Lewis Excelling in Big Situations for UK Baseball

Three times this season, the Kentucky baseball team has needed a win in the third game of an SEC set to claim a series victory. And each time, junior pitcher Justin Lewis has been starting on the hill for the Cats.

To say that Lewis has excelled in these situations would be an understatement. Lewis gave up just one hit and one run in beating Auburn on March 25. Lewis allowed just three hits and two runs while beating South Carolina on April 8. Last weekend, Lewis had perhaps his best outing of the season, up to that point, allowing seven hits, but no runs, in beating Georgia 1-0.

Saturday’s challenge for Lewis was different, but maybe even more important. After Florida took the first two games of the weekend series between the SEC rivals, Kentucky needed Lewis to be at his best so that the Cats would be able to avoid a sweep at the hands of the nation’s top-ranked team.

Lewis was up to the challenge again on Saturday, pitching eight innings and allowing just one hit and one unearned run while striking out a career-high tying 11 batters as the Cats beat the Gators 3-2.

Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione had complete trust in Lewis heading into Saturday’s series capper.

“That’s why we throw him on this day because so much is at stake in the third game of a series,” Mingione said. “I give Justin a lot of credit.”

The game did not get off to an ideal start for Lewis and the Cats. Florida leadoff hitter Deacon Liput doubled to right field on the third pitch of the game. Lewis then issued a walk to Nelson Maldonado before hitting Jonathan India with a pitch to load the bases with no one out.

After a visit from pitching coach Jimmy Belanger, Lewis was able to regroup. He struck out the SEC leader in home runs, Wil Dalton, and followed that with a strikeout of J.J. Schwarz. Lewis got out of the inning when Austin Langworthy popped out to UK second baseman Luke Becker to end the threat.

“I started trusting my pitches and throwing the ball,” Lewis said of his first-inning rebound. “At the end of the day, you’re throwing the ball 60 feet, 6 inches and that’s what I tried to do.”

In the second inning, Lewis struck out consecutive batters before walking Nick Horvath. But Lewis picked Horvath off at first base to end the inning.

Lewis retired Florida in order in the third and fourth innings, and was on his way to doing the same in the fifth when he walked Horvath, who advanced to second on a balk and later scored on a throwing error by Becker.

Beginning in with the last out in the fifth inning, Lewis set down the last 10 batters he faced in the game.

Lewis ranked this performance, which included a career-high tying 11 strikeouts, among the best in his UK career.

“It’s up there, that was a lot of fun,” Lewis said. “It’s (today’s game), or the (UC) Santa Barbara game (last season), one of those two. (Florida is) a really good team and I’m just glad we were able to get one game from them.”

Lewis and closer Chris Macahamer, who recorded his seventh save of the season, combined to hold Florida to a season-low two hits.

Lewis knew how important Saturday’s game was to the Cats.

“You don’t ever want to get swept and you don’t want to get swept at home,” Lewis said. “Every game matters, so taking one is big.”

Kentucky needed Lewis to come up big again on Saturday, and Lewis was once again up to the task.