Observations (2/25): Offense bounces back in 13-9 win over WKU

After falling 1-0 in the series finale to Evansville, No. 22 Kentucky outlasted WKU 13-9 at Kentucky Proud Park on Wednesday night. The Bat Cats improved to 6-2 on the season with the win. 

The offense vastly improved from Saturday's showing by beating its run total in one pitch and hit total in one inning, along with putting up a season-high in hits.

Below are some things that stuck out from the win.

First inning outburst

Second baseman Ethan Hindle wasted no time getting the scoring started as he launched a home run on the first pitch Kentucky saw on offense. He tacked on another RBI later in the game on a sacrifice bunt, giving him a team-leading 10 RBIs on the season.

The rest of the offense followed the leadoff man as shortstop Luke Lawrence, along with center fielder Jayce Tharnish, singled and moved into scoring position with a wild pitch paired with a stolen base.

First baseman Hudson Brown hit a sacrifice fly to score Lawrence and third baseman Tyler Cerny doubled to score Tharnish. Catcher Owen Jenkins and designated hitter Carson Hansen singled to load the bases. Left fielder Scott Campbell Jr. laid down a perfect bunt up the third base line for a hit to score a run. The Wildcats finished the inning with a 4-0 lead on seven hits and a homer.

The four runs are the most Kentucky has scored in the first inning this season so far.

Big day for the offense

One of the most alarming developments from the weekend series against Evansville was the lack of clutch hitting and run production. The series opener was no issue as Kentucky won 9-2, but the bats went quiet in the doubleheader. 

The Wildcats were 3-20 (.150) with runners in scoring position in the first game before getting shut out with just four hits in the series finale. Hindle’s homer ended the drought and the offense ran from there for the win. It took just seven batters to beat the hit total from the series finale. 

Kentucky vastly improved on the offensive slump to close out the Evansville series by putting up a season-high in hits (20) and scoring double-digit runs (13). The Wildcats finished 10-20 (.500) with runners in scoring position. Furthermore, every starter had at least one hit and seven had two or more hits.

“I just love the fact that we've learned,” head coach Nick Mingione said about the improvement. “There's times where we haven't been able to do that. So, our ability to just use the entire field was big. Our ability to hold our ground in the batters box was big.” 

Jenkins led the team with a 4-5 effort that included a double and three RBIs. The freshman singled in his first at-bat before lining out in his second at-bat in the second inning. He singled to start the fifth and had a massive two RBI double in the sixth. Jenkins capped off his night with an RBI single in the seventh.

“It's been so fun to watch him smile, and just genuinely enjoy baseball," Mingione said. "He's definitely a presence, whether he's behind a plate, in the box, or even on the field, he’s so athletic.”

Lawrence and Tharnish also finished with three-hit nights as they both went 3-6. Tharnish started the night 3-3 with two singles and a homer before going 0-3 in his last at-bats. Lawrence spread his hits out more as he started the day with a single before lining out in his next at-bat. He followed that with a double and flyout in his next two. He finished the night with a single and a strikeout. 

Chase Alderman improves in his second start

Things didn't go very well for Chase Alderman in his Kentucky debut after not pitching for two seasons as he gave up five runs (four earned) on five hits, two walks and four strikeouts in 3.2 innings. The righty did not make it out of the first without giving up a run to Morehead, but he worked around a double to toss a scoreless first against WKU.

After getting a 4-0 lead from his offense, Alderman gave up a single that was erased with a double play. The right-hander walked the next batter before getting a flyout to end the frame. His cleanest inning came in the third as he went three-up, three-down with two strikeouts. 

WKU first baseman Kyle Hayes tagged Alderman for a solo shot in the fourth, but that was the only damage of the inning. The junior returned to the mound in the fifth and gave up back-to-back doubles to end his outing. 

Alderman finished with the final line of four innings, five hits, two earned runs, one walk and four strikeouts.

Rough bullpen outing saved by Burkley Bounds

It seemed like Kentucky was on cruise control through the first five innings as it held an 8-2 lead. Sophomore left-hander Leighton Harris entered the game and got out of a huge jam in the fifth in relief of Alderman and was back on for the sixth. He walked the first batter of the inning before Hayes hit his second homer of the night, a two-run shot to cut the lead to 8-4.

The sophomore lefty got the next two batters, but then gave up back-to-back singles. Both runners advanced to the corners before Harris was pulled for Nile Adcock. The righty gave up an RBI single that resulted in two runs as Campbell Jr. sailed the throw from left into the backstop. The next batter hit an RBI single that shrank the Kentucky lead to 8-7 going into the bottom half. 

Kentucky responded quickly with Brown drawing a walk and Cerny being hit by a pitch. Jenkins hit a double that brought home both runners and lengthened the lead to 10-7.

However, the comfort was short-lived as sophomore Tristan Hunter took over in the seventh and immediately hit a batter before getting an out and walking the next two hitters to load the bases. This brought Mingione back out of the dugout again, this time to bring in sophomore righty Burkley Bounds. Bounds allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, and a groundout brought home another run that was charged to Hunter. Bounds struck out Daniel Stewart on three pitches to end the inning and keep the tying-run 90-feet away.

The offense came in and gave him more breathing room, plating three more runs that boosted the lead to 13-9. Bounds took that momentum back to the mound in the eighth and tossed a three-up, three-down frame and then returned for the ninth inning and struck out the side to end the game and secure the win.

“I call him turkey, but Burkley Bounds, just unbelievable poise, multiple pitches, on the attack, and that is what the tip of the spear looks like,” Mingione said.

Kentucky is back at KPP on Friday at 4 to start a three-game series with St. John's.