Facing elimination for the second straight game, Kentucky tied its record for most runs in a postseason game in an impressive 16-4 shellacking of host school Clemson. It’s the second time in three seasons that Kentucky scored at least 16 runs in a regional. The previous time was against Indiana in an elimination game during the 2023 Lexington Regional.
The Wildcats (31-25) move on to the regional finals for the third consecutive season. A rematch with West Virginia, which walked off Kentucky with a 4-3 win on Friday afternoon, is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sunday. If Kentucky wins, game 7 of the regional will take place on Monday at a time that’s to be determined.
There were a lot of high points in this game for Kentucky, so let’s get to it.
- Kentucky scored five runs in the third and six runs in the fourth to turn it into an early blowout. There was some outright bad Clemson defense that aided in the game turning into a rout — five of Kentucky’s 16 runs were unearned — but that does not take away from how hot the bats were for the Wildcats. Kentucky cranked out 13 hits and hit an astounding .571 (8-14) with runners in scoring position. They were aggressive on the base paths in taking the extra base, which helped force some Clemson miscues. Overall, it was Kentucky’s offense at its absolute best as every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once.
- Junior outfielder Carson Hansen was terrific. He ended the day with three hits and two RBIs. Second baseman Luke Lawrence, left fielder Cole Hage and right fielder Ryan Schwartz each collected two hits. Schwartz, a freshman, delivered twice with runners in scoring position. He singled both times and drove in four runs. Lawrence doubled twice. Redshirt freshman Hudson Brown, who delivered a key two-RBI single in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game against USC Upstate, drove in three more runs against Clemson.
- It was just a one-game absence for star shortstop Tyler Bell. He was back in the lineup on Sunday after sitting out on Saturday following a hard foul ball off his leg on Friday. He went 1-2 and scored three runs while also reaching base via walk and a hit-by-pitch.
- On the mound, freshman righthander Nate Harris gave Kentucky some much-needed length. He tied a career-high in pitchers (106) and strikeouts (7) while giving up just three runs over six innings. His performance helped keep Kentucky’s bullpen fresh for its next game. Lefty Evan Byers, righthander Nile Adcock and freshman lefty Leighton Harris finished out the game for the Wildcats. It was just the second appearance for Harris since the end of April, so it’s nice for him to get some NCAA Tournament under his belt. He struck out two batters in the inning.
- The lopsided score allowed Kentucky’s coaching staff to get some subs into the game. Raphael Pelletier, Shaun Montoya, Griffin Cameron and Kyuss Gargett were all inserted into the game in the later innings. With another game coming, it was a welcomed, unexpected development to get some guys off their feet a few innings earlier than usual.
What’s next?
Kentucky’s pitching staff remains in better shape than one might expect this deep into the regional. Senior RHP Scott Rouse, who’s started three games this year, provides a logical starter for tonight’s game since he has experience in this role. But basically every pitcher outside of Ben Cleaver, Nic McCay, Ethan Walker and Nate Harris should still be available. Every decision is dependent on how the game is going, of course, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see senior lefty Jackson Nove take on a significant role tonight out of the bullpen.
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