Bennett Comes Up Huge for Cats Out of Bullpen
When the Kentucky baseball team has needed a stopper so far this season, there has been one name that has been called on to get the job done – Jack Bennett.
On Sunday, the Cats found themselves trailing The Citadel 5-4 in the fourth inning. That’s when head coach Nick Mingione went to Bennett to attempt to shut the Bulldogs down. And, as he has done all season, Bennett answered the call.
The senior right-hander pitched three innings, allowing four hits, no runs and striking out three as UK rallied to win 13-5 to sweep the weekend series.
Bennett, who was a starter at Western Kentucky the last two seasons, leads Kentucky with three saves so far this season. After Sunday’s game, Bennett said that he will fill whatever role the team needs from him.
“I’m good with whatever,” Bennett said. “Whether it’s closing, whether it’s coming in for long relief, I’m good with whatever. I love to pitch.”
Bennett said that he hasn’t changed much mechanically going from a starter to a reliever. It’s more about his energy.
“Probably the biggest thing for me was just having a lot of energy,” Bennett said. “Creating momentum for our offense whenever we get to that side of the ball.”
Bennett earned his first win of the season on Sunday while lowering his ERA to 0.82 this season. Bennett earned his third save of the year on Friday and has now pitched 8.1 consecutive innings without allowing a run. The only run he has allowed all season came against UNC Greensboro the first weekend of the season.
Mingione talked about how critical it was for Bennett to continue to fulfill his role on Sunday.
“Jack Bennett got us three innings, nine outs,” Mingione said. “He just allowed our offense to claw back.”
Bennett is one big piece in Kentucky’s bullpen, but he also gave credit to his fellow relievers after Sunday’s win.
“We’ve got a lot of depth,” he said. “I think it just kind of showed how good our bullpen can be and it’s going to be. (The bullpen can) take us to do big, great things.”
Bennett has taken to the fireman role out of the bullpen and he has been crucial for the Cats so far in 2026. With Southeastern Conference play beginning later this week, the bullpen will be even more important and Bennett is poised to be a key cog in that process.
