Observations (3/6)- Kentucky gets a resilient 10-5 win over The Citadel in Tyler Bell's return
In his first game back since opening day, Tyler Bell delivered a home run and a double as the Wildcats rallied in the middle innings for a 10-5 win.
No. 21 Kentucky came from behind to defeat The Citadel 10-5 in the series opener. The Wildcats improved to 12-2 on the year.
“This is a really good game to have today, just because it was a good test for us. I told the guys before the game today, ‘I wanted to see more edge, a lot more edge, out of this team,’ and we showed that today,” junior second baseman Ethan Hindle said. “It was a really good opportunity for us to keep our focus, see how well we could stay level-minded and get after it.”
Below are some takeaways from the win.
Late-inning rally gets the job done
The offense used scrappy and unconventional run production to beat EKU on Wednesday and that same approach returned against The Citadel. However, so did the struggles with runners in scoring position, at least in the early going.
Kentucky loaded the bases with one out in the first inning after shortstop Luke Lawrence was hit by a pitch, and second baseman Hindle and first baseman Hudson Brown drew walks. The rally came to an end quickly after an inning-ending double play in Tyler Bell's first at-bat back from injury.
A trio of walks drawn by third baseman Caeden Cloud, right fielder Ryan Schwartz and left fielder Scott Campbell Jr. reloaded the bases in the second. Center fielder Jayce Tharnish got the first run of the day for the Bat Cats with a single, but the bases were left loaded again. Another runner in scoring position was stranded in the third.
The offense started to chip away at the 5-1 deficit in the fourth through sixth innings as they plated a run in each frame. Lawrence drove home Campbell Jr. in the fourth, catcher Owen Jenkins scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and Hindle hit a solo homer to make the score 5-4 heading to the seventh.
Cloud led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a groundout. Campbell Jr. tied the game with a triple over the centerfielder's head and Tharnish gave Kentucky the lead with a single that scored Campbell Jr. and Lawrence, who walked and stole second. Hindle continued his knack for RBIs with an RBI-double that moved his team lead to 17. Bell capped off the six-run outburst with a two-run homer over the right field wall.
Overall, the offense finished with 10 runs on 13 hits along with eight walks.
Tyler Bell is back
The excitement for this series was amplified on Thursday evening after Bat Cats Central learned that superstar shortstop Bell would be making his return after missing 12 games due to a shoulder injury. The sophomore is not quite back at shortstop as he was only cleared to hit and run the bases.
“I was super excited, I've been pushing, I've been pressing a lot of buttons, trying to get out here sooner,” Bell said about finding out he would return.
UK coach Nick Mingione penciled him in at designated hitter and sixth in the lineup. The game found him very quickly in his return. Bell stepped up to the plate for the first time since the injury with the bases loaded and one out. As he was announced, fans and teammates alike gave him a standing ovation and anxiously awaited what was next. He crushed a foul ball on the first pitch he saw, but hit into an inning-ending double play to end the first.
Bell came back up with an out in the third and hit a rocket opposite field double. The double came from the left side of the batter’s box for Bell as he switched due to a pitching change in the third. The sophomore struck out in his third at-bat of the game in the fifth inning.
“No discomfort at all. Just having my confidence on both sides always,” Bell said. “Just having that mentality that I have stepping up to the plate and just knowing that I'm better than that pitcher on the mound, and just staying with it.”
The potential first-round 2026 MLB Draft pick was plunked in his third at-bat of the day in the sixth. He launched his first home run of the season over the right field wall to cap off the electric rally in the seventh.
"You just knew he was going to have a great day, and just the way the team responds to him, he's such a difference maker in so many ways, super happy for him to have those couple moments today,” Mingione said. “He's worked really hard, and no one wants to play the game of baseball more than him, so happy he got back out there and had some really cool moments for the team to celebrate him.”
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Connor Mattison and Jack Bennett fuel comeback win
Righty Connor Mattison came on in relief in the sixth inning and tossed a three-up, three-down frame. After the offense got another run closer, Mattison faced a one-out based-loaded jam after two singles and a hit batter. The junior forced a groundout to get out of the jam.
“It just goes about why we're such a good team. I mean, those guys can come in and they can make the game just stop,” Hindle said. “They can make the other team stop doing damage and let the offense get a chance to get rolling and get going.”
After the six-run outburst in the seventh, The Citadel fought back and loaded the bases against Mattison once again after two walks and a single. This brought Mingione out of the dugout to call upon senior Jack Bennett.
The righty struck out the first batter he faced looking on a 3-2 pitch. A grounder back to the mound got him out of the jam. He stayed on for the ninth and secured the comeback win for Kentucky.
“The job that he did was fantastic, I mean, the poise,” Mingione said. “He's coming into the game, and he's just so confident. He's taking the ball from (Mattison), it's like he has this unbelievable look to him. Gives you a ton of confidence.”
Jaxon Jelkin starts rough, but finishes strong
The senior right-hander has been dominant to start the 2026 season after missing all of 2025 with injury. Coming into his start against The Citadel, Jaxon Jelkin had only given up one earned run in 16.1 innings of work and struck out 25. He was also coming off a phenomenal outing against St. John's last weekend, going 7.1 innings and allowing an unearned run while striking out eight.
Things got off to a rocky start against The Citadel as the leadoff man got on and immediately stole second. He was moved to third on a flyout and scored on a sacrifice bunt. A double play got Jelkin out of the jam. The righty got a double play to erase a leadoff single in the second, but was tagged for a home run by Rhyder Poppell. Jelkin got out of the inning with the lone run allowed.
The Citadel continued to generate heavy traffic on the bases as a one-out double was followed by three consecutive singles with two being for an RBI that boosted The Citadel’s lead to 5-1. Jelkin bounced back with his smoothest inning of the day in the fourth as he tossed a three-up, three-down frame.
Jelkin’s final inning was filled with more pressure from The Citadel as a one-out single was followed by a stolen base, walk and botched pickoff attempt. This put runners at second and third with one out. The righty got a strikeout and a sliding catch by Tharnish on a falling liner to get out unscathed.
Overall, the righty finished with 82 pitches thrown and the following final line: five innings, eight hits, five runs, one walk and one strikeout.
“I thought the best thing Jelkin did, and I told the team this, is in the fourth and fifth, he put up a zero,” Mingione said. “Sure, they scored early, but he just kept attacking and put up zeros in the fourth and the fifth.”
Because of forecasted storms in the afternoon, game two of the series has been moved to 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
