Observations (3/14): Kentucky outlasts Alabama 8-7 to win SEC opening series
Kentucky rallied from an early deficit and then held on in the ninth inning for an 8-7 win to take the opening series of the SEC.
After winning game one 7-4 on Friday night, No. 21 Kentucky survived against Alabama 8-7 on Saturday to take the series. Kentucky has won 12 straight and moves to 17-2 on the year and 2-0 in SEC play.
Below are some takeaways from the win.
Injuries play a role for both teams
Injuries are an unfortunate part of the game and they played a big role in game two for both programs. The two superstars in this series are Kentucky sophomore Tyler Bell and Alabama junior Justin Lebron. Both have been hit with injuries.
Bell injured his shoulder on Opening Day and missed 12 games before returning to the lineup in the three-game set against The Citadel and midweek against Ball State. However, he appeared on the SEC Player Availability Report hours before game one as out. He was upgraded to a game-time decision before game two, but was not in the starting lineup and did not play.
Lebron started the game at shortstop for Alabama, but only made it through two innings of play. He made the final out in the top of the second on a flyout, but rolled his ankle touching second base. Lebron was examined for a few minutes by Alabama coaches and training staff before staying in, but he did not come back out defensively for the third.
Kentucky outfielder Will Marcy returned in game one for a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth and roped a single. That hit earned him a start in left for game two, but he also did not make it through the game. He was thrown out at second to end the fourth on a fielder’s choice and he appeared to re-tweak his hamstring. Scott Campbell Jr. replaced Marcy in left for the remainder of the game.
UK coach Nick Mingione provided a positive update on Marcy postgame by confirming that he did not re-aggravate his hamstring and is available tomorrow.
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Ben Cleaver's struggles continue
Junior lefty Ben Cleaver has labored through his last two outings against St. John's and The Citadel, finishing with three innings in each. Despite the low innings totals, Cleaver did not give a run in either one of those outings. Walks and falling behind in counts have plagued the left-hander the last two weeks.
That continued in his 2026 SEC debut as he started the game with a walk. Lebron just avoided a double play, but stole second and third before scoring on a sacrifice fly. Things quickly went downhill from there for Cleaver as he walked the next batter before giving up a double and then hit a batter to load the bases.
Cleaver worked a 3-2 count to the next batter and hit him to bring in a run. This brought Mingione out of the dugout to get his starter. Cleaver finished with the following final line: 0.2 innings, one hit, two runs, two walks and no strikeouts on 37 pitches.
“He hasn't got going yet, and catch the last word I said, yet,” Mingione said. “He's special, and he's been working. He's been giving us everything he's got. I give him a lot of credit but he's a special player, and we'll get him going. I feel confident about that.”
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Bullpen answers the call again
Kentucky’s bullpen was an unknown element of the team coming in, but it has been excellent over the last week and a large reason why the Bat Cats are on their winning streak. Today, the bullpen had its toughest test of the year thus far by having to cover 8.1 innings.
Senior righty Nile Adcock was called upon in the first inning with the bases loaded and two outs and he struck out Peyton Steele to end the frame and limit the damage. He came back out in the second and tossed a three-up, three-down frame.
“Like most of these guys, they're ready, but sometimes you don't expect to get in, in the first,” Mingione said. “For him to do that, especially on those terms, was absolutely fantastic. And he settled the game, even him running off the field, the energy, he just totally flipped it into our dugout."
Redshirt sophomore righty Tommy Skelding was next out of the bullpen in the third and gave up a homer to John Lemm, but limited the damage to the lone run. The righty repeated the feat in the fourth as he gave up a leadoff double and the runner moved to third and scored on a wild pitch paired with a throwing error. Skelding worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth to keep Alabama off the board.
The gate swung open yet again in the fifth as senior righty Ira Austin IV came on and got an out before hitting a batter. He struck out the next hitter before a wild pitch and walk put runners on the corners. This prompted Mingione to bring in sophomore righty Burkley Bounds, and he got a fly out to put up another scoreless inning.
Bounds stayed on for the seventh and tossed a three-up, three-down frame. The righty got an out in the eighth before giving up back-to-back singles, which put runners on the corners with one out. Bounds rolled a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the jam.
The righty came back out for the ninth and gave up a leadoff double and a walk. After striking out a batter, Bounds rolled a ground ball, but it hit off his foot and went into left field to give Alabama a run.
This brought Mingione out yet again, this time for senior righty Jack Bennett. The right-hander threw 15 pitches in the ninth to secure the game one win. He gave up a single to load the bases on the first pitch he threw. He struck out the next batter on a 3-2 pitch for the second out. Brennan Holt tagged Bennett for two runs on a single to trim the Kentucky lead to one, but Bennett struck out Bryce Fowler to end the game.
“He's awesome," Bounds said of Bennett. "He's a veteran, he's just a great leader, and he just knows what to do. He's so poised on the mound. It's awesome.”
Big innings ignite offense
The offense put up at least a run in five of their eight offensive innings in the game one win, which resulted in seven runs. In game two, the Bat Cats only scored in three innings, but beat the run and hit totals by one.
Kentucky was down 2-0 before they saw a pitch on offense and went six-up, six-down to start the game. Third baseman Caeden Cloud, making his first SEC start, walked to start the third inning but was thrown out at second on a fielder's choice. Designated hitter Owen Jenkins singled into left center, but the ball was misplayed by the center fielder, which allowed catcher Tagger Tyson to score.
The Bat Cats responded big in the fifth inning. Facing a 4-1 deficit, Tyson and Jenkins started the inning with singles. Center fielder Jayce Tharnish doubled to left-center to score Tyson and put the tying run on second with no outs. Shortstop Luke Lawrence tied the game on a bloop single to left-center and advanced to second on the throw home. Lawrence moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt and scored on a sacrifice bunt by first baseman Hudson Brown to give Kentucky its first lead of the day.
“I'm just trying to stay committed to the plan and do what the coaches are telling us to do,” Brown said. “What they've taught us is probably the best offensive method in the country, I think.”
The Bat Cats were retired in order in the sixth inning before rallying again in the seventh. Tharnish walked and Lawrence singled to start the inning and both came in to score on a three-run home run by Brown that gave Kentucky some huge breathing room.
“He brings the energy now, he hit my hand, and I was like, I think I broke my hand,” Mingione said. “How about the guys, the way the team reacted to him. It tells you everything you need to know about Huddy and how much they love and respect the guy. So obviously, for him to do that and get that home run was good, and I think we feel confident he'll get more, and it's just a matter of time, but that was a huge hit in the ball game, and definitely turned the game.”
Brown led the way with four RBIs on a 1-3 day with a homer and sacrifice bunt.
Up next
Kentucky will go for the sweep at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
