Kentucky Drops See-Saw Affair on Senior Night

No. 10 Arkansas struck last in a tense back and forth thriller on Friday night, defeating Kentucky 5-4 on Senior Night at Kentucky Proud Park that also saw freshman Braxton Van Cleave stretchered off the field after a nasty collision.

The Razorbacks scored a single run in five innings, including the deciding one in the eighth inning after a leadoff walk. Meanwhile, UK left double digit runners on base as it found itself constantly swimming upstream. The loss dropped the Wildcats to 31-19 overall and 13-16 in the Southeastern Conference.

The game featured four lead changes and three ties, as the Hogs answered with every UK run as soon as the Cats pushed one across. Arkansas got a pair of early solo home runs before its late RBI double after a walk and stolen base. UK had its chances to gather another victory but could not find the timely hit.

UK also saw breakout freshman Van Cleave a stadium-silencing injury after ramming into Arkansas second baseman Camden Kozeal. Van Cleave was nearing second base on his RBI single and appeared to be looking into the outfield as he slammed into Kozeal’s back and was lifted off his feet. Van Cleave remained on the ground for nearly 15 minutes as athletic trainers from both teams tended to him.

NOTES

• Kentucky is 31-19 on the season, 13-16 in SEC play.
  • UK is 20-7 at Kentucky Proud Park in 2026.
  • UK is 6-8 vs. Top 25 opponents.
    • They are 2-3 vs. Top 10 opponents.
  • UK is 4-4 in May.
• UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his 10th season at the helm and now owns a 324-211 career record.
  • Mingione is the second-winningest coach in school history.
  • Mingione is 126-140 in SEC games.
    • He is 72-59 in SEC home games in his career.
  • Mingione now is 5-10 vs. Arkansas.
• There were four ties and three lead changes.
• The teams are tied 8-8 through two games.
• IF Luke Lawrence went 2-for-4 with a run and walk.
  • He has 131 hits in his two-year career, moving him into a tie for 41st place on the all-time chart.
    • He now has 251 career hits at the Division I level after a first inning single.
    • He ranks 11^th among all D-I players in career hits.
  • He has reached safely in 51 of his past 53 games.
  • He has 21 multi-hit games this season and 42 at Kentucky.
• IF Ethan Hindle went 3-for-5 with a run, and two doubles.
  • He is 6-of-9 in the series and has tied his career high three hits on back-to-back nights.
  • He now has 18 doubles on the season.
  • He has 35 extra-base hits this season.
  • He now has 15 multi-hit games this season.
• OF Jayce Tharnish has a hit in 24 of his past 26 games.
  • He has reached safely in 28 consecutive games.
  • He stole his 29^th bases of the season.
  • It’s the 8^th most in a season in UK history.
• IF Hudson Brown went 3-for-4 with a run, two RBI and home run.
  • His three hits tied a career high.
  • He hit his 5^th home run.
  • He also had a run-scoring sacrifice bunt.
  • He now has 13 multi-hit games this season and 19 in his career.

ON DECK

UK hosts Arkansas at 2 p.m. ET to end the regular season on Saturday. It will stream on SECN+ and UK Sports Network.