Kentucky baseball picked up a huge 9-2 win over Tennessee in game one of a three-game set. The win improved the Wildcats to 28-15 overall and 10-12 in SEC play.
Below are a few more takeaways from the game outside of the start from Ben Cleaver, including injury updates, the "Buzz Cats" and a rare complete performance.
Hudson Brown set to return + other injury updates
First baseman Hudson Brown remained out in this game, marking his 12th straight game out. He took infield for the first time as he continued to progress ahead of the series opener. Brown appears set to return to the lineup on Saturday.
“Huddy will be in the lineup," UK head coach Nick Mingione said. "He's gonna DH, so he's been cleared to do that, and I'm excited to get him back in there."
Right-hander Nate Harris will miss his third straight start as he continues to nurse a shoulder injury. With ace Jaxon Jelkin scheduled to throw on Saturday, Kentucky will turn to junior Connor Mattison to make a third consecutive SEC start on Sunday.
Catcher Owen Jenkins returned to the lineup on Friday night. He played in just two games during April. The freshman finished 2-4 with a pair of RBIs.
“OJ, was unbelievable. He settled the game,” Mingione said. “The way he carried himself in that ball game behind us, he just settled our team and took control of the game.”
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Two more injuries were added for the Bat Cats as DH Tagger Tyson left the game in the seventh after a collision at home plate in the fifth. The junior appeared to take a shot to the face, but he got back up and walked off the field on his own accord. Mingione confirmed postgame that he was feeling better and that they were being cautious due to a possible head injury.
Redshirt sophomore Oliver Boone relieved Cleaver in the eighth and gave up a single and two-run homer to Henry Ford. As Ford rounded the bases, Boone immediately signaled for Mingione and the training staff to come out as he favored his pitching forearm. The righty missed the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
“Boone just felt a little like off in his forearm. And you know, he's had surgery in the past, so we weren't going to take another chance. And so we'll see how he feels tomorrow, and hopefully we'll get good news there,” Mingione said.
Buzz Cats primed for a run?
Kentucky has made a national reputation for being “weird” when it comes to team culture dynamics. The pink hats and dugout dances were a staple of the 2024 season. This season has been missing that element of the team until game three against South Carolina. Many of the players, including Jayce Tharnish, Caeden Cloud, and Ben Cleaver, debuted a buzzed haircut for the game.
Tharnish and Cloud both homered against the Gamecocks in the 9-5 win and Cleaver turned in his best outing of the season by miles by tossing seven shutout innings against Tennessee. Tharnish and Cloud took things a step further by dying their hair blonde for the return home for the clash with the Volunteers.
“I love it, I think it's fun, we like to get weird, I like a little change, It's really cool,” junior Ethan Hindle said. “How it came to be? I don't exactly know who started it. Just someone was getting a buzz cut in one of the hotel rooms, and we were just like, let's do it. Some of the guys hopped in, and we love it, and it's working.”
The mojo has been changed with this team as it feels like some vintage Kentucky baseball when it comes to the Buzz Cats. While it has not made its way to the coaching staff, it is not off the table.
“Hey, we do have a deal in place for all the coaches,” Mingione said. “Too early to talk about that, but there is something in place for the coaches to do it, and I'll do it, but they got to hold their end of the bargain.”
The change has led to Kentucky getting back-to-back SEC wins for the first time since the opening weekend of SEC play against Alabama.
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Kentucky plays a rare complete game
One of the biggest struggles for Kentucky this season has been the ability to fire on all cylinders. If the offense thrives, then the pitching and defense struggle or vice versa. Those shortcomings have led to Kentucky dropping six-straight SEC series. However, that changed in game one against Tennessee.
As mentioned, Cleaver delivered a wonderful start as he shut out Tennessee across seven innings. He was aided by a few stellar defensive plays as Kentucky improved that element of its game. Cloud made a diving play to cut off a lead runner in the third. Scott Campbell Jr. made a diving play to prevent a run in what turned out to be the final pitch of Cleaver’s outing.
The Bat Cats faced a tall task on the mound in Tennessee right-hander Tegan Kuhns, who was coming off an eight-inning shutout outing against Alabama. Coming into the game, Kuhns had pitched to a 2.90 ERA and struck out 73 batters while only walking 11 across 11 appearances (10 starts).
Tharnish and shortstop Tyler Bell got the offense started in the first with a single and double. However, Kuhns worked out of the jam to keep Kentucky off the board. He repeated that in the second by leaving Cloud stranded in the second.
Hindle opened the scoring in the third with a two-run homer that gave Kentucky a 2-0 lead. Just two innings later, Tharnish doubled and Bell singled before second baseman Luke Lawrence laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring home Tharnish. Hindle was hit by a pitch and Braxton Van Cleave launched a three-run homer as he continues to bolster the middle of the lineup.
“Brax is one of my favorite people on this team, especially he's a freshman, too, and ever since he got here, he's kind of always fit in as like the team personality,” Hindle said. “He's worked his butt off, he's been working super hard through the fall, through the spring, and he's got his moments, and he's taking advantage of them.”
Kuhns was relieved in the eighth and the Bat Cats kept the scoring rolling as three runs scored in the inning. The first run scored on a wild pitch, then a single from Jenkins scored two more to finish out the nine-run performance.
“One of the things we've been talking about is we haven't consecutively had offense, defense and pitching go well at the same time,” Hindle said. “Today, it all went together really well, especially everyone fielded their positions well, and when we can do that, we can just swarm teams and just never let them score.”
Kentucky will look to take the series in game two with first pitch set for 2 p.m.
