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Tennessee Baseball Gives Disrespectful Comments, UK Uses It as Motivation to Win Series Opener

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UT Sports

It is fair to say that Kentucky baseball has struggled this season. The Wildcats are tied for the worst overall record (24-2) and worst conference record (7-14) in the SEC.

While Kentucky has all but been eliminated from the NCAA tournament, with their only hope being the automatic bid from the SEC Tournament, the Wildcats still have the chance to win a big rivalry series against the No. 1 team in the country, the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Volunteers have been dominant this season, and could arguably be one of the best teams in modern baseball history, but could Nick Mingione and the Wildcats put up a fight?

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The Vols players and coaches didn’t believe so.

Ahead of the game, Sophomore outfielder Kyle Booker was asked about what he knew about Kentucky, to which he snarkily answered, “I don’t know anything, nor do I care”.

Volunteers’ head coach, Tony Vitello, was asked about the challenges Kentucky could provide, to which he threw a subtle jab and said, “their starters throw strikes,” an answer reminiscent of Steve Spurrier when he said, “Kentucky has a heck of a punter”.

These comments gave the Wildcats no shortage of motivation and on Thursday night they used it to their advantage winning in walk-off fashion after 13 innings, 3-2.

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The most impressive part of the performance is that the UK pitchers held the nation’s top offense to just one hit over its final 42 plate appearances and five total. This is less than half of Tennessee’s average hits per game (10.5).

Kentucky can clinch the series against the No. 1 team in the nation with a win on Friday or Saturday.

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Rhyne Howard Honors Terrence Clarke in SLAM Magazine Feature

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SLAM Magazine/UK Athletics

Former Kentucky women’s basketball superstar and 2022 WNBA No. 1 overall pick Rhyne Howard honored Terrence Clarke in her recent SLAM Magazine feature.

In the feature, Howard wears Terrence Clarke’s jersey. She also said, “I keep him alive when I play.”

Clarke, who tragically passed away in a car crash on April 22, 2021, played for the Kentucky men’s basketball team during the 2020-2021 season.

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This is not the first time Rhyne Howard has used her spotlight to honor Terrence Clarke. The night she was drafted, she wore a white, sparkly suit with a pin on it. The pin was a blue heart with a basketball and “TC5” on it.

Then, prior to finishing in the top three of the 2022 WNBA 3-Point Contest, she sported a blue varsity jacket with the same heart stitched on it.

Rhyne Howard and Terrence Clarke were as close as could be. Howard often refers to Clarke as her “little bro”.

The night Howard was drafted to the Atlanta Dream, she talked about how their connection began at UK:

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“As soon as he stepped on campus, we instantly clicked and ever since then, we were inseparable. Just us coming in and me being able to help him and just get him through his college years.”

Now, while Howard continues to dominate on the hardwood, she also continues to honor and pay tribute to her late best friend, Terrence Clarke.

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Kentucky Baseball Team Shows Support to Family and Teammates of 8-Year-Old Who Passed Away

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Family of Eli Hill

Earlier this week tragedy took place in Corbin (KY), as 8-year-old, Eli Hill, passed away playing basketball at his home. In a freak accident, the backboard of a basketball goal came off the pole and fell on him, succumbing to the injuries.

Following the tragedy, the community of Corbin has come together in remembrance of Eli and in support of his family and friends. On Wednesday, a vigil was held at the city’s rotary baseball park, which over a hundred people attended to honor Eli and show love for his family.

“He was a joy to be around, the amount of love, excitement. You know, the care that he had for others,” high school athlete Jacob Baker said.

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On Thursday, the Kentucky baseball team made the hour-and-a-half trip to Corbin to show support to the baseball team of Corbin primary, the baseball team which Eli played for.

In a time of tragedy, it is heartwarming to see people from around the state rally around the family and friends of young Eli, who made an impact on many and will be missed.

The Hill family has also warned others to be cautious of a fake GoFundMe making its way around social media.

Also published on a Sea of Blue.

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Kentucky Baseball on a Tear: Currently Holds the Longest Active Win Streak in the Country

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Grant Lee/UK Athletics

Despite their Opening Day loss to Elon on February 17th, the Kentucky baseball team has strung together a successful start to the season with a 19-2 overall record. As of March 21st, Kentucky is on a 15-game winning streak, the longest active win streak in all of D1 baseball.

The last time the Bat Cats lost was on February 25th to Wright State, dropping a single game of the three-game series. Since, they have beaten Morehead State, Murray State, Ohio, Indiana, and Eastern Kentucky and picked up three, three-game series sweeps over Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and SEC opponent Mississippi State.

Kentucky’s success has largely been due to its explosive offense. In the most recent weekend series, the Bat Cats outscored Mississippi State 35-11 over the course of three games. Of their 19 wins, Kentucky has scored 10+ runs six times, including a season-high 21 runs on Southern Illinois.

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In the most recent AP poll, Kentucky broke into the top-25 at #23. Their most recent win came on Tuesday, a 9-3 win over Eastern Kentucky. This weekend, they are heading to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama for another three-game series of conference play.

UK catcher, Devin Burkes, hits 2-run HR in bottom of 7th to take the lead over eku

The Cats will look to extend their win streak and maintain a level of play to get them back into the NCAA tournament. Kentucky has not made the tournament since Coach Nick Mingione’s first season in 2017.

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