Van Cleave Plays Hero in Friday Baseball Victory

Kentucky outfielder Braxton Van Cleave has not had the freshman campaign he had hoped for. Van Cleave entered Friday’s game against Vanderbilt batting .053, with one hit in 19 at bats.

But on Friday night, Van Cleave played hero, hitting a two-out, walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Cats past Vanderbilt 5-2.

In his first three at bats on Friday, Van Cleave failed to get the ball out of the infield. He popped up to third, hit a hard shot back to the mound and struck out. But in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, the left-handed batter crushed a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right center field for the win. It was a moment that he will never forget.

“Emotions were definitely really high,” Van Cleave said. “That’s probably the most exciting moment of my life right there. There’s nothing like what I just felt. I hope it happens again.”

Van Cleave credited his teammates with helping him make an adjustment that produced the game-winning bomb.

“My teammates in the dugout, Luke (Lawrence) and (Tyler) Bell were like, he’s coming inside a lot, he’s throwing his heater inside,” Van Cleave said. “So they were like, move off the plate, get ready to get an inside heater and get your swing off and don’t cheat yourself. So, that was the approach, stuck to it, got the job done.”

For Van Cleave, Friday’s result was due to a lot of hard work by himself and the UK coaching staff.

“We’ve been grinding the whole season, just trying to get the swing right,” Van Cleave said. “This week, I feel like it finally clicked. Took at lot better (batting practice) rounds throughout the week and was really prepared.”

UK head coach Nick Mingione was proud of Van Cleave on Friday, but was also pleased with how hard the Texas native has been working.

“He had been taking great batting practices all week,” Mingione said. “His swing has been there and when we got together as a staff today, we said hey, we’re going to play Braxton because there’s a chance he’s going to hit one out tonight. And sure enough, good for him, he did.”

Van Cleave may not have had the season he was hoping for thus far in 2026, but on Friday night, he created a memory that will last a lifetime. And his walk-off grand slam gave the Cats a needed Southeastern Conference win.