Relentless Cats Survive and Advance on Saturday
The famous adage about the postseason says every team should simply survive and advance. And the Kentucky baseball team did just that on Saturday night, beating West Virginia 11-9 at Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown.
The game looked like it would be a blowout early. After UK starter Nate Harris retired the Mountaineers in order in the first, the Cats went to work in the bottom of the frame.
Jayce Tharnish walked to lead off the frame. Then, Tyler Bell appeared to hit a tailor-made double play ball to second base. However, WVU second baseman Brodie Kresser booted the ground ball and both runners were safe. Luke Lawrence then grounded out to the right side to advance the runners to second and third.
Hudson Brown was hit by a pitch to load the bases, then junior Ethan Hindle roped a line drive to center field, scoring Tharnish and Bell to give Kentucky an early lead.
Braxton Van Cleave then hit a bomb to deep right field, scoring Hindle and making it 4-0 Kentucky and chasing Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl.
Kentucky tacked on two more runs in the second inning on a Lawrence RBI single and a Hindle RBI groundout. The Cats led 6-0 after two innings.
However, West Virginia would not go away. The Mountaineers got two runs in the third, three in the fourth and another in the sixth to tie the game at 6-6.
The Cats would strike back in the bottom of the fifth. Brown reached on a throwing error by Kresser, then Hindle singled to left field. After Van Cleave struck out, Carson Hansen reached on an infield single to load the bases. Caeden Cloud struck out and it looked like UK might waste a golden opportunity.
Freshman catcher Owen Jenkins had other ideas. Jenkins laced a liner past the WVU infield and into center field, scoring Brown and Hindle to give UK an 8-6 lead.
West Virginia got a run in the sixth and another in the seventh and the game was tied again, this time 8-8.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cats put the game away. With one out, Jenkins was hit by a pitch, then Tharnish reached on an infield single. After Bell was hit by a pitch, Lawrence came to the plate with the bases loaded.
The senior did what he does, singling to right field to score Jenkins, giving the Cats a 9-8 lead. Brown then singled to right field, scoring Tharnish and Bell to stretch the lead to 11-8.
WVU would score one in the ninth but UK reliever Jack Bennett got the three outs he needed, earning his third win of the season and advancing the Cats to the regional championship for the fourth consecutive season.
After the game, UK head coach Nick Mingione admired his team’s fight in a tough environment on Saturday.
“Just proud of our team for their fight and their ability to execute at a high level and show real toughness,” Mingione said. “Up and down the lineup, up and down our pitching staff. Just so many guys, so many details to cover. I’m sure we’ll get to a lot of them, but just proud of our fight to finish off an amazing and really good, well-coached West Virginia team.”
Kentucky now needs one win to advance to the Super Regionals for the third time in four years. The Cats face the winner of Sunday’s first game between Wake Forest and West Virginia on Sunday night at five. The Cats will again be looking to survive and advance, as they have in the first two games of the Morgantown Regional.
