Baseball, Softball Cats Thankful to Be Playing Again
More than 330 days ago, the Kentucky baseball and softball teams were preparing for key weekend series in the Southeastern Conference. The baseball Cats had won six in a row and were preparing for a challenging three-game set at Vanderbilt. The softball Cats were off to a 20-4 start, producing prolific offensive statistics along the way, and were headed to Starkville to face Mississippi State.
Then, everything came to a sudden halt. Games were postponed, then ultimately canceled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the seasons for both teams would end at that point.
It left both teams with a hollow feeling and wondering what might have been. And for the seniors, it was an abrupt end to their careers at Kentucky.
“I felt bad for the seniors,” said UK softball head coach Rachel Lawson. “You wake up one day, you play a softball game and the next day, you become an average person.”
Baseball head coach Nick Mingione was amazed how quickly things happened.
“Bags were packed, we were getting ready to go to Nashville,” Mingione said. “It was so fast. It was, hey, we don’t know if we’re going to play yet, don’t leave to, the series is canceled, so we practiced. In the middle of our practice, one of our staff members came up to me and said, hey coach, they just canceled Omaha.”
UK freshman John Rhodes still vividly remembers his feelings.
“That was about the worst thing I could possibly imagine,” Rhodes said of the sudden shut down. “Just one day, boom, cut off. There’s a lot of anger. It’s one of those things, it’s beyond baseball.”
Now, not quite a full year later, the teams are back and preparing for the 2021 season. Both squads have left 2020 in the past.
Lawson likes how her team has handled its business in the offseason.
“It’s been a long 11 months for spring sports and the softball team,” Lawson said. “(The players) have shown so much self-discipline through the extended periods. It took a lot of self-discipline and desire to get out there and stay in shape.”
The softball Cats are ready to put 2020 completely behind them and move on, according to senior Mallory Peyton.
“It has been a roller coaster of emotions,” Peyton said. “You can’t always control what life throws at you but you have the opportunity to respond in the way you want to respond. I think our team has done a great job of responding with a positive attitude.”
Junior Kayla Kowalik agrees with Peyton.
“It’s very easy to look at it that we got cheated out of a season but I think it’s also beneficial to look at what could come out of it,” Kowalik said. “I look at it as, this is my opportunity, I didn’t know if I was going to get to play or practice in the fall and now I get to. We took it as a new opportunity every single day and I think that made us more grateful for it.”
The softball Cats are ranked 13th in the preseason national polls and are expected to be among the contenders for the SEC championship. As always, the ultimate goal is to make the Women’s College World Series.
“That’s the goal, that’s why you come to Kentucky,” Lawson said.
Getting off to a fast start will be key for the 2021 Cats, according to their head coach.
“In the preseason, it’s so important to get your wins quick,” Lawson said. “Because you don’t know if teams are going to shut down, if weather will shut you down.”
In addition to dealing with the pandemic, the baseball Cats faced more adversity this spring with the death of teammate Ben Jordan. Mingione knows that the healing process will continue for some time.
“Our guys are continuing to go through that process,” Mingione said. “We laughed, we cried, we spent a lot of time together. That was the worst thing you can imagine to go through as a coach.”
As for what the team did during the pandemic, Mingione knew that the Cats needed a change. And he knew exactly where that needed to happen.
“The biggest thing we spent the most time on this fall was our defense,” Mingione said. “We used the quarantine to really evaluate all areas of our program and one thing I realized was that we need to be better defensively.”
A pair of key additions will help UK’s defensive effort.
“We brought in two players I believe that will really change and impact us defensively,” Mingione said. “Ryan Ritter, he’ll be our starting shortstop, this guy can really defend at shortstop. Alonzo Rubalcaba is a catcher we brought in from California and he can really receive.
Mingione likes the attitude and temperament of his team.
“This team is high trust, low maintenance,” Mingione said. “They do everything they are asked. We’ve got tremendous leadership and they really like each other. They’re committed to our team and our goals.”
As for the schedule, Kentucky opens at North Carolina and faces a tough, 30-game SEC slate that includes 27 games against teams ranked in the preseason. Senior pitcher Jimmy Ramsey knows that there will be ups and downs in the SEC.
“You just can’t get your head down if you’re struggling,” Ramsey said. “There’s a lot of weeks, a lot of games. If you have one bad performance, you can’t let that affect you going out the next time. Otherwise, you’re going to get in a spiral that you can’t get out of.”
As the softball and baseball Cats prepare for the 2021 season, they appreciate the chance to be on the field again.
“If last year taught people nothing else, people talk about being in the moment, but you should really appreciate what you’re doing because it can be taken away from you at a moment’s notice,” Lawson said.
