Another Southeastern Conference series and another win for the
Kentucky baseball team. It was by no means an ordinary series, however.

With
the No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers in town for a three-game series, Kentucky
(35-6, 13-5 SEC), the No. 2 ranked team nationally, took down the Tigers
(32-9, 12-6) in the final two games of the series, including Sunday’s
7-6 win in front of a packed Cliff Hagan Stadium.

The
win has given UK the overall lead in the conference, and the fans have
came out to watch this team show that they are one of the best in the
country. 

With 3,086 in attendance Sunday and a
weekend attendance of 9,496, Kentucky broke the record for attendance
at a weekend series, something that head coach Gary Henderson believes
helped his team all weekend.

“I personally
appreciate all of our fans coming out,” said Henderson. “It makes it
easier on us. It’s a fun environment. Our kids our fun to watch, we’ve
been fun all year to watch. I appreciate the fans coming out, and I hope
they continue to come out.”

As long as
Kentucky continues to take series after series the way they have this
season, UK’s play will be enough to bring the crowds back. It was the
sixth consecutive series that the Wildcats have taken from SEC
opponents. 

But they haven’t all been easy. 

After
sweeping South Carolina in the first series of conference play,
Kentucky has dropped the first game in four of the next following five
series. But in true Kentucky form, the Wildcats have battled back to win
the second game and the rubber match to earn series victories.

“I
think we’re pretty resilient,” said Henderson. “I’ve said since early
on we got a tough group of kids. They’re confident. We’ve got some
depth. It’s one thing to be tough and confident, but you’ve also got to
have some skills, and we do. It’s a good group; they’re pretty level in
that regard. They show up, and we’ve got a pretty steady group of
personalities.”

Sunday afternoon had Kentucky
facing that same situation, needing a win in the rubber match. With
Sunday starter sophomore Corey Littrell on the bump, who is perfect in
the conference this year, the Wildcats felt confident they would be able
to gain another series win. LSU got to Littrell in the second inning
for their first run, but as usual, the vaunted Kentucky offense came to
his aid.

The third inning garnered three runs
from the Cats, ignited by freshman center fielder Austin Cousino.
Cousino led off with a screamer past the second baseman to get things
going, and after Thomas McCarthy doubled down the right field line,
freshman A.J. Reed put the UK ahead 2-1 with a double of his own.

Cousino
has been one of the best centerfielders in the country, and, despite a
five-strikeout performance in the series opener, was crucial in both
Kentucky wins. Though Friday night’s struggles disappointed him,
Cousino, who was 3 for 5 with an RBI Sunday, clearly didn’t let it get
the best of him.

“I definitely lost some sleep
over it, a little kink in my neck coming out Saturday,” said Cousino.
“You just got to shake those off. Coming out for (batting practice), I
still had that smile on my face and no one on the team ever questioned
my ability coming back out.”

Kentucky added
another run in the third and one in the fourth on a Zac Zellers solo
home run after LSU had answered with two in the top of the fourth. LSU
then regained the lead as left fielder Raph Rhymes, who destroyed UK
pitching all weekend, put the Tigers up 5-4 in the top of the sixth
inning to knock Littrell out of the game. Rhymes was 8 for 12 in the
series, including a 4-for-4 showing Sunday afternoon coming just a
triple short of the cycle. He’s also batting .500 (70 for 140) on the
season.

Cue the Comeback Cats.

As
LSU ran out their top-tier relievers, UK greeted them rudely with a
parade of doubles in the bottom of the sixth. Zellers, J.T. Riddle, Matt
Reida, and Cousino each had extra-base hits in the frame on their way
to a three-run sixth that put Kentucky ahead 7-5.

The Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight, for they were battling for SEC supremacy themselves. 

Kentucky
and reliever Alex Phillips found themselves in a jam in eighth. A
McCarthy error after LSU had singled twice allowed a run to score, with
the Wildcats finding themselves in familiar territory: holding onto a
one-run lead. Phillips came up with his biggest pitch of the day,
inducing a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the inning. 

It
was a key moment in the game, where LSU looked to grab momentum back.
But as Kentucky has done all season, they were able to grind it out.
It’s something that they’ve done all year.

“We’re
the biggest grinders in the country hands down,” said Littrell. “I
didn’t have my best stuff, but I know they’re going to find a way to
win. We always do. We’re resilient. There’s no way they’re going to beat
us twice.”

Phillips made sure LSU didn’t. With
UK closer Trevor Gott warming in the bullpen, Henderson opted to leave
Phillips in for his second inning of work. The southpaw made the
decision look great retiring the side in order as UK clinched yet
another one-run SEC victory. 

While it may be
one of the biggest series wins in school history, defeating the No. 1
team in the country and earning a potential No. 1 ranking for themselves
this week, the season is hardly over, and there are more wins to be
had. As those wins pile up and UK tastes more success, Henderson makes
sure to remind his players to be humble despite their high-level of
confidence.

“I’m pleasantly surprised; I would
not say shocked,” said Henderson about his team’s torrid start to the
season. “And at the same time, you don’t take anything for granted. And
that is a constant theme, message, that I pound into them on a weekly
basis. And to our club’s credit, they don’t take anything for granted.”