Launch Party: No. 8 Kentucky Hits Six Homers to Win Fifth SEC Series
AUBURN, Ala. – No. 8 Kentucky was handing out home runs on Friday night in a 9-1 series-clinching victory at Auburn. It was the ninth straight Southeastern Conference win for the Wildcats, the longest such streak in program history.
Kentucky (29-5, 13-1 SEC) now on Saturday will go for its third consecutive league series sweep when it sends junior Mason Moore to the mound.
UK hit six home runs by five different players, the first time the Cats have hit at least half a dozen blasts since clubbing seven in 2021 against Alabama. Ryan Nicholson smoked two more and no has hit five in his last three SEC games. Other Cats to leave the yard Friday included Nolan McCarthy, Emilien Pitre, Grant Smith and Ryan Waldschmidt, all of who hit solo shots.
That was more than enough for starter Dominic Niman. The reigning SEC and NCAA Baseball Pitcher of the Week ran his scoreless inning streak to 15.2 before Auburn cashed on a sacrifice fly after he had departed with a pair of runners on in the sixth inning. Upon taking a 6-0 lead through four innings UK never allowed the tying run to come to the plate.
NOTES
- Kentucky now is 29-5 in 2024, 13-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
- Kentucky has won 17 of its past 19 games.
- Kentucky is 11-1 in night games.
- Kentucky is 11-2 in “true” road games, 13-3 away from Lexington.
- Kentucky is 5-1 in April.
- The Cats’ current nine-game win streak in SEC play is the longest in school history.
- Kentucky hit six home runs in a game for the first time since clubbing seven vs. Alabama on April 25, 2021.
- All five of the six on the night were solo shots.
- The Cats had back-to-back blasts on consecutive pitches in the third inning by Grant Smith and Ryan Waldschmidt.
- Ryan Nicholson hit a pair, giving him five in the past three SEC games.
- Kentucky scored three runs or more in an inning for the 42nd and 43rd times this season.
- UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his eighth season at the helm and now owns a 245-155 career record.
- Mingione needs 13 victories to become the second-winningest coach in school history.
- UK is 54-55 in the month of April under Coach Mingione.
- Mingione now is 10-3 vs. Auburn.
- Senior Dominic Niman, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, pitched into the sixth.
- He allowed one run on four hits, walked three, struck out four and hit a pair.
- His scoreless inning streak ended in the 6th inning at 15.2.
- Junior Jackson Nove threw 3.0 innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball.
- He struck out four.
- Senior Ryan Nicholson went 2-for-5 with two runs, three RBI and two home runs.
- He blasted a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run blast in the ninth.
- He now has 199 career hits.
- It was his eighth multi-hit game of the season and ninth multi-RBI game.
- In the last three SEC games he has eight hits, including five home runs, and 11 RBI.
- He has five homers in that span, including multiple homers in two of those three games.
- The last UK player to homer in three straight SEC games was current teammate Grant Smith, who hit one in each of the Cats’ three game series vs. Florida to end the 2023 regular season.
- Senior Mitchell Daly went 1-for-3 with a run, a RBI, a double and two walks.
- Junior Ryan Waldschmidt went 3-for-5 with a run, two RBI and a home run.
- It was his eighth multi-hit game of the season and 20th
- It was his fifth multi-RBI game of the season and 16th
- Junior Nolan McCarthy tied his career high with three hits.
- He went 3-for-5 with a run, a RBI and a home run.
- It was his sixth multi-hit game of the season and 14th
- Senior Grant Smith went 1-for-3 with two runs, a RBI, home run and HBP.
- Junior Emilien Pitre went 2-for-5 with a run, a RBI, a home run and stolen base.
- It was his 15th multi-hit game of the season and 33rd
ON DECK
The Wildcats go for their third consecutive series sweep on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SECN+ and there will be an audio broadcast via the UK Sports Network.
