippi State Bulldogs team, who had only seven conference wins and had just fired their head coach, to sweep the Wildcats.

On May 3, the Bulldogs blitzed the Cats, outscoring them 20-9 between both games of Saturday’s doubleheader. The next day, the Wildcats only tallied one run and were swept for the first time since 2023 in a SEC series.

Now, Kentucky looks ahead to its weekend matchup with the No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners, who are facing off for the first time ever against the Wildcats.

To say this series is season-defining is an understatement, considering the Wildcats only have seven more games on the schedule including Oklahoma.

The Sooners are having a very successful first season in the SEC, hanging around the top 15 rankings all season and winning five of their eight conference series thus far.

Having this past week off, and sinking down in multiple hitting and pitching categories for the conference, the Wildcats will have to get at least one win against the Sooners to keep their hopes alive.

With 10 conference wins, Kentucky will need to win at least three of their remaining SEC games to be put in the conversation for a tournament bid.

The remaining schedule:

May 9-11 vs. No. 16 Oklahoma (32-14, 13-11 SEC)

May 13 vs. Northern Kentucky (26-20)

May 15-17 @ No. 11 Vanderbilt (34-14, 14-10 SEC)

All rankings are provided from Baseball America.