Emphasis on Mid-Week Wins Paying Off for No. 6 Cats

The 2017 Kentucky baseball team continues to raise the bar for the program. And on Tuesday night, the Wildcats added another accomplishment to that ever-growing list.

Kentucky got a two-RBIs apiece from seniors Marcus Carson, Connor Heady and Zach Reks while junior Brad Schaenzer (5-0) pitched five and two-third innings and allowed just one run as the Wildcats topped Northern Kentucky 10-1 at Cliff Hagan Stadium. With the win, Kentucky completed an undefeated non-conference regular season at home, winning all 16 of its games at home against non-SEC opponents.

Winning the mid-week games was something that Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione emphasized to his team in the preseason.

“I’m really proud of our team because at our very first mid-week of the whole year, we asked our team, ‘What would have happened if we had handled business in the mid-week?’ ” Mingione said. “About every guy that was on the team last year raised their hand and said, ‘We would have been in the postseason,’ and we have to have that mindset. And they did it, just like everything else we’ve asked them to do.”

Carson also said that winning in the mid-week was an emphasis for this UK team.

“That was one of the things we talked about at the beginning of the season, we have to take care of our mid-week,” Carson said. “When we took care of our mid-week, it put us in a good spot.”

Of course, the Wildcats hope to have more games at The Cliff against non-conference opponents this season, which could happen. Kentucky appears to be nearly a lock to host an NCAA Baseball regional, and the Wildcats are still in contention to host a super regional as well.

Kentucky didn’t take the easy way out at home this season. Within those 16 wins are four wins against ranked opponents, including an 11-7 win over No. 2 Louisville on April 18, and a three-game sweep of No. 23 UC Santa Barbara March 3-5. The Wildcats have also beaten teams like Indiana, Wright State and Cincinnati, while averaging 9.9 runs per contest in non-conference home games.

“What our players have been able to do is take the information we give them and apply it,” Mingione said. “It really hasn’t mattered if it’s non-conference or conference, it’s the same approach. We have to treat every at-bat like it’s our last. Every single pitch matters, every single play matters. And that’s really hard to do. ”

Only once in school history has a Kentucky team finished with an unbeaten non-conference slate. It happened in 2008, when the Wildcats were a perfect 19-0 against non-SEC teams at the Cliff. That UK team was 44-19 overall and made an NCAA Tournament appearance.

This year’s Kentucky team can now focus on the upcoming three-game series against Florida, which begins on Thursday. If the Wildcats can win at least twice in Gainesville, they will claim at least a share of just the program’s second SEC crown. That would be yet another accomplishment for this team during the special 2017 campaign.