Buzz Worthy: Kentucky Channels Positive Energy for Road Victory

COLUMBIA, S. Car. – Seeking to change the mojo surrounding the team several Kentucky players and a coach took out the clippers on Saturday night and buzzed their heads. Coincidence or not, the Wildcats surged to one of its best victories of the season on Sunday defeating South Carolina 9-5.

UK improved to 27-15 overall and 9-12 in the Southeastern Conference.

Two of the freshly shorn Cats – Jayce Tharnish and Caeden Cloud – blasted home runs, starter Connor Mattison swaggered his way through 4.2 innings and an eighth inning rally sparked by Cloud and fellow freshman Braxton Van Cleave ended the week with a happy bus ride.

Tharnish clobbered the second pitch of the game deep to left as part of UK taking a 4-0 lead. But as has happened in recent weeks, the Cats found themselves in a 5-4 hole after several self-inflicted wounds in the fifth.

Still trailing by one entering the eighth, Ethan Hindle was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on Scott Campbell Jr.’s sacrifice bunt. Van Cleave then lined an 0-2 pitch to center to tie the game. Van Cleave then stole second and came all the way around to score on two Carolina throwing errors on the attempt. After Cloud’s home run Hindle added a two-run ninth inning double.

NOTES

• Kentucky is 27-15 on the season, 9-12 in SEC play.
• UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his 10th season at the helm and now owns a 320-207 career record.
  • Mingione is the second-winningest coach in school history.
  • Mingione is 122-136 in SEC games.
    • He is 51-81 in road SEC games.
  • Mingione now is 14-16 vs. South Carolina.
  • Mingione is 27-17 vs. teams from South Carolina.
• IF Luke Lawrence had a hit and a walk.
  • He has 120 hits in his two-year career, moving him into 49th place on the all-time chart.
  • He has reached safely in 44 of his past 45 games.
• IF Tyler Bell was on base three times.
• IF Ethan Hindle was hit by the 34^th and 35^th pitches of his career.
  • He now is in 7^th place on the UK career list.
  • He has been hit by multiple pitches in a game nine times in his career.
  • He had his 13^th multi-RBI game of the season.
• OF Braxton Van Cleave drove in the tying run in the 8th inning.
• IF Caeden Cloud hit a solo HR.
• OF Jayce Tharnish has a hit in 17 of his past 18 games.
  • He has reached safely in 20 consecutive games.
  • He finished 3-for-5 with 3 R, 2B and solo home run.
    • He now has 20 multi-hit games.
  • Freshman RHP Jack Sams earned his first collegiate win with 2.0 scoreless innings.
  • RHP Jack Bennett earned his seventh save of the season.

ON DECK

UK does not have a midweek game before opening a series vs. Tennessee on Friday. It will stream on SECN+ and the contest can be heard on UK Sports Network/630 WLAP.