No. 21 Kentucky Takes Care of Business in Final SEC Primer

With Southeastern Conference looming just days away No. 21 Kentucky did not fall victim to the classic look ahead game, scoring a matter of fact 10-3 victory over Ball State on Tuesday night at Kentucky Proud Park.

The Wildcats (15-2) now turn their attention to league play with their offense in an uptick, having scored 10 or more runs five times in the past six games. It did so again behind a five-run fifth inning that featured another big hit from sophomore Ryan Schwartz, who continues to climb out of a tough start to the season.

The explosion turned a 3-3 game into a runaway and made a winner out of Oliver Boone, who returned to the mound earlier this season after missing the entire 2025 campaign with an elbow injury.

Kentucky also stole six bases to push the total under coach Nick Mingione over 800 in just 501 games coached.

NOTES

• Kentucky is 15-2 on the season.
  • UK is 132-65 since the beginning of 2023.
• UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his 10th season at the helm and now owns a 307-194 career record.
  • Mingione is the second-winningest coach in school history.
  • UK is 119-45 in the month of March under Coach Mingione.
  • Mingione is 184-54 in non-conference games.
    • He is 163-25 vs. non-Power Four opponents.
  • Mingione is 159-66 at Kentucky Proud Park.
  • Mingione now is 3-2 vs. Ball State.
  • Mingione is 23-5 vs. teams from Indiana.
• Kentucky went 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts and reached the 800 stolen base mark under Mingione.
  • The answer to the trivia question on No. 800 will be Ryan Schwartz swiping second base in the third inning.
  • UK is 805-of-1014 (79.4 percent)
• UK scored 10 or more runs for the fourth straight game and fifth time in its last six games.
• OF Jayce Tharnish had two hits and two RBI.
• OF Ryan Schwartz went 2-for-4 with 2 R, 2 RBI, SB and a double.
• C Tagger Tyson went 2-for-3 with a run, RBI, walk and steal.
• RHP Oliver Boone earned his first win in blue after missing the 2025 season due to injury.
  • He allowed one run in two innings.

ON DECK

UK opens Southeastern Conference play vs. Alabama on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game is on SECN+ and the contest can be heard on UK Sports Network.