UK Baseball and Softball Teams Look to Build on Previous Success
The Kentucky baseball and softball teams each experienced great success during the 2017 season. But neither softball head coach Rachel Lawson nor baseball head coach Nick Mingione are satisfied with where their teams finished last year. Both coaches want their programs to reach higher and accomplish even bigger goals.
Lawson and Mingione spoke to the media on Thursday as a part of UK’s annual Baseball/Softball Media Day. And both set the tone for what they hope will be big seasons for their respective programs.
Lawson led the UK softball team to its fifth NCAA Super Regional appearance last season while compiling a 39-19 record. Kentucky won the NCAA Tournament’s Lexington Regional before being eliminated by Oregon in the Supers.
Now in her 11th year at the helm of the program, Lawson has built the Kentucky program into a perennial national power. She expects nothing less than competing for the Women’s College World Series this, and every year.
“Our team is a mainstay now in regionals and super regionals,” Lawson said. “We’ve been in super regionals several times the past few years. We have had an appearance in the Women’s College World Series recently. So we are definitely a team that the Big Blue Nation can get behind.”
Lawson and her team will face a daunting schedule, one that she hopes will pay dividends in the postseason.
“So when you have 56 games — I can go about my wins one of two ways. I can either go out there and create a schedule where we can beat the heck out of every single team that we play until we get into conference play, and we can score a lot of runs and do things, or I can put together a schedule that is tough, and if we get some of those big wins, then we’re able to become a national host,” Lawson said. “I’m chasing a national seed, because we are the University of Kentucky, our goal is to win championships.”
Lawson’s team has quite a bit of experience returning, including All-American shortstop Katie Reed, versatile pitcher/first baseman Erin Rethlake, powerful third baseman Abby Cheek and speedy outfielder Bailey Vick.
“You know, our team is very interesting. We are returning some unbelievable players,” Lawson said. “We have great strength in our position players that are coming back. I think we have a very deep team going into 2018.”
In his first season in Lexington, Mingione talked about doing things that had never been done before. He backed up that talk by coaching UK to its first-ever NCAA Regional victory and appearance in the Super Regional. Kentucky was 43-23 on the season and was eliminated by Louisville in the Super Regional in the Derby City.
Like his softball counterparts, Mingione is looking for bigger and better things this season.
“I want (this team) to do something that’s never been done before,” Mingione said on Thursday. “I’ve been blessed. I’ve been to the College World Series five different times. I’ve played for the national championship two different times. I want it for these guys. They’re the ones that deserve it.”
Last season, pitching was a huge question mark for the Cats in the preseason. This year, it’s the hitting that appears to have questions. Mingione is not worried about his team’s offense because he knows there are various ways to score runs.
“We will always bunt, we’ll always get hit by pitches, we will always hit and want to leverage baseballs,” the UK coach said. “How much, I think time will tell. (Bunting) will always be a piece, because you’re not going to be able to hit every day. This league is really hard. You start looking at the top draft picks and the Friday night starters in this league, man, right, it’s the best league in America. So you have to find other ways to score.”
While the offense is somewhat unproven, the returning pitching staff should be outstanding. Defending SEC Pitcher of the Year Sean Hjelle returns for his junior year, and redshirt junior Justin Lewis turned down the Tampa Bay Rays to return to UK. Sophomore Zach Thompson figures to be the third member of what should be an outstanding rotation.
Both programs hope to build upon successful 2017 campaigns, and both are hoping that includes trips to their respective College World Series in 2018.
