Observations (3/4)- Kentucky takes care of EKU 8-4
After shutting out EKU on Tuesday, Kentucky took care of the Colonels 8-4 at KPP on Wednesday night.
After beating EKU 10-0 in run-rule fashion on Tuesday, No. 21 Kentucky defeated the Colonels 8-4 to complete the home-and-home series sweep. The win improved the Bat Cats to 11-2 on the year.
Below are a couple of things that stuck out in the win.
Whatever it takes offense
In the 10-run outburst yesterday, Kentucky hit 10-31 (.323) and 5-14 (.375) with runners in scoring position. This game was the opposite as the Bat Cats finished 6-26 (.231) and 2-12 (.167) with runners in scoring position.
The Wildcats put together a two-out rally in the first after first baseman Hudson Brown and second baseman Ethan Hindle reached, but were stranded to end the inning. The second inning was a bit quieter as just a lone runner was stranded.
EKU held a 2-0 lead heading into the third before Scott Campbell Jr. led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch to bring up shortstop Luke Lawrence. The lefty hit a ball to left field that got past a diving David Alvarez and rolled to the wall.
This sent the speedy Lawrence around the bases and he touched them all for an inside-the-park home run that tied the game 2-2.
“I was just trying to do a job, it was a slash, so just try to see a pitch that I could hit and pull back on the bunt and get it done,” Lawrence said. “ I was rounding second, I saw the guy on the ground, and I just kept running, and Minge kept sending me, and I was like, wow, this is really happening. So it was pretty cool.”
A double-steal in the fourth put runners on second and third with one out, but both were stranded. The unorthodox nature of the game continued in the fifth as Brown was hit by a pitch, Hindle walked and designated hitter Owen Jenkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
Third baseman Caeden Cloud drove home a run on a sacrifice fly and right fielder Ryan Schwartz brought in a run on a sacrifice bunt. Lawrence found himself back in the thick of it in the sixth as he reached on a hit-by-pitch and advanced to second before stealing third. Carson Hansen pinch hit for Jayce Tharnish and reached on catcher’s interference to keep the inning going. The prolonged inning allowed Lawrence to score on a wild pitch.
After going three-up, three-down in the seventh, clutch hitting prevailed in the eighth to blow the game open. The inning started with Campbell Jr. and Lawrence drawing walks before Hansen moved them over on a sacrifice bunt. Brown was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Hindle cashed in with a double down the right-field line that brought home two runs and increased his team lead in RBIs to 15. Jenkins capped off the scoring with an RBI-single.
“I explained to them that the beauty of our offense at its best is you can score in a bunch of different ways.” UK coach Nick Mingione said.
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Bullpen continues to roll
Coming into the game, Kentucky's bullpen had gone four games without giving up a run. That streak lasted nearly 21 innings before coming to an end in the ninth.
Nile Adcock was first in relief against EKU and he inherited a jam with two outs in the fourth. He got out of that one without allowing a run, then worked around a single to toss a scoreless fifth inning of work.
Redshirt sophomore righty Oliver Boone was next and he tossed a three-up, three-down sixth in his lone inning of work. Lefty sophomore Leighton Harris was next and he tossed a three-up, three-down seventh.
“Everyone's just getting comfortable in their skin," Harris said. "Going into SEC play, we're gonna have to be on top of our games. I think we're hitting stride at the perfect time, getting guys healthier and healthier, and getting on the mound, getting the reps is making it way more fun and easy as you go on.”
Sophomore right-hander Tristan Hunter was not quite perfect as he gave up a walk along with a wild pitch, but he worked out of it to remain scoreless.
Senior righty Ira Austin IV came on in the ninth and ran into some trouble as he hit a batter, then surrendered a double to the next batter. He bounced back with a strikeout before being tagged with a two-RBI triple by Pedro Moreno. Austin limited the damage to the pair of runs before striking out the next two batters to nail down the win.
“The bullpen did fantastic,” Mingione said. “All of them had a great look about them, so that was definitely good to see.”
Chase Alderman continues to gain reps
Chase Alderman pitched against his former team in EKU, where he spent two seasons before transferring to Kentucky. He tossed 44.2 innings in his freshman season before being sidelined in his final season at EKU. The injury luck unfortunately followed him to Lexington as he missed the entire 2025 season as well with injury.
The righty gave up five runs (four earned) in his first start of the season against Morehead in just 3.2 innings of work. Alderman only added one more out in his second start, but cut those runs down to just two.
He got into some early trouble against EKU after Moreno reached on catcher’s interference and stole second. A foul out down the right field line moved him to third and he scored on a single to open the scoring. Alderman got two quick outs in the second before giving up back-to-back singles. However, he worked out of the jam to keep another run off the board.
The third was similar to the first for Alderman as he hit the leadoff batter and they advanced to second on a walk. Former Wildcat Khaleel Pratt singled to bring home another run. The righty once again limited the damage to the lone run.
Alderman started the fourth with an out before hitting a batter. However, he was erased by catcher Tagger Tyson for the second out. The junior walked another batter to end his outing in his third start.
“I thought Chase did a good job giving us a chance to win,” Mingione said. “That's what I told him. Like, I mean, he sat out there and got us into the fourth.”
Overall, Alderman finished with two runs (one earned), two walks and a strikeout in 3.2 innings. However, stacking innings seems to be more of a priority for Mingione than the stats.
“Anytime you come back from not playing that long, it just takes a little time, and it's why we wanted to put him in to start a role, just to give him opportunities and innings to work through some things,” Mingione said. “He's continued to work. Continues to get better, and we definitely need him in whatever role we choose to use it in, so it’s good for him to start logging some innings.”
Kentucky is back at home for a three-game set against The Citadel, with the first pitch of game one set for Friday at 4 p.m.
