Lawrence's Hustle Play Sparks Cats on Wednesday

The Kentucky baseball team could not get much offense going early on Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky. The Cats found themselves down 2-0 in the bottom of the third when lightning struck for UK.

After Scott Campbell Jr. was hit by a pitch, Luke Lawrence came to the plate. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Lawrence squared to bunt, then pulled it back and hit a ball down the left field line. EKU left fielder David Alvarez dove for the ball but it skipped past him, all the way to the wall.

Lawrence, who was running full steam out of the box easily made it to second and headed for third. That’s when he saw head coach Nick Mingione sending him toward home plate. Lawrence successfully completed the inside-the-park home run standing, and the game was tied at 2-2.

A STAND-UP INSIDE THE PARK HOME RUN, @LukeL1019!!!!@NCAABaseball @11point7 @sec_d1baseball pic.twitter.com/ujPkNnEnk6

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 4, 2026

The UK shortstop talked through the play following Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Colonels.

“I was just trying to do a job,” he said. “It was a slash, so I just tried to see a pitch that I could hit and pull back the bunt and get it done.”

Lawrence wasn’t sure if he would end up with a triple or if he could score on the play.

“I was rounding second and and I saw (the left fielder) still on the ground and I just kept running,” he said. “Minge kept sending me and I was like, wow, this is really happening. So it was pretty cool.”

Mingione had the same perspective on the play that Lawrence did.

“It was a slash,” the UK head coach said. “Anytime you can execute a play like that, it creates pressure. As soon as he dove, I saw him laying there for a while. It took him a second to get up and the ball went all the way to the corner. (Lawrence) did a good job running hard, doing what Luke Lawrence does and got a really fun inside-the-park home run.”

Mingione thought the play sparked his team.

“Maybe one of the most exciting plays in baseball,” he said. “So that was good to see.”

The Cats would score two more in the fifth inning, one in the sixth and three in the eighth to put the game away. But none of that might have been possible if Lawrence had not sparked his team with his hustle play in the bottom of the third inning.